Doris Louise Seger opened the door to her office and found her precious violin in pieces. She was crushed. It had been a high school graduation gift from her parents. A week later police found the vandal and Doris went to his home. When she saw the skinny blond 11 year old sitting next to his father. Louise knew that the real tragedy was not her shattered violin, but a young life, headed for a shattered future. She said, “I forgive you, and God will too, if you ask Him.” A few days later that boy came to a Pastor’s office asking hesitantly, “Is there any work that I can do at the church to pay for the violin? Sensing his repentant heart, the Pastor shared the gospel with the boy, who received Christ as His Saviour. Doris purchased a new violin, but thinking of Paul’s words, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation,” she wrote, the new violin “would never compare with the ‘new creature’ in Christ Jesus.” And all heading for a shattered future can have a changed life by turning to the Saviour.

Pastor Alex Rockwell
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I recently read a story about a 72 year old Sydney Australia woman who had collected more than 300,000 beer bottles and given the proceeds to charity. Later she said, ”Now I’ll have a bit of time to relax. I’ve tried to build a ladder to heaven.” Sounds good, but unfortunately she has a distorted understanding of how one goes to heaven, which contradicts the only reliable source about the next life- the Bible. Somewhere , she has been misled, thinking that she could build a “ladder to heaven” by her good works which is what many, who have not studied their Bibles, believe. The Bible however, is crystal clear. The Book of Titus states that it is “not by works of righteousness that we have done, but according to His mercy” that God saves us. And Paul, writing on the subject, reminds us that it is “by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves.” Jesus is the only “ladder to heaven.” He said, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.”

Pastor Alex Rockwell
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Dr. Paul Antrobus, a psychologist, has said that churches make people feel unnecessarily guilty. He believes that fear is the real evil, and love the real good. It’s a little bit like saying that medical professionals who inform patients that they have a serious disease, or police officers who tell people they are breaking the law, are making people unnecessarily guilty. We may not want to hear bad news from our doctors, when we are ill or from policemen when we are caught breaking the law. But we need to hear the truth. Jesus said, “you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” As long as we try to hide from the truth, nothing good can happen. But when we acknowledge our condition, or wrong-doing, we can receive help and find a remedy for our spiritual needs. Jesus said, “ I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” And since we are all sinners by nature and by choice, He came for all of us and offers forgiveness and new life to sincere seekers.

Pastor Alex Rockwell
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In September, 2006, well known crocodile hunter, conservationist and television personality Steve Irwin was killed while filming on the Great Barrier Reef. The barb of a stingray pierced his chest. But there is a bright side to this tragic event. According to reports from Australia, Steve’s wife Teri and their two children had been attending a small church in Beerwah, where they lived. Just a month or so before he died, Irwin started accompanying his family to church and accepted Christ as His Saviour. He later said these were the best weeks of his life. Little did he realize that they would be the last weeks of his life. His passing has an important message for us all. We never know when we will pass from this life. Even young people can be called into the presence of their Maker unexpectedly. The only way to be prepared is to make our peace with God now. Paul wrote of this, saying, “… being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” You and I are going to live somewhere forever.

Pastor Alex Rockwell
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Photo credit: “Steve Irwin” by Richard Giles, aka User rich115 on Flickr – http://www.flickr.com/photos/richardgiles/78439513/. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Commons – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Steve_Irwin.jpg#/media/File:Steve_Irwin.jpg

“I knew I had made a valuable contribution to mankind, not because I was brilliant but because God chose me to convey this gift to the world.” That’s what Samuel Morse, inventor of the telegraph said. He would have had every right to feel proud of his accomplishment, but he thought differently, giving the credit to God, His Maker. Somebody once said, “ It is amazing how much you can get done if you don’t care who gets the credit, as long as God gets the glory.” The first words ever sent by telegraph were, “What God hath wrought!” That should be our attitude about any successes we may have had. God makes it all possible. Paul wrote, that “in all things, He should have the preeminence.” This is especially true in regards to becoming a true Christian. Paul wrote, “By grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast.” We should all say with the hymn writer, “Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to your cross I cling.”

Pastor Alex Rockwell
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A young man complained to his father that most of the hymns sung in his church were old fashioned. His father said, “If you think you can write better hymns, why don’t you? ”The young man accepted the challenge and wrote “Joy to the World” and “When I survey the Wondrous Cross. ”That young man was Isaac Watts. As someone has wisely said, “It it better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.” It is true, there is much that is wrong in this old world. There are problems everywhere. But rather than just complaining about our world, it is far better to try to do something about it. Visit the sick. Give to good charities. Encourage the down and out. Be an example in your community. And most important of all, instead of concluding that because we are weak and prone to doing wrong, rather than wallowing in the mire, turn to the Lord Jesus for a changed life. As Paul wrote, “If anyone is in Christ, he (or she) is a new creation. Old things have passed away, behold all things have become new.”

Pastor Alex Rockwell
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Many years ago, Geoffrey Chaucer, famous author of the Canterbury Tales wrote “Time and tide wait for no man.” More recently, the late Steve Jobs, co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple, once said “My favorite things in life don’t cost any money. It’s really clear that the most precious resource we all have is time.” Have you thought much about time lately? We can’t see it, can’t touch it , yet it is there every moment of our lives. We can turn the clock back, forward, or stop it, but time we cannot alter. Whether young and looking forward to many years, or older and looking back on our lives mostly spent, one thing is sure, we don’t exist in the past or the future. We live only in the present. That is why we should consider this verse from the Proverbs, “Boast not yourself of tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.” and with that in mind, think about Paul’s timely admonition, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”

Pastor Alex Rockwell
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“All is discovered! Flee at once!” Those are believed to be the words of an anonymous telegram sent to the most influential men in the U.K. by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes. The result, it is said, was that within 24 hours, none of those men could be found. If true,it’s similar to the hacking of Ashley Madison, the dating website that connects people looking for an affair. That hacking exposed the personal data of its 37 million users. We all have things in our past that we would rather keep hidden. Some are unaware that, as the Psalmist reminds,us, God “searches us and even perceives our thoughts from afar off.“ But when we humbly ask for God’s forgiveness, He responds, and we can say with that same Psalmist, “Blessed is he (or she) whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sin is covered.” Those hiding something today, should remember, we cannot hide from God. He sees all.

Pastor Alex Rockwell
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October is the month of beautiful colour. We enjoy the brilliant orange, yellow, rust and red of the fall leaves. I read recently of a man whose interest was caught by one leaf which was only a fine network of veins, the other part of the leaf was gone. Similarly, as we age, our hair turns white, sight begins to fade, our skin wrinkles. But inside, our body, our soul and spirit are eternal. Jesus once asked the rhetorical question, “what shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his own soul?” The unhappy answer is obvious. But thankfully, because of that, Jesus came and gave His life for us. Please do not be fooled into thinking this life is all there is. You and I are going to live somewhere forever, and where that is will be determined by our relationship to Jesus Christ. He said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” He also said, “Except a man be born again, He cannot see the kingdom of God.” Now is the time to prepare for the next life.

Pastor Alex Rockwell
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Over 280 years ago, James Black, at his own expense, built Gannochy Bridge near Edsell, in Angus Scotland. His tombstone bears these words: “No bridge on earth can be a bridge to heaven, yet let to generous deed, due praise be given.” He is correct. We should give honest praise and recognition to those who perform generous deeds on earth. But he speaks a more important truth to those who see his tombstone in saying, “No bridge on earth can be a bridge to heaven,” because it is common for many to erroneously believe that their good deeds will get them into heaven. The Bible clearly states that it is “By grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast.” That’s because no human is good enough to earn his or way to heaven. It took the sinless Son of God to pay off our sin debt. When He died on the cross, He said, “It is finished,” meaning that everything that was necessary to provide eternal life has been done.

Pastor Alex Rockwell
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