95–98% of the population can sing passably!

Did you know that 95-98% of the population can sing passably? You say well I'm one of the 2-5%. I am sure you are not. It is amazing how many of us sing and the effect it has on our attitude and health. 

The summer has gone autumn has gone, winter is coming. We were just getting out and about and then things changed again. One of the COVID-19 rules is the recommendation not to sing in public gatherings. Singing is good for the soul. It lifts your spirits and creates a sense of community and kinship. I, for one, have missed community singing. Music and songs create passion in our hearts and evoke vivid memories. 

Military Men who followed Jesus

My Bible reading this morning was about the conversion of a Roman Centurion. He was a most unlikely candidate to become a follower of Jesus (the term Christian was not used at that time, but that was what he became).

Roman Centurions (I am generalising now) were usually battle hardened, professional, cynical, and no nonsense type of people. Faith in the unseen or putting your trust in someone else wasn’t how they normally operated unless, of course, it was obeying your commanding officer. They usually liked to be in control, pragmatic and deal in realities i.e. things that could be seen, touched and controlled. Maybe you are like that and quite cynical about spiritual matters.

Before I talk about Cornelius, that was his name, let me tell you about another Centurion. The Gospel writer, Matthew, tells us about him. Jesus had just arrived in Capernaum when a group of men from a synagogue approached him asking him to come to this unnamed Centurion’s house to heal his servant who was dying. There are a couple of things that are usual about this story (read it in Luke 7:1-10 or Matthew 8:5-13). 

Is it the soft option to be a Christian?

Being a Christian is not necessarily an easy option. Believe it or not it takes backbone and courage to stick to what you believe when the majority of people disagree with you. It would often be easier to go with the flow and accept the status quo but to be truthful, that would be a betrayal of my conscience.

I often give public talks in Liverpool City Centre. Street preaching is not socially acceptable but it is legal as long as you don’t cause a breach of the peace or are inflammatory in the language that you use to express yourself. The downside is that you are exposing yourself to ridicule. If you take the liberty of expressing your views in public you have to be willing to listen to what other people have to say and be prepared to defend your viewpoint.

There is always a courteous way to present your point of view but it is important to be honest and above board so that people can trust what you say. In the holy scriptures, the apostle Paul was very keen to make it clear that he was never deceitful or crafty in the way he communicated the message of the gospel. This is what he says - ‘But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God,’ 2 Cor 4. 2.

Wisdom Literature

 

As anyone who reads this column knows, I love reading the Bible and believe it is the ultimate source of wisdom for every area of life. One section of the Bible comes under the heading of 'wisdom literature'. It starts with the book of Job, where the meaning and purpose of suffering are discussed. It's a thorny problem and one where glib answers are not appropriate. As Job struggles through circumstances that challenge every fibre of his faith, he asks many questions. This is normal and part of working through tough situations in life.

 

In Job chapter 28, he poses the question - Where can wisdom be found? This is still a relevant question. Look at all the intelligence in our nation. We live in a country with many universities, and over 45% of people in the United Kingdom have some form of post-secondary education, but wisdom often evades us. Ultimate wisdom is found in God and His Son, Jesus Christ. Daniel, one of the outstanding Bible characters, said, 'Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him^[1]'.

 

In the same chapter, Job states that even in the early days of human history, humans had developed the ability to discover wealth and natural resources. They harnessed nature and found vast reserves of mineral and physical wealth. They surpassed all of the rest of the animal creation in this ability, but what is his point? 

Being the centre of attention

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear . . . 

For some people, these are pleasant words; for others, well – they would rather do a bungee jump than hear them. The words themselves are innocuous, but they represent a moment when they are the sole focus of attention. They would do almost anything rather than be exposed to those seconds of scrutiny. It doesn't seem to matter whether people are being friendly to them or not; it is just the sheer embarrassment of being the focus of attention that gets to them.

 

There are times when none of us like being the centre of attention. Last year, I had an accident as my wife and I started our annual holiday. I tripped and ended up with a severe gash on my head. As I sat and waited for the paramedics to arrive, I realized that everyone who passed by was having a good look at me. It was most uncomfortable to be scrutinized by a pulsating throng of tourists.

It got me thinking! So often, people are watching us. We can be unaware of it, but we are being observed. Now, it's not a good idea to live life looking over your shoulder, but it is wise to remember that you are a role model to someone. A good example is a great teacher, but bad behaviour is often inadvertently copied and has devastating effects. What type of role model are you? Would your family have a good example to follow if they imitated you? How about your colleagues – are you a good example to follow? What do your friends admire you for?

Planning for summer

Have you got any plans? What about the holidays? Do you have any dates in the diary? These and many more questions are asked time and time again at this time of the year. The sun is out and it’s beginning to look like the winter is past and spring has come, so you can get your summer clothes out and plan. So, how are your plans going? For many people, the planning process and the expectation of holidays are almost as good as the holiday itself. I wouldn’t go that far, but I know what they mean. Anticipation and the prospect of getting away and enjoying the break can be very liberating.

 

Some people get to a stage in life when they feel they have nothing to look forward to. That is so sad, but I can see where they are coming from. If you think that this life is all there is, then it would be pretty logical to get depressed as you get older. Most of us accept that the ageing process will mean adjusting what we do to match our physical ability or energy levels. You can still live an interesting and exciting life if you keep the right attitude and take change in your stride.

Running away from God

Photo courtesy of Unsplash - Nicolas Picard

Photo courtesy of Unsplash - Simone Nespolo

Photo courtesy of Unsplash - Richard Loader

Have you ever felt that somehow God is speaking to you?

Maybe you have look around at the at the wonder of His creation. Maybe you were looking out over a panoramic view over mountains and lakes, saw the way a spider spins its web, a caterpillar moves or even the intricate insides of a delicate flower. Different things impress different people. For David the psalmist it was the magnificence of looking up into the heavens and gazing at the stars, it caused him to declare in Psalm 19, ‘The heavens declare the glory of God!’

God’s creation tells us of His very existence, God shouts out to us through His ‘handiwork’. In fact, Romans chapter one tells us that we can’t just remain undecided as to whether there is a God. We lie to ourselves if we say there is no God and God Himself says that this would be foolish.  It states that, ‘since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.’ So, God speaks to us through what He has made, He tells us that He is there. He speaks to us in different ways too. The Bible is often called God’s word. It is the very words of God, His messages, His instructions for us. Stop and think for a minute, if the Bible is what it says it is, God speaks to us every time we read the Bible.

Where has our sense of community gone?

All photos courtesy of Unsplash

What a fantastic day! It had been really hot in Liverpool, which is quite unusual. I had been out on the streets running a Street Meeting with a couple of friends. We have a life changing message. If we do not get out and tell people about it we would be being very selfish. Not everyone sees it the way we do. Some people on the streets think that we are imposing our views on them. Others are not really interested in anything apart from what is in front of them at that point in time.What do you think? Should we be going out to tell people the message from the Bible or do you think we should just believe what we believe and keep it to ourselves?

 

If I had a cure for cancer I would be a very selfish person if I did not make it available to all cancer sufferers. If you were in financial danger and were not aware of it (and I was) I would be very selfish if I did not talk to you about it. Good news and solutions to problems should be shared. One of the downsides of the busy modern age is that we have become very impersonal. In the past, community and family meant we shared a lot more and helped each other. There are still as many nice people in the world now but we tend to keep ourselves to ourselves. On occasions this has developed to the stage where we are not aware of others needs and we fail to raise the alarm when we spot people in difficulty.

Who am I?

There are many answers and very likely lots of them are true. You are the son or daughter of ‘so and so’. You are a man, woman, married, single, have children, no children, arty, musical, clever, practical - so the list goes on.

There are so many things that are different about each of us but we also have some common traits. We are all human. This covers a lot of ground. Our birth, our frailty, our fears, our flaws and mistakes, our hurt, our death.

Have you ever stopped to think why there are so many things we have in common? 

The Bible explains the reason. God created us in the first place ‘in his image’. This among other things gives us the capacity to be creative, think and make choices. The first man, Adam, made a choice to disobey one of the simple commands of God and as a result ‘sin came into the world’. This brings us to another common feature of humanity, we are mortal. We are naturally wayward, the Bible calls it sin. Let’s be honest, we all know that we disobey the law to varying degrees. That’s mans law, but we also disobey God’s law as well. The effect of sin on a day to day basis is the hurt, pain, aging and mistakes mentioned earlier. The ultimate common effect of sin in all of our lives is death. Death is an awful thing. It separates us from our loved ones, it causes pain and brings dark days into our lives. BUT, death also is the defining moment which seals our eternal fate. What we have believed in this life cannot be changed after death. Death is the gateway to the next world which the Bible describes as being one of two places, heaven or hell. Heaven being a place of conscious enjoyment and bliss, hell of conscious regret and suffering.

6 things you cannot live without!

 

Somehow this coronavirus has changed nearly everything for us - working life, family contacts, church activities, shopping patterns and much more. We are really missing some of these, but we are learning to cope and are adapting remarkably well. When things get back to (more) normal, will we still benefit from the lessons we are learning just now?

 

We are learning that there are many things we can do without, and that many other things are more important than we thought, things that perhaps we have been taking for granted. For example:

How to avoid a guilt trip!

Most of us feel guilty from time to time. We often wish that we could turn the clock back and do things differently!

There are times when it is right to feel guilty. If we have genuinely wronged someone guilt is the God given mechanism that warns us that ‘action needs to be taken’. Sometimes we can rectify the problem and make amends. Other times it is outside of our power to reverse the effect of our actions. It is only right that we should fix the problems that we have caused where possible.

Having said this, many mistakes in life are not really significant in the general scheme of things and will not make a big difference in our lives. Courtesy and true friendship, decency and honesty will however ensure that we behave in ways that are commendable.

A more worrying aspect of life is that of human beings and their relationship with God. In our current society we are in danger of being unaware that we have disobeyed our Creator (and therefore owner) and that he does not tolerate people who break his law. I was aware from childhood of the fact that God had stated his principles (the 10 commandments in the Bible) and that I was incapable of living up to them. The passage in the Bible that explains God’s standards is Exodus 20. The New Testament passage that states that we are not capable of living up to these standards is Romans 3:23 ‘For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God’.

Now, contrary to public opinion God gave his Law to make us feel guilty and not to make us feel good. The Bible says ‘Now we know that what things so ever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God’. The reality is that when you and I hear the Bible preached and become aware that God is holy and has his standards; we then realise that we cannot live up to his standards and get feelings of guilt. I lied, I lusted, I took something that did not belong to me (time, emotions, things etc) and as a result I am guilty and am limited as to what I can do to rectify the situation. My offence is firstly against God (Psalm 51:4) and will also often be against a fellow human being.

So we all need to go on a guilt trip – but not for long. When the awareness of our wrong living is heightened and guilt is triggered we will be forced do something about it. That is God’s plan.

What can we do? Again God in the Bible tells us what there is no point in doing! God says in Romans 3:20 that no action on our part will satisfy him because our problem is one we were born with (Psalm 51:5). The problem is reflected in our actions and behaviours but it is deeper than that. God says rather bluntly in the Old Testament that all the right things we do are like filthy clothes. We can never be good enough for God, ‘There is none righteous, no not one’.

I say again ‘what can we do’? The answer again comes from God. He says ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved’. The Lord Jesus says ‘I am the way, the truth and the life’. The early Christian preachers preached ‘neither is their salvation in any other for there is no other name under heaven, given among men whereby we must be saved’. God’s Son (The Lord Jesus) came to earth, lived and then was put to death on a cross. God was punishing him for sin, sin that he did not commit (for he is God and perfect) but that sin that he was prepared to atone for. He paid the price God demanded to put away sin and to provide forgiveness for us.

Go on a guilt trip? No way - admit your guilt to God and then accept his offer of salvation through trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ. You will experience inexplicable joy.

For more information and further explanations of the message of the bible via videos, blogs and podcasts please visit www.seekthetruth.org.uk

Careless Mistakes Cost - Matthew Emmons 2004 Olympics

Born in 1981, Matthew Emmons is one of the best shooters in the history of American shooting. Across his 23-year career, the four-time Olympian has won numerous titles, including one gold, one silver and one bronze at the Olympic Games, plus a gold and bronze medal at the World Championships.

But he might be better known for the Olympic gold medals he did not win than the one he did. His astonishing performance in the finals of three consecutive Olympic Games made him jokingly admit that “maybe he is more famous in China than in the United States”.

But why would that be?

Quit worrying

All photos courtesy of Unsplash

Have you ever wondered how people could look at the same thing but see something totally different? Why do weather forecasters tell us there’s a 30% chance of rain tomorrow? Why don’t they just say a 70% chance of radiant sunshine?

In Bible times, twelve influential men were selected to conduct an analysis of the new country to be inhabited by their nation. They were assigned the task of looking at the strengths and weaknesses, as well as the opportunities and threats of the land. A lot was at stake. This new land had been their dream land for quite a while. A million people had been promised a better life in a better land. They were in transition, having left their life-long homes in hope of striking it rich in a new homeland. Just now they were camping in a wilderness – not really the type of a place we would want to call home. The new land was still a dream for them.

So, the Leadership Team of Twelve set out on their mission. It did not take long for some conclusions to emerge regarding the possibilities and threats. However, they could not reach agreement on their findings and a majority report had to be delivered – not an unanimous one! The majority saw only doom and gloom in the new land. The minority report filed by Caleb and Joshua was upbeat and positive with a recommendation for immediate action.

Jesus is alive - Fact or Fantasy?

In this article, I want to share with you five reasons I believe Jesus' resurrection actually took place. 

You can remember these five reasons with the acronym:

R.I.S.E.N.

The first reason I believe Jesus' resurrection is a fact of history is… 

1. The RISE of Christianity in Jerusalem

It is an accepted historical fact that the Christian faith (a religion built upon the preaching of the resurrection of its leader) originated in approximately A.D. 32 right in the very city of Jerusalem where Jesus had been publicly crucified and buried. This has been verified by historical sources outside the Bible. Now, this in itself is a good piece of evidence that the resurrection actually occurred. Why?

5 Reasons Jesus Rose from the Dead

In this article, I will share five reasons I believe Jesus' resurrection actually took place. 

You can remember these five reasons with the acronym:

R.I.S.E.N.

The first reason I believe Jesus' resurrection is a fact of history is… 

1. The RISE of Christianity in Jerusalem

It is an accepted historical fact that the Christian faith (a religion built upon the preaching of its leader's resurrection) originated in approximately A.D. 32, right in the very city of Jerusalem, where Jesus had been publicly crucified and buried. Historical sources outside the Bible have verified this. Now, this in itself is a good piece of evidence that the resurrection actually occurred. Why?

A message calling people to repent and put their faith in a risen man could never have gained any substantial following amongst the Jews if the tomb had not actually been empty and had the Jewish people not seen Jesus alive after His crucifixion.

'The message of a risen man could not have been maintained a moment in Jerusalem if the grave was still occupied,' Josh McDowell, A Ready Defense, 232.

Remember that Jesus' disciples did not run off to Athens or Rome to preach that Christ rose from the dead, where the facts could not be verified. They returned to Jerusalem, where they would have been quickly exposed and disproved—if what they were teaching was false. The critics could have exposed the disciples as liars, and Christianity would never have got off the ground. The local authorities could have said, “Hey! Here is the grave and the body!” and squashed the whole movement.

But that never happened! Not only did Christianity originate in Jerusalem, but it also thrived there!

Luke, whose writings have been confirmed by numerous extrabiblical writings and archaeological discoveries, tells us that 3,000 people believed the first post-resurrection sermon preached a few minutes’ walk from the tomb, Acts 2:41. Later in the same chapter in Acts 2, Luke says that the church was growing daily, Acts 2:47. By Acts 4:4, Luke declares there were 5,000 believers comprising the early Christian church in Jerusalem. By Acts 6:7, Luke just says the number of disciples “continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem". He was apparently losing count!

Not only did Christianity originate and flourish in Jerusalem, but it also triumphed over several competing ideologies and eventually overwhelmed the entire Roman Empire.

By the early fourth century, when the Roman emperor Constantine converted to Christianity, historians say there were around thirty million Christians, Rodney Stark, The Triumph of Christianity, 156; Dinesh D’Souza, What’s So Great About Christianity, 297.

Here's a question for you. Is it reasonable to suppose that thousands of people within those early days following Jesus' death were actually deceived into believing a man rose from the dead? I don’t think so.

The best explanation for the immediate rise of the early church, right amid a community that had not only been hostile to Jesus but that demanded His crucifixion, is the resurrection. People had seen Jesus! Acts 1:3 says that Jesus “presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.” 

The resurrection catapulted New Testament Christianity into existence. So, the first reason I believe in Christ’s resurrection is the rise of Christianity in Jerusalem. 

2. The INCREDIBLE Persecution and Deaths Endured by the Disciples

When Jesus was arrested and led away to be crucified, the Gospels tell us that His disciples…

• fled in fear (Matthew 26:56)
• went into hiding (John 20:19)
• lost hope (Luke 24:21) 

A short time later, we read that something amazing happened. These same fearful men went through a dramatic transformation. Within a few weeks of Jesus' crucifixion, these same men were standing face to face with the people who had crucified their leader, preaching that Jesus was alive, telling people that they needed to turn from their wicked ways and know that Jesus was both Messiah and Lord, Acts 2:36-38. 

To prevent this belief from spreading, the same authorities who had Jesus crucified…   

     

• threatened the disciples
• flogged them
• beat them
• imprisoned them
• and forbade them to speak the name of Jesus see  Acts 4:16-18, 5:28.

So, what did the disciples do? They returned and said to the Jewish leaders, “We must obey God rather than men, Acts 5:29.”

After saying, “We must obey God rather than men,” they went on “rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name. Every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ, Acts 5:41-42.”

But their boldness had a cost.

Flavius Josephus, Eusebius, Tertullian, and other independent extrabiblical sources record for us that many of Jesus’ earliest followers, including the apostles, suffered intense persecution and even death for their ongoing belief and preaching that Jesus was Lord and had risen from the dead. These extrabiblical sources tell us that...

• Matthew was slain with a sword in a city in Ethiopia
• Mark died in Alexandria, in Northern Egypt, after having been cruelly dragged through the streets of that city. 
• Luke was hung upon an olive tree in the land of Greece
• John was tortured and banished to the Isle of Patmos, Revelation 1:9
• James, the brother of John, was beheaded in Jerusalem, Acts 12:2
• James the Less, as he’s called in Mark 15:40, was thrown from a pinnacle of the temple
• Philip was hung up against a pillar at Heiropolis in the province of Phrygia 
• Bartholomew was flayed alive
• Andrew was bound to a cross and left to die
• Jude was shot to death with arrows
• Matthias, the apostle chosen to replace Judas, was first stoned and then beheaded
• Barnabas was stoned to death by the Jews at Salonica
• Paul, after a variety of tortures and imprisonments, was finally beheaded in Rome 
• Thomas was run through the body with a spear in east India
• Peter was crucified upside down in Rome

All of this is very sobering, isn't it?

Here's a question for you. Were these men lying?

I find it very difficult to believe these men “made up a story” about Jesus and then spent years enduring persecution, imprisonments, and such, only to die these kinds of painful deaths. Nobody lies to get themselves into these kinds of predicaments! People lie to get out of these kinds of things!

Well, the fact that these men laid down their lives, unwilling to recant or admit falsehood in the face of beatings, stonings, and torture, is another reason I believe the resurrection actually took place.

Easter - Notoriety

The Oxford English Dictionary gives the meaning of notoriety as ‘Famous for some bad quality or deed’. In April 2015 Andreas Lubitz committed an act of notoriety! Downing the Germanwings plane in the French Alps put him among a tragic group of men. Perhaps he does not equal Hitler’s henchmen in notoriety by murdering millions of Jews and other nationalities in their deliberate plan to conquer the world. But that is no consolation to the 150 families who mourn their loved one’s death caused by this futile criminal act.

Easter Reflections

 

All photos courtesy of Unsplash

Bert Cargill of St Monans Gospel Hall writes that most people are looking forward to Easter weekend now. It might be just for the extra springtime holiday, but for many of us, it will be another opportunity to look back on something amazing that happened nearly 2000 years ago and hasn’t lost its value. Yes, that’s when the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross and then rose again on the first Easter Sunday.

His followers were not looking forward to that weekend. He had told them that He was going to be arrested, condemned, brutally treated and crucified, and they would scatter into hiding. They had not looked forward to all that; in fact, they could not believe it!