"The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.  The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight." - Mark 1:1-3

    As one year draws to a close, and another follows, one may consider, just what is time? It is merely that which delimits our sojourn in this world before passing into eternity. It is both brief and fleeting. To the young it appears to stretch out into the distance, but to the middle aged and older it stands behind them, passed in a moment.

    This year, 2020, has been a hard year for most. The events of the year, particularly the pandemic and its consequences, have brought hardship on many: illness, trials, bereavement. None have been unaffected. But whilst we may look forward in hope of less troublesome times ahead, one thing is certain, this year has been a timely reminder of how frail we are, how close to death we each stand, and how the events of our lives are simply not in our own control. We would do well to take the lessons this year has laid before us and learn from them. Time is fleeting and eternity is but a breath away.

    This world exists for one reason: To bring glory unto God through the salvation of His people, their deliverance from sin, death and hell, into eternal glory, through the sacrificial death of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The world continues today for the simple reason that God continues to preach this message, the gospel, throughout the world unto the end of time. Then Christ will return.

    But the gospel has a beginning. And that beginning lies in the voice of one crying in the wilderness - prepare ye the way of the Lord. Before any will hear the message of God's grace in Jesus Christ, before any will see their need of salvation, they must first be brought to know their state - their sin, their guilt, the condemnation under which that sin has brought them. If the events of this past year brings some to look beyond time into eternity, to consider what lays beyond the grave, to ask questions regarding that which is eternal, to cry out unto God for mercy.... if they bring some to in the end, be brought to faith in Jesus Christ, then even these troublesome times will have been used to great good. Our great need is the gospel. May God sound a voice in the wilderness today to bring us to hear, to really hear... for without that gospel, and without ears to hear, we perish. But if the gospel comes our way, to a heart prepared of God, prepared by a voice crying in the wilderness, then great will be our salvation. Oh what a Saviour Christ is! And what a hope in the midst of darkness is the light of His gospel!