Politics & Trust

President Trump said he asked National Security Advisor John Bolton to resign his position. On the other hand, Mr Bolton said that he had offered to resign and had not been asked to leave directly or indirectly. There appears to have been a break down in trust between these two men. 

In the UK Amber Rudd resigned from her cabinet position after twenty-one conservative MP’s had been expelled from the party for voting against the government. She was not happy with that and decided to leave her post. The BBC interviewer summarised her comments as a lack of trust in the Prime Minister to get a deal on Brexit. 

Using your senses wisely!

The Five Senses

The U.S. Population Census Bureau reports that at the moment there is a global population of 7.59 billion people on planet earth. Have you ever considered that each one of these people, with a few exceptions, are born with five senses? Amazingly, each one of those senses are common in function to every person’s body? 

Are you content with life?

I think I am quite a contented person. My Christmas present list is usually non- existent and when asked I struggle to think of things I really need. Maybe this is because I am so well looked after, that I have very little need of anything.

The whole idea of being content poses questions that we would be wise to ask regularly

Government - that's quite a story!

GOVERNMENT  

There are three principle elements of government, Legislature, Executive and Judiciary. The Legislators make the laws, the Executive enforce the law and the Judiciary interprets and applies the law.  

There are over 200 different forms of State Government - Republicans, Monarchies, Autocracies and is some cases Theocracies. Sadly none as yet own Gods rule exclusively.  

The world in its present state is groaning under the burden of sin and is crying out for righteous government, this will be here sooner than many people expect. Demonstrations in many countries are all too familiar, with people objecting to the legislation, the executive and the judiciary in their various countries. Calls for change of government are becoming commonplace, caused by the discontent of the people for their governors.

The Leavers Assembly

I have just had the privilege of attending the ‘passing out ceremony’ of a group of Year 6 boys and girls. It was their last day at Primary School and in six weeks or so they will be launched into the rather bigger world of secondary education. I say ‘passing out ceremony’ because that’s what it felt like. It was most enjoyable. They were celebrating what they had achieved and the people that they had become since they arrived in the school. Approximately seven years ago they faced a whole new world – some of them were anxious, many of them quite settled and happy but for all them they faced the unknown. Now they have to do it all over again! Life’s like that, as we all known only too well. We just seem to get comfortable; find our slot and then things change. 

A Hymn about Prayer by William Cowper

By William Cowper (1779) 

What various hindrances we meet

In coming to a mercy seat;

Yet who that knows the worth of prayer,

But wishes to be often there.

Prayer makes the darkened cloud withdraw,

Prayer climbs the ladder Jacob saw;

Gives exercise to faith and love,

Brings every blessing from above.

*Restraining prayer, we cease to fight;

Prayer makes the Christian’s armor bright;

And Satan trembles, when he sees

The weakest saint upon his knees.*

While Moses stood with arms spread wide,

Success was found on Israel’s side;

But when through weariness they failed,

That moment Amalek prevailed.

Have you no words? Ah, think again,

Words flow apace when you complain;

And fill your fellow creature’s ear

With the sad tale of all your care.

Were half the breath thus vainly spent,

To Heav’n in supplication sent;

Your cheerful song would oft’ner be,

Hear what the Lord has done for me

One Small Step

‘Five decades ago tomorrow, Neil Armstrong stepped onto the powdery surface of the moon in humankind’s first ever journey from one world to another’ Source - New York Times Friday 19th July 2019

This is a quite amazing statement in so many ways. Firstly, it’s true. Neil Armstrong was the first human to go from earth to the moon. What a celebration of the intelligence and tenacity of mankind! The planning, skill, relentless attention to detail and investment that made this trip possible was outstanding. 

The world’s longest sea crossing bridge

In October 2019 the BBC reported, ‘Chinese President Xi Jinping has officially opened the world's longest sea crossing bridge, nine years after construction first began. Including its access roads, the bridge spans 55km (34 miles) and connects Hong Kong to Macau and the mainland Chinese city of Zhuhai. The bridge cost about $20bn (£15.3bn) and should have opened in 2016. Construction has been dogged by safety issues and at least 18 workers have died on the project, officials say’.

The art of self deception

Have you heard the story of the bank robber named McArthur Wheeler in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania who was told that if he rubbed lemon juice on his face, he wouldn’t need to use a mask to avoid detection, because his face would be invisible to the cameras? This is not a joke it’s true! He bought a Polaroid camera and a couple of lemons, squeezed them and applied the juice to his face. He then pointed the camera at his face and clicked, rotated the camera and clicked. What he finished up with was a photo of the ceiling but no image of his face and fully believed that the lemon juice did the trick.

New York Times Opinionator column

The New York Times Opinionator column for a period carried a five-part essay by Errol Morris entitled ‘The Anosognosic’s Dilemma: Something’s Wrong but You’ll Never Know What It Is’. He leads with a story of a bank robber named McArthur Wheeler in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he was told that if he rubbed lemon juice on his face, he need not use a mask to avoid detection, because his face would be invisible to the cameras. He bought a Polaroid camera and a couple of lemons, squeezed them and applied the juice to his face. Pointed the camera at his face and clicked, rotated the camera and clicked. What he finished up with was a photo of the ceiling but no image of his face and fully believed that the lemon juice did the trick.

D Day Landing June 6th

June 6^th was a very special day for the veterans of the D Day landing in Normandy.  The veterans were there to commemorate the invasion of France to defeat the Nazi enemy and to liberate the people of France. Seventy five years ago thousands of young men died on the five beaches where the allied forces landed and today's veterans went back to Sword Beach, Normandy to remember the sacrifice of their comrades on that day.  Two of those veterans, one aged 95 years old, the other 94 years old, who had parachuted into Normandy on D Day jumped again this year (in tandem with an instructor) from the Dakota aircraft to the same area. What memories that would bring back!  

Are you affected by the weather?

What was the first thing you noticed this morning when you got up? Maybe I should reword that. I am not thinking about your beautiful spouse or children. My question really is – did you notice if it was sunny or rainy? Did the weather annoy you or concern you?

Passed By

Some summers are really a bit of a non-event. I’ll not go into the precise statistics but it seems that often summers come and go with little evidence that we actually had one.

Life is like that for a lot of us. Some people feel that it has passed them by. The dreams of yesterday never quite became the reality of today. The wish list remained just that – a wish list. If only.  Life need not be like that. I believe that God’s desire for humanity is to lift our gaze from the mundane things of life and to give us hope; but more of that in a moment.

Prime Minister’s Questions

PRIME MINISTER’S QUESTIONS  

P.M.Q’S or Prime Ministers Questions are heard at midday each Wednesday for half an hour when Parliament is sitting.  The leader of the opposition can ask six questions, sometimes a red herring is slipped in to mislead or misdirect the Prime Minister.  Most questions are direct, some rhetorical and others take the shape of “W.H” questions.  The latter is frequently used by journalists when a question is prefixed by What, Who, Where, When, Why and How.  The newsmen borrowed this structure from Rudyard Kipling’s poem “Six honest serving men”.  If only in politics honesty was the motive and driving force, questions might get answered more positively and outcomes more beneficial. 

What is your most valued possession?

What is Your Most Valuable Possession?

It’s a good question; I wonder how you would answer it? If we are being honest our answer will depend, to some extent, on our circumstances. For instance, if I was terminally ill what I thought was important would be completely different to my choice in sunnier days. Car, homes, holidays and technology might be important to me now, but they have little value if life is slipping from my grasp. I hope that family, relationships and my spiritual condition will be my focus if I get time to contemplate my departure from this life to the next.

Is Your Most Valuable Possession a Bucket List?

So be honest with me – if you were facing the dying moments of your life on Earth what would your checklist look like? I often hear people talk about a bucket list of things they would like to do before they die. It might be to climb this mountain, fly to this destination or enjoy this particular experience. Please don’t get me wrong, I understand that you would be creating memories for those who will be left behind. I appreciate that you may be seeking to ensure that the final moments of life are full of genuine rich and familial experience.

God cares for you

Does God Care about us?  Stephen points out that God has time for each one of us. He cares about each one of us personally, we simply need to come to Him. 

Does God Care?

This time of the year can be a lonely time for many people! Everyone has their family, or do they? There are a lot of people about who are very private and keep themselves to themselves. They would not trouble anyone with their problems and would not presume that anyone else is interested.

I have news for anyone who is reading this who thinks like that. I know someone who is interested in you; the Lord Jesus. He is recorded as saying in the Gospel of John – ‘I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly‘.

Jesus is Interested in You

The Lord Jesus is personally interested in each one of us. For no other reason than He wants the best for us! If you doubt that then read one of the four Gospels in the New Testament part of the Bible. The record about Jesus says that ‘He went about doing good‘. For three years for He dispensed the blessing and forgiveness of God to the people He met. He healed them both physically and spiritually. By doing this He was proving that God is interested. That God is caring! That God has time for you! Even His amazing miracles demonstrate that God cares. The one who can heal the body can save the soul!

Come to Jesus

You can come to Him quietly, by praying to Him, wherever you are. We have all sinned against God and need His forgiveness. When we agree with God that we have disobeyed His commandments and ask for His forgiveness then He will forgive.

Contact me if you are not sure how to come to Jesus.

Why and How Should I Come to Jesus?

Why and How you may ask?

Why – because we are in danger. God is just and must judge wrong. Our wrongdoing has consequences because breaking God’s law is damaging. Just as fire burns so sin hurts and has ongoing consequences. This is why we need God’s help. The Bible states that God ‘is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance‘.

How – God can save us from the consequence of sin because His Son, Jesus died on the cross for our sins. The Bible says ‘Christ died for the ungodly‘. He died for you, and I, and can forgive us because He took the punishment for sin. Jesus was sinless and so was qualified to pay the price on our behalf.

 

You Will be Forgiven

When you trust Lord Jesus Christ with your life and soul you will be forgiven – why not believe today? It works – He saved me and has been part of my life for fifty two years now. 

Stephen Baker

You can listen to podcasts from Stephen’s  program, “Life Questions,” by clicking here. We encourage you to visit Stephen’s website at: www.seekthetruth.org.uk, where you can access podcasts and videos explaining the good news of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

Contact Info

Life is full of questions and often the answers are difficult. Stephen Baker seeks to answer various questions about life and faith using the Bible as his only source. Listen to Stephen’s show, “Life Questions,” on HopeStreamRadio as he tackles the challenge of life questions.

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You Might Also Enjoy 

The First Step – Believe in Jesus

The Crucifixion

Do We Dispute God?- Learning About How We Can Come to Jesus

Adam and Eve – We all Need God’s Intervention

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You May Also Enjoy These Podcasts:

Stephen Baker – Can Religion Save Me?

Shane Johnson – A Love Like His

Tim Lunnon – The Journey

Brenda Wood – What is Bulimia?

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Images Courtesy of:

Lonely woman   – geralt

Woman on Train – cocoparissiene

Praying Woman – Pexels

Read Bible  – Free-Photos

Bible Reading Plan – BibleReading

FILED UNDER: FAITH, SALVATIONTAGGED WITH: COME TO JESUS, FAITH, FORGIVEN, GOD'S FORGIVENESS, LONELINESS, PRAYER, SALVATION

Keep on reading!!

In Western culture, we almost take the ability to read for granted! Reading is such a basic requirement for life. 

The fact you understand what I am talking about in this article means that you can read! Essentially, it means that you can translate the squiggles and strokes on the page. If I am incapable of writing well or of expressing my ideas then you may read the words but have no idea what I'm trying to say. Therefore, reading with understanding is vital. 

Your life will not end when you die!

Life is constantly changing; nothing lasts for ever! This is a sad reality but one that we all have to come to terms with. It is often hard to accept that we will grow old, that loved ones will pass on and that children grow up and leave home. It’s sad but true! 

Please read on as I have good news for you. Your life will not end when you die!  At first sight that sounds like a contradiction in terms but let me clarify what I mean.