By
anyone's standards Suffolk is a wonderful county in which to live.
People come to Suffolk because it offers a high quality of life:
quiet , rural, low-crime, clean and beautiful. There are so many
things to do and places to visit: theme parks, museums, working
farms and wildlife parks, as well as charming seaside towns and
villages. But what are we really looking for in life? Are we relying
on the leisure industry to make our lives worthwhile? In our fun-loving
society too many people spend their lives simply surviving to
the next weekend or holiday.
Isn't
there more to life than this?
Eternal
Life
Harvest
marks the end of the long farming year when the farmer reaps
the crop he has sown many months before. Everything depends
on the results of the harvest
In
the same way we reap what we have sown when we reach the end
of our lives. The Bible says we must all die and after death
face God's judgment. If we have left God out of our lives and
lived only for ourselves and for now, we will reap a harvest
of eternal hell. But if we have turned back to God and received
his offer of forgiveness and new life in Jesus, he promises
us eternal life with him in heaven.
It
is the starkest of choices. There is no better day to decide
about the future than today. God's offer to us is new life in
Jesus. Choose life!
The
Meaning of Life
The
beautiful Suffolk countryside clearly tells us that we are not
alone in the universe. God is real, and has shown his beauty,
wisdom and power in the world he has made.
Sizewell
nuclear power station is a local symbol of tremendous power, producing
enough electricity to light over 30 million light bulbs, one for
almost every adult in Britain, but even this does not compare
with the power of God. He created a power source (the sun) which
is able to light and heat the whole world. He made this vast universe
out of nothing simply by commanding it into existence.
It
is God who gave us life, but we can enjoy it to the full only
when we know him personally. When God is at the center of our
lives, only then do we find life's true meaning and fulfillment.
Life
On The Edge
Such
was the beauty and richness of life when man was first created,
but something went drastically wrong. The first man chose to disobey
God and live life his own way. Ever since, we have all gone the
same way- we are rebels against our creator.
Dunwich
was once a thriving port and the tenth most important town in
England, boasting two members of Parliament, but now all that
is left is a small village steadily falling into the sea. Like
Dunwich, we have fallen from our former splendour. By rejecting
God we have brought hatred, cruelty, conflict and disaster into
our world. We have become greedy, proud and selfish. Sadness and
pain have entered life, work has become drudgery and we search
in vain for something else to give our lives meaning. Worst of
all, we are left without hope for the future, because we have
brought on ourselves death and the judgment of God.
The
Bridge To Life
So
is there any hope? The spectacular Orwell Bridge illustrates how
seemingly impossible chasms can be spanned. God has provided a
bridge between himself and us, a way back to Him. That bridge
is his son, Jesus Christ.
Jesus
came down to earth from heaven, being born as a baby in Bethlehem.
Having lived a sinless life, he suffered the cruel death of crucifixion.
HE died in the place of sinful men and women, taking the punishment
they deserved, and after three days rose again in triumph over
death. All who turn from their rebellious ways and put their faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ are promised free forgiveness and will
be welcomed into God's family. Jesus Said "Whoever hears
my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will
not be condemned: he has crossed over from death to life."
(The Bible. John 5 verse 24).
Start
A New Life
If
we have been reconciled to God by the death of Jesus, then we
have begun a new life of peace with God. The Bible says "Therefore,
since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with
God through our Lord Jesus Christ." (Romans 5 verse 1).
Jesus offers us a new beginning, a wonderful new life in friendship
with God, living the way he intended us to live.
Ipswich
Town Football Club has achieved much success over the years, but
that can happen only if each player gives his full commitment
on the pitch. In the same way, coming to faith in Jesus Christ
involves complete commitment to him as our Lord.
Our
old way of life must be put away and now we must follow and serve
our Saviour with our whole heart. Living as a Christian is not
easy, but we are glad to follow him when we think of how much
he has loved us. God also gives us the power to change, to become
the people that he wants us to be, and the strength to keep going
when life gets tough.
Eternal
Life
Harvest
marks the end of the long farming year when the farmer reaps
the crop he has sown many months before. Everything depends
on the results of the harvest
In
the same way we reap what we have sown when we reach the end
of our lives. The Bible says we must all die and after death
face God's judgment. If we have left God out of our lives and
lived only for ourselves and for now, we will reap a harvest
of eternal hell. But if we have turned back to God and received
his offer of forgiveness and new life in Jesus, he promises
us eternal life with him in heaven.
It
is the starkest of choices. There is no better day to decide
about the future than today. God's offer to us is new life in
Jesus. Choose life!
