Ten Questions: Faithful in Wales

Emyr James

1. How did you become a Christian?

I was raised in a Christian family and remember from a young age that I believed what the Bible taught. I knew that I needed to be saved from my sin, but I also knew that I wanted to enjoy life first. I took a year out before university, and while in Patagonia experienced a strange new desire to read the Bible and pray. God was working in my heart and over several weeks brought me to repentance and faith.

2. What lessons have you learnt since that you would want to pass on to a younger Christian version of yourself?

Make the most of the opportunities you have and the situations you are in at the time. It is very easy to look ahead and long for the future and miss what God is doing in our lives at the moment.

3. How would you describe your prayer life?

A battle. Personal discipline is hard, which makes times of communal prayer within the church absolutely invaluable.

4. Which two or three Christian books apart from the Bible have most influenced your faith?

When I was first saved, through the influence of the Christian Union at University I came across wonderful books like Lloyd-Jones’ Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, Stott’s Cross of Christ and Holiness by J.C.Ryle. More recently I’ve been really helped by the writing of Robert Letham, Mike Reeves and Andrew Wilson.

5. Who or what have been your biggest Christian influences?

I was fortunate enough to spend some time studying at Union School of Theology in Bridgend (or WEST as it was called at the time), and the influence of my lecturers and fellowship with other students was formative. However the biggest and most consistent influences have been the members of my local church, particularly those older folk who model so clearly the gospel and Christian maturity.

6. What are the main challenges you believe Christians face today?

In some sense it’s the same challenges that God’s people always face – remaining faithful to the Lord and His word in a fallen world. The obvious challenges here in Wales are the apathy of people raised in a country where God has worked so mightily in the past, coupled with the chaos and confusion that arises from a culture that has lost its grounding in truth.

7 What encourages and what discourages you?

One of my greatest encouragements is spending time in fellowship with God’s people – a real highlight of the year is our church holiday.

A regular discouragement is realising how quickly time goes by, and how ineffective we have been in reaching lost people with the gospel.

8. What makes you laugh?

I’ve always enjoyed watching comedies on the television, but without a doubt my consistent source of laughter has got to be my children. Our three daughters are all very different from one another, but each can be incredibly funny in their own way and not a day goes by without them making me laugh somehow.

9. What would you want to say to the wider evangelical world?

Keep going. He is faithful and He is worthy.

10. Which Biblical person (other than Jesus) do you most look forward to meeting in glory and why?

You definitely kept the hardest question until last! Probably just to satisfy my curiosity it would be the author of the epistle to the Hebrews just to find out who they were and to thank them for their great gift to the church which went unrecognised for so long!