Newsletter -
April 2003
Jesus answered, 'I am The Way and The
Truth and The Life.'
John 14 v. 6
Why is this site named 'The Way'? Jesus said He was
The Way. Jesus encourages us to follow Him, to follow
His Way. Throughout time that is all He has asked of
us yet we find this so difficult to grasp. Why is it
that so often we choose the most difficult path? In
the early part of the Bible, God (Jesus!) during the
birthing of the Hebrew Nation, set them up with a complete
new system of laws and morals after they came out of
Egypt. They (like us) were presented with two paths,
of obedience and disobedience. The Jews were warned
about worshiping idols, and the consequences if they
did. The choice was simple: if they obeyed, peace would
come; if they disobeyed disaster would follow. God
did not want to kill them, He wanted them to grow.
He wanted the best for them expressed in Jeremiah 29:
11, 12: " 'For I know the plans I have for you,'
declares the Lord ' ....to prosper you....not to harm
you....to give you hope and a future' ...call upon
Me and come and pray with Me, and I will listen to
you.'" it's a familiar story however as we know: "In
spite of all this, they kept on sinning; in spite of
His wonders they did not believe." Psalm 78:32.
Ultimately it was not the hostile armies who threatened
them but the temptations to compromise with the pagan
religions and cultures. It all starts with 'the little
things' as someone has been known to say! But are we
really that much different? Maybe we even wonder how
they could be so slow. But we are often so blind to
our own idols/addictions: money, possessions, job,
house, people, reputation they promise everything we
want but nothing we need, is our 'modern' idolatry
so different to that of the Jews in the times of the
Bible.
It is offensive in this 'friendly society' to
say there is only 'One Way'. It is considered bigotry
to
say that Jesus is the Only Way. But it has been said
'offence is part of the Gospel, if we remove the
offence from the Gospel we remove its power'. Addiction
is
a serious business. For some people the choice between
life and death and they may only have a short window
of opportunity to find The Way - Jesus. In
the News
As The United Kingdom's drug and debt problems spiral
out of control, a tragic story of the husband and father
who committed suicide with debts of over £70K
hits the news. Are we in the UK at last waking up to
the fact that addiction is not just about alcohol,
heroin and crack, to name three but those daily pursuits
we so often consider in a positive or jovial manner
such as shopping, work, exercise, religion or the internet.
I do hope so!
On a personal note
During April/May I will be visiting the USA for a
break and to meet new people and hopefully be encouraged
and envisioned. A very rough Itinerary follows:
April 19 - 1st week in May Phoenix, San Francisco,
LA and to
Florida
7th May to 12th app. North Carolina
12th May to 18th May Washington, Boston, New York
18th May Return to London, UK
This is flexible so there may be opportunity to meet
up with others on the way. Please do contact me if
you would like to arrange this. I would value the opportunity
to meet some of you!
Chris
We are currently embarking on the long awaited overhaul
of the site. Your patience is appreciated but please
let us know what you think of the new look! We
remain grateful to Martin and Paul for their work
in the
past.
Thank you for your support and prayers for our Ministry.
The Way is supported by a council of reference made
up from people around the globe:
Brian & Margaret Watters (Australia) Ron Ross (USA)
Mark & Lara Shiperlee, Chris Cane (UK)
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in the ministry of The Way and/or
Chris Milton, or your e-mail address has been submitted
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