Good News Update 138 - 30 September 2015
Getting the Good News Out
 
  
Stand4Marriage Warwick Marsh
It is time for something different. Each year the YesHEis team produces a video to share the Good News of God's love through Jesus Christ.
 
This year the video is different but the message of the Gospel remains the same. It is the message contained in the story of Easter. The Gospel story is contained in what many people would say is the greatest verse in the Bible:
 
For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him would not perish but have eternal life.
 - John 3:16
 
The Canberra Declaration, which you signed states the following:
 
The Preamble to the Australian Constitution contains the words, "Humbly relying on the blessing of Almighty God". As Australian citizens we continue to declare that we too put our trust in Almighty God. For centuries, to speak of Western civilisation was to speak of Christian civilisation. The two were in many ways synonymous. The values that we have cherished and sought to strengthen are in large measure founded on the Judeo-Christian belief system.
 
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The values that we cherish and seek to strengthen are brought to us through the Gospel story and because of God's love through Jesus Christ. That is why we believe it is our job to share the gospel story of God's love through Jesus Christ as much as we possibly can. So we encourage you to go to the yesHEis website and follow the links to take part in this social media promotion of the Gospel story online.
 
To further encourage you to join in this campaign I have asked my colleague Ben Pratt (who has been helping with the Canberra Declaration while David and Marilyn are on furlough overseas) to share his story of how God's love saved him and has given him hope. My prayer is that this will encourage you to consider sharing your own story.
 
Yours for the Gospel,
Warwick Marsh
I was born into a broken world. Into a broken family. My parents divorced when I was only 3, my father walked away from us, and my mother, sister and I moved into public housing in a poor suburb in western Sydney. We lived from hand to mouth for years, and I watched as the people around me succumbed to drug addiction, alcoholism, and other evils.
 
Growing up in such an environment is a real challenge; do you stay clean and struggle upward or dive into the filth and accept your lot?
 
Mum always encouraged, always cared, always struggled upwards, so I did too, and it cost me, dearly. I saw the brokenness in the world, in my community, in my family, and I took it on as being my fault. I chose to care, but I had no way to deal with the burdens that come with such a choice. By age 15 I was depressed, lonely, and suicidal. The only reason I never attempted to take my own life was because of how much I knew it would hurt my mother. Instead, I thought of ways I could die like a hero, to lessen her pain.
 
But God had other plans.
 
The LORD Almighty spoke to me, and He said "Come to me. Come to me, or you won't make it through." I couldn't turn to Jesus on my own, I saw no redeeming aspect of who I was, but when he called me, then I could and did respond.
 
Yes, I was born into a broken world. I was born into a broken family. But today, at 33 years of age I look at the brokenness and I see hope. I see God at work. I see a future more bright and glorious than anything I could ever dream, and I know that I have a part to play in this.
 
I am a messenger of YHWH, the Lord God Almighty, and my message to you is Matthew 11:28-30
 
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
 
Come to Jesus, and you will find a peace in Him that you cannot find anywhere else.
 
Yours for the Good News of God's Love,
Ben Pratt
Canberra Declaration 
phone 02 4272 9100 or 0418 225 212


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