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When my children were young - all of them are parents now - we would sit in my little wattle house on the Shalom Farm.
We had a lightning plant, no electricity, no telephone and no television. I would sit there every night before they went to
sleep and I would read them a chapter out of the book Pilgrims Progress. It is a story of Christian and his journey to the
Celestial City (Heaven). It is about how he is tested on the way. He is tempted, he gets attacked by all kinds of different
circumstances and people with names like Laziness, Slothfulness, and Fear. And of course, he meets many good friends
like Hope and Faith etc. I feel like we are on a similar journey and our destination is to be in heaven with God forever.

We have our Lord Holy Spirit (Paracletos – the helper) who will see us through. (John 16:7 NKJV). But we need to be as
disciplined as Moses was. We need to be careful about the company we keep and the advice that we take. We need to
be sure that our families are with us, all of them. That none will be lost and the Lord Jesus Christ Himself would take us by
the hand and will lead us home.

I would be the last person in the world to say to you that once you come to Jesus all your trials and tribulations will be over.
That is not the truth and I cannot find that scripture anywhere in the bible. In fact, the opposite is more likely to happen. But
the Lord reminds us, in John 16:33(NKJV), “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome
the world.”

Let us be sure of our destination and let us not in any way get distracted, to stop or sit underneath that shady tree, be-
cause once we sit down we will probably never get up again. I know that from my Comrades Marathon experience. It is
so tempting to sit down for a while but then you will never have the strength to get up again. We need to run the race, we
need to complete it, and the best way is to go straight from A to B, not back and forwards, up and down, because that
will wear us out.

May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you in this beautiful year of 2017. Do not look behind you, that is absolutely fatal. In fact, as
an old farmer I can tell you that “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Luke 9:62 (NKJV). Simply because if we keep looking behind we cannot plough in a straight line. We need to keep our
eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and the perfector of our faith (Hebrews 12:1-2).

When you know where you are going you will find that many others will follow you. Your family will not follow you, if they
know that you yourself are not convinced that the route that you are taking is the correct one. The best way to ensure that
you are on the right road is to spend time reading God’s holy word and spending time in prayer, in His presence.

God bless,
Angus Buchan