Hawick Salvation Army

08/09/2026

Harvest Celebration this Sunday 3pm at the Burnfoot Hub

05/09/2026

Come Closer

God is good and above Him there is no other. Come closer to Him, all of you who are weary and thirsty. Come to the waters of life and drink. For it is He who has given you a hunger and a thirst, not so that you should starve, but so that you can seek the Lord while He may be found and draw near to Him, then you will know His rest and peace.

We should not sit around and do nothing, expecting Him to do everything for us, but to know the hunger and thirst that will drive us onward to seek out the things that are uplifting and profitable; to quench our thirst on the water of life and be filled to live in the fulness of life that only God can give.

What is this fulness of life? What does it mean? How do we find it? “Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you shall find. Knock and the door will be opened to you” (Luke 11:9). This door is not locked. His arms are continually outstretched to welcome you. Still He is calling “Come. Come to me all you who are tired and weary, all you who are hungry and thirsty. Lay your burdens down at my feet and look up, upward and onward into the heavenly places, which are waiting patiently for you to enter.”

Lift up your eyes. Lift up your head, over and above the mundane and the worldly, to glory and to the heavenly realms. Lay down your burdens at His feet and wait patiently, knowing that His presence is drawing near. Rest in peaceful anticipation and drink. Drink the water that He gives you - water of life. Drink it to the full and sense the closeness of His presence. Then He will show you the way to go. He will reveal his purposes for your life and lead you onward. He will show you great and marvellous things, with joy that springs from your heart overflowing all around you, and you will know His way for you and be satisfied. You will discover the plans He has for you; plans for good and not for evil. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to share the good news to the poor, so that they too may become rich. And plans to reflect the light of Christ in all that you do.

It begins with rest. Stop and receive. Drink and be filled. Know that the Lord is speaking to you today. Wait for Him and He will surely come. Allow His peace and unspeakable joy to overwhelm you through the blessings of the Holy Spirit, which is far beyond all your understanding. Let your heart and mind be filled to overflowing with the love and presence of the living Lord Jesus, and be thankful.

Ron Scurfield

29/08/2026

The Righteousness of God

Are we hungry with a longing to be filled with the righteousness that comes only through Jesus? Have we tasted and found that God is good? Do we long for acceptance and strive for perfection? We might examine and re-examine ourselves to see if we measure up to the standard set by Jesus. We may think we’re a million miles away from the example He has set. - But we’re almost there.. It’s here we need to stop and examine the situation more closely.

Our problem is looking inward towards ourselves, and seeing how short we fall compared to the perfection of Christ. ‘It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God - that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption’ (1 Corinthians 1:30). The Bible tells us Jesus is our righteousness. His own starting point was Righteousness and Holiness, and it’s His desire that we are all restored to righteousness in Him.

What does this mean: ‘He is our righteousness?’ - “..The Lord is righteous; He has cut me free from the cords of the wicked.” (Psalm 129:4). Jesus is all righteousness. He died and took on Himself our sin, not part, but all. ‘Each of us has become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags’ (Isaiah 64:6). But He took it all upon Himself, to His death. “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). If all our sins, past, present and future have already been taken and put to death on the cross of Jesus Christ, what do we have left? - Purity and righteousness. We might not feel pure or righteous, but in His sight that’s exactly what we are.

So there we have it - the righteousness of God in Christ. Not that we have any merit in ourselves, but as we live under the covering of the purity of Jesus His righteousness is revealed through us. And as we accept who we are in God’s sight, in spite of all our failings and imperfections, we can look to God and be thankful.

We don’t deserve it. But Christ didn’t deserve all the pain and suffering He bore for us. He suffered so that we could realise our new identity in Him. Instead of grovelling in the dust because of our sins we must praise God and thank Him for His righteousness, placed in us. Sin becomes abhorrent. Lies and slander become detestable, and death is overcome by eternal life. “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Philippians1:10,11).

Let us rise up from the ashes of sin and degradation, as children holy and righteous in His sight. We are born again into the Kingdom of God, a new creation without condemnation. This is our destiny in Jesus Christ.
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​​​​​​​​​​​Ron Scurfield

29/08/2026

A wee reminder that there is NO Service this Sunday morning (30th August). We are joining the other Hawick Churches at the Volunteer Park at 11:15am. Hope to see you there.

26/08/2026

Advanced date to get in your diary

23/08/2026

Have you ever thought about how The Salvation Army can help people? Yes it takes lots of money. I know it’s still August but we have to start planning early for Christmas.
Would you like to help us give a child something to open at Christmas? Don’t know what to buy for them? If you donate cash or to our JustGiving page every penny is spent on the young people, so they have a great Christmas. A link to our JustGiving page is below. Every little amount builds up to help the Children 🙌🥰

Help Hawick Salvation Army raise money to support The Salvation Army

21/08/2026

It Is Finished

Scripture: For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.. and find out what pleases the Lord. Ephesians 5:8,9

‘For the Lord God is a sun and shield. He gives grace and glory, no good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless’ (Psalm 84:11). - How is your walk with God? Is it honourable and worthy of the One who brought us out of darkness and into His glorious light? He has already confirmed His purposes for us: “I know the plans I have for you.. plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11). The psalmist writes “O Lord Almighty, blessed is the one who trusts in You!” (Psalm 84:12). The Word of God is filled with promises.

We probably don’t think too much about our future with God, where we are heading, spiritually and physically. Perhaps our thoughts and motives are generated by personal ambition, or hope as we see it. Are we so busy striving for success, or reward or freedom from the pitfalls of everyday life, that God’s purposes for us are swallowed up by our own human efforts? Where does it all lead? “Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 2:11).

God has His plans and sets them before us. “He guides me on the paths of righteousness, for His name’s sake” (Psalm 23:3). His reputation depends on it. There are many promises and blessings laid out for us in His Word, and all because He loves us. His ways are not our ways, and our ways aren’t always His. “Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? - He who has clean hands and a pure heart” (Psalm 24:3). There’s the crunch.

Can we undo all that we’ve done which is not pleasing to God? Can we break through our barrier of past sin? - No. But God can, and has done, by the sacrifice of His beloved Son and by the power of the cross.“Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8). He has made a way. All that needed to be done has been done, and doesn’t have to be done again. We don’t have to build our own fortress or try to justify ourselves before the King. “He is our righteousness, holiness and redemption” (Galatians 5:1).

No more looking back, and no looking inward to see if we qualify. No more doubts. God knows where we’ve been, and remembers the price He paid. As we live for Him His blessings begin to unfold. “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, “This is the way; walk in it” (Isaiah 30:21).

​​​​​​​​​​​Ron Scurfield

15/08/2026

Driving Back the Sea

The children of Israel were fleeing for their lives. Led by Moses they were making a break for freedom after five hundred years of forced labour in captivity. God said to Moses, “I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers and am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians” (Exodus 3:8). At God’s command the Israelites fled the country of their captivity heading for the promised land. Every man, woman and child, almost a million people, made their break for freedom, led by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, until they came to the Red Sea where they could go no further.

Panic and terror reigned in the camp. Everyone turned against Moses: “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us out into the desert to die?” (Exodus14:13). But Moses was adamant. “Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today.”
We may find ourselves floundering in a sea of indecision or frustration, or fear. Where is the peace and joy of the Holy Spirit? Where is our comfort in times of anxiety? We may look at Moses, Daniel and David and see many acts of deliverance performed by God; and mighty works of healing and restoration. Sometimes God seems so far away.

Moses didn’t want to be the one chosen to lead God’s people to freedom. In fact he pleaded with God to send someone else (Exodus 4:13), but was persuaded and committed his life to the call of God. God said, “Certainly I will be with you” (Exodus (3:12).

The people turned against Moses in their thousands when they found themselves trapped between the Egyptian army and the Red Sea. Moses was following the Lord’s instructions. He was obedient to his calling. He was with God and God was with Him, and they saw the mighty hand of God move in miraculous ways.

Can we compare ourselves with Moses, who dedicated himself to God’s calling? Jesus said, “Come, follow me’’ (Matthew 4:19).

As we commit our lives to Him He will take us by the hand and lead us through our own Red Sea. Perhaps that’s where you are now? If we’re committed to Him and our lives are in line with His calling He will never let us go.

Hold on. We’re in safe hands. The storm clouds may be rolling and the future looks daunting but if we cling to Him we are safe.

Behind every dark cloud the sun is shining. We weren’t promised a bed of roses or freedom from pain, but His eternal presence is with us wherever we go. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for You are with me.. and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever” (Psalm 23:6).

Ron Scurfield

09/08/2026

Transformed

“It is finished.” Jesus has done all He had to do. He suffered excruciating physical, mental and emotional pain and died.

Why? - Because He loves you. Not that He loved you and then died, but he died because He loves you. This love is ongoing. He loved you then, through the cross, and His love still remains. The love that drove him to death is the same that draws us towards Him today.

He has played His part in a life changing transaction. Have we followed through by accepting personally the exchange that was made? What have we done with it?

Was it a flippant ‘thank you,’ as with a shrug of the shoulders as we move on? Was it a thank you tinged with gratitude and perhaps a wave of sympathy for the man who died? Or was it a full acceptance, personally, of what was done?

Have we taken upon ourselves the death He died and surrendered it to the One who paid for it? If not, then we should. The transaction is not complete until we accept that we died with Christ and were born again by the spirit of God into a new life in Jesus?

Our old lifestyle must have no place in our new personality. We must not fall back into our old ways, because the are dead. To complete the transformation we must walk completely and wholly into the new life offered; born again by the spirit of God into a glorious new relationship with Christ.

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

Our outlook, our character, our motivations and our aspirations have all changed.
We must find our way as a new born child through the pitfalls of this dark world, stumbling with unsteady steps, with our eyes fixed firmly on Jesus Christ, who died and gave Himself for us. "And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:18).

This is the beginning of a new and glorious relationship with the Lord, with new goals and new principles and a new and triumphant future ahead.

“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, 'This is the way; walk in it.'” (Isaiah 30:21). This we do by the power of the Holy Spirit, with our eyes focussed steadily on the Son of God. The cross of Calvary lies behind us, the memory of which spurs us onward to a life of gratitude and transformation, and a relationship with Jesus that will never die.

"On that day you will realise that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you” (John 14:20).

Ron Scurfield