I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service… Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honour giving preference to one another; … distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.

– Romans 12 vv 1,10,13

Dear Friends,

I have been struck by the theme of Paul’s writing in Romans 12, and that He includes in what is necessary for good church life an ingredient which is often missing today – that is, the art of hospitality. He goes further than this, and says that we should be ‘given to hospitality’. We should have a ‘default’ tendency to hospitality.

I do not think it is any coincidence that the chapter commences with the exhortation to surrender our bodies to the Lord as a living sacrifice. Hospitality costs us something. Perhaps a little quiet time, or nap time, or time alone with the family – we have to share that precious time with others. Time alone with the family, or even nap time, has its place – but we are called to something which can be a great pleasure, and a great blessing, but which is costly – it involves sacrifice.

The expression ‘given to hospitality’ is strong in the original language. We could render it ‘persecuting the entertainment of strangers’ – which sounds a little odd! ‘Given to’ means ‘absolutely committed to’ – to the point of making your pursuit of this end a matter of great pressure, a hot pursuit. Hospitality – the entertainment of strangers – is vital. We all hear the usual encouragements to be hospitable, especially from church growth ‘experts’, but I wonder if we overlook the incredible benefits hospitality brings to home and family life, and to our outlook on the world.

As most readers know, I grew up near the centre of London, England from the 70s, through the 80s and into the 1990s. In this time, the city became increasingly ethnically diverse. In current times, it seems every nation and culture on earth is represented among the millions now living, working, studying or visiting this vast metropolis. For all the diversity, the area where I lived was mostly white and English, and so my schooling up to age 11 was among those who were most like myself.

All this changed when I went to Secondary School – ‘High School’ for American readers! This was in a different area, and suddenly I went from being an ethnic majority, to being in a tiny minority of about five per cent. I was bullied and racially abused on a regular basis for three years – but of course it was not recognised as ‘racism’ because I was the wrong colour for that. I struggled with feelings of anger and resentment. I could have become a hardened and bitter racist myself because of the cruelty of those other boys. But I never did.

Why not? I was not born again at this time – that came later when I was 15 and had moved to a ‘better’ school. I would like to suggest that the reason I did not allow the behaviour of some to alter me was – hospitality.

This white boy, with white parents who came from the countryside (and could have returned there for a gentler lifestyle, but chose to stay urban for the sake of the gospel), shared meals with men and women from all around the world. Rich and poor, from every continent; some with good English, some with a very poor grasp of it – many of them of course followers of Christ, but not all. On Sunday we got to meet the whole world – first at church, and then as representative parts of the world came in to our home. What room for racism and prejudice could there possibly be?

I know that there were times that we siblings childishly resented the intrusion on our family home, but we had such an example from our parents. We knew that while one ‘stranger’ might have insulted us at school – there were many more who loved us, and not just those from Africa or the Caribbean, but I remember visitors from China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea, India, and so many far flung places. The entertaining of strangers was an education more useful, more broadening, and more instructive than any politically correct attempts made by the state to introduce us to ‘diversity’!

Fast forward to the recent past in Cheltenham, and Clare and I were able to invite a German tourist back for a Sunday meal. My son, and other regular guests, were at home, and here was a man from many miles away with a strange accent and a good but sometimes flawed grasp of English – a stranger indeed. But I asked him to share his testimony after our meal, and it was wonderful to hear of what the Lord had done for him. To my delighted ears a stranger became a brother

We live in quite small communities here in South Gloucestershire, but one thing that I can almost guarantee is that from time we will be visited by strangers. Entertain them – overcome your cultural discomfort, or shyness – whatever holds you back. Entertain strangers – the Lord will bless you, and your house with you, perhaps in ways that a lifetime will never fully reveal.

What an evil and a blight is prejudice and racism – it has no place amongst the people of God. What, my friends, is the last verse of Romans 12?

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

May God so help us and bless us, that by instinct, and through love to Christ who loved us when we were strangers, we may all be truly ‘given to hospitality’.

For we walk by faith, not by sight.

– 2 Corinthians 5.7

Dear Friends,

We are all used to walking by sight – we do it every day. We drive by sight as well, and generally speaking (although a few marks on my car tell their own tale) we have great ability to estimate distances and to make decisions, whether we travel by foot, bicycle, or motor car. We look at the way ahead, we plan how fast to go, which direction to take, which obstacles to avoid, and so forth. We do all these things in an instant, with the wonderful co-working of our eyes, brains, and limbs. We don’t really ‘think’, we just ‘do’. If we had to think every process through it would take forever!

The Apostle Paul, writing to the Corinthians, is speaking spiritually. In our lives on earth, which are pictured as a journey, he says ‘we walk by faith’. Perhaps we know these words well, but a reminder never goes amiss. It follows that in the Christian life it is a great mistake to rely only upon what we can see. Paul says only a few lines before: ‘For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.’

So when you wake up on Monday morning and all you can ‘see’ is another week of school, or work, or ill-health, or family problems, remember, it is what you cannot see that matters. When you come to chapel and you are discouraged because your eyes tell you that there are less here than there were in former days, then be reminded to walk by faith. Don’t take encouragement from what you can see. Take it from what you know. Take it from whom you know. We are in the midst of a spiritual battle between the Lord of Glory and His enemies. We know who He is, and we know that He will be victorious because of who He is, and what He has done for needy sinners.

You see empty pews? Your eyes are not deceiving you – we have a few of those. But don’t walk the Christian life based on such sight. Only a handful of years ago, you may remember that there were full pews. But how do you know that anything more was happening then than is happening now? Full pews don’t mean spiritual growth, or conversions to Christ. Full pews don’t equal blessing, although they may result from it!

Brothers and Sisters, let us walk, together, by faith. We know our King, Who will win the battle and have all things underneath His feet. Be encouraged – trust Him, place your faith in Him, exercise this faith in prayer and faithful service, and the pathway ahead will surely emerge, step-by-step, day-by-day, according to our need, until our faith gives way to perfect sight.

Jesus said: Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!

– John 4:35

Dear Friends,

It seems that the year is gathering pace, and our nonexistent Summer is going to give way to Autumn before long. Harvest season is well underway, and we will be especially remembering and giving thanks for Harvest before the end of the month. It is always good to give thanks to the Lord for all His blessings to us.

Modern life is quite divorced from the realities of farming and hard labour in order to provide food. Most of today’s younger generation know nothing of agricultural work, and ‘food’ is just something we buy in packets from the supermarket. Here at Morton, we have the privilege to meet in the midst of fields, and to see farmers at work – especially our friend and neighbour, Tim.

We do well to remember that we should not presume on times and seasons – but that all these things continue by God’s grace and favour. This year’s bad weather – drought followed by untimely deluge -  should keep us from presuming too far!

Our cover art is our late brother Spencer’s work, and our cover verse is our Saviour’s words. We can see the crops ready for gathering in the painting. As our Saviour stood in Samaria, He may have seen crops for harvest, but He referred in His words to many of the Samaritans being saved because of the testimony of the woman He met at the well. He taught the disciples that they had been sent to reap what they had not sown (read the full account in John 4 v5-42).

We long to see people being saved in our community, and so we are seeking to sow gospel seed whenever we can in outreach work – but we must not be discouraged when we don’t see results from our own specific actions. Seed has been sown over many years, by many people, here and elsewhere. God is working His purposes out, and the Harvest is ready for gathering – we are to engage in sowing and reaping.

Don’t expect to see something in a year or two. Expect to see something now. God is answering prayers among us, and He is blessing our witness. Please come and join in the labour of reaching out – opportunities exist for everyone to serve the Lord – could you distribute invitations to a few streets in town? Could you come and support the bookstall even for an hour? Could you dedicate time to prayer? Will we really take God at His word? Do we really care about our lost community?

Lift up your eyes. You might be surprised at what you see!

Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

– Matthew 11.28

Dear Friends,

The summer has belatedly arrived, and the nation’s thoughts turn to the ‘great escape’. Soon, my family will be headed down the M5, hoping to have an enjoyable break. But why do we holiday? The essential reason is for ‘rest’.

All human beings need to rest, whether daily as we go to sleep, weekly as we take time away from work and study for worship and family time, or more infrequently when we ‘get away’ from our regular surroundings. Rest is very important, and the Lord God modeled this for all of us when he ‘rested’ on the seventh day at the beginning of the world. However different believers interpret the fourth commandment, (about the Sabbath day), all agree that the principle of Sabbath – or, literally, ‘rest’, is very important.

I was once given a piece of advice about over-work. A friend said ‘If you don’t Sabbath, the Lord will Sabbath you!’. He meant (in a light-hearted way) that we should take due care to give our bodies the rest that they need, or the Lord would force us out of our hectic routine and make us rest. We should not ignore rest. It is not unspiritual to be tired, or to need refreshment. We should not be ashamed of taking a holiday – but we should not live our whole life as though it is a holiday. This world is not our eternal home – we’re just passing through.

Hard work often makes rest sweeter. We might have employment or study to pour our effort into and that is excellent if we do it ‘as unto the Lord’. But what do we do with our leisure hours in general? Is any time (apart from an hour on Sundays) to be given to our God who has given us eternal rest in Christ Jesus?

I trust that everyone reading this has come to Christ for rest, and trusted in Him for eternal life – if not, then that is your first priority. But if you head into this holiday season as a follower of the Lord Jesus, then pause as you relax to evaluate your life. Are you truly living to the glory of God as you work and rest?

Yours, in Jesus Christ

Jonathan Hunt

Come out from among them and be separate, says the LORD. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you

– 2 Corinthians 6.17

Dear Friends,

With a somewhat heavy heart I must write to you regarding separation from error. I have a heavy heart because I know that these are matters which can cause upset and contention. But these are matters which we must be very clear about.

From time to time I receive invitations to join our church with various organisations or events. One such well-meaning invitation was to an event called ‘Arise Bristol’.  We understand that over 5,000 people gathered at Ashton Gate Stadium for a time of prayer, worship and so forth. We surely rejoice in one sense, that so many people cared enough about their faith to come together.

This event saw many churches in the area joining together. Surely it is mean-spirited to raise any objection to so many people who seem to long for God’s blessing, gathering together? But that is not the case. In order to foster this ‘unity’, many simple truths of the Word of God are ignored. We see the Roman Catholic church simply accepted as equal to any other church. We see outright liberal denominations given the same courtesy. What foolishness can have seized us if we think that God will be pleased to bless those of his children who are ‘unequally yoked together’  (2 Cor 6) with those who deny the clear teaching of His Word?

In this one event were people who deny the clear and vital doctrine of justification by faith alone, and believe that the Pope is the Head of the Church, rather than Jesus Christ. They were joined by others who deny the Trinity. There were yet more there who teach the appalling ‘health and wealth prosperity gospel’. There were many there who deny the Bible’s clear teaching on the respective roles of men and women, particularly relating to the ministry. We also know that amongst the churches represented there were those who deny the plain teaching of the scripture relating to human sexuality. Also disturbing is the prominence given to so-called ‘Prophetic Words over Bristol’, but that is a matter needing more attention than a few lines.

What does Almighty God think of all this confusion? Or is ‘confusion’ too soft a word to use? Are we not seeing outright disobedience to the Lord? We ask with the Apostle Paul ‘What fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness?’

We have no business joining ourselves with false teachers and deniers of the plain truth of the Bible. We rejoice to join with and pray for churches of ‘like faith’, such as our friends at Quedgeley Baptist Church, and their bold desire to plant in Kingsway, or such as our friends at Grace Church Westerleigh, and their hoped-for expansion in Yate. There are many other Bible-believing churches we could mention also.

But can we join ourselves with ‘Churches Together in Thornbury’ or ‘Arise Bristol’? No matter how many sincere believers may be found in those groupings – we cannot! It is disobedient to the Word of God to join with, or to identify with, those who contradict Scripture.

We will certainly be mocked and scorned for such a stance on these issues. We will be called ‘divisive’ and ‘isolationist’ or ‘out-of-touch’. Some may say that we are not ‘open to the Spirit’. I do wonder what spirit they are speaking of, who seems to lead them in paths which are contrary to the revealed will of God. We have the Holy Spirit to lead us and guide us in our understanding of Scripture – which is the final, authoritative, Word of God, and we are genuinely ‘open’ to every word of it!

Some may cry ‘but what of our Saviour’s prayer in John 17, that Christians all may be one?’. Our response is simple: What of it? Do you think that our Saviour’s prayer is unanswered and that somehow we have to run after a false unity in order to bring his wishes to pass, as though he was a dead man who wrote something in a will? He is the risen and living Lord! Of course His prayer was, and is, answered. His true people are one, at all times, and this unity is frequently demonstrated in many, many ways. It cannot be demonstrated by the formal joining together of denominations and para-church organisations filled with people who make a big deal out of these few words of Christ, and ignore many, many more which they dislike. The whole of the scriptures are the words of Christ (red-letter Bibles are quite misleading in this respect).

Let us be quite clear about where we stand. We do not for one moment doubt the sincerity of many who seek unity. We do not doubt that many are born-again Christians. We do not claim to have everything right or to be the only church in our area. That would be arrogance on a grand scale, and a terrible error.

But we have a great and solemn responsibility to be faithful, and to ‘contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints’ (Jude 1.3). Let us not foolishly imagine that the Lord’s work will be furthered by compromise with those who reject God’s standards. Although we may see ‘success’ in the eyes of this world, we surely cannot expect any blessing, or true spiritual success, if we do so.

Do we care for the young people amongst us? Will we guard and protect them from error? Do we really care for our community, lost and without Christ? If we do, then we will hold to the ‘old paths’, and the truth of God’s Word, without compromise, whatever the cost. It is unchanging truth which our lost community needs! This is not a question of the way we worship, or the version of the Bible we use. Neither is it about whether we wear smart clothes on a Sunday or whether we have chairs or pews in the chapel. The only question is whether we will hold fast to the clear teaching of the Word of God, and stand clear of those who refuse to do so.

This is not a comfortable topic, and doubtless some will tell us that none of this matters. Let us be blunt – it matters to the Lord. He assures us that if we are willing to come out, and be separate – ‘I will receive you’.  And that promise is all we need.