The Last Crusade

Well, this is my final day in Scotland.  There are no amount of words that can describe the awesome time I had here.  I know for a fact, that if the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Airdrie didn’t do all that it has done for Ryan, Dave, and myself  none of us would have had as good of a time as we did.  The people in the congregation were more then happy to serve us by taking us on a trip every Wednesday, inviting us into their home to serve us a meal every Sunday, and being there to share their wisdom and their life story.  They do this because they know how important it is to serve one another as Christ served us.  Christ has been doing great things with the lives of those who are in the congregation.  I can only hope and pray that it is God’s plan for me to come back here in the future.

I am so fortunate to have come to Scotland and learnt so many things by reading the books and attending the classes here.  The books we read were fantastic, and I have learned a lot from every book.  But, I know that if Andrew and Dick didn’t have the passion to teach what is important in God’s eyes the learning would have been not as good or fruitful.  The guys want to see young men and women grow in the Lord, and they will challenge you out of pure love.  Teachers like this are hard to find.  I will never forget the things I learned here, because I know that they will prove useful in the future.  These men are responsible for leading by example (as Christ did) and show the importance of serving one another to the congregation.  I feel that Andrew has done a lot for this congregation for Christ’s glory.  May God bless the spreading of His Church and continue to bless the Airdrie Reformed Presbyterian Church, forever!

Rocco Palmerine

Closing Thoughts

I thank the Lord for my time at Airdrie.  During the last four months the Church has opened up their hearts, their doors, and their tables to Rocco, Ryan, and myself.  I can honestly say that before I did the CTI course I was still very much a young theologian, I knew what I believed, and I knew why I believed it, but with the help of the classes, books, and fellowship with other believers I now understand my faith with a deeper knowledge and a deeper conviction.  Scotland’s history is something that has got many a mention on the Semester in Scotland and everyone who has come on the CTI program has been able to study and learn about this great and glorious time.  One thing that you find about men like John Knox and Andrew Melville is just how stubborn and sometimes downright rude they can come across, shouting and pointing fingers, complaining about this and that, but when you realise that these men did all these things for the Glory of God, you see how great God’s Grace is.  John Knox has always been a hated figure in history.  I personally have met even Christians who despise this great man.  He is seen as too harsh, or too extreme.  What can I say?  You find Knox extreme?  Turn your eyes to the Law of God!  Knox feared no man, the Covenanters who lived for Christ feared no men, they feared God.  They feared Him who has the power to destroy both body and soul.  This is probably the most important thing that I have learnt during my time here: we are to fear no one, our fear is to be aimed at God, the Great, Almighty, Sovereign God.  Men and women will hate us , we will be mocked, and we will not look “cool” in the eyes of the world.  This is just a consequence to our great calling to follow our master.

Something else I have learnt over here is the need for faith.  Simply faith to read and believe.  We have been looking at various different books and reading about many subjects.  All throughout this time we read of God’s Will, His commands, and His desire for us.  It is so easy to read but sometimes hard to believe, we forget that the God who led the Children of Israel from the land of Egypt is indeed the same God that fellowships with us, once we know and believe it, will we act upon it.  The METS in the Church have been a great way for us to see this.  We have been looking at Exodus and have been sharing our love for each other through the study of God’s Word.  Moses has been of great comfort but also of great conviction as we have studied his call to do God’s Will.  Like Moses we can have so little confidence in what we can do, we read about the desires that God has for us and like Moses fear that we can never amount to do such things, but as Moses made excuse after excuse the Lord’s anger burned against him.  God reminded Moses of who he was, a mere created being, and reminded Moses of who He was, the Great God of all things.  Moses then obeyed and went from a timid shepherd to a messenger from God who stood before the most powerful man in the world and fearlessly and proudly proclaimed the Word of God.  We fear the work in the field, we fear it is too much for us, but like the Blessed Apostle we can say “His Grace is sufficient for me”.  God pours out his love to those who love to do His will.

 Leaving for home has excited me.  I look forward to seeing my family.  To embrace my Father, to kiss my Mother, and to give my little brother the advice I can to keep him on the narrow way.  Tim said something so significant to me when I first arrived, I asked him if he missed his family, his reply was quick and sobering, “The Church is my family”.

 I have received great blessings from my time here.  Living with three Americans and sharing thanksgiving with the rest of the American members of the Church really did touch my heart (and fill my stomach).  I have made so many new friends and felt the love of my brothers and my sisters here in Airdrie, I love them all and I want to lose none.

 In Christ,
David Duly

The Final Countdown

This will be my last blog for the CTI programme, sadly.  My time in Scotland these last four months has been amazing.  I have learned so many things.  I have seen many things too.  Scotland is a great nation to come and visit.  I recommend it to anyone who wants to experience another culture.  The United Kingdom is the place to go.  I will miss not being here.  It’s been another home for me this Fall.  The people here in Airdrie have cared, served, and loved me while I have been here.  I will definitely miss them. God is doing so many great things at the RP Church here.  The congregation is truly seeking after God.  You see it in how they interact with each other.   You see it in their personal lives.  I praise God for my time here and the people I have met.  I have gained more family members in Christ this Fall.
    You may ask me, what will I take away from the CTI program?  There are so many things I could highlight, but I will focus on a few.  Christians must be seeking to become more like Christ, seeking holiness, truly leaving this world and following God only, being separate and different from the world. We must love each other, because Christ loved us first.  Also we must learn from failures in evangelism, not being afraid to fail.  We trust in God for salvation of people. Finally, seeing the beauty in the Law of the Lord and learning about the love through it.  These virtues have been reflected off the people in the Church.  I will take all these things back to my home and apply them to my life.  I will also take back the friendships I made.  Just being in a different country has taught me a lot about cultures.  I see similarities and I see differences, but I love experiencing different countries.  Of course, America is my home, but for awhile, the UK was too.
    Scottish History has taught me too.  The Reformers/Covenanters have taught me about Christian disciplines.  They showed me the importance of the kingship of Christ.  He is king over all including world leaders. They showed me a nation can be changed by the Gospel.  They showed me the importance of knowing the Scriptures.  The poor, common man of that time would tell priests how they were wrong and what the Bible said.  The Bible makes the uneducated educated.  They showed me the world will hate you.  The majority of Scotland either has forgotten the Reformers or view them as terrorists.  They showed me the Christian life is not easy.   Sometimes people will seek to end your life because of your faith.  You must look towards the Heavenly Kingdom and not to this world.  You must not fear death, but fear a Holy God.  Trust in Him and know there is no victory in death.  My life isn’t over after it.  I will never forget the men and women of the Scottish Reformations.
    The moral of the story is I praise God for the time I had in Scotland.  I’ve loved my time here, and I will miss the RP Church of Airdrie.  I will make sure I stay connected to the people of Scotland, and God willing, I will return someday.  Thank you Lord for your blessings, and thank you the people of Airdrie for your love.

1Corinthians 11:1-Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

In Christ,
Ryan

Blogging for Apples…It’s a Pun

What’s up all you CTI blog readers, it’s Ryan Dewey again, here for more excitement and action in Scotland.  I broke this blog into two parts.  So here we go, enjoy!

Part 1: Vacation, all I ever wanted!  During the first week of November Rocco  and I traveled to London and Paris for our vacation week.  We both figured we don’t know when the next time we will be so close to the rest of Europe will be, so we jumped on this opportunity.  London was great.  We got to see all the main sights of the city.  Big Ben, Parliament, Buckingham Palace, the London Bridge, Westminster Abbey, Spurgeon’s church, a World War I and II museum, you name it we saw it.  Transportation in London was very simple to figure out, and the prices were very reasonable.  All the museums were free too, which was a plus.  Each day we got to see a different part of London.  Both Rocco and I enjoyed our time in London.

The English know how to treat tourists.  I would definitely go back if I ever had the chance.  I still love the Scots the best in the UK but England’s not bad.
     
Paris was a totally different ball game.  The city was not as tourist friendly as I thought.  I got to see the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral, and Versailles Palace, but the trip itself wasn’t as relaxing.  Sadly, the main reason we went to France was to head over to Omaha beach in Normandy, to honor our ancestors and troops who fought in WWII.  The problem was Paris was so expensive that we just couldn’t afford a trip to Normandy and then back to Paris.  We had to scrap the Normandy trip.  I’m disappointed about that, but I don’t regret going to Paris.  Now I can say I saw it.  I mean how many Americans get to go to Paris, not many.  Paris just has a different mentality than America.  If you like shopping and have the money to afford it, Paris might be the city for you.  I just know it’s not my favorite town.  Overall, it was a great trip.  I thank God for the opportunity to go on it.

Part 2: The Religion for Sinners.  Ok, so the other day I was listening to John Stewart, the host of the Daily Show, interview Bill O’ Reilly, Fox News.  They were talking about Obama becoming president and then moved toward Stewart’s understanding that O’Reilly is more right wing in his beliefs.  Since Republicans/Conservatives are supposed to be more religious than liberals, Stewart said this, “Just because you go to Church doesn’t mean you are good.  It just means you go to Church.”  Now when I first heard this comment I just thought how sad it is that many non-Christians view Christianity in this light.  I would say that a
majority of unbelievers believe people go to Church because it’s the right thing to do.  It makes you better.  It’s good for you.  Or at least they think people who go to church think this.  When I tell people I’m studying to become a youth pastor they usually respond, “Good for you.”  They think I’m doing it to make myself feel better, or that I’m doing charity work.  In the world’s eyes, Christianity is for people to feel better about themselves.  Going to church is just part of how the religious man gets into heaven.  It makes God love you more.
     
All these views of the world are lies, foolish, and blind.  They have no idea what Christianity is all about.  If they did, they might be a Christian themselves.  Matthew Henry put it perfectly in his commentary for Romans.  He said, “Christianity is the religion of the sinner.”  To answer John Stewart’s comment, I do not go to Church because I’m good.  I go to church because I’m bad.  I’m so bad that I need a Savior or I will spend an eternity in a place where bad people go.  To correct him further, no one is good but God.  We are all bad.  We are all fallen.  We are all born sinners.  We all need a Savior.  People don’t understand their sin and the terrible consequences it brings.  On my own power I could never go anywhere but Hell.  I could go to all the Church services I want.  It’s not gonna save me.  Only Christ, that perfect beautiful sacrifice He gave us, can save us.  I trust in a perfect, good, and Holy God to save.  I don’t trust in anyone or anything else because everything else is bad.  Again, the only one who is good is God.  I’m not doing youth ministry because I want to make myself feel better or because I feel the Lord will love me more because of it.  I’m doing it because I love God and want others to feel the same joy that I have.  That joy is in my Savior, Lord, and King, Jesus Christ.  I want God to be glorified not me or man.  I go to church/am a Christian because I know how terrible I really am.  I’m a sinner in desperate need of a savior.  I thank God for Jesus and the free gift of grace he offers.  This amazing grace takes away my bad, my sin because of faith in Christ.  I pray others will see their sin and run to Christ, the only one who can save us.

Rom 7:24-25  Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

In Christ,
Ryan Dewey

Just One Thing I Want To Share

Went back to Northern Ireland for my free week, good to be back. Good to see friends again.  I will tell my children (God willing) about the great times I have spent with my friends. No greater love have I felt on the people of the earth than the love of Christ’s Elect.  I mean I was sitting in the Parkes’ kitchen, and I just thought, these people share no blood with me, I knew none of them as I was growing up, I shared no education with them, and I am in their house at the seat of honour being fed like a king. If I wasnt holding the fort together I think I could have wept with joy and humility before God.  How great His love and grace to me. To be surrounded by those who love me…and I know that they love me. Fellowship with God-fearing, humble people is such a thing to be sought and the small house in Co Antrim, with a small fire and some tray bakes and tea is a great place to be…

 

David Duly