But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.’
-Joshua 24:15
Dear Friends,
I write to you from my study for the final time before the family and I move to the Northwest and begin to make a new home for ourselves.
I have been looking back over the last eleven years and giving thanks to God for all he has done through Plume Avenue Church. The people who have come to faith, the ones who have grown in their walk with him, the celebration of new lives, baptisms, weddings, anniversary’s. The list could go on. I am aware that there have also been difficult times as well but feel a strong sense that now is a time to give thanks to God and not grieve the past.
Celebrating God is all about looking to him in all of life’s situations. In the above Bible verse the Israelite people are given a choice of who to serve, the ancient gods of the past or the Lord. Every day we are given a choice who will we serve? It may not be one that we are consciously aware of but as we go about our lives the way we live reflects what gods we serve. Do we choose to look after ourselves and our families, do we choose to spend most of our time in the office, do we daydream about winning the lottery? If we choose God he leads us on a path of uncertain adventure. He calls us to worship him and him alone, to truly follow him, not just press a button on a social media page and think we have done our bit. Serving the Lord is an adventure of a lifetime.
During my time at Plume I have seen many people make the choice to serve the Lord. They have lived it out, often with joy and thanksgiving and have tried to work out what it looks like in their own contexts. It has been a joy for me to serve God amongst the people of Plume and the community of Prettygate and for that I would like to thank you all for making the last eleven years so special.
The family will always look back on our time in Colchester as a time of flourishing and we are thankful to you and to God for that.
Finally, I have to leave you with a challenge ……….. who will you serve? I pray that as Joshua made the decision to serve God you too will know the joy of serving God and living the adventure of faith as he guides you and carries you through life. I wouldn’t swap it for anything else.
May the Lord bless you in the years to come and may you make right choices as you journey through life.
Geoff.