Rev Bill Armstrong - retired Church of Scotland minister

Are you still with me? I would like to think you are. I have been rattling on in ‘Thought for the Week’ about my own weaknesses in the hope that you might see that, with a little effort and consideration, your attitudes can change as I hope some of mine have changed.

I could be wrong, of course. You might well be reading this piece because you are already a committed Christian; though Christians – including ministers – are not immune from hang-ups and disappointments.

Understandably, disappointments can be disheartening, but you know in your heart that God will see you through. ‘The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want; he restores my soul’. Warm words are supportive; but for those searching for something more convincing, they could be no more than platitudes.

If, then, you are not a committed Christian, I am pleased you have stayed the course. I hope I am not assuming too much, but I would like to think that something helpful is rubbing off.

My wife and I had been on a cruise to Spain, Portugal and France. Enjoyable as we have find cruises to be, they provide little more than ‘tasters’. The ship docks; the passengers go ashore for a few hours; but not long enough to take in the sites of the places visited. My favourite stop was Lisbon, I feel I would like to go back and explore the city in greater depth.

‘Thought for the Week’ is little more than a ‘taster’ in the search for faith. Have you discovered enough that you want to search a bit deeper?