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Growing up I had no interest in God, Jesus, or anything Scriptural. I trained as a nurse and enjoyed my days off going to dancing, the cinema, etc. Then in 1976 I was invited to church. When I got there I enjoyed the service, and even though the sermons didn’t mean much to me, I kept going on Sunday nights. I didn't know then that the Lord had His hand in it, and it was Him who kept drawing me back.
Then one night the minister spoke on Revelation 3: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me." Something happened to me. I felt as though my eyes and mind had been opened to what God was saying, and it was only then that I realised what a sad sinner I was, and if anyone needed a Saviour it was me. I also realised how deep in sin I was. A weight was lifted from me that I never even knew was there, and that was when He called me to be His.
I took my children with me, was baptised, and wanted my family to grow up knowing the Lord in their lives. The years passed, and I settled into what I can now see as ‘routine religion’, going along on a Sunday but never really growing in my faith. Then in 1999 I went through a really bad time in my life. I stopped going to church, never read the Bible, or prayed. Little did I know then that the Lord was not giving up on me. He had to let me go down to make me realise how much I needed Him. Then in 2005 my son Jimmy was going to the Airdrie RP church, and he asked me to go along, so I went, and there I found a new understanding to the Scriptures that I never had before. Now my heart has truly been opened to God’s love and faithfulness to me, and every day I praise His name and thank Jesus for Calvary and what He did for a sinner like me.
If you are reading this, don't wait to reach out to God, come and hear how God can change your life. It has not always been easy, but it has always been a blessing. Burdens truly are lifted at Calvary, and believe me, it is the only way to peace and joy. PRAISE GOD.
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If you had asked me three years ago if I was a Christian, I would have told you with all sincerity, yes. I was raised in a home where my mother was a Christian, and as a child I attended church with her and my sisters up until I was a teenager, then friends and my social life became more important, but God understood that, right? I even went along occasionally as an adult, and after I got married and had my two daughters I took them to church as well. Okay, maybe I didn't read my Bible every day and maybe I only prayed when I needed something, but I believed in God and was generally a good person, so I was okay. And I could quite happily have gone through my life believing that, but God had other plans.
About three years ago, my brother-in-law was reading The Da Vinci Code book and was really taken in by it all. We were talking one day, and he asked me if I wanted to visit Rosslyn Chapel with him, which features in that book. I didn't know a great deal about the place, but I had a look at the website and it looked quite interesting, and I enjoyed visiting castles and historical places, so I agreed to go along with him. So on Wednesday, 17th August 2005, we went to Rosslyn Chapel, taking my mother along as well as it was a beautiful, sunny day. When we were there we had the usual guided tour, and the guide explained the history of the place and how it was still a working church, and afterwards we split up and had a wander around ourselves. After a while I sat alone in one of the pews to look up at the ornately carved stars in the ceiling. And it was at this point God changed my life. Sitting a few rows in front of me was a young man who had got down on his knees and was praying fervently, oblivious to the tourists around about him, and as I sat and watched him praying, a strange feeling of fear came upon me. It wasn't panic, but it was a deep, worrying concern about my relationship with God. Here was a man with a personal relationship with God, praying publicly, totally unconcerned about anyone around him, and I thought to myself, why am I not like that. Maybe the little understanding I had with God wasn't enough? So I walked outside to where my Mum was sitting enjoying the sun and had a chat to her. I didn't go into too much detail, but I explained how I was feeling and that I needed to get back to church. I went home that day and set about looking at a few church websites. After a while I came across the website for Airdrie Reformed Presbyterian Church, and I just knew that was where I had to go. Straight away I emailed the minister, Andrew, for the times of the services as I had an urgency in me, which now looking back at it, it makes sense. God was making sure I was at the service that next Sunday because that day when I walked in with my two daughters for the first time, the minister was beginning a series of sermons on Hell. I know that it is not the most pleasant of subjects, but God's timing is always perfect, and I left that building under no illusion as to my situation as a sinner, my need of a Saviour, and the terrible fate that awaited me if I did not get myself right with God. That night that sermon was exactly what I needed to hear, no messing about, just the plain truth. I saw clearly how wrong I was before.
God changed my life that day in Rosslyn chapel, it wasn't an amazing flash of light, Damascus road conversion, but He definitely grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and gave me a shake. And it was not just my life he changed but my whole family's. By His grace alongside my daughters, I now have my wife, my mother, and brother all regularly attending worship on a Sunday. The love and fellowship we have received from His people from the moment we set foot into that church building in North Bridge Street and the plain, true, Biblical preaching we receive, is a testament to the amazing work that God is doing there, because in there you will find ordinary people worshipping an extraordinary God.
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I would like to take this opportunity to share with you how my life has been changed by God and to challenge you, if you are not a Christian, to come and hear the gospel as I once did, and have your life changed forever.
About three years ago, I was living what I thought to be a fairly normal life, I had a good job, a loving partner and a beautiful baby daughter. Life couldn’t get much better, or could it? As much as I tried to convince myself that this was as good as life gets, I always felt that there was something missing.
Then one day Lorna said to me that we had been invited to the week of special services at our local church and suggested that we should go along. I reluctantly agreed to go along just to see what it was all about. Little did I know that what I would hear that night would change my life forever. That night I heard how God sent his only Son to die on the cross, so that we can spend an eternity in heaven with God. I know that the sermon consisted of much more than this, but this was the message that struck home to me. What an amazing sacrifice this was. Since then, that something that I felt was missing in my life has been filled with a deep desire to get to know God better, to walk in the ways of Christ, and to worship Him and give testimony to Him whenever I can.
The Christian life is not easy, but very worthwhile. Your life changes as you develop more in Christian living, from how you speak, the friends you have, what you may watch on television, and how you spend your free time. Each new step you take fulfils that missing part in your life, and that brings glory to God, which in return gets you closer to our Creator. Who would not want to enjoy a better life, when you understand what awaits you in hell?
God has blessed me in so many different ways. Many different things have happened to me in my life since then. Even when times are difficult, and there seems to to be no way out, God always has the answer. He always reveals His purposes to us and in His own time. When I feel low or there is a problem in my life, I know that I can turn to God, and He will always be there. He alone is the one constant in my life.
So, if you are reading this and thinking, “There’s something missing from my life,” I would encourage you to take up the challenge and come to hear the gospel being preached. You never know, you might just hear something that could begin a new chapter in your life and secure your eternity in heaven.
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I have always believed in God, and as a child, I attended church with my mum and went to Sunday School. As I got older, I floated in and out of church, attending one week, missing the next. I was also working in a nursing home at the time, so working Sundays was expected of me. I believed I was a ‘good’ person, God would know this, so I’d be all right. Most of my friends and family did not attend church, and at that time, I suppose they were more important to me than God was. The Sunday mornings when I was not working, became an excuse for a long lie.
In my early twenties, I decided to go back to church, attending on a Sunday morning, but looking back, I was not really listening to God’s Word or living a Christian life. I lived my life the way I wanted to live it. Sitting in church every Sunday did not make me a Christian, and I eventually stopped going to church.
I had no contact with any church at all until last May. My mum asked me along to the Reformed Presbyterian Church during the mission week. I felt a bit unsure. I had not stepped into a church for almost ten years.
Within this time I had married and had a three month old son, Jamie. I had no one to watch Jamie for me that evening, but my mum reassured me that it would be fine to bring Jamie along to the service. I was a bit anxious he would cry through the service, and I was under the impression this would be a major problem! (Thankfully, he didn’t cry once.)
I enjoyed the sermon that night, and everyone at church that evening was so friendly, putting me at ease, but it was another couple of weeks before I returned. I started attending the morning services with my son and my mum. It seemed the words preached by Andrew from the Bible were aimed at me - I now realised being a ‘good’ person was not enough.
This was the start of my life beginning to change. I began attending both morning and evening services, eager to understand more of who God is. This led to attending the Sunday morning prayer meeting. I am also partaking in a Bible study which is really encouraging me to read the Bible and understand the Word of God.
By listening to the Word of God, I’ve realised the consequences of Adam and Eve disobeying God in the garden of Eden. We are all born dead in sin. Christ died on the cross at Calvary, so we could get to Heaven. He did this because He loves us. We have to confess our sins and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
If someone had told me a year ago I’d be attending church twice on a Sunday, attending the prayer meeting, and a Bible study, I would not have believed them. Not all my friends and family understand my faith, but thankfully God is working in my heart, and I now realise God is more important than what other people think of me.
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Throughout most of my adult life my contact with ‘church’ and Christians had been fairly sporadic at best. Yes, I attended church sometimes but not because I had any real sense of needing to, it was more just a case of going along for the sake of it. The truth is that I was like a lot of people who use reasons like ‘pressure of work’ and ‘having to bring up a family’ as excuses for not going to church. Looking back, I can now see that the Holy Spirit had not been at work in my life at that time.
Then when I retired from my job working in the Strathclyde police service, I started tracing my family history. During this research I discovered that my mother's side of the family were descended from a family called ‘Blackwood’ who came from Fenwick in Ayrshire. It was when I was working on this part of my family line that I found out about James Blackwood. The thing that intrigued me when reading about James was the fact that he had been involved in a battle that had occurred at a place called Rullion Green, in the Pentland Hills just south of Edinburgh on the 28th November 1666. As I read more I found out that this battle had taken place between a group of Covenanters and a company of the King's dragoons. The Covenanters, who had gone to Edinburgh to protest about the heavy fines they were having to pay for their refusal to go to churches where the King's prayer book was being used, were on their way home when they had been attacked by Sir Tam Dalzell and his troops. Although he had survived the skirmish itself, James had been captured and was taken as a prisoner to Irvine where he was then hanged on 31st December 1666.
The thing that struck me as I read about this distant relative of mine was how his faith had affected his life. James could probably have saved his life. If he had admitted that what he had done was wrong and taken an oath saying that the King had the right to rule over every aspect of people’s lives in Scotland: social, cultural, and religious, then he would most likely have been spared his life. But he didn’t because he really believed in Jesus Christ and preferred to face eternity with Him.
This really spoke to me. So I got onto the internet and ended up emailing a minister in the Western Isles who then put me in contact with Andrew, who replied immediately and invited me to come to church. I decided that I would, and that decision has made a big difference to my life, not just for now but for all eternity.
Being a Christian has meant that I have found a new purpose in my life, and I would ask you to come along and meet a group of people, who really do love the Lord Jesus and one another.
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Throughout childhood and into my late teens I regularly attended church and progressed my way through the Girl’s Brigade. We were taught to respect our parents and our elders, we were encouraged to help one another and “do unto others as you would have others do unto you” - generally to be good people or we’d go to Hell. Oh, and that Jesus was a real person who suffered horrifically before He died on a cross at Calvary; consequentially, we would be permitted into Heaven.
After getting a full-time job, I bought my own flat in Motherwell. I visited a couple of local churches, but neither of them were very friendly or welcoming, I felt very uneasy and uncomfortable so I never returned. I still “said my prayers” but didn’t attend worship.
For most of my adult life I felt as though I was waiting for my life to begin. Obviously, I knew that what I experienced everyday was real, but I never felt that I was actually living. Everyday, I would go through the motions; getting up, going to work, coming home, and going to bed. That was it!
I was waiting for IT to happen, before my life would actually begin: When I lost weight I’d be happy and my life would start, or I’d meet Mr. Right and we would settle down and my life would start, or once I had built up my savings and had financial security, my life would start.
I couldn’t accept that THIS was ‘my lot’. I always felt there was ‘something missing’. I was unhappy and had no self esteem. I was very withdrawn and have been told that I gave off a very pessimistic, defeatist attitude.
Then about six years ago I became very ill and spent some time in hospital. While there, I lost a lot of weight. I looked in the mirror and was pleased with this new reflection, but mentally nothing had changed. I was still waiting on this ‘life changing event’.
Some time after my discharge from hospital I met my partner, Bobby. I was so happy that I’d met this kind person, a real gentleman who wanted us to share our lives together. Again, I thought THIS is what I had been waiting for, two of my boxes had now been ticked. I was happy, I had more confidence, things weren’t so black anymore. Why was I not content?
Two years later I was pregnant. I thought “this is IT”, when I’m a mum I’ll be complete. I had an horrendous pregnancy and our baby had to be delivered by caesarean section 6 weeks prematurely. I never prayed so much or so hard. We were blessed with a baby girl, Bobbie Eli. I knew it wasn’t luck, it was God’s providence.
Bobby and I discussed my returning to church and taking the wee one with me. Whilst Bobby supported me in every way he could, I was very slow in action because of my previous experiences with the other churches I had visited. Bobby encouraged me to at least join with the Mums and Tots in “the church at the end of the road”, so, one Friday morning, in January 2005, I was passing the church gates and plucked up the courage to enter. I was greeted by some very friendly, considerate ‘mums’. I got talking to one of the ladies, Dorothy, and asked her about the church and its beliefs. She took time to explain to me the difference between the Reformed Presbyterian Church and the Church of Scotland. Dorothy then invited me to attend worship with her the following Sunday. I was delighted and duly accepted.
I already knew all about God and Jesus Christ and His good works - or so I thought! After attending only a couple of services at the Reformed Presbyterian Church, I found my beliefs about God being seriously challenged. As each chapter of the Bible was read, and then explained, it became real to me. I continued to attend the worship services and the more I heard, the more I wanted to know. So I joined one of the church’s Bible study groups and quickly got to know some of the people in the congregation.
Then in April 2005, the “Power to Change your Life” mission was held. Each evening I listened carefully while the passage from the Bible was read and then preached on, this time making me realise why we live and, more significantly, why we die. It revealed what it is that God has planned for us, and how He wants us to live our lives. On the fourth evening of the mission, we learned what we had to do to get to Heaven - confess our sins and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. We heard about the events leading up to and including Christ’s death on the cross at Calvary - the feeling I experienced was of sheer subservience and utter contrition. I left church crying that evening. I returned the following evening for the last sermon of the mission. Maybe I should have been embarrassed at my being upset the previous evening, maybe I should have tried to explain my tears away, but I didn’t, I sat in the pew, bowed my head and prayed that God would forgive me, I begged Him for mercy.
I believe that until then the Holy Spirit had been working in my life, opening my ears to hear and my mind to receive the truth, but it was at that moment, during the mission, that He renewed my heart and mind and I was born again in Christ Jesus. My life truly began!
Ever since then, from the minute I open my eyes in the morning I feel that contentment I longed for. Before even getting out of bed, I give thanks to God and rejoice that Jesus Christ loves me. He loved me enough to endure the trials, the tribulation, and the punishment that I justly deserve for my sins. Was that not enough? He transferred His righteousness on to me so that I could be made just in God’s sight. He laid down his life for me, so that when I pass from this life to the next, He will take me to a place by His side and I will be there with Him for all eternity.
That’s not to say that my life is without struggle and trial, yet my sense of fulfilment and contentment remains. If ever that black cloud starts to roll up I remind myself of something Pastor Quigley said one Sunday in one of his sermons - “stop feeling sorry for yourself, God loves you. What more do you want!”
On Sunday, 4th June, I had the privilege and joy of becoming a member of the church and am looking forward to the rest of my new life with God and His people.
Susan McBirney
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I remember reading the story of the young lawyer who sat at his desk and had this conversation with himself.
“What will I do when I finish my apprenticeship?” “Well, I will start out on my own business,” was his answer.
“And what after that?” “Well, I will go on to make lots of money.”
“What then?” “Then I will retire and take life easy.”
“But what then?” “Well, I suppose eventually I will die.”
“And what then?”
It was at this point that the young lawyer realised that there was something more to life. That young lawyer stopped in his tracks and saw that the main purpose in life was not self-satisfaction but finding a life that was full of purpose. That same day the young man trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ and went on to be one of the greatest lawyers in America. Now he did eventually go on to be rich and enjoy all the good things in life, but the purpose in his life changed from pleasing himself to pleasing God and doing His will.
I suppose that the story of the young lawyer rings bells with many of us, me included. I had the ambition to get on well in life, to do well, to be prosperous, but on my terms. I was going to do this on my own and by my own strength, and I suppose that when it eventually worked out that way, I thought to myself, “I have made it!” Made what? Yes, I had a profession. Had a good salary. Could afford a nice house. But what was the purpose of all this? Merely to accumulate wealth and knowledge or was there something more to life than that?
Even with all these things, there was something lacking. What was lacking was understanding the purpose behind having them all. Then I realised that all I had, had been given to me by God. He had, even through my pride and ego, been loving and caring to me.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want me to have these things, but what he did want was for me to use the gifts he had given me in the first place, for his divine purposes. It was only when I got that into focus that I then came to know God in a real powerful way. God has promised, “Do it my way, and you shall be happy”. Are you happy today leading a purposeful life for the Lord Jesus Christ, or are you like the young lawyer? Well, remember the final question you must ask of yourself, “After death - what then?” God does have a purpose for your life.
Ian Shaw
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I was asked to write an article for this year’s booklet, and I have to say I was nervous. What could I say that would be of interest to you? What would make you stop and think about where your life is heading? After all, I don’t know anything about you, about the suffering, pain, and grief in your life, but I can tell you about my life and what I have found to be true.
As a child I had to struggle with losing my sight, then have the joy of regaining it for a while, only to go through the heartbreak of having to live with a severe corneal rejection process which may eventually result in me losing my sight completely. As a young woman of 22, I had to go through the experience of having a very close friend die in my arms. And for the past fifteen years I have been living each day of my life with a debilitating neurological condition that the doctors don’t understand and for which there seems to be no cure.
When I tell you that Jesus has made a real difference in my life, that he has given me purpose, believe it! The first thing he did was to help me understand why there is suffering in the world. The plain truth is that we all suffer because we are descended from Adam and Eve, and when they rebelled against God in the Garden of Eden it had consequences for us all. That may seem unfair, but that’s the way it is, and on our own there’s nothing you or I can do about it. The second and even more amazing thing Jesus did for me was to open my eyes to see who he really is and what he did when he came to earth. The fact that he didn’t carry the ancestral genes of Adam and Eve meant that he shouldn’t have suffered, and yet how he suffered! He was flogged, nailed on the cross, and had the wrath of God poured out on him. Why? So that those who believe in him would not experience God’s wrath but live for eternity!
My purpose in life is easy - to tell you who Jesus is and the purpose in life he can give you! “I tell you the truth, 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.” John 5 verse 24.
Will you think about it?
Angie Robertson
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Contentment. I sometimes think it’s the most elusive thing in the world. We all want something don’t we? A better job, a boyfriend, a girlfriend, more money, a child, better health. Even when things in our life are going well, we tend to still think about that one thing we just don’t have. Sometimes it seems that the very things we want are the things other people take for granted. Maybe you think you are content, but ask yourself, when was the last time you moaned about the rain or the roadworks or the price of petrol. See, we always think life could be just that wee bit better.
I know I definitely have struggled with being content and at peace. You know that old saying, “Is the glass half-full or half-empty?” I tend not just to think that it is half-empty, but I also worry about it being knocked over. And yet, I have plenty of good things in my life. I was raised in a loving, close-knit family, I have lots of friends, a good education, good health, and I love my job. But the thing that makes me able to be content is that I know that Jesus Christ loves me. When I look back on my life I honestly can’t remember a time when I didn’t believe that God exists, that He is holy and perfect, and that I am not perfect, not even close. Even as a little girl, I understood that my sins meant I couldn’t go to Heaven, but I also knew the good news that Jesus Christ took my place, paid for what I did wrong, and His perfect life was chalked up to my account. Why did he do all this for me? Not because of anything I did, but just because he loves me. Christ’s love for me gave me a purpose in life - it made me want to love him back.
Knowing Christ loves you, gives you a rock-solid stability in your life that means that no matter what happens, you’re okay. It gives you contentment. “But hold on here”, you may be thinking, “you’ve described a pretty idyllic existence. What do you really know about being content when times are tough?” I know that for a lot of folk reading this, their lives have been full of much harder things than anything I’ve ever had to deal with. But for me, the truths I always believed about Christ’s love for me really were put to the test when my mum, whom I loved very much, fought a losing battle with cancer. How can you possibly be content in a situation like that? It’s not easy, but it is simple. See, contentment doesn’t come from things like a nice flat or a new car. It doesn’t come from situations like a better job or better health; it doesn’t even come from people that you love. These things change all the time. Knowing Jesus Christ and his love gives you a purpose, a peace, a stability, a contentment that nothing can change. Why? Because it’s based not on what you do or what you have or what other people think of you - it’s based on him loving you so much he went to the cross for you. The really great thing is that you can spend the rest of your life loving him back.
Beth Bogue
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I was brought up in a non-Christian home, and although my mother was a Roman Catholic, she had stopped attending chapel after her marriage. But to give her her due, she did what she thought was right by having me and my three brothers baptised into the Catholic Church, and although I was not a pupil at a Catholic school, she saw to it that I took religious instructions and took first communion at about 10 years old.
That was my total religious involvement at that time.
It wasn’t till I was in my mid-thirties that the issue of religion came up, and this was through walking at lunch times with a workmate who attended the Church of Scotland, and was quite involved with the Sunday School and BB’s, and who kept telling me that I should start going to church and get involved.
Although my wife, Janette, went to church, I never dreamt of asking her for her Bible to read, but after a while, this workmate gave me a Bible. I started to read it as you would any book, from page one, but found it difficult to understand, so I soon stopped.
All this time there was no change in my outlook to life - it was a case of eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die, which I suppose is the philosophy of most folk today. I would, however, drop Janette off at church and pick her up some Sundays but would never venture in myself. One time I experienced an unexplainable urge to go too. I was up early the next Sunday morning expecting to go, but for whatever reason, Janette wasn’t going that particular Sunday.
The next Sunday I was up again determined to accompany Janette to church. That was the start of my Christian involvement, and for the next three weeks it was as if there was only the minister and me in the church, because everything he said seemed to be directed at me.
On reflection I would say that it was at this time God started his work in me.
As I attended church regularly, read my Bible and other Christian books, together with the encouragement of Janette, my understanding of who God is and what he has done for us in his Son Jesus Christ grew, and my faith deepened.
Through coming to know God, my life has changed in so many ways. It now has true purpose and direction because of Jesus.
The main purpose of my life now is to live in obedience to God in gratitude for the way he has changed the direction of my life from being under his anger and punishment because of my sins, to now enjoying his love and security in the hope of heaven through forgiveness in the Lord Jesus Christ.
George Rodger
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I was brought up in Glasgow and on leaving school I served an engineering apprenticeship on the Clydeside. Then at the age of 21, I joined the Merchant navy and sailed around the world for about 7 years. Towards the end of this time I met my wife, a young Airdrie woman from a Christian family. We were married in the church where she had been a regular attender with her family since childhood. Although I had never been to church before, it seemed natural to me that I too should begin attending church.
During the next 17 years attending church my experiences were that Christians were nice people and that church services varied; from being interesting, hard to understand, and sometimes quite challenging in terms of how I should live my life. However, what I heard about needing to become a Christian didn’t apply to me because I was a good man, a good husband, and success, money, and power were all that really mattered in life. God, if he existed, was supposed to be a loving God. I had done many wrong things in my life, but I still considered myself to be a good man and everybody liked me (so I thought). How could God not love me, and if there was a heaven, he would surely let me in.
Then one day the Bible, which I usually found very difficult to understand, drew me up sharply. Romans chapter 3 verses 23 and 24 said, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Suddenly the fact that I had committed what the Bible called sins became real to me. I prayed, and in my mind’s eye, I saw Jesus on the cross dying, but it was for me. I asked his forgiveness and believed in him as my Saviour and Lord.
Now my life has completely changed in so many wonderful ways. Now the Bible is alive to me and God’s Holy Spirit testifies to me that it is true and that it contains many precious promises for my life.
Looking back this change came about by my going to church and hearing God’s Word faithfully proclaimed.
Sam Bell
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"So what brought you over from America to Airdrie?" I hear this question almost every day as I go about my life. At work, in a taxi, at the grocery store, the petrol station, the garage, the chip shop…anywhere I go there is bound to be someone who notices my un-Airdrie accent and tries to place it.
Truth be told, it's a tough question to answer. Few people, when they ask this question, are expecting an answer that says, "God changed my life." But that is the truth of it - and the change that He made has had amazing results.
I grew up in Arizona, which most people know is desert (with sunshine and blue skies every day!). I often get asked, "Why in the world would you want to leave America to come to Airdrie?" It's not a big city like Glasgow - it doesn't have beaches and golf courses like St. Andrew's - what's so special about Airdrie?
The thing that I found to be special about Airdrie is the Airdrie RP Church, and the people in it. And the reason I found this church and these people to be special is because of how Jesus Christ works in their lives. When I first came to Airdrie, I was on a mission team that was coming to help work with the church. I thought I was going to make a difference to the church - but the truth is the church made a difference to me. The people in it were so friendly, and so loving - and they wanted to honour God in everything they did. That impressed me.
When I went back to America after working on that mission team, something had changed in my life. All my life I had known God, had read my Bible and gone to church. I believed that He was part of my life. But now I wanted to take a step forward, a big step that required that I trust Him with all of my life.
So I did. I left my job, my family, and my friends, and came to Airdrie. In time God has given me a new job, a truly loving church family, and new friends. It is a change in my life I will thank him for the rest of my life.
Karen Reyburn
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Missionary work in a church in Phoenix, Arizona?!? Don’t be daft!”
I had grown up like many other lads knocking about the streets. Playing football and going to the BB was the nearest I’d been to church. My teenage years were spent going my own way, following my mates, and it wasn’t until I got married and my wife Dorothy started taking our first child to church that God started coming into the picture.
Dorothy started nipping my head about what God was doing in her life and continually telling me that I should go to church. I gave her many arguments and excuses about why I shouldn’t or wouldn’t go. At last she stopped constantly telling me, dropping just the odd wee comment.
Our second child was born, and Dorothy was still getting up on a Sunday and taking the kids to church. I wanted the kids to go to church, but that stuff wasn’t for me. Then doubts came into my head. Wasn’t that a bit hypocritical - my kids had to go, but not me. What message was that sending to them? So, I went to the evening service now and then - it was only an hour out of my Sunday. Some time later Andrew asked if I would like to do a Bible study one hour a week with him. Ok, I’d do it - I was in control, and I could stop any time I wanted.
Six years later, I was still doing the Bible study, and while I was still putting up a lot of obstacles, things were changing in my life. My attitude to life was changing. My self-centred approach to everything was going. Was God real? I wanted to know more. I started going to Church in the morning and evening to hear about God. My business partner and a friend who worked for me started to go to the Church as well.
Then this same friend who worked with me took ill and was due to go into hospital on a Sunday afternoon at 4.30pm. I was at the church that morning but during the service I couldn’t listen. I kept hearing someone telling me I had to go and talk to my friend before he went into hospital. After the service I went to straight to see him. Those were the last hours I spoke to him - he never came out of hospital. Looking back I now have no doubt that it was God working in my heart that day.
My search for God in my life had now begun for real. Going to church and hearing God’s words explained from the Bible helped me, and it was at this time that I would say I actually became a Christian.
Since then I have continued to grow in my Christian life by hearing God’s Word preached in the church and through doing Bible studies with other people in the church.
How then did I come to be on a mission trip to Phoenix, Arizona? One of the people whom God has brought to our church mentioned to me last summer that her home church in Phoenix was having a mission team. So I decided that since we have received a lot of help from mission teams, I could go there and help put something back into the church. So this January I went out to Phoenix for ten days to help the church there tell the people in their community about the Lord Jesus.
Don’t spend years in the darkness saying I’ll think about God tomorrow. We don’t know the time we have. Come to God today and don’t look back. It’s not easy saying you’re a Christian to your friends and workmates, but you don’t do it on your own, it’s God who’ll change you and give you a new life.
Charles Muir
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Sixty-five years is a long time to have been attending a church, but that is the length of time, give or take a few months, that I have been part of the congregation of Airdrie R.P. Church in one way or another.
From the day I was carried in as a baby to be baptised, through the years, till I brought my own babies to be baptised, right until the present, I have been attending this church. It has played an important part in all the stages of my life.
As a child I really enjoyed being taught in Sabbath school and then in Bible class. I learned so much of God's Word and of Jesus Christ as our Saviour that by the time I was accepted into the church as a member I felt strong in my Christian faith and in my commitment to the church. But now, looking back I wonder if I had the right to consider myself a Christian. Of course I attended worship services, gave to the church, enjoyed the fellowship of other members, and felt truly at ease being part of this church. But was sitting every Sunday in the pew all it took to be a Christian? Was being at ease a way of growing as a Christian? Was every part of my life pleasing to God?
It was not until around ten years ago that I gradually started to feel that the words of our new young minister, as he preached from the Bible, had a special significance just for me. When I mentioned this to Andrew he said, "God was speaking to you then." And I had been too lacking in understanding to grasp this! That was a turning point in my life, the start of a gradual change as I began to grow as a Christian. Instead of the church being an important but compartmentalised part of my life, growing in faith became the focus.
As a result, regular study of the Bible has become a true pleasure for me, something I look forward to, especially in the company of others when we grow in knowledge and encourage each other to put God first in our lives.
Another change for me has been that as my faith grows so does the certainty that I can put my trust in our all-powerful, creator God. As I develop the habit of prayer I can be sure that, whatever my concerns about family, about health, about anything at all, God will hear and will deal with these worries in his own way, in His own time.
I thank God that He has taken this burden from me so often.
Of course, life does not run smoothly, and I realise that I cannot expect the Christian life to be untouched by trouble, but I also know that God’s grace is truly amazing, and He doesn't deal with us in the way we deserve. I know that I have a long way to go in my growth as a follower of Christ but through prayer and God's word I will find comfort and strength. After all, Christ told us to love God and to love one another. What a simple way to find real joy!
Anne Bruce
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