In these devotionals we have thought about God's Word affecting different aspects of our life. We have seen it as a "Love letter," light, and food. It is also powerful (Isaiah 55:11) devastating in its judgment (Jeremiah 23:29) truth that sanctifies us (John 17:17), a sword which can defeat Satan (Ephesian 6:17), and living and active (Hebrews 4:12) changing our lives. It is essential in developing our relationship with the Lord.

Reading the Bible can become "routine", something we do automatically without really thinking about the message. Bible reading guides are helpful, and there are many available to suit different stages of Christian growth. It is worth taking time to look at them and see which best fits your life now. E100 has been a great introduction to the Bible, and Scripture Union, one of the sponsors, has a wide variety of Bible Reading Guides which I have used for the greater part of my life.
I can recommend them confidently.

The special enjoyment we have in shared meals also applies to Bible study. We in CWCI are truly blessed as Know Your Bible Studies (KYB) provide a tremendous way to share the Bible together. The studies, usually based on a book of the Bible, are well written and presented, teaching the message clearly and relevantly. I have been privileged to be part of a KYB class for over thirty years, and it is a highlight of my Christian life. The studies are intended for Interdenominational use, and we enjoy the fellowship with other Christian women in our town. While they were originally intended for women, they can be used by men or by mixed groups. A lady from UK visiting her family joined our group for a time and was so enthusiastic she contacted CWCI there when she returned, and now has started three groups in her area, two for women and one for their husbands!

This past year we have enjoyed Psalms Book 1, Romans Pt.1 (Chapters 1-8), followed by Hosea. Our final study for the year was the Letters of John. We have a balanced and interesting diet!

If you are not already part of a Bible Study, try KYB. It is not difficult and it is very rewarding. Further details are here on our website - check out the KYB tab.

May you find joy in listening to God.
Joan Suisted

As well as being God's love-letter to us, and light to live by, the Bible is also food to nourish and sustain us. When God redeemed Israel He not only led them by a pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night to give them light, but He also fed them with manna. In his farewell messages in Deuteronomy Moses reminded them of this, saying "He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord" (8:3) Jesus quoted this to counter Satan's challenge to create bread from stones (Matthew 4:4), and later to back His claim "I am the bread of life…I am the living bread that came down from Heaven". (John 6:48-51)

Healthy food is essential for living. We grow or buy food, prepare meals, enjoy them and often make them an occasion for sharing with friends. Eating wisely and regularly sustains our energy, maintains our health, and enables us to function effectively. We see the results of junk food all too often.

Yet often we forget we need also spiritual food and neglect reading God's Word. It is always available, and only costs time and commitment,
The Psalmist said "How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth" 119:103. Honey energises and sustains us, and we have learned that manuka honey can also be used for healing. God's word does all these things. God told the prophet Ezekiel to eat His word to strengthen him for the difficult task he was given (3:3).
The Apostle John was given the same command (Rev. 10:8-10) before he recorded the message of coming judgment.

How good is your spiritual diet? Have you managed to complete the E100 readings? It is never too late to start, and to make your "meal with God" a special part of every day.
Joan Suisted

Whenever we turn on our TVs there are reality shows that show some type of transformation. It can be transformation of houses, faces, bodies, gardens. You name it, it's there. Often we are transfixed by the changes that can occur - even in 60 minutes! These shows and let's face it, they are money making shows, are for entertainment. They use quick fix methods that may look good - but are they lasting?

In this day and age many folk are keen to find some quick method to improve their looks or homes and the quicker the better. Often the results are catastrophic! Faces and bodies pulled this way and that very often give pleasing results for a season and then things go topsy turvy.

In this world we are too often concerned about what we wear and look like, persuaded by advertising that these things are important. It is so easy, isn't it, to be worried about things that don't last and are unimportant.

In God's word we read in Samuel 16: 7 "The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

Are you and I so busy trying to improve our lives, homes and bodies down here that we are neglecting our spiritual life using quick-fix methods or sudden cover-up jobs. May each of us be more concerned about our inner beauty than our outward appearance.

Romans 12:2 says, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will."
Ruth Bloomfield

Seasons are important and each season is characteristic of different things. Just as God planned seasons in nature, He planned seasons of life as well.

We each experience most of them. The beauty in the way God designed the four seasons, is that each is distinct, yet they work together to bring life.

In Ecclesiastes 3:1,2 we read "To everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to pluck up that which is planted."

Children remind us of Spring, bursting with energy and joy. Question after question pour from their busy tongues as they strive to learn and understand the world. They are like rays of sunshine in our live. Jesus recognised the importance of little children and said, "Let the children come to me."

The middle years of life are like Summer. It can be the busiest years as you balance home, husband, children, church and often a job. But it can also be the most exciting, full of change, sometimes heartbreak, often joy. Our lives become centred on family and we can neglect God. We read in Luke 15:10 of a woman who searched for a lost coin and celebrated when she found it. Often in the busyness of life we too can lose sight of what is important and should reassess our priorities.

Autumn is a quieter time, when we reach retirement and plan how we will fill our days .We have more time to reflect. For many it is a time of fulfilment as we are able to pursue things we have wanted to do. In Mark 5:33 we learn of the woman who reached forward and touched Jesus's garment and was healed. Have you reached forward to Christ today to share with Him?

In the Winter of our lives there is a deterioration of some of our faculties, but it is not time to give up. There is still much to thank God for. We are able to pray more effectively as we have had experience of life.

David the psalmist said "Don't throw me away when I am old;...come closer God! I will praise you LORD GOD for your mighty deeds and your power to save.

Just as it is with the seasons of nature, these seasons in our lives work together to bring about God's perfect will for each one.
Ruth Bloomfield

Perhaps it is money, family problems or even where you live. Some of us feel limited by our lack of education, small children that require lots of help. Or maybe you have a disability that you feel inhibits your usefulness?

Don't despair. Each one of us has an ability that can be of use to our Heavenly Father.

Let's look at two ladies included in the scriptures. Both these women had little means and yet the Bible mentions them. In fact in one case, it says "this story will be told of you for many years."

In Luke 7, 36-50 we read of the woman, much maligned, who poured the expensive perfume on Christ. "She did what she could." This is all Christ expects of us –to do what we can for Christ.

Then the story in Mark 12:1-4 of the widow who gave all she had even though it was only two mites. It may have been looked down upon but this was all she had. Her circumstances were limited but she gave everything. Do you and I do that?

If you are unable to get out and meet with others remember God is only a prayer away. There are many people who need prayer. Why not make a prayer diary and you will be surprised the answers you will receive.

Ask and you will receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you. Luke 11:9.

Each of us at times feels limited by lack of time. Let us ask the Lord each day to guide us as to how we fill those precious minutes.

'"Only one life, t'will soon be passed. Only what's done for Christ will last."
Ruth Bloomfield

As we have looked at the fruit of the Spirit we have seen how love, joy and peace emphasize our relationship to God, whereas patience, kindness and goodness relate to our thoughts and actions towards those around us. Faithfulness, gentleness and self-control reveal how we should be in ourselves showing our spiritual and moral reliability.

How faithful are we? Are we trustworthy? Have we acted with humbleness and consideration? What about those occasions when it was necessary to tame our strengths and harness our energies? The times when to say 'no' to our own desires, discipline our instincts, restrain our tempers, our tongues and curb our passions.

In our strength we are fruitless. We need the help of the Holy Spirit to activate God's love to produce the fruit that reflects the virtues God would have us show those around us. The fruit of the Spirit is something we should greatly desire if we are to rightly reflect the mind and way of God. When Jesus came it was by His life that He glorified our Father in heaven. Let us seek the Spirit's help so that we too may become like Him and glorify our heavenly Father.

Love as the Christ like reaction to people's malice
Joy as the Christ like reaction to depressing circumstances
Peace as the Christ like reaction to troubles, threats and invitations to anxiety
Patience as the Christ like reaction to all that is maddening
Kindness as the Christ like reaction to all who are unkind
Goodness as the Christ like reaction to bad people and bad behaviour
Faithfulness and gentleness as the Christ like reaction to lies and fury
Self-control as the Christ like reaction to every situation that causes you to lose your cool and hit out.

Reminder:- This is not produced by self effort. It is the fruit that grows naturally out of a relationship with Christ.
Lorraine Harvey

Love has blossomed into joy and peace, and just as the season produces more fruit for us to enjoy so too we look for more 'spiritual fruit' that this love produces.
Love is not just romance and the trappings, nor is it pure sentiment or emotion.
It sounds abstract but it does lead to positive attitudes and concrete actions namely:- patience goodness kindness

Patience
Patience is often regarded as a negative quality, denoting patience with people rather than circumstances. It includes tolerance towards those who are demanding or aggravating or as expressed in some languages, sitting quiet while others rage, not answering the threats of others, remaining quiet when being persecuted.

Kindness
This New Year and through 2011 with the help of the Spirit let us seek to wish good rather than ill to those around us? This is kindness.
Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. It is said that the best way to knock the chip of your neighbour's shoulder is to pat them on the back. Winston Churchill once said, "Kindness in our speech may mean swallowing evil words, doing so has never done a stomach any harm".

Goodness
Goodness converts the good we wish to others into actually doing it. Remember it is the Spirit that helps us to show tenderness and concern for others. Give a stranger one of your smiles. It might be the only sunshine they see all day.

Patience, kindness and goodness are characteristics and outworkings of love. Let us resolve to be out there with people in real situations encouraging them as reflect God's love.

Patience is love enduring in every trial and test
Kindness is love yielding to all that is not sin
Goodness love in actions that flow from Christ within

Next Week: Our Fruit
Lorraine Harvey

Love brings joy and peace. In today's world to have 'fun' and be 'happy' are two words that are often attached to most interviews, be it sport, work or play. Everyone wants to have fun. Human beings have always pursued joy and peace, though usually the more secular word of 'happiness' is used. However it seems that those who pursue happiness and fun never find it when it is of their own making. When we reach out a hand to grasp happiness and peace they appear to vanish into thin air.

Joy and peace are not suitable goals to pursue, they are the by-products of love. God gives them to us, not when we pursue them but when we pursue Him and others, in love.

This love means self-sacrifice in service of others. Self is the great curse whether it is in relation to God or to others. Thinking only of our selves and seeking our own interests is our greatest hindrance in loving others and knowing joy and peace.

Praise God, Jesus came to redeem us from ourselves and that is what we
celebrate this Christmas season.
Only when we lose ourselves do we find ourselves
Only when we die to ourselves do we learn to live
Only through serving others are we ourselves free
Only when we love do joy and peace follow
The self-conscious pursuit of happiness will always end in failure. But when we forget ourselves in self-giving service of love, joy and peace come flooding into our lives in the incidental unlooked for blessings.
Joy is love exulting and peace is love at rest....
This is real fruit to taste and share this Christmas season.

Next Week Fruit for the New Year and 2011
Lorraine Harvey

Strawberries, raspberries, apricots – the wonderful summer fruits that we all enjoy – are already available on the roadside stalls, in the supermarkets and market places, plus we look forward to peaches, blackberries, boysenberries - to name a few of the other fruits that will soon be available. As we enjoy these summer delights over this Christmas season let us be reminded of the fruit of the Spirit, love joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and
self-control.

When God sent His only Son into the world it was to demonstrate His love for us. He wanted us to know Him through His Son, to know forgiveness of our sins through His death on the cross and to rejoice that He is coming again. This is truly 'good news' we celebrate! Jesus however prayed that we would demonstrate God's love in our lives, so that it would show we belong to Him.

If we are to demonstrate God's love in our lives this season and onwards into 2011 we need to refresh our understanding of God's wonderful love.

We pray that the following questions from 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 will help us to define God's love in our lives.

Is it truth? "If I……can understand all secrets and all knowledge…I would be nothing unless I loved others" Be aware knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.
Is it faith? "What if I had faith that moved mountains, I would be nothing unless I loved others". So love is greater than faith.
Is it a religious experience? A first hand personal relationship with God is essential. This knowing Christ Jesus as Lord and Saviour surpasses everything.

Paul says, "What if I could speak all languages of humans and of angels, if I have the gift of prophecy (claiming a direct communication with God) but have not love, I am nothing. So love is the greater experience.
Is it service? If we do not respond to those in need how can we claim to have God's love in us? "What if I gave away all I owned and let myself be burned alive, I would gain nothing unless I loved others." So love is the greater service.
To sum up:-
Knowledge is vital
Faith indispensable
Religious experience is necessary
Service is essential
Love is the greatest thing in the world, for God is love in His innermost being.
Father, Son and Holy Spirit are eternally united to each other in self-giving love.
So He who is love has set His love upon us, calls us to love Him and others in return.

May love be the chief distinguishing mark of each one of us this Christmas season.
Lorraine Harvey

Next week – More Fruit for Christmas

All eyes were fixed on her. The "very costly perfume" was the equivalent of a working man's pay for a whole year. Mary stands next to Jesus and empties the entire contents of the alabaster jar over his head! Jesus is saturated with the delicious odour as it "billowed throughout the house."

Mary's extraordinary action brought the dinner to a screeching halt.
It ended all conversation.
The guests could scarcely breathe, let alone eat.
Everywhere was the smell of this exotic perfume.
The apostles did not know what to do or say.

The only way the Spirit could be fully communicated was to destroy the
container. Hence, in the fervour of her grace, "she broke it," as the text records.
The gesture of anointing someone was a sign of love. There was no doubt that Mary loved Jesus and that the perfume signified the gift of herself. What touched Jesus however was the totality of her gift. Mary had reached the point where she could surrender herself to Jesus just as she was and all that she was.

Mary of Bethany was inspired by the Holy Spirit to express her boundless love in this dramatic and total way. In doing so, she anticipated in her own person the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus. This is because the focus of Mary's life was not on what she could do or gain for herself; Mary's life was a reflection of God's tender compassion.
She accepted His message, the message that spoke of His death and
resurrection. She applied it to her life, by humbling herself before God and desiring only to serve the Lord. She was a woman who was mighty in spirit.

You, too, can have this same quality of devotion when you commit yourself to Christ.
Pray for the Holy Spirit to give you a deep love for God's Word.
This is what Mary cherished — the Word of God spoken to her.
It too, can be your greatest source of comfort and hope!
Lorraine Harvey

I remember Dr Shiela Gupter at one of the first weekend retreats I went to, saying how she had got up early one morning and climbed a high mountain because she wanted to speak to her Indian God and when she got there the priest told her she couldn't because he was asleep! This was a turning point for Dr Gupter and was the first step she took towards her search for truth and coming to a faith in the Lord Jesus. What a wonderful privilege we have Almighty God who 'neither slumbers nor sleeps.' Psalm 121:4. We can come to Him at any time anywhere with all our troubles and cares.

Over my long life I have talked to Him over many things and always I have known His comfort, strength, and guidance and learnt to lean on Him during these times.

One time I was in great distress because I had lost a valuable ornament I had borrowed from a friend to illustrate a talk I was to give at a Girls Rally. The hall was up quite a steep hill and as I got out of my car I must have dropped this small egg shaped ornament. I searched in vain. Eventually, I had to take the talk without this aid but I did describe it to the girls. For two days I searched and prayed. I reminded the Lord that He knew when a sparrow fell to the ground so He surely knew where this ornament was! Then I got a telephone call to say it was found. A small boy walking home from school in the gutter found it lodged in the grating at the bottom of the hill, took it home and showed it to his sister who had been at the Rally talk and knew it must be the one I had described!

When I think of this marvellous answer to prayer or use it as an illustration, I am amazed and humbled as I ponder the fact that God cares for the details of our lives! We can truly 'Cast all our cares on Him for He cares for each one of us.' 1 Peter 5.7.
Lois Loan

While on Holiday I visited my old Primary School which I had attended as a pupil and a teacher. It was a happy experience, for although it was a low decile school – the buildings were renovated and well kept and there was a happy and peaceful atmosphere. Although it was 60+ years since I had left Shannon and the school, the little secretary Hui recognised me and told me something I had long forgotten.

As a sideline I had taught speech and drama. Hui said "My brother has never forgotten you – he says you turned his life around." This boy had a stutter and I had helped him overcome this problem, not that I had any academic qualifications to do this, but I just gave him practical steps to take and heaps of encouragement.

I love to give people encouragement and I do so as often as I can – simply by being interested in what they are doing and showing love and sympathy where and when needed. Our young people especially need our encouragement and interest.

My day was made not long ago when a young girl said that I was "cool because I was really interested in what she was doing".

One New Testament character I really love is Barnabus – his name means "son of Encouragement" or "Consolation". Look up these Scriptures and see for yourself the things he was noted for –

1. Acts 4:24–36 Sympathy
2. Acts 4.36 Generosity
3. Acts 11:23-30 Spirit filled and Inspiring

Encouragement is something we can all practise and something we all need.

King David was greatly distressed because of his circumstances – you can read about it in 1 Samuel 30:1-6.

I love where it says in the King James version "David encouraged Himself in the Lord". Use your concordance and look up references to encouragement. There is no person better than the Lord to teach us how to practise and accept encouragement.
Lois Loan

All of us at some time or other expect to inherit something.

Boxing Day was always the day we celebrated Christmas at my father's parents home. My grandmother was rather an austere person and had very strict ideas as to how we should behave – but on this day she was more gentle and she had a present for each of her many grandchildren. They were, of course, practical and we knew not to anticipate frivolous things like toys. One year the dear soul had knitted yards of lace with fine needles and cotton. Each granddaughter was given a piece long enough to be attached to linen to make a tray cloth. I'm ashamed now to say I did not value the time and effort she put into this gift and it went into a drawer or cupboard as I moved into different homes and stages of my life. I never destroyed it but I just forgot about it. Years later I saw what one of my cousins had done with hers. I was astonished at how beautiful she had made it into. It sat in the centrepiece on her dining room table and certainly drew your eyes to it immediately, so she had valued this little piece of heritage. As I think of it now, I think of the inheritance we have in Christ Jesus.

Some is yet to come when we meet Him in Glory, but there is much we can claim here and now

1. The promise of Eternal Life John 3:16
2. The promise of Abundant Life John 10:10
3. The promise of Abundant Power Eph 3:20
4. The promise of Abundant supplies Phil 4:19

There are so many more – take a Bible concordance and search them out for yourself.

Lois Loan

"Show me the path where I should walk, O Lord; point out the right road for me to follow". Psalm 25:4

Decision making is not always easy! Whether it is the small, every day
decisions, or major, life changing ones. We all face them, and we face the consequences of them too.
There are some good principles in God's word to help us with decision making. This means that we must know and search the Scriptures to help give us wisdom and discernment. A right decision is one that is consistent with the truth and values of God's word.
You know you've made a good decision when what you've decided honours God.
As Galatians 5:22-23 says – "When the Holy Spirit controls our lives, He will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness…"
Decisions can have lasting consequences, so how important it is that we consistently spend time in God's word. Even that in itself is a decision, when so many other things demand our attention.
The best decision we will ever make is to choose to follow God, and believe in His Son, Jesus – that decision has eternal consequences.
Pam Marsom

In our last Devotional we looked at the importance of listening to God through His Word and remembered He is telling us something He wants us to know.

But that is not the only reason we should be reading His letter. The Bible gives us different descriptions of God's Word. In Psalm 119, which we possibly avoid for its length and single-minded focus, there is one verse we all know "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path" v.105. The Psalmist did not have our street lights, paved roads and footpaths. Walking in the dark is difficult, and especially dangerous for the elderly, but it was even more so in Bible times. Light is essential for us to walk safely. Spiritual light is even more essential for us to live wisely.

God's first recorded words in Genesis 1:3 are "Let there be light". It is essential to life. The Psalmists celebrated God as their light e.g "The Lord is my light and my salvation" (27:1), "Blessed are those …who walk in the light of Your presence, O Lord" (89:15)

Jesus made it even clearer. "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8:12) As we read God's word we see His light and respond to it, either obeying, or choosing darkness.

It doesn't end there. In Matthew 5:14,16 Jesus gives us a responsibility "You are the light of the world let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in Heaven". We can only be His lights as we spend time with Him (2 Corinthians 3:18) 1 John 1:7 promises us "If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from every sin".

The only way to live wisely is to walk in the light of His Word and keep close to Him. It is our call.

Joan Suisted

Our church, like many others has been encouraging daily Bible reading through the E100 plan. For many years I have used the Scripture Union Notes and read through the Bible each year, but decided to also do E100. I am enjoying this fresh approach giving an overview of the Bible, and seeing God's plan unfolded through the centuries in a "broad brush" outline of the big picture. It is exciting to know that so many other people are sharing this experience.

Why is reading the Bible so important? Because it is God's message to ME. When He inspired the writers, He knew each person who would be reading it. When we read it today, God is sharing with us as He has done with His people through the centuries.
Sometimes we wonder how words written so long ago can really apply to us today, but the Bible is "God-breathed" and as we read the Holy Spirit highlights the words He knows we need to see and hear. We know He is talking to us. Sometimes my reaction is "Ouch!".
Sometimes it is "Wow!". Sometimes His message is beyond words, and I can only worship silently. It is not always highlighted, but I read it knowing He will tell me when there is something I specially need to hear. God enjoys talking with us because He loves us and wants a close relationship with us.

Years ago our sons travelled in Europe together. We wrote regularly and read their replies eagerly. It would have been very hurtful if they hadn't read and answered our letters.
Thankfully they did. Some years later our younger son, his wife and family spent seven years in West Africa. Again letters were precious. When their older children went to boarding school, I wrote to them as well, and gave thanks for my new computer! The family loved the letters and later emails and I felt rewarded. Those experiences gave me a glimpse into how God longs to know we value His message, and loves to hear us reply through prayer. Sometimes we forget how much He really loves us.
Joan Suisted

Yes, in moderation.
Yes, once in a while.
Yes, if it is the right type – in other words, contains the right ingredients.
Yes! Yes! Yes!

But wait;
Why is it we feel guilty when we take some chocolate?
Why is it we say – just a small piece. Not just now and host of other
excuses as if chocolate is going to harm us.

Is this some sort of deception we live in?
We believe one thing but practice another.

Last year when in Bali, I hesitantly went into a 'teenage' shop. Noticing a 'chocolate' mirror I decided to purchase it. I was thinking about a talk I was preparing and seeing the mirror it reminded me of the following verse from James 1:21:25, "Obey God's message! Don't fool yourselves by just listening to it. If you hear the message and don't obey it, you are like people who stare at themselves in a mirror and forget what they look like as soon as they leave. But you must never stop looking at the perfect law that sets you free. God will bless you in everything you do, if you listen and obey, and don't just hear and forget"

What does this have to do with chocolate?
Did you know that chocolate is the most craved food? It is said that 46% of woman and 15% of men crave chocolate.
Did you know that God's love and forgiveness is the most desired and
yearned after message. The problem is that many people do not know
what it is they are craving. There is that emptiness – a God created
craving that only God can fill. People go looking for all sorts of things to fill that craving and nothing satisfies. Like any person who craves chocolate nothing else will help.

So it is with us nothing but God's message of forgiveness, love, joy and peace will satisfy that deep craving that we have for something more in life. God's message – the Gospel means good news. It tells of how God's only Son came into this world, lived and died and rose again conquering sin, this sin which has given us this dissatisfaction with life and always wanting something more. He came for you and me, and it is up to us to receive this forgiveness of sin that He offers.

James says there are three things you have to do before we can say it
is 'good for us'. As with chocolate, before you know if it is good for you, you have to do something.

1. Receive the message – God's Word. Believe it. Like chocolate – it
has to be received.

2. Do the message. It is not enough to hear the message but we must do
it. Taste the chocolate.

3. Share the Word. Nothing makes a piece of chocolate taste better than when you share with someone else. There is enjoyment together.
When you share the message of the Good news there is real joy and it
helps to confirm in your heart your own salvation.

You may buy some chocolate and take it home, but you will never know
how good it tastes or how good it is for you until you taste it.

This is the same with God's message. You will never know how good it is for you until you receive and taste it. Do not live in deception
believing that like chocolate it is good for you but never tasting it.

You may believe in God but if you don't have a personal relationship
with Him you need to taste Him now. Don't just think about it. Until you take action there will be no change in your life. Acting upon it will ensure your relationship with God and your eternal home.

Is chocolate good for you? – yes, but not while it is still in the packet.

What about GOD'S message? – is it good for you? – yes, but not left 'til another day or treated with indifference. Act upon it now – unwrap it, taste it and see how good is our God.
Lorraine Harvey