St Cuthberts Saltcoats Parish

The Manse 18th March 2009 

Welcome to our new and developing web site. As the minister of St Cuthberts, Saltcoats. I am very excited at this  site development. Our previous web site was commended by many people who found it informative and interesting. We hope that this new style and additional information will be a great help to all who look us up.  I am very pleased that there is a minister's page. It is important for me to say that the views expressed here are not necessarily those of the congregation or the Church of Scotland.

My wife Linda and I have just returned from twelve days in Indonesia where we had the great privelege of meeting some Christians who have really been persecuted for their faith. It was a little bit like visiting people who were living afresh the book of Acts. The experiences they have faced, the stories they told and the courage they display all speak volumes. Theis lives proclaim a deep commitment to Christ, and a powerful desie to share Christ with their Muslim neighbours, whatever the cost. Whilst some of them bear the physical and mental scars of their commitment, their faith is undiminished. Indeed for many of them it is greatly strengthened. We talked with people who had gone through almost unspeakable trauma. They had been shot, caught in bomb blasts, left for dead, tortured, attacked with machettis, disowned by families, and some, even though still in their teens, were living in safe houses. One man spoke of his ordeals and yet would later say that none of his sufferings were comparable with what Christ had suffered for him. We prayed with him; we prayed for him. Five days later we met him again; this time he prayed for us, and we felt humbled and encouraged that he did so.

With such great zeal seen in ther lives of those believers, it is little wonder that church life in Indonesia is very different from life here in Scotland. For there, the church is growing. Clearly, Scotland is not Indonesia and the patterns there cannot simply be imported here and be expected to work. Nevertheless although our countries are very different, our God is not. We are greatly encouraged to believe that whatever the nation, whatever the difficulties, the hostility, or the challenges, the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation. It is sharper than a double edged sword and it will achieve all that God purposes. In other words the Gospel is all powerful. If Christians in Scotland today could grasp this truth and carry it forward with selfless dedication to Christ such as we have seen, Scotland would become a changed land. The light of Christ would burn brightly and the love of Christ dwell deeply in God's people. We could see the day when more and more people will turn to Christ again, when Christian values will once again be prized by our society, and our God and Saviour held in honour once again.

We have been challenged and encouraged

May God encourage and challenge us all.

Christian greetings

Brian Oxburgh