The following articles were submitted by Fred Robinson, a much loved church member. Thanks Fred........

Not for the mortification of our souls, but for transformation of our souls. Our bodies are mere shells of our transition. This body which we have is only temporary, so what we do with it in the short space of time is paramount to our very existence now and for evermore.

Do not be discouraged by the realization of the true perspective, but rejoice in the opportunity to be able to eliminate any evil that comes your way.

The story of life is ever changing as different personalities pervade this earth, tending to intimidate our living, but faith and belief will always triumph in the end. So have courage, have heart, and make this journey through life a battle to be fought and won.

Fred Robinson, September 2002

The efficacy of life lies in that which is not rational, or philosophic, but in the whole universe that displays God’s presence, by the myriad array of stars in the heavens, the sunshine, the rain, the trees, the fellowship of friends, all this enhances our strong belief in God’s love, and faith in his grace, giving joy, and peace to our lives and souls.

We do, however, have our pains and sorrows, national disasters etc., which tend to intimidate our thinking and doubts of God’s presence, but be not dismayed, or discouraged, as all these tragic occurrences are all part of God’s plan, testing our faith and belief implicitly.

We do live our lives blissfully ignorant of the future, not realising that the present time is also the future. You see life is only an infinitesimal part of eternity, a grain of sand in the desert of time.

So, think my friends, do not endanger it with mean and selfish acts, but enlighten and sustain it with the love and care of your fellow man.

If we read Romans, Chapter 8 Verse 2 states “Because through Christ Jesus the law of the spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.”

Should we show our preference for material things and vacate our finer qualities, we jeopardise everything that life stands for. It is by tender care and love that we are able to overcome many of life’s difficulties. It cannot fail to help and bless.

If we care to read Psalm 56, Verse 13 quotes “For you have delivered my soul from death, and my feet from stumbling, that I walk with God in the light of life.”

Certain situations and conditions can kill the body but it cannot kill the soul. However, by its deadly infusion to the soul, it can weaken its strength, casting it out into a wilderness of confusion. Should this situation arise it can be redeemed by prayer to God, through his son Jesus Christ, our only advocate to God.

So as we travel life’s road the troubles and tribulations tend to weaken our faith, but the joys which we are blessed with, through our Saviour Jesus Christ, helps to counteract any pain or sorrow that we have to bear. With the world being such an unstable place we are fearful of any calamity that might befall us. However, if we read John, Chapter 14, Verse 27 reads “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid.”

It is with this comforting thought that I close, wishing you all God’s love and tender care.

Fred Robinson, October 2001

Of all the words in the English language the word ‘salvation’ has to be the most significant, and far reaching. It is a word that one may speak of glibly, without realising its full implications.

The subject is so involved and so consuming, as it deals with life itself and the acquisition of saving life as we know it. To question or refute this would only prove its authenticity.

So to try to enlighten one further, I turned up the definition in the dictionary, which states “Salvation is the liberation of man from the influence of sin, and its consequences for the soul.” Another description is given “as the means of preservation from any serious evil, the saving of man from the powers and penalty of sin, the conferring of eternal happiness”. The bible corroborates all these definitions given in the dictionary. For example, if you read Psalm 27 it quotes “The Lord is my life, and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is my strong hold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?” Also Psalm 67 reads “My soul finds rest in God alone, my salvation comes from Him, He alone is my rock, and my salvation. He is my fortress and my salvation.” To add further credence to the quotes in the dictionary and the bible, there are also numerous references in the New Testament to salvation.

So what is this wonderful life of salvation? You can’t see it, you can’t buy it, you have to earn it yourself through faith and belief; Jesus Christ had so much faith and love for us, that He sacrificed Himself on the cross to save us from sin. That, of course, was two thousand years ago but the same message and the same love for one another is still prevalent today. You see, our Lord gave us free-will, placing man’s destiny and responsibility upon his own shoulders. With this burden that God gave us to carry, let us turn it into a blessing, by resurrecting His love into our own lives. This can be attained by a steadfast belief in Jesus Christ, who is our Saviour, and a firm faith in our omnipotent God the all-powerful.

These are some of the precious ingredients necessary for the formation of salvation. You may think, or even say, that I am suffering under a delusion and writing a load of balderdash, but I implore those unfortunate people to think again, as earthly pleasures are so short-lived. I am fully aware of the general attitude towards the gospels, the wonderful advance of science, the world of computers, the education and knowledge available today, but the one and most important thing is bypassed and overlooked; that is the love of God.

This is so sacred and paramount to our lives, as it promotes the gift of the Holy Spirit into our hearts, instituting a re-birth of oneself; thus ultimately leading to salvation. Hallelujah.

So you see my friends, salvation is not a commodity that you can purchase in a shop; it is not available from any commercial place or institution; it has to be earned by faith, belief and trust in Jesus Christ, our only advocate to God.

So in conclusion, may I suggest that you love the Lord your God with all your strength, and all your might, and love your neighbour as yourself, and your salvation is assured. Amen

Fred Robinson, May 2001

Yes, life is a paradox, as we live in a constant state of change, nothing is static, as you well know If there was no change. life would stop and cease to exist, so as we live in this world of change, there is one redeeming feature that never changes and is constant, that is the love Jesus Christ has for us This love is paramount to our daily lives, so accept it with all graciousness You will have your problems and difficulties they arise in all our lives but isn’t this what life is all about..

When you think about this the basic factor is love if only we would accept this common denominator and practice it

Love is an abstract thing: it influences our thoughts and minds, some good and some evil It prompts our actions, it determines our feelings There are so many different kinds of love, For example the love of husband and wife, the love a mother has for her baby, love of material things, love of a beautiful garden, but the greatest love of all is the love of God

Love is a great motivator, a creator of trust a sense of belonging you can’t see it because it is inside you. emanating out of you. As Shakespeare once said, ‘there are more things in heaven and earth Horatio than are dreamt of in our philosophy'. I wonder what passed through his mind, to quote these words of wisdom.

When you think of these things. the human mind is unable to accept the magnitude of all unseen things, so to simplify this we call it religion But I see it far more than that, so I decided to look in the dictionary for a definition which states — belief in. recognition of, or an awakened sense of a higher unseen controlling power, or powers.

So how many of us are awake to this wonderful power and how many are blissfully asleep in total ignorance of this power or powers which in other words, is God.

I find it most difficult to put my faith and belief to pen and paper, but the power of prayer helps considerably This of course is an invasion into the unseen world of which we live, quite ignorant and oblivious to the endless battle that goes on between good and evil in that vast universe. You might say that’s a load of rubbish, but no wise man would ever venture such a rash statement as it is inevitable that we shall pass from the physical world to the spiritual world, where we shall have a new life of peace and joy for all eternity. If we read I Corinthians Chapter 2 Verse 9 which states “However, as it is written, no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him".

So my friends follow this wise maxim, love the Lord your God with all your might, with all your thoughts, and with all your strength and your future is assured.

Fred Robinson, July 2000

God is not far from those who seek him. He is our neighbour and only needs contacting to be your friend. Some so called friends are only with us in our happier and successful times, but a true friend is always with us whatever ill fortune or sickness comes our way, as our Lord is such a friend. He will never leave you no matter what the circumstances however good or bad they may be. He is always there whenever you ask. By being faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ we receive God’s gift, which cannot be attained by human reasoning. It is a human condition which is impossible to explain, a feeling of hope and assurance, a true conviction of all our earthly and spiritual existences. It is with dire necessity that we keep foremost in our minds that all the pleasures of this world are superficial, only to amuse and gratify our physical beings, but a strong faith and belief in our Saviour Jesus Christ our innermost souls are sanctified, granting us an assurance and pleasure in this life and the life to come. Hallelujah!

Coming back to faith, this can be a very loose term, used in the wrong context. For instance, a man has the faith in himself to climb a mountain, cross vast oceans in a small boat and accomplish almost any physical feat that comes his way. His strong believe that within his body he has the courage and strength to overcome most physical challenges. But the faith I write about is spiritual faith, a faith that is unseen, a faith that overcomes all trials all sorrows, all that life may throw at us; this is the faith in our Saviour Jesus Christ. Faith oils the wheels of human life and belief the motion, and all the other parts of the human machine are care, kindness, tolerance, understanding and love.

The spirit within us motivates our existence or living. This vehicle of human life sometimes has a breakdown, or a puncture, representing the trials and troubles we have to face whilst traveling this journey. This illustration is my best way of portraying our lives. You see it is impossible to live your life without trouble, you can’t have joy without sorrow, peace without pain, trials and tribulations come our way, but all these adversities are a testing time for us.

Some people tend to ridicule, scorn and criticise a person that has come to know God through Jesus Christ, but this type of person is entirely ignorant of any thought, caring and understanding of his fellow man. It is a form of selfishness and the penalty for selfishness and envy is confusion and pain from within oneself, which outwardly he appears self satisfied. This type of person is devoid of any believe or faith which ultimately spells misery and loss. You see the faith that I write about is what a man lives inwardly and orders his way outwardly. You can portray life like a tree, with faith as its root (which is unseen) the trunk representing belief and the foliage that falls in season and reappears in the spring. Faith is a state of mind that dispels any doubts, strengthening a mans love of God and his fellow man. A state of assurance and peace of mind that is beyond human understanding.

There are some unfortunate people that only believe in what they can see, or prove, and this fact alone describes exactly what faith is, believing in the unseen, having the faith to know for sure that our Saviour Jesus Christ exists today, as he did 2000 years ago. The unbelievers might question this, but I can assure them that the story of Jesus Christ is perfectly true. There have been documents, manuscripts and writings found which were transcribes in that period, telling of the life of Jesus and all his teachings and the miracles he performed. It is also true that all his life was governed and totally dedicated to the wishes of his Father, showing to all and sundry the unlimited power and glory of our God.

Anyone that possesses faith in our Saviour Jesus Christ is automatically blessed with hope, which is given to them through the Holy Spirit, a gift from God. Hope is an inward peace, which is maintained by faith and belief. Again we have the unseen and the seen; in the seen we have a constant state of change, things you can perceive and touch, but the unseen is in the mind, or spirit within you. If you read 1 Corinthians Chapter 4 verse 18, this states as follows: “so we fix our eyes not on what is seen; for what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal”.

By human thought and reasoning, we have to admit that all the struggle and strife in this life, mingled with early pleasures are superficial. There has to be a deeper meaning. If we read 1 Corinthians Chapter 13, Verse 13, we are told that the three main features of this life are faith, hope and love. So accepting this wise philosophy we have to try and live our lives accordingly. This can be very difficult for many people and practically impossible for some. Man is so hypnotised and misguided by the earthly pleasures he has made he becomes blinded to the truth, forsaking all the wise teachings that our Lord taught us; so he struggles on in a vain hope that some day his fortunes will change for the better, thinking in material things of course, which have no lasting value. It is pitiful that this type of person has no conception of the good life that lies within his grasp, if only he would accept the fact that God is at hand awaiting his call for help and guidance.

The gracious Lord has sympathy with all our needs, and will help and guide us whenever we ask in faith and belief. To one who believes and has faith in our omnipotent God, his troubles are lightened; his outlook on life is like a flower garden in full bloom and his inevitable death a passport to eternity.

To the unbeliever, we pray Father that you will forgive their lack of faith and prompt a feeling of remorse and regret, transforming their lives to a realisation of your presence and power, retrieving them from the darkness that overshadows their lives.

Fred Robinson, 2000