Life Matters – serie

In his late fifties and having one eye on a well-earned retirement Colin Murray, a full-time decorator and Church pastor in North East Scotland received the bombshell news he was suffering from Motor Neurone Disease. From the sheer panic of his first night following his MND diagnosis, Colin confronts the brutal, merciless muscle wasting disease head on with prayer and positivity. Accepting his diagnosis, he continues to fight his prognosis with positivity and prayer. In Life Matters, Colin reminds us that we should never minimise or over spiritualise anyone’s struggle with pain and that secular groups are more compassionate, empathetic, and Christlike than Christians with questionable doctrine. While many question their faith and recoil with fear in the face of a terminal diagnosis Colin remains a persevering, shining light to many during his declining health and an ever-increasing loss of mobility. This book is testimony that hope is real, Spirit life is real and in: “Gods strength is made perfect in weakness”. As a Church pastor Colin realises that his life now, is his greatest sermon. It is clear reading this powerful book that Colin is no whitewashed tomb. He is alive in Christ, already a possessor of the “life of the age to come”. Although outwardly wasting away Colin is being inwardly renewed “daily”. This is a must read for anyone battling a serious illness.

In Life Matters - Confronting the challenges of our time we see distilled experiences and reflections of a humble and spiritual working-class man. This is an honest depiction by the author, someone who has had to deal with many challenging and painful struggles in his sixty years of life. In a wide range of blogs, devotionals and articles accumulated over many years of prolific writing in the pages of Life Matters, the author explores themes centred on the best and worst of human nature with much clarity and a rare honesty. Topics range from life controlling behaviour to freedom in the Spirit, from human loss and rejection to hope and acceptance. It also covers topics such as envy and insecurity, grace and confidence, anguish and despair, true joy and hope - it's all there! The author's wit, humour and carefully crafted words will help you find encouragement from Jesus Christ, appropriate to the happenings and thoughts that are part of being human. These words would have carried heavenly anointing whenever they had been penned. You will find, in the multitude of diverse subjects close to every one of us, good reason to return and dip into this book time and time again and in the years to come. Not written in a deeply theological manner, this book will appeal just as much to the committed Christian as it does to the casual agnostic or open-minded seeker. Each reading leaves a message of hope in even the most desperate of circumstances.