Quote of the Week - True Faith

True faith seeks Christ continually.  This is what we see in Song of Solomon 1 v 7: 'Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turnest aside by the flocks of thy companions?'
True faith is never self-confident and self-sufficient. It continually seeks Christ (Heb 12:1-4, Phil 3:7-14).  Faith is not only an act of life.  Faith is a way of life.  We seek him, not just what we might hope to get from him.  We seek him because we need him, because we know we must have him.  We seek him earnestly, continually, in the place where he has promised he will be found, in his Word, in his house, among his people.  And we seek him with this confidence: All who truly seek him shall find him (Jer 29:10-13).
Let us never seek to grow beyond simple, childlike faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 'As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him' (Col 2:6).  This is the only way we can walk with him.  We must ever seek him and walk with him as sinners needing to be bathed in his blood, robed in his righteousness, and saved by his grace.  May God give us the grace to do so.

Extract from 'Discovering Christ in the Song of Solomon' by Don Fortner, Evangelical Press, £7.99

New Focus Conference 2010

Thank you to Peter Meney for once again inviting us to take a bookstall out to the New Focus Conference this year. It has been a heartwarming occasion in the past, meeting old friends and some regular mail order customers of ours. Please come along if you can. We will just be there on the Saturday, but the Conference runs from 9th - 11th April. See the official details here: http://www.egglesburn.org.uk

The location in upper Teesdale is utterly charming (as are the hosts!) When I go up there I am torn between sneaking off and hiking up to the high fells and doing my duty and attending to the Conference. No, seriously, it promises to be a bigger event than ever this year and I look forward to ministry from some men I haven't heard before, as well as Don Fortner from Stateside. May the Lord grant safe journeys and happy landings to all.

Jeremy

New Focus Conference 2009

Congratulations to Peter and Jill Meney for very successfully hosting another conference in Teesdale this year. We were delighted to be invited to take a bookstall to the event last Saturday. Our feelings were more mixed when Peter badgered us into accepting 2 x 10 minute slots for stand up book reviews! Not exactly our cup of tea being the world's worst marketing managers. But we were among friends (albeit around 60 of them) and it went off OK. Lorna particularly did a great plug for sound children's literature, singling out the 'History Lives' series for special praise. This was light relief after a Dr Ella paper on John Brine. Sorry George, but she's got a prettier face! Maybe I'm biased...
It was good to meet some longstanding mail order customers for the first time - one from the Isle of North Uist! And it felt great to be selling really good books to really appreciative people. Don Fortner was once again over from Danville, Kentucky and spoke well. I just hope that he hasn't packed too much into his UK itinerary after his health setback last year. I remain amazed that Evangelical Press appeared to snub him again, despite being (presumably) happy to have published around half a dozen of his books. There's nowt so queer as folk to use a good Yorkshire expression. Ken Cotty completed the line up and complemented it very well with a most gracious meditation of the Mount of Transfiguration.
Jeremy