tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280111472024-03-18T01:39:57.937+00:00Finding The Missing PeaceStephen Baker of Seek the Truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561040292481776300noreply@blogger.comBlogger1428125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28011147.post-38020945142962802822024-03-17T13:29:00.000+00:002024-03-17T13:52:22.759+00:00Are you satisfied?<p> </p><img id="id_9372_2c41_6e9f_a3e2" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/19tjlIjQCRk4NRyixkX3t9juxaUTFdAIK" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_922f_3b35_737_90ed" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1Yd4f_eJBFbkLhxV2LoyIvF6sCE_0a7yg" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_ce76_ae54_bbd9_1f67" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1wZyiOPvv_gaH1L_Cwakc2In5D8LzrkLO" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br><p>All photos courtesy of Unsplash</p><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Palatino; font-size: large;">Within the heart of every human being is a strong desire for something that seems elusive—true and lasting satisfaction. Satisfaction is rarely found because anything we enjoy only lasts for a limited time. This applies to almost everything we enjoy, whether a delicious meal, a holiday away, or good times with friends and family. There is a degree of truth in the saying, “All good things must come to an end.” </span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Palatino; font-size: large;"> </span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Palatino; font-size: large;">The Bible seems to back this up, it tells of a man called Moses, a godly man who initially lived in Ancient Egypt who ultimately led the Children of Israel out of slavery. The New Testament records in Hebrews 11:25 that he “choose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.” The Bible says that the things that we enjoy on earth, whether they are good things or sinful things, they only last for a season. King Solomon, probably the richest man of his time, understood this too; he said in Ecclesiastes 1:8: “The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear has its fill of hearing”. That is to say, we never have enough stimulus to keep our natural senses interested. The Lord Jesus said that it was foolish to find satisfaction in the material things around us. Luke 12:15 says, “A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of things the things which he possesses.” </span></p><a name='more'></a><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Palatino; font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><a style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></a></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Palatino; font-size: large;">When we come to John 4, however, we read a fascinating conversation between the Lord Jesus and a woman of Samaria. The Lord Jesus reveals in v18 that this woman had tried to find satisfaction and purpose in earthly relationships, the evidence indicating that her efforts had failed by the fact she had had five husbands and she was now onto her sixth! The Lord Jesus then reveals why she wasn’t satisfied; she was not a true worshipper of God. She had tried to source her satisfaction and purpose in creation rather than the Creator. The Lord Jesus says to the person who sources their purpose in God, “I am come that they might have life, and they might have it more abundantly”. There is no other source of true and lasting satisfaction than becoming a worshipper of the true God. Turn from those fleeting sins, place your faith in the Lord Jesus, and become a worshipper of the one, true God today.</span></p>Stephen Baker of Seek the Truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561040292481776300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28011147.post-70757659462456683872024-03-12T14:00:00.001+00:002024-03-12T14:12:30.938+00:00Are you afraid of growing old?<p> </p><p><img id="id_bfff_b36b_258e_8e7d" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1kyFn8GDCH3I1UmPBaIIbsKnDuRR1dYwP" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_4829_64a8_4e87_aaff" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/17kmoIgWm7qVUUUYpYzbGdzfpHfd43drv" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_2707_7d21_b25c_b36" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/16jRmT87ZLrmSXdqp56HCGMdOhd5CaYXb" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br>All photos are courtesy of Unsplash.</p><p style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">We know that life is constantly changing and that nothing lasts forever. In many ways, this is a harsh and sad reality. Most of us find it hard to accept that we will grow old, that loved ones will pass on, and that children will grow up and leave home. You know the types of things that I am talking about. Sad but true!</span></p><p style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br></span></p><p style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><img id="id_3c40_1229_67de_ca48" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1B3rprsevF_kQWC49uc4MyXDSaiY7ofR1" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br></p><p style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Please read on, as I have good news for you. The Bible teaches that God made us with an eternal soul. The soul is the real person, the real you. Although the body stops living upon our physical death, the soul lives on. Many people don't believe this anymore. The late Stephen Hawking, a British Physicist and author, dismissed the notion of an afterlife. He once said 'I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail. There is no heaven or afterlife for broken-down computers. That is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark'. </span></p><p style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br></span></p><p style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><img id="id_f61d_882f_6d38_baff" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1g4DmEuCjNHCZpd7_tiyjHsjhNJEUMS-R" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br></p><p style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">This argument sounds very feasible, especially when proposed by such an intelligent man. However, it ignores that we are not just biological computers. It ignores man's consciousness, which the best of brains have grappled with but have to admit is beyond their explanation. Consciousness cannot be defined in purely physiological terms. Add to this the evidence for the supernatural and the spiritual, and you have many questions that we will struggle to answer unaided.</span></p><a name='more'></a><p style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Let me remind you of the book, which has for generations provided answers that could not find their source solely in the mind of a human being - the Bible. It is easy to dismiss the Bible as purely the writings of men, but that would not be doing justice to its information, origins and the consistency of its message. The Bible has an inbuilt prediction and fulfilment testing system, which either stands or falls on the substantive evidence of archaeology, science, history, geography and social development. There have been no developments to date in any of these disciplines which have produced evidence that undermines the truthfulness and integrity of the Bible.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br></span></p><p style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">If all of this is true, may I suggest we pay more attention to what the Bible teaches about life, death, the afterlife, God, etc.? For example, one of the books of the Bible (John's gospel) explicitly states that it was written 'that we might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that believing you might have life through his name'. </span></p><p style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br></span></p><p style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">I pray that this will be the outcome if you read the Bible for yourself.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br></span></p><p style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">I invite you to read more articles about how to have peace with God.</span></p><div><br></div>Stephen Baker of Seek the Truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561040292481776300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28011147.post-14016473972991640502024-03-10T07:32:00.001+00:002024-03-10T07:37:26.870+00:00Mother’s Day <div><br /></div><img alt="" id="id_b02b_b119_a25d_9bb4" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1cWyBMM0bBwfwddPxG7ocxV2UvPrniAlb" style="height: auto; width: 392px;" title="" tooltip="" /><br /><br /><img alt="" id="id_1dd5_4c1c_44c3_107f" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1cnU1zBCU6NXxSy2ou53dDIqH8zsWGN2U" style="height: auto; width: 392px;" title="" tooltip="" /><br /><br /><div>All photos courtesy of Unsplash</div><div><div><br /></div><div><div><font size="5">Today, we celebrate a day that the world calls Mother’s Day. It is a time when we remember to be particularly nice to our mothers. Mother’s Day is good for many but hard for others. Not only are many today isolated from their mothers, but not everyone has a mother they can celebrate. Mother's Day is tough if we have a mother unable to do the things mothers are meant to do. If we have lost our mother or never knew her, then today is painful, but Mother’s Day goes deeper. </font></div><div><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div><img alt="" id="id_fcfb_14c6_783f_62ac" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1yqBr5y3Fa2S11F_77sniE9VLGEfEBL-G" style="height: auto; width: 392px;" title="" tooltip="" /><br /><br />All photos courtesy of Unsplash</div><div><br /></div><div><font size="5">It takes us beyond individuals' celebrations or regrets and points to the joy and difficulty of human love and the call to love as God loves. It is an exploration of God's love in the face of the human condition. At a time when the human condition is being rather clearly brought home to us, Mother’s Day offers us insight.</font></div><div><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div><font size="5">The words of a 1987 hit by rock group Heart called “Who will you run to?” go like this: “I’m not going to sing it or play air guitar—I have no desire to become an internet sensation for all the wrong reasons. Who will you run to when it all falls down? Who’s gonna pick your world up off the ground? Who’s gonna take away the tears you cry? Who’s gonna love you, baby, as good as I?"</font></div><div><font size="5"><br /></font></div></div></div><div><a name='more'></a></div><div><img alt="" id="id_c858_2640_579d_c989" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1jhRD5VSDcUuypHzYaqvTXUQFzyJ9PUT9" style="height: auto; width: 392px;" title="" tooltip="" /><br /><br /><img alt="" id="id_9b20_c45_b7d5_2e5f" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1agFL1tjH_df95xb8UroByXhBOwO7xB-Y" style="height: auto; width: 392px;" title="" tooltip="" /><br /><br />All photos courtesy of Unsplash</div><div><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div><font size="5">With all our problems, the question is—who will we run to? Will we turn to our own strength, fearfully hoarding stuff out of fear? Will we turn to the Church as we have known it and find it missing, so we lose our faith, or will we run to the Lord and know ourselves protected under the shadow of His wings?</font></div><div><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div><font size="5">Jesus’ words in the gospel sum up the heartache and pain of love without control. “O Jerusalem, how often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood together under her wings, and you were not willing!”</font></div><div><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div><font size="5">These are words of such sadness. Jesus laments that the people of Jerusalem are like chicks that refuse to be cared for, looked after or protected. “You were not willing.”</font></div><div><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div><font size="5">Our God knows what it is like to love us when we don’t want protection. He knows the pain of realising that He can’t force us to change, He can’t make us choose a different path, and yet He keeps offering shelter and protection. This is our God.</font></div><div><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div><font size="5">The world turns us away from that which is good and eternal and pulls us toward things that might satisfy us now but do not last. And yet we can and must now choose to run under His wings as a child runs to a parent for comfort.</font></div><div><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div><font size="5">Running to God doesn’t keep problems from being dangerous, but it keeps them from being what determines how we experience life and offers real comfort. The problem of life is not optional, but fear is, and the antidote to fear is love. Our invitation is to run to Christ in faith because He loves. We must turn to Christ; in Christ, we must remain because His perfect love casts out fear.</font></div><div><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div><font size="5">Who will you run to? Our God is the God of Comfort. We suffer with Christ, and we find our comfort in and through him. Suffering is part of the journey, but resurrection follows. If we run to God in our tears and our fears when our world falls down, He is with us, for nobody loves us as much as He.</font></div><div><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div><font size="5">The Bible says, “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yes, they may forget, yet I will not forget you". Thankfully, God's love exceeds that of a mother towards those who confess their sins and believe in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who died on the Cross of Calvary for their sins.</font></div><div><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div><font size="5">Can a woman's tender care</font></div><div><font size="5">Cease towards the child she bear?</font></div><div><font size="5">Yes! She may forgetful be;</font></div><div><font size="5">Yet will I remember thee</font>.</div><div><br /></div><div><img alt="" id="id_dd2b_87f9_e0de_65e6" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1rWWclEAiXyw8HtAHLLyRu2tKwifHU71d" style="height: auto; width: 392px;" title="" tooltip="" /><br /><br />All photos courtesy of Unsplash </div><div><br /></div><div><div>DAILY MESSAGES WITH MEANING (10/03/24) </div><div>Written by PETER FRANCIS </div></div><div><br /></div>Stephen Baker of Seek the Truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561040292481776300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28011147.post-2453153354401352692024-03-08T16:43:00.001+00:002024-03-08T16:43:50.317+00:00Do you find the state of the world alarming?<p><br></p><p><img id="id_310f_fb1a_a10f_6fec" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1BNzIU5xMk_ElvB9Rz82pmGzGyvs3eGJe" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_1e85_f94a_bc07_6233" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1xl765kRaUY4Pg_EhTeoHjRbBxkwLNg_L" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_e799_836b_7f31_e021" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1qXyUtDweRRXCHddFtGGarVmMkw_8YIfj" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br></p><p>All photos courtesy of Unsplash</p><p><br></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><font size="5">Are you frightened about the state of the world at the moment? Many people find it very scary, as every day brings another disaster. Murder seems to be so commonplace! Daily, we hear of someone else going on the rampage and killing people! Individual acts of terrorism are on the increase, resulting in the tragedy of people being deprived of their loved ones by an act of violence. Yesterday's events seem so long ago as we wake up to hear of another tragic evil act being perpetrated.</font></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><font size="5"><br></font></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><font size="5">I find it all very distressing, and sadly, I can see the inevitability of how the world is going. The Bible teaches that conditions in society will get worse and worse as time progresses. Paul, an old man, wrote to Timothy, a young man – ‘<i>but understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with deceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness but denying its power</i>,’ 2 Timothy 3:1-5. I think what the Bible says in these verses is staring us in the face. Do you recognize a description of our society?</font></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><font size="5"><br></font></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><font size="5">If we reject the moral compass of the Bible, there are ultimately consequences. In effect, morality becomes subjective and personal. There is no absolute standard of right and wrong. Everyone does what is right in his or her own eyes. This is not a new problem. It happened in Bible times and many times since, but every time it happens, the results are disastrous. The old book says ‘<i>there is a way that seems right to a man but its end is the way of death</i>,’ Proverbs 14:12. </font></p><a name='more'></a><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><font size="5">If we don’t get back to the Bible, we can expect society to get worse and worse. We need to educate the next generation so that they don’t make the mistakes that we have made. The Bible says, ‘<i>train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it</i>’ Proverbs 22:6</font></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><font size="5"><br></font></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><font size="5">I'm also glad to say that the Bible states that ‘<i>where sin increased, grace abounded all the more</i>,’ Romans 5:20. This means that the gospel of Jesus Christ can meet the needs of a wicked society. Forgiveness starts with the individual. The promise of scripture is still true – ‘<i>If we confess our sins, he (God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness</i>,’ 1 John 1:9. Society will never change by enforcement but by the transforming power of God working in the each individual’s life through the gospel of Jesus Christ.</font></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><font size="5"><br></font></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><font size="5">Are you fearful? Scripture says, ‘<i>perfect love casts out fear</i>,’ ‘<i>the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord</i>’.</font></p><p><br></p><p><br></p>Stephen Baker of Seek the Truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561040292481776300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28011147.post-45968365841506628112024-03-07T15:20:00.001+00:002024-03-07T15:20:38.748+00:00An Artist’s Picture of Peace<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt;">There once was a king who offered a prize to the artist who could paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried. The king looked at all the pictures, but there were only two he really liked and he had to choose between them. One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror of peaceful towering mountains which were all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. All who saw this picture thought that it was a perfect picture of peace.</span></div>
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<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt;">The other picture had mountains too. But these were rugged and bare. Above was an angry sky from which rain fell, and in which lightning flashed. Down the side of the mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall. This did not look peaceful at all. But when the king looked, he saw behind the waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. in the bush a mother bird had built her nest. There, in the midst of the rush of angry water, sat the mother bird on her nest in perfect peace.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt;">Which do you think won the prize? The king chose the second picture. Do you know why? “Because,” explained the king, “peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart. That is the real meaning of peace.” True peace is found not in the absence of crisis, but in the presence of Christ. Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt;">How do we receive this peace? When Christ calls obey. When storms distract you pray. When Christ comes let Him stay. Let Jesus change your life. It's simple, but be genuine and honest about what you are doing. You simply have to believe that Jesus lives, admit that you have done wrong things and thought wrong thoughts in the sight of a holy God, ask Jesus for His forgiveness through His sacrifice for you on the cross, and then ask Him to come and change your life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt;">And He will - "If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" (Rom 10.9)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt;">What happens next? You will start a relationship with the one true God - you can claim that special peace in your life that only Jesus gives.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt;">Now stand on the promises of the risen Christ:-<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt;">"I am with you always, even to the end of the age"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt;">"My peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives ... Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Written by a Guest blogger </div>
Stephen Baker of Seek the Truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561040292481776300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28011147.post-19653694402678792512024-03-05T22:25:00.001+00:002024-03-05T22:25:41.737+00:00Significant Milestones <div><br></div><div><img id="id_98b7_db2c_90ec_eb45" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1VvYXjMrvrKrwE76iA4n0duPYZYeUjPLj" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_a9ab_6761_e9fe_7950" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1rdwxnR2pygIDkTdznIVmNoO8CSyUfyr2" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_f8f2_6f87_6b6_f366" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1xeFJvb6JmDqTdqaDJHJ-D15K8lNXQ3-x" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br></div><div>All photos courtesy of Unsplash</div><div><br></div><div><p style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><font size="5">In the past month, I have witnessed some significant milestones in life. Firstly, my old aunt of 90 years of age passed away. It was a wonderful release for her as she was sure of arriving safely in heaven when she closed her eyes in death. You may think this to be presumptive or ill-founded. My aunt was an intelligent person who had a career as a school teacher. Many years ago, she had become convinced that her sins needed to be forgiven and that humans are accountable to their Creator. Her hope was based solidly on the following verses from the Bible:</font></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); min-height: 18.2px;"><font size="5"><br></font></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><font size="5">‘The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost,’ 1 Timothy 1. 15</font></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); min-height: 18.2px;"><font size="5"><br></font></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><font size="5">Jesus said, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life,’ John 5:24</font></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); min-height: 18.2px;"><font size="5"><br></font></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><font size="5">‘The Lord is not slow to fulfil his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance,’ 2 Peter 3:9.</font></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); min-height: 18.2px;"><font size="5"><br></font></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><font size="5">The second milestone was a wedding. I love weddings, but this one was a bit more daunting as I was officiating at it. Everything had to be right as I stood before friends and family - no pressure. A wedding is a wonderful occasion marked by love, joy and beauty. The Creator attended the first wedding in the Bible as He united two lives in the great joy of an intimate relationship. The Lord Jesus also attended a wedding in Cana of Galilee and brought joy to the day when he replenished the supply of wine. Wine in the Bible is often a symbol of joy. He, Jesus, still brings joy to those who welcome His presence and company as they walk the path of life.</font></p><a name='more'></a>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); min-height: 18.2px;"><font size="5"><br></font></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><font size="5">Finally, I was delighted to meet my latest grandchild for the first time. I am not biased, as you would know, but he is beautiful (I think handsome is the right word for a boy). New life is a miracle and a wonder. It can all be explained biologically, but it is still amazing. The newborn is vulnerable yet has everything needed for life in this world. I am amazed that God has made so much provision for this life and also for everyone to be prepared and equipped for life in the next world. </font></p>
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<p style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><font size="5">But, back to my aunt. She understood that we can and should prepare for the next life. But in fact, it is even better than that. We can actually enjoy a relationship with God in this life now so that when our end comes, we only move location and are going home. My aunt enjoyed her relationship with God for years. She was an incredibly happy person, and when the time came for her to go, she did not dread death but was delighted to depart and ‘be with Christ, which is far better’.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><font size="5"><br></font></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><font size="5"><br></font></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); min-height: 18.2px;"><br></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); min-height: 18.2px;"><br></p></div>Stephen Baker of Seek the Truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561040292481776300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28011147.post-80723299894078947302024-02-28T13:38:00.005+00:002024-02-28T13:38:30.094+00:00Home Sweet Home<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ZVZf45YN-eOA23gsVwWFq7mB3p6JKfU1-nFiCR3_qHmBvKuBNmHLsklvnEbyzxbMZpUgau7z0KJsLQTmMYsLVqRKXOUGn1NzYhe9lUVtuCNI1rOS2HUbFWLuReAaeEZSPT7B1q-GyRImKUgIU5VhD4ftAhpCLHQ6v31V_csC1hl0gBnQeDpp/s4855/tanaphong-toochinda--dfO-LtZMzQ-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4855" data-original-width="3231" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ZVZf45YN-eOA23gsVwWFq7mB3p6JKfU1-nFiCR3_qHmBvKuBNmHLsklvnEbyzxbMZpUgau7z0KJsLQTmMYsLVqRKXOUGn1NzYhe9lUVtuCNI1rOS2HUbFWLuReAaeEZSPT7B1q-GyRImKUgIU5VhD4ftAhpCLHQ6v31V_csC1hl0gBnQeDpp/w426-h640/tanaphong-toochinda--dfO-LtZMzQ-unsplash.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivDw9QEGtsFbC0aftDR8e-zTEn5PuDJ7LD3QvIyfIpp_XYDn9ruLiHkOTG0daDiPr6N9c0NMVU3cDghyphenhyphenK2hnNgwxZx4wtAZOdmbk1hzyzH0SjPcdZufqQQVxqyY4WLm534JUdR3gWss7QcqX7TTZThaQoBy7X1B1MHlXam8v-hGKyaLgk7ench/s6000/james-lee-K4ILW1Pm2yE-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivDw9QEGtsFbC0aftDR8e-zTEn5PuDJ7LD3QvIyfIpp_XYDn9ruLiHkOTG0daDiPr6N9c0NMVU3cDghyphenhyphenK2hnNgwxZx4wtAZOdmbk1hzyzH0SjPcdZufqQQVxqyY4WLm534JUdR3gWss7QcqX7TTZThaQoBy7X1B1MHlXam8v-hGKyaLgk7ench/w640-h426/james-lee-K4ILW1Pm2yE-unsplash.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh848IkQiTZZeIchOrf42B-5TOf_Gzg6VVBB-QCXF2wXO9FzMvcFC5znxyNRbIqSedvbFTXYXkpCr-gBaTT4qX73XfbGOl_-m-DH_J0aGvc_NISyOkNWpJKwfdm2gbFv7698YAHap2LPspMZbSrX4qBJ7G6XHHlsy-VdHYjaSeZZSXtYoT5jXu-/s4288/scott-webb-1ddol8rgUH8-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2848" data-original-width="4288" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh848IkQiTZZeIchOrf42B-5TOf_Gzg6VVBB-QCXF2wXO9FzMvcFC5znxyNRbIqSedvbFTXYXkpCr-gBaTT4qX73XfbGOl_-m-DH_J0aGvc_NISyOkNWpJKwfdm2gbFv7698YAHap2LPspMZbSrX4qBJ7G6XHHlsy-VdHYjaSeZZSXtYoT5jXu-/w640-h426/scott-webb-1ddol8rgUH8-unsplash.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>All photos courtesy of Unsplash</p><p class="Default" style="border: medium; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">Do you enjoy the warm feeling of being in your home?</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">That assumes, of course, that you have a home, you enjoy being at home, or your home is in a fit state to live in. However, home life can be a nightmare for many people. It is often a place of confrontation, where you are on edge, unsure what will happen next. For others, home just doesn</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS", sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">t exist. It</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS", sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">s a dream, something that, so far, just hasn</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS", sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">t happened for them – couch surfing, shared accommodation or, at worst, they have ended up living on the street. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: medium; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: medium; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">I</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS", sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">ve been privileged to travel extensively in the last 10 to 15 years. There seemed to be abundant wealth in North America, but despite Uganda being a beautiful country, there is significant poverty. Yet, at the same time, the people are really happy. In Pakistan, for the average person, life is just so hard, and it’s incredible to see what some people call home - tents, etc.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"> Those living in comfortable, safe, dry homes should be grateful and appreciative.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="Default" style="border: medium; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: medium; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">Overall, seeing people’s resilience, love of life, appreciation of kindness, and a strong sense of family and belonging is amazing</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">. What have they got to live for? I suggest that many have their sight set on another world. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: medium; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: medium; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">The Bible says that no matter what type of home life we have in this world, there is the prospect of a better home in the next. In fact, the Lord Jesus Christ is recorded as telling His disciples that He was going to prepare a place for them. In that conversation, He indicated that He was going back to heaven, His Father</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS", sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">s house and that he would look forward to welcoming them to live there with Him. I feel that the preparation He was talking about did not involve </span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS", sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>‘</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">bricks and mortar</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS", sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>’ </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">but that by His death, burial, and resurrection, He was making life in heaven available to all. He was going to die for sin and suffer, the just for the unjust (us) to bring us to God. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: medium; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: medium; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">Many of my readers will not be convinced that the Bible is relevant to them. But, as a Christian, I am convinced that the Bible is more than just an interesting book or a book of ancient or historical value. Instead, I believe that the Bible is a unique book vital for every human being to understand why they are in the world and why they need a relationship with God.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: medium; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: medium; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">As I finish, let me take you back to the words of the Lord Jesus.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: medium; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: medium; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">As well as promising that He was going back to heaven (the inference being that He had come from heaven to this planet in the first place), He was making it clear that He is the only way for every human being to get to know God (His Father) and to be in a fit condition to occupy heaven on the other side of death. So, Jesus said </span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS", sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>– ‘</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS", sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>’</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: medium; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: medium; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">For anyone who wants to read what Jesus said for themselves, read the Gospel of John, chapter 14.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Default" style="border: medium; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span></p><p class="Default" style="border: medium; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">Thanks for reading this.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Stephen Baker of Seek the Truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561040292481776300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28011147.post-69842757698516795112024-02-27T20:22:00.002+00:002024-02-27T20:22:44.563+00:00Learning Lessons from the Four Seasons<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIldSVxyyjfyd2m04RvV02NBtrdKYv1ZBLFq7UtRp8DTirYzdeev53AN5hCzzq5aIbgRMWbo7l-5UszH7RvpF09PTFDkH0FvBH5BruO1AisR-kMZDJES4LgJCG5n6jBmv4Z7NdqSK8cdNUnlGmqf7bY2odg36RPkuEfHOW9e_Tbct9jGGK_Fk_/s5976/redd-f-Lm5rkxzgiFQ-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5976" data-original-width="3984" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIldSVxyyjfyd2m04RvV02NBtrdKYv1ZBLFq7UtRp8DTirYzdeev53AN5hCzzq5aIbgRMWbo7l-5UszH7RvpF09PTFDkH0FvBH5BruO1AisR-kMZDJES4LgJCG5n6jBmv4Z7NdqSK8cdNUnlGmqf7bY2odg36RPkuEfHOW9e_Tbct9jGGK_Fk_/w426-h640/redd-f-Lm5rkxzgiFQ-unsplash.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXbVWW7JZzVgP79LMUdjjE5BghrKzazKF_fONwPkJo_7NMMvGK8ojBISgM3_TIP61a7YqNXkQa5uGhcILIJkvEghrv7a7RmEyBFz5zXF9VsCv_JmC5prOn4IH_z-f0nDbhaUUWfds3MtBtteX-QDsgbtPKrBX2G96XXzLXyv8GXc-lDRWCpCC7/s4608/mak-UUmKahgqBSg-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3072" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXbVWW7JZzVgP79LMUdjjE5BghrKzazKF_fONwPkJo_7NMMvGK8ojBISgM3_TIP61a7YqNXkQa5uGhcILIJkvEghrv7a7RmEyBFz5zXF9VsCv_JmC5prOn4IH_z-f0nDbhaUUWfds3MtBtteX-QDsgbtPKrBX2G96XXzLXyv8GXc-lDRWCpCC7/w426-h640/mak-UUmKahgqBSg-unsplash.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4x075RdlHnFaRyGeQfgoPuanfvVPYO3iJ7vgV_WyPWK0J725_u6SbkUPbWIicyN_uCrfL_NJjM6negZyqZBSOBTsijh5uQGslUtsGnXPC38VCvsti1nG6FTjc0VJKYOczUyBacRNC9x6gMMHpxSNalXngZI_tk0Pz8TwhA8nchMBay3T4t_6b/s2811/fabio-jock-eFHp9s4sdLg-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2811" data-original-width="1900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4x075RdlHnFaRyGeQfgoPuanfvVPYO3iJ7vgV_WyPWK0J725_u6SbkUPbWIicyN_uCrfL_NJjM6negZyqZBSOBTsijh5uQGslUtsGnXPC38VCvsti1nG6FTjc0VJKYOczUyBacRNC9x6gMMHpxSNalXngZI_tk0Pz8TwhA8nchMBay3T4t_6b/w432-h640/fabio-jock-eFHp9s4sdLg-unsplash.jpg" width="432" /></a></div><br /><p>All photos courtesy of Unsplash</p><p style="font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">The church where I am a member hosts an event for people with memory problems once a month. The aim is to support the carers and individuals increasingly struggling with cognitive-related issues. It’s a great morning and seems to benefit all who come.</span></p><p style="font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">At the start, someone does a brief session to ensure everyone is orientated - time, day, month, year, place, season, etc. Most of us need help identifying the season at certain times of the year (usually at the beginning and the end of each season). </span></p><p style="font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">In the United Kingdom, we have four clearly defined seasons, as do ‘most countries at a similar latitude (the same distance away from the equator) to the UK. Other parts of the world may only have two seasons - a winter and a summer, or a wet and a dry season </span><span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">1</span></span><span style="font-size: large;">. I find it fascinating that despite all the climate change that is suggested, discussed and debated, in the main, seasons are still the same as defined in one of the oldest records of human history, the Bible. Genesis chapter 8 verse 22 records the promise of God to Noah (after the worldwide flood - another event that reoccurs in the history of many ancient civilisations) - ‘While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease’.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p style="font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">We should be grateful for seasons. We need the rainy seasons as well as the dry. Nighttime is essential if we are going live well in the daytime. Seasons were designed for our well-being. So, it is with us as individuals.</span></p><p style="font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicW8kubWozSNO4D3OSMfTGoEQ3yRWzihqp26iI6WuUsLw9_3YAQunuLHAIO-RDjQCuW4YRHSf1e5IIXmzjxAYVH3Bo2FTSRDLk-Yc_l4ksiLvU12g0_fsuC20SraDMdbBTtRkhON_YFKuHLtpyCZ4AXXeJkRipsGpqT4e3bO04Ms4rjEDuTVeM/s5760/lex-valishvili-d0daXphrFlw-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3240" data-original-width="5760" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicW8kubWozSNO4D3OSMfTGoEQ3yRWzihqp26iI6WuUsLw9_3YAQunuLHAIO-RDjQCuW4YRHSf1e5IIXmzjxAYVH3Bo2FTSRDLk-Yc_l4ksiLvU12g0_fsuC20SraDMdbBTtRkhON_YFKuHLtpyCZ4AXXeJkRipsGpqT4e3bO04Ms4rjEDuTVeM/w640-h360/lex-valishvili-d0daXphrFlw-unsplash.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />All photos courtesy of Unsplash<p></p><p style="font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Bible often uses the seasons to teach us lessons for living and to prepare us for dying. Autumn reminds us that the summer is past and the winter is coming. Many animals characteristically prepare for winter. They gather food in the shorter daylight hours and prepare for the long winter ahead. Can I ask you a personal question? Are you ready for the final season of life when it comes? Here are a couple of verses from the Bible that will help you make that vital preparation - </span></p><p style="font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">‘Seek the LORD while he may be found;</span></p><p style="font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">call upon him while he is near;</span></p><p style="font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">let the wicked forsake his way,</span></p><p style="font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">and the unrighteous man his thoughts;</span></p><p style="font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon,’ Isaiah 55. 6.7.</span></p><p style="font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Autumn may remind us that winter is coming, but Spring is all about new life. God willing, I will write about Spring in more detail on another occasion. Still, please be clear that for those who have made preparation, there is new life and hope through believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. </span></p><p style="font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><br /></p><p style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black;"> 1. <span style="color: blue;"><a href="https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/learn-about/met-office-for-schools">https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/learn-about/met-office-for-schools</a></span></span></p><div><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></div>Stephen Baker of Seek the Truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561040292481776300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28011147.post-21094004013939680602024-02-24T22:59:00.001+00:002024-02-24T22:59:06.478+00:00Cadbury’s Chocolate <div><img id="id_8d54_35a3_f483_ac18" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1ae9c8RLZviaxTc1ySFmhekZgCFDNvo_g" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 392px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_503f_4b06_2534_8b15" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1ap35pC4H3dWLROg6LX7SUiJAFSWQkZ3n" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 392px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_a4e8_bd10_def7_a3db" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/17HfkQop_7xv0rg2uaVtT_Ow5zfVmuY5-" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 392px; height: auto;"><br></div><div><br></div><div>Photos courtesy of Unsplash </div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><div><font size="5">The name Cadbury is associated, in many peoples minds, with their range of chocolate products but there is more to their story than the production of sweet confectionery.</font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">In 1879 George and Richard Cadbury moved their factory out of the centre of Birmingham into the healthy clear air of the rural Bournbrook Estate. George Cadbury was appalled at the terrible living conditions of workers in the city and he wanted better lives for those he employed. So alongside the new factory a village was constructed. The brothers adopted a french sounding name Bournville, for the area, as France had a good reputation for food and they thought that this might help in boosting sales of their products.</font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">An Architect was employed to design the village. Rules were strict, each house was not to occupy more than a quarter of the building plot. Gardens had to be not less than one sixth of an acre and have at least six fruit trees.</font></div></span><div><a name='more'></a></div><div><font size="5">Over the years the village has grown, some areas being developed in partnership with other organizations. A college and school were also built, together with attractive shops. George Cadbury visited Bruges in Belgium and was very impressed with a Carillion he saw and heard. This was a set of bells sounded from a keyboard and he brought one back to Bournville to be located in a tower on the top of the school, and it is still played regularly today.</font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">A manor house, to the east of Birmingham, was taken down and rebuilt as Selly Manor at Bournville.</font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">A particular feature of Bournville is the absence of any public houses or any other outlet for the sale of alcoholic drink. The Cadburys, being Quakers, would not tolerate such things. The village has enjoyed being such an attractive and much sought after place to live in. Its environment is carefully managed by the Bournville Village Trust, who are the guardians of this remarkable legacy of the Cadbury family.</font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">You may think that this is some kind of utopia which is the key to a happy, contented and healthy life. What more would people want? Surely the residents would be fully satisfied for the rest of their lives in such a place as this. The whole area appears to answer everyone's need but the people of Bournville are no different to you or I. They still have their problems and above all, like every other person, they have a vital personal need.</font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">Although there is so much good about Bournville Village the people themselves need to be right with God and know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour, as we must too. Wherever we live and whoever we are, the Bible says we are all born in sin and we cannot save ourselves from it or its consequences. This is why the Lord Jesus Christ came into the world to die on the cross at Calvary to put away forever your sin and mine. By repentance and believing on the Lord Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour you will be saved from your sin forever and have the wonderful free gift of eternal life.</font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">Remember you will one day no longer look out on the area in which you live, whether it’s like the fine suburb of Bournville or a poor desolate area. So will you be looking upon the Glory of Heaven or somewhere far removed?</font></div></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><div>DAILY MESSAGES WITH MEANING (25/02/24)</div><div>Written by RODERICK BARTON </div></div>Stephen Baker of Seek the Truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561040292481776300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28011147.post-77927842710615236692024-02-22T00:16:00.001+00:002024-02-22T00:16:07.618+00:00Morning has broken - a song of encouragement <img id="id_197a_46ab_956c_b98b" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1_1hr5PQk4kPLAy4-Eu6XbhBIADlq01_D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 392px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_155d_5a7a_7404_478c" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1whdw3hkAZy1ZzlobsxtO770TWFuJZUJT" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 392px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_2ba3_65b4_323a_7ab3" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1TN7qHnXeRZ4EtgzwhGh3hRcnc8gBvFdF" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 392px; height: auto;"><br><br><div>Photos courtesy of Unsplash </div><div><br></div><div><font size="5">The popular and well-known Christian hymn ‘Morning has broken” was first published in 1931. It has words by English author Eleanor Farjeon, and is set to a traditional Scottish Gaelic tune known as "Bunessan" and is often sung in children's services. In 1971, a hit version of "Morning Has Broken" was recorded by British singer Cat Stevens, helping to popularise the hymn in the UK and North America. </font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">A morning prayer is a wonderful way to focus our time and attention on seeking God's plan for the day ahead. With the current problems in Ukraine and Gaza we certainly need encouragement, peace, strength, and rest. Thankfully God can meet us in a very real and present way when we come before Him with a humble heart. We need to seek God's presence each morning before our energy and attention is pulled by all the tasks we have ahead. Here is a poem by an unknown author to encourage us to seek God today and every day:-</font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div></span><a name='more'></a></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">I got up early one morning</font></div><div><font size="5">And rushed right into the day;</font></div><div><font size="5">I had so much to accomplish</font></div><div><font size="5">That I didn't have time to pray.</font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">Problems just tumbled about me,</font></div><div><font size="5">And heavier came each task;</font></div><div><font size="5">'Why doesn't God help me?' I wondered.</font></div><div><font size="5">He answered, 'You didn't ask.'</font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">I wanted to see joy and beauty</font></div><div><font size="5">But the day toiled on gray and bleak</font></div><div><font size="5">I wondered why God didn't show me</font></div><div><font size="5">He said, 'But you didn't seek',</font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">I tried to come into God's presence;</font></div><div><font size="5">I used all my keys in the lock.</font></div><div><font size="5">God gently and lovingly chided,</font></div><div><font size="5">'My child, you didn't knock.'</font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">I woke up early this morning,</font></div><div><font size="5">And paused before entering the day;</font></div><div><font size="5">I had so much to accomplish</font></div><div><font size="5">That I had to take time to pray.</font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">We should not let anything separate us from God today. We should choose only His way to guide us so each step will lead us closer to Him. Taking time to ask God to help us walk by His Word the Bible and not by our feelings will protect us from careless thoughts, words, and actions. We need to ask God to keep us from being distracted by OUR wants, OUR desires, OUR thoughts on how things should be. We should embrace what comes our way as an opportunity, rather than a personal inconvenience.</font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">Whatever life throws at us during these difficult times remember to rest in the truth of Psalm 86 that God is great and does wondrous things because He alone is God. Pray the prayer that King David did all those centuries ago, "Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name. I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever. For great is your steadfast love toward me.." </font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">God sees the ways we all fall short and mess up, but thankfully He loves us warts and all. That IS amazing, but what is most amazing is that the Saviour of the world would desire a few minutes with me and you this morning. Never forget what a gift it is to sit with the Great God of heaven like this every morning of every day. </font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">God promises us in His Word that He hears every word we pray. Like a good parent, He is waiting, ready, and willing to listen to our worries, concerns, and needs. Whether we are seeking forgiveness, strength, or healing, prayer provides the channel to communicate with God and receive supernatural strength and power! </font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">"Our prayers may be awkward. Our attempts may be feeble. But since the power of prayer is in the one who hears it and not in the one who says it, our prayers do make a difference." - Max Lucado</font></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><div>DAILY MESSAGES WITH MEANING (09/01/24)</div><div>Written by PETER FRANCIS </div></div><div><br></div> Stephen Baker of Seek the Truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561040292481776300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28011147.post-13739467847249767912024-02-21T09:16:00.001+00:002024-02-21T09:16:26.625+00:00Brutal Honesty <div><img id="id_b033_19b8_95ed_8023" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1a7OL0LXuYc5aqR8dpApSDc0Su2wmzFJu" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 392px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_eb3b_fae3_57cf_e336" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1XCLcVJzPuCuXAVMq3GzbIprdEpUWgckB" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 392px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_7810_71b4_fa32_e07" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1JKwU8n7_iaSkWDfKdANmyUV62Z1NNu8h" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 392px; height: auto;"><br><br></div><div>All photos courtesy of Unsplash </div><div><br></div><div><div><font size="5">Moments of brutal honesty about ourselves are rare. We go to great lengths trying to present ourselves in the best light possible. We either deny our failures or apologise for them:- </font></div><div><font size="5">“That wasn't the real me.”</font></div><div><font size="5">“That was a weak moment when I messed up.”</font></div><div><font size="5">“My inner demons won that time, but that's really not who I am."</font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">The world was shocked when the news broke that Philip Seymour Hoffman died at 46. Every major North American media outlet immediately elevated the breaking story to headline status. The winner of the 2005 Academy Award for Best Actor had died in his apartment. In less than twenty five years Philip Seymour Hoffman had appeared in more than fifty films, winning multiple awards and numerous nominations. As the sad news broke, accolades and words of praise for this most ambitious and widely admired American actor of his generation, flooded social media and news channels.</font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">Those who knew him were well aware of his struggles with drugs and alcohol. Although he battled addictions for years, he managed to stay clean for twenty years, but on 2 February 2014 the world became painfully aware that he had succumbed to chemicals once again. </font></div></span><div><a name='more'></a></div><div><font size="5">Just two weeks before his death, Washington Life publisher John Arundel met him at a Film Festival in Utah. The publisher did not recognise the dishevelled actor so he asked him what he did for a living. Philip Seymour Hoffman said: "I'm a heroin addict." Full stop. Such honesty! No mention of his awards or his stellar acting career. No mention of his popularity. Just: "I'm a heroin addict." </font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">It is never easy to be 100% honest about who we are. That is why it is surely a rare occasion when we are honest with ourselves and with others. One of the most difficult things for any of us to do is to be honest about ourselves before the One and Only Holy God. We live with our 'inner' sins: our envy, our suppressed anger, our lusts, ours lies, etc. Those closest to us see some of our 'outer' failures; acquaintances may know only a few of them and others may not be aware of any of them.</font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">The most difficult thing for any of us to do is to admit, both to ourselves and to God, the truth about who we are. It is hard to say: "I'm a sinner," and leave it there. When we do admit that we are sinners, so often we add a qualifying statement such as: ".just like everyone else." The late Philip Seymour Hoffman ended his sentence with a full stop. He did not talk about other addicts or mask his stark reality. </font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">Spiritually, we will get nowhere with a Holy God, if we cannot be honest about who we are. He knows who we are but He requires honesty from our hearts. That moment of truth with God is called 'repentance'. Once we face our spiritual reality, God will respond. God rescues sinners. God hears honest sinners who are ready to abandon their life of sin and cry out to Him, from their hearts, for salvation. </font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">Three times in the Bible this statement of fact is made: "For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." God delights to save sinners. God specialises in transforming the lives of sinners and equips them with eternal life to enjoy now and forever. This wonderful life is found only through faith in Jesus Christ, God's Son.</font></div></div><div><br></div><div><div>DAILY MESSAGES WITH MEANING (21/02/24)</div><div>Written by PETER FRANCIS </div></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div>Stephen Baker of Seek the Truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561040292481776300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28011147.post-61941391213554802182024-02-17T23:14:00.001+00:002024-02-17T23:14:52.729+00:00Operation Mincemeat<div><br></div><div><img id="id_73ab_d7f7_6b9f_c915" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/16fr21eZOZr6luHzgsXp79q4jfp2UDUPj" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 392px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_b343_65f_a0e5_8c00" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1ZXR3AmBQjcfn2TABo6fQogpQEcDb2B4C" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 392px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_ce96_4401_c45e_6b6d" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1WgbyosTJgSBLfZmlh0Z7sbjIoYnqedO_" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 392px; height: auto;"><br><br></div><div>All photos courtesy of Unsplash </div><div><br></div><div><font size="5">In a cemetery in Aberbargoed stands a memorial stone. On it is the inscription, “In recognition to the allied war effort by Glyndwr Michael of Aberbargoed”. But who was Glyndwr Michael and what did he do?</font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">Glyndwr Michael was a homeless tramp who had died from eating rat poison. The poison had caused pneumonia and he had died without any known relatives to mourn him.</font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">So the question remains, “What did this penniless, insignificant man do to contribute to the war effort in 1943?”</font></div><div><font size="5">The answer is found in an enigmatic inscription on the top of the memorial stone.</font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">“Y dyn na fu erioed”.</font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">Below is the English translation.</font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">“The man who never was”.</font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">Glyndwr Michael was, unknowingly, instrumental as one of the greatest deceptions named Operation Mincemeat which was carried out by British Intelligence to fool the enemy. His body was acquired by the Intelligence service who then created a wholly fictitious person by the name of Major William Martin (Royal Marines).</font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div></span><div><a name='more'></a></div><div><font size="5">Michael, as Major Martin, was given a whole newfake identity right down to personal letters and a receipt for an engagement ring, and his body dropped into the sea from a submarine off the coast of Spain. </font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">Major Martin was carrying fake secret documents about the proposed allied invasion of Greece and Sardinia. The true target for invasion was Sicily.</font></div><div><font size="5">The papers inevitably ended up in the hands of the Nazi commanders who swallowed the lie and diverted their defences away from the vital areas where the invasion was to take place. </font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">It was later argued that the ruse led to the saving of many lives and a shortening of the war.</font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">What did Glyndwr Michael do? He literally gave his body – unknowingly – to save others.</font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">As we think of that action, we have to admit that Michael’s contribution has some significant similarities to the greatest sacrifice of all times – the death of the Lord Jesus Christ.</font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">But although there are some similarities, there are also many differences – and the differences are enormous.</font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">It is true that both gave their bodies, but Michael gave his body unknowingly and, it must be said, without consent. On the other hand, as Jesus went to the cross, He did so readily and willingly, knowing everything that lay before Him. As He instituted the Lord’s supper, He could say as He passed around the broken bread, “This is my body, given for you!”</font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">Operation Mincemeat was one big lie. It can be argued that the lie was for the greater good, but it was founded upon falsehood – as so much of intelligence and counter intelligence often is. On the other hand, Jesus’ death was founded upon truth. He, Himself, declared, “I AM the Truth” (John 14 v 6) and his sacrifice upon Calvary was the fulfilment of many faithful and true prophecies made down through the centuries.</font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">Glyndwr Michael was part of the struggle of World War 2, which, although it came to an end, was just one of many fights and battle that have marked the last century. He was just a small cog in a very large war machine. The Lord Jesus single handedly fought and won the greatest battle of all the ages – the battle against sin and death, and that battle and His victory in it will bring about the end to all conflict.</font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">Finally, Operation Mincemeat brought about the saving of many lives from death and injury in warfare. But some of those saved were later killed in other battles in the war. Jesus brings life eternal to all who will receive Him.</font></div><div><font size="5">His words have been proven to be true by all those who have made Him their Saviour.</font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">“I have come that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”</font></div><div><br></div><div><div>DAILY MESSAGES WITH MEANING (16/02/24)</div><div>Written by STEPHEN TRESEDER </div></div> Stephen Baker of Seek the Truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561040292481776300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28011147.post-36033134186137115942024-02-07T23:48:00.001+00:002024-02-07T23:48:52.216+00:00A hole in the world? <div><img id="id_9aca_a372_c85a_40c4" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1cROfIUIjE8ofrIdRA-StLGVel7WPyH7b" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_4ecd_d73c_58b_6420" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1PlQuYxyIUo2ejzgqvXaAZIDc267NkZar" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_131c_8ec0_8da9_ceb0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1TrfOb-Vr4alvs0MS-7iA-5uY3W4wuhWX" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br></div><div>All photos courtesy of Unsplash</div><div><br></div><div><div><font size="5">The Eagles, an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971, are one of the world's best-selling bands of all time, having sold more than 200 million records. One of their songs, "Hole in the World" begins like this:</font></div><div><font size="5">There's a hole in the world tonight.</font></div><div><font size="5">There's a cloud of fear and sorrow. </font></div><div><font size="5">There's a hole in the world tonight.</font></div><div><font size="5">Don't let there be a hole in the world tomorrow.</font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">Even if we are optimists and constantly look for the best, it does seem, at least at times, that there is a hole in the world. We live in a day of almost unrestrained violence. Children can be snatched from homes and killed at school. Bombs and missiles are exploded in public places. There is war in Ukraine, Gaza and many other less publicized places. No community, no race, no nation is immune to, nor protected from a growing culture of violence. It is as if there is a hole in the world. Now, more than ever, we need to learn a different way, for the path we are following leads to a dark and dangerous wilderness.</font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">I like the way of Azim Khamisa and Ples Felix, two men who experienced first hand a cloud of fear and sorrow. One deadly evening in 1995, 14-year-old Tony Hicks shot and killed a 20-year-old college student and pizza deliveryman in San Diego, California. Tony and several other gang members ordered pizza and, when it was delivered, Tony was told by his gang to shoot the young man, Tariq Khamisa, who delivered the food.</font></div><a name='more'></a><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">Tariq's father Azim was enraged at the senseless killing. "There's something really wrong with a society where kids kill kids," he spat. He was angry with the kids, but he was even more upset with a culture that breeds so much violence. Shortly after his son's death, Azim heard from a gentleman named Ples Felix. Ples was Tony Hick's grandfather and guardian. Azim invited Ples to his home and the two men shared their mutual grief and heartache, but it did not stop there -- they also decided to do something. </font><span style="font-size: x-large;">"I realised that change had to start with me," Azim reasoned.</span></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">Therefore, though he may have wanted revenge, the grieving father chose a different way to respond to his son's death. What happened? The victim's father toured the United States with the killer's grandfather. The two men visited schools with a message of nonviolence. They told the story of Tariq and Tony -- one child dead and the other in prison. Thankfully, in this growing worldwide culture of violence, these two men of peace changed lives. They warmed hearts and stimulated minds of countless young people. They showed us all there is a different way to live.</font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">It is easy to feel a great sense of despair when we see so much injustice and discrimination around us, but we can take comfort from what the psalmist wrote, “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever” God’s goodness and love is clearly demonstrated through Jesus, whom He sent to save us from our sins when we were still God’s enemies. As the apostle Paul encouraged the people in Rome and now us in this world of so much evil, “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us”</font></div></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><div>DAILY MESSAGES WITH MEANING (07/02/24)</div><div>Written by PETER FRANCIS </div></div>Stephen Baker of Seek the Truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561040292481776300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28011147.post-19244247302539459012024-02-06T22:22:00.001+00:002024-02-06T22:22:37.946+00:00Be still my soul, the Lord is on thy side. <div><img id="id_b212_45e_829a_9286" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1S6vo9Awq_fy3shu9bZBryWd9wazneece" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_fe0a_6fca_b5b4_32cf" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1fSnVzXSK0QsV0ZlHaxB0fpTCoXwWEckB" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_5158_8da1_228c_ae46" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1AKzqkUk1fuYI5QfT6Jctx_33IetrMWzm" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br></div><div><br></div><div><div>All photos courtesy of Unsplash </div><div><br></div><div><font size="5">John Milton was born in London in 1608 and educated at St Paul’s School, followed by the University of Cambridge. He knew at least ten languages, and was enormously well-read in literature, history, theology, philosophy and natural sciences. Milton’s Commonplace Book, in which he made notes on his extensive reading, is now held at the British Library.</font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">In February of 1652 Milton went completely blind. Many great artists have suffered blindness, but the twist in Milton's case is that he went blind before he wrote his best works, including the immortal epic poem Paradise Lost. Milton had written a few great poems before 1652, but he was not a famous poet by this point. In fact, Milton was more famous as a servant of the government of Oliver Cromwell, the "Lord Protector" of England during the period between the kings Charles I and Charles II. </font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">When John Milton went blind, he must have felt like modern athletes feel when they suffer a career-ending injury. You spend your whole life working toward a goal, pour your heart and soul into practising, and then some uncontrollable event or freak accident puts you back in the shoes of a regular person. John Milton's life plan was to be of service to God. He felt he could best achieve this goal by using his intelligence and especially his writing. In the days when Milton was alive, it was very hard to write when you had no sight. He was entirely dependent on other people to write down his work and read to him. Thankfully, Milton's blindness was not as crippling as he thought it would be, and he eventually adapted to the condition enough to write some of the world's great works of literature.</font></div><a name='more'></a><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">John Milton, a devout Christian, famously observed: "they also serve who only stand and wait." This kind of service - the service of patiently waiting on God's timing, on God's direction, on God's plan - can be the most difficult and gruelling to render to God. He goes from being a mover-and-shaker to being someone who merely "stands and waits" on God. How well he must have known the words of Psalm 27 verse 14, “Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord”</font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">We are tempted, in a time of uncertainty or calamity, to rush to our own set of solutions; we might even feel irresponsible to simply wait prayerfully for the Lord to give clear direction. Yet we must. Twice the command, “Wait on the Lord”, is repeated in this single verse. Our answers are usually not the right answers. Our instincts cannot be trusted. Our hurried assessment will doubtless yield an inadequate response. We need to WAIT! </font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">Wait on the Lord because he will strengthen your heart. He will answer your prayers. He will give the direction you need. He will send the help you require. In his own good time and in his right way, God will come to you when you wait on him. So be of good courage! Do not despair because the solution has not presented itself yet. Do not presume that God will not keep his appointments. He has promised to strengthen you, so wait, I say, on the Lord.</font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">Be still my soul the Lord is on thy side</font></div><div><font size="5">Wait patiently the cross of grief or pain</font></div><div><font size="5">Leave to thy God to order and provide</font></div><div><font size="5">In every change He faithful will remain</font></div><div><font size="5">Be still my soul thy best, thy heavenly friend</font></div><div><font size="5">Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end</font></div></div><div><br></div><div>Used by kind permission of Your5fortoday - Peter Francis</div>Stephen Baker of Seek the Truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561040292481776300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28011147.post-63311478484062350092024-01-28T18:07:00.001+00:002024-01-28T18:07:04.206+00:00Where has our sense of community gone? <div><img id="id_b92c_778a_8fce_50d5" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1_bO2xhFznO0RWQBK9rJEizXgN2AJR-qy" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_70e7_6b_37f7_d076" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1z-hKkwL4y6TFrDFd46FL_V5yvCsA7YKy" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_a6d_fd63_dff0_ce84" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1UpPw5DZ8pwQo6BhLRYCDWbTsp0bcYE22" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br></div><div>All photos courtesy of Unsplash</div><div><br></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><font size="5">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?<o:p></o:p></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><o:p><font size="5"> </font></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><font size="5">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. I</font><span style="font-size: x-large;">n the past, c</span><span style="font-size: x-large;">ommunity 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.</span></p><a name='more'></a><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><o:p><font size="5"> </font></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><font size="5">I believe that as a citizen I should be responsible and responsive when I see people in need. The need might be as small as helping them in a shop or smiling when I meet them; it might be as big as being there when disaster strikes in some way in their lives. This is what being a neighbour and a responsible citizen is all about. However I also believe that this principle applies in the realm of beliefs and spiritual health. The entire human race is mortal and we all need to face up to this. The Bible has been given to us to communicate the way of salvation and eternal life. The creator has revealed salvation in His Son, Jesus Christ. Christ died to pay the price for our sin and was raised to life again to establish God’s satisfaction that the price for sin has been made in full. It is a foolproof salvation but if people are ignorant of the danger that they are in and we do not tell them they will face the ultimate eternal disaster – ‘the second death’.<o:p></o:p></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><o:p><font size="5"> </font></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><font size="5">Search the scriptures to find the truth, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. E-mail me at <a href="mailto:stephen.baker1@virgin.net" style="color: rgb(149, 79, 114);">step</a>car61@gmail.com if you need more information. </font><o:p></o:p></p></div>Stephen Baker of Seek the Truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561040292481776300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28011147.post-47822850916413974202024-01-27T19:35:00.001+00:002024-01-27T19:35:40.270+00:00Do you feel the need to fit in? <div><br></div><div><img id="id_3485_c173_e4e9_8115" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1G8EhP1ppmHKL_BOPZ0tmhmA94vkTuWry" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_9317_e582_47ce_f4dc" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1R_PQ_n2SaNTz9ecNetcH_I4nT7QsOYsA" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_1a37_505a_9d58_ec5a" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1wCg9_R0RpJ2C9_s5-mh3M8D_7qK_SRKn" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br></div><div>All photos courtesy of Unsplash</div><div><br></div><div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">At one point or another we have all felt the need to fit in. Whether it be in our childhood, teenage years or even more recently conforming is the easy thing to do. Going along with the crowd is easy, standing against the crowd can be impossibly difficult to do.</span></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">Each generation has changing attitudes, some for good and some for bad. Often generations clash over their attitudinal differences. Yet it is very possible that we may disagree with our peers but go along with them just to fit in. </font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">Back in the 1500s a young man called William Tyndale disagreed with the church leaders at that time. The established church would read the Bible and address their congregations. The Bibles that they read were written in Latin and although literacy levels were low, those that could read certainly could not read Latin. </font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">William Tyndale could read, in fact he was a clever linguist and understood Latin, Hebrew and Greek. He read the old Bible manuscripts and the more he read the more perturbed he became. He understood that the priests did not always teach what the Bible stated. He wanted the Bible translated into English so that those that were able to read, could read it and decide for themselves if what they were being taught was the truth. </font></div><a name='more'></a><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">One day while out walking and thinking about these things, William Tyndale saw a farm hand, a ploughboy, and considered he must be able to read and decide. </font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">William Tyndale tried to get support for his extensive translation project, however he found opposition at every turn. In fact, some people were so opposed that it became unsafe for him to remain in Britain. He moved abroad to continue his work, translating first the New Testament and then the Old Testament. </font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">There was still opposition to his work and William Tyndale definitely stood against the crowd that were so set against the translation into English. William was convinced that this is what God wanted him to do.</font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">William spent thousands of hours diligently considering each phrase just to get it right. How must he have felt writing for the very first time in English that, ‘the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.’</font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">Although William would have hoped that many people would read it, he could never have perceived that it would have been instrumental in millions reading God’s Word and so many people coming to realise that they needed to confess to God that they were sinners and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour. </font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">The finished printed scripts were smuggled back over the channel and suddenly people were reading the Bible in their own language. The ploughboy, people from all sorts of backgrounds and even King Henry VIII. </font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">But still those that should have known better were vehemently opposed to the Bible in English and spies were sent out to find him and put a stop to the translation work once and for all. William Tyndale was tracked down and imprisoned and eventually executed at the age of 42 for doing such a wonderful thing and bringing us the Bible in English.</font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">Amazingly, within just a few years of his death, King Henry gave a command for a Bible to be placed in every church in England, and that Bible was to be in English. </font><span style="font-size: x-large;">William Tyndale believed in God, trusted His Son Jesus Christ as Saviour and so knew forgiveness for his sins. He was used by God to give us the Bible in English. He went against the crowd, he did what others were not prepared to do and was ultimately blessed by God. </span></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">What about you, today the majority have no time for God, they will not trust in His Son, they will not turn to God from their sin. What about you? Will you go against the crowd and be blessed by God?</font></div></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><div>DAILY MESSAGES WITH MEANING (26/01/24)</div><div>Written by STUART SCAMMELL </div></div>Stephen Baker of Seek the Truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561040292481776300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28011147.post-80851295282624432042024-01-27T19:23:00.001+00:002024-01-27T19:23:23.845+00:00Thankyou for the music <div><br></div><div><img id="id_f35a_4abe_6989_159b" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1umUC8k7o2L81EgZ8MUYukOxCv8vDVv3s" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_1f2f_92f4_4806_b34a" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/178IOwZHBwjnupg6u-Y8hl9pr2PgRgmwI" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_62a2_88a6_9814_46b9" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1o6HKxu87rcuDKdWy4_vBMvn5LaoGbSqy" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_de90_7df0_1dd0_c928" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1IwNpgzMghssxvJ975GVl8SEDuT4v3rqs" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br></div><div><br></div><div>All photos courtesy of Unsplash</div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"><font size="5">Music and songs create passion in our hearts and evoke vivid memories. Some of these memories are good some are sad! <br>
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Songs are very emotive and help us store memories. A very effective method of learning is linked to the rhythm in repeating words that somehow glues the words or the facts to our minds. Most of us didn’t necessarily enjoy it but we often learned facts or figures (times tables for example) by musical rhythm. If you were dragged off to Sunday School (maybe you loved going) you may remember learning bible verses, for example “For God so loved the world that..” or “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and ..”or maybe “Honour your Father and your Mother”. All of this was to get some important facts from the bible into your young mind for the purpose of living life and one day meeting God. </font></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"><font size="5">If I was asked to quote some great piece of literature I would struggle but if you whistled a tune of some popular song I often amaze myself by my ability to recall the words. Maybe you do this as well. Music has a powerful effect on our memories in this respect. </font></p><a name='more'></a>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"><font size="5">Try stopping someone in the street and ask what song from church they remember. It could be ‘Amazing Grace’, ‘All things bright and beautiful’ or ‘The old rugged cross’. Lots of people will say Psalm 23. That’s because it’s one song that is repeatedly sung at weddings and funerals. It could be the best known hymn in the United Kingdom, but you are probably thinking ‘I’ve never heard of it’. That’s a shame as it has very inspiring words. <br>
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Verse four of the psalm says <span style="font-family: Arial-ItalicMT; font-style: italic;">'though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for you are with me'</span>. It reminds me that we all face the 'valley of the shadow of death' one day. Our path though life is tough at times and it is certain that we will all face death at the end of life. The reason we all die is explained in the bible by the statement <span style="font-family: Arial-ItalicMT; font-style: italic;">'the wages of sin is death'</span>. The bible makes it clear that death is the means of moving from this life to the next. </font></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"><font size="5">At the end of the psalm the writer states <span style="font-family: Arial-ItalicMT; font-style: italic;">'I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever</span>'. The writer is sure that there is life after death. Other writers in the Bible make it clear that God has revealed that there are two destinations in the afterlife. One called Heaven and the other called Hell. You may wonder why the writer of Psalm 23 is so sure that he will be in heaven. I think the answer lies in the fact that he can say '<span style="font-family: Arial-ItalicMT; font-style: italic;">the Lord is my shepherd</span>'.</font></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"><font size="5"><br>
The bible records that the Lord Jesus Christ 'came <span style="font-family: Arial-ItalicMT; font-style: italic;">into the world to save sinners'</span>. He said one day '<span style="font-family: Arial-ItalicMT; font-style: italic;">I am the good shepherd the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep</span>'. The bible describes human beings as wandering sheep when it states that '<span style="font-family: Arial-ItalicMT; font-style: italic;">all we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way'</span>. But it also explains that '<span style="font-family: Arial-ItalicMT; font-style: italic;">the Lord has laid on him</span> <span style="font-family: Arial-ItalicMT; font-style: italic;">the iniquity</span> <span style="font-family: Arial-ItalicMT; font-style: italic;">of us all’</span>. This means that Jesus took the punishment for our guilt so that we can be forgiven. He rose from the dead on the third day and returned to heaven forty days later; where he is now.<br>
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<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"><font size="5">If you don’t know the words of Psalm 23, get someone who does to hum the tune to you. Maybe it will come back to you. If you can't find a willing soul to sing for you grab a bible, look in the index for the Psalms and read it for yourself. You could be amazed to discover how the words come alive as they describe the safety of being loved and cared for by the shepherd. Maybe you would like to know how this could become real for you. If so get in touch with us we would love to help you.</font></p></div><div><br></div>Stephen Baker of Seek the Truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561040292481776300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28011147.post-29627544620440229912024-01-26T19:46:00.001+00:002024-01-26T19:48:00.965+00:00Is it right to go on a guilt trip? <div><img id="id_ba55_10bb_d417_4740" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1_S64QDrG7kSw9QDjGu8hn3o2ckp6mYKt" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_f447_add1_5de7_e49" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1kSusPXzeEJqKHMfpythUTzWmrBNqelCs" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_67db_c439_189c_5bd5" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1LoOh8mXOe8spE1v1i1Sdzt9cyAwPHQER" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_bf0_f457_f7ba_ed9d" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1rBPIzetQOaDboRmJs4aB1jQxM2_jjYCg" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br></div><div><br></div><div>All photos courtesy of Unsplash</div><div><br></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><font size="5">Most of us feel guilty from time to time. I know that many people are tormented at times with guilt as they wish that they could turn the clock back and change what they did. I am not suggesting that people should always feel guilty for most of us have done things inadvertently and it all went horribly wrong.<o:p></o:p></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><o:p><font size="5"> </font></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><font size="5">But 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.<o:p></o:p></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><o:p><font size="5"> </font></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><font size="5">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. <o:p></o:p></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><o:p><font size="5"> </font></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><font size="5">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’.<o:p></o:p></font></p><a name='more'></a><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><o:p><font size="5"> </font></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><font size="5">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.<o:p></o:p></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><o:p><font size="5"> </font></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><font size="5">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.<o:p></o:p></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><o:p><font size="5"> </font></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><font size="5">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’.<o:p></o:p></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><o:p><font size="5"> </font></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><font size="5">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.<o:p></o:p></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><o:p><font size="5"> </font></o:p></p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><font size="5">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</font></span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"></span></div>Stephen Baker of Seek the Truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561040292481776300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28011147.post-47262434562989107172024-01-26T19:37:00.001+00:002024-01-26T19:37:53.194+00:00Are names significant? <div><br></div><div><img id="id_b663_d937_701c_603c" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1CX-n6OU_v9jGDbcpfwe2djclyL0C9KBO" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_f868_e0e5_feac_510d" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1XYPCYvZKls7Dk1shsl6oB1QN5hliY8jq" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_3d9d_9bd5_b115_71bf" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1NiLFrDGDu0xdJeL4LgI0c3QIaC7ONNd3" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br></div><div><br></div><div>All Photos courtesy of Unsplash</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">The name of Caesar Augustus</span></u></b><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">The Roman Emperor who was in power when Jesus was born had many titles some of which have a strange similarity to those given to Jesus. The Roman Caesars made claims to deity that the Bible teaches only God can make. For instance, Caesar Augustus was </span><a></a><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">known as the Blessed One, the Anointed One (the Messiah), the </span><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Pax Romana - The one who brings peace, the Pontifex (i.e. the Priest). He was regarded as a god and claimed that at the age of 17 he could bring men to God. He was also called the Divine Son of God in 42 BC at the age of 21. History shows </span><a></a><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span><a><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">that</span></a><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> the claims to be divine were not supported by lifestyle, behaviour or power. </span><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><br></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: -webkit-standard, serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">The claims that Jesus is God revealed in the flesh have been substantiated time and time again by eyewitness records to his perfect life, miraculous powers and glorious resurrection.</span><a></a><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><br><br></span><span style="font-family: -webkit-standard, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><a><b><u><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Names are significant in Western culture.</span></u></b></a><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><a></a> <a></a> </span></span><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Parents choose names for their children after much thought and discussion. <b><i>For the rest of a person's life, he/she is identified by the name he/she was given before birth.</i></b><a></a></span><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><a></a> </span></span><b><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Proverbs 22:1, ‘A good name is more desirable than great riches</span></b><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">.’ In the biblical world, a good name meant more than even a good reputation, because it identified the character of the person carrying it.</span><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><a name='more'></a><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">NAMES AND NAMING</span></u></b><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><a><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">There are three aspects of names and naming:</span></a><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><a></a> </span></span><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:36.0pt;text-indent:-18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;
tab-stops:list 36.0pt"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">1.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">a name <b>identifies the character</b> of the person; <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:36.0pt;text-indent:-18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;
tab-stops:list 36.0pt"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">2.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">to name <b>someone means the namer knows or understands the named</b>; and <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:36.0pt;text-indent:-18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;
tab-stops:list 36.0pt"><a><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">3.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">to name someone implies </span></a><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><a></a> <a></a> </span></span><b><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">the namer has authority over the named</span></b><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background: white;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Identity</span></u></b><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">In the ancient Near East, a person's name identified something about the person's character or his circumstances (e.g., birth or family). Isaac's name, "he laughs", described the response of Sarah, his mother, when God told her she would give birth even though she was elderly. Moses' name, from the Hebrew "to draw out", was given to him after he was pulled from the Nile River. The angel told Mary to name her baby Jesus (actually Yeshua, a shortened form of Yehoshua or Joshua), from the Hebrew ‘to save’ or ‘saviour</span><a></a><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">‘, because ‘he will save his people from their sins,’ Matt. 1. 21.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background: white;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Knowledge</span></u></b><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><a><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">To name someone implies that the </span></a><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">namer<a></a><a></a><a></a><a></a><a></a><a></a><a></a><a></a><a></a><a></a><a></a><a></a><a></a><a></a><a></a><a></a><a></a><a></a><a></a><a></a><a></a><a></a><a></a><a> understands enough about the person and their circumstances to describe them. Adam, the first man, named the creatures of the earth. This meant he understood each one clearly enough to define its character and function. Our word 'classify' comes close to the activity of naming. So, when God tells us ‘I know you by name,’ Exo. 33. 17, it means more than that he recognizes us individually. Instead, it indicates that he understands thoroughly who and what we are. We will now look at the final aspect of the naming process.</a></span><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><a></a> <a></a> </span></span><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><a></a> </span></span><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><a></a></span></span><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="MsoCommentReference"><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Authority</span></u></b><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">To name someone or something also implies that the namer has authority over the named. God changed Abram's name to Abraham in Genesis 17 verse 5 because God had authority over him. Pharaoh renames Joseph for the same reason, Gen. 41. 45. This aspect of the naming process proved significant for the Hebrews when it came to their knowing and using God's name.</span><a></a><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; background: white;"><br><br></span><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">GOD'S NAME</span></u></b><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><a></a><a></a><a></a><a><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">To use God's name meant one understood something of his essential character and being, that one could identify and understand (know) him. But God is the sovereign Creator of the universe. God existed before anyone or anything. Who among his creatures truly realized who he is? And who has authority over him? Only God can understand his being enough to name himself, and he alone has the power to do it.</span></a><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><a></a> <a></a> </span></span><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><a></a> </span></span><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><a></a><a></a><a><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">It was Moses who finally dared to ask God to give himself a name. In the Book of Exodus, Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell </span></a><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">them?," Exo. 3. 13. God answered Moses by revealing his name to him.</span><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Meaning<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Sacredness</span></u></b><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">The Israelites were afraid to use God's name because they might use it in ways that he had not revealed. Instead, they called him Lord’ (Hebrew: Adonai), ‘God (Hebrew: Elohim), The Name’ (Hebrew: Ha-Shem), or by some other title. After they returned from the Babylonian Captivity (ca. 500 BC),<a> they refused to use God's name at all, out of respect and fear for what it represented ‘the holy God's self’ description. The people said Adonai whenever the sacred name was intended.</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">WHAT GOD'S NAME MEANS TO US TODAY</span></u></b><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Modern Christians use <b>Jehovah</b> because they believe it is the name God gave himself. Many other believers use <b>Yahweh</b><a></a><a> because it is closer to the Hebrew original. The main point is to recognize that only God can understand and describe himself. We are dependent upon his revelation of his nature to understand him. Therefore, we must use his name carefully. Using it to refer to things other than God, such as when we swear, is, in effect, to claim authority over God. That was Adam and Eve's sin and what caused them, and their descendants, to be exiled from the Garden of Eden.</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">The biblical characters whose names included reference to God, and whose very identities pointed to God, should be our role models. What they did with their names, we must do with our lives. Every aspect of our characters, our very identities, must speak of the living God so that the world may know that he alone is God.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Praise God that he revealed his name to us and granted us the privilege of using it for his glory!</span><span style="font-family: -webkit-standard;"></span></p><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><hr class="msocomoff" align="left" size="1" width="33%"><div><div id="_com_1" class="msocomtxt" language="JavaScript"><a name="_msocom_1"></a><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><br></p></div></div></div></div>Stephen Baker of Seek the Truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561040292481776300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28011147.post-11760612874881101312024-01-26T08:00:00.000+00:002024-01-26T08:00:00.309+00:00Showing love in Haiti <div><br></div><div><img id="id_fa36_fcbb_ee61_8d2" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1ODa068LH5tsyrlne2RYGrEtJv9qM9oEd" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_fc1f_880b_b941_b5d6" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1zOHW5TPp5RjM3jWzRz3z-SFO_RvbKLHw" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_7bf3_ff6_c6d3_74cb" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1egQ4Fv6QS8Z3NG9_wAE6Z1h3P4kpH-D8" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_896_3d71_a70e_2ce4" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1dIjS0WN_9HRdBBV8DPS6BELzsgy7rN4D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br></div><div>All photos courtesy of Unsplash</div><div><br></div><div><div><font size="5">The country of Haiti occupies the western half of the island of Hispaniola. The eastern part is the Dominican Republic. Haiti is the most impoverished country in the Western Hemisphere and has been traumatised by many unfortunate events. For decades it was ruled by draconian autocrats who employed henchmen to enforce their rules and dominate the people. More lately the country has developed an electoral system but corruption is endemic and instability is very much the order of the day.</font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">In addition the country has experienced several severe natural disasters which have devastated large parts of the towns and cities. In August 2021 there was a terrible earthquake measuring 7.2 in magnitude that claimed the lives of 2,200 people. In December 2021 a petrol tanker in attempting to avoid hitting a motorcycle crashed in Cap-Hatien and exploded. The fireball it unleashed swept through nearby houses and businesses and over 90 people were killed. As well as natural events there is the ever present danger of death and kidnap by evil people. Gangs control many areas and significant numbers of people have been kidnapped, including Western personnel. This has become a means of securing finance and has made Haiti the kidnap capital of the Caribbean.</font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">The political and economic instability was highlighted when the elected President was assassinated. The forces of law and order are fully stretched and can achieve very little, especially as many are corrupt and work hand in glove with the gangs. </font></div><div><a name='more'></a></div><div><font size="5">People are impoverished as there is little in the way of industry and work is difficult to find. Many people are homeless and shelter is in short supply. </font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">Thankfully there are ministries which are showing the people compassion and giving much needed help. Mission Aviation Fellowship is one such organisation which has been at the forefront of assisting in the wake of traumatic events. They have flown in much needed medical supplies both medicines and equipment as well as medical personnel such as doctors and nurses. Help was also given to fly burn victims for hospital treatment in the capital city of Port-au-Prince. Other organisations have arranged for houses to be built by those whose homes were devastated. In an innovative scheme mesh baskets are provided and are filled with the ruined stone or brickwork and used to make walls for new homes and are then plastered over. New roofs, windows and doors are provided. So dignity of work is given to the owners and finance is provided for what they cannot afford.</font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">Ministries have been introduced to provide water cleansing equipment for school children as fresh water is in such short supply. Also counselling facilities have been set up to help victims who are so badly traumatised. Such support is vital as most of the normal props which sustain life and happiness have been removed. </font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">The Christian life is about faith in Christ but it is far removed from being simply theoretical or only theological. It is not only about knowing truth but about practising love. Love is not an empty sentimental feeling but a deep desire to meet the needs of those who have little or nothing. Faith in the Lord Jesus is revealed by practical deeds of kindness to others even if it means genuine sacrifice. True joy in Christ is found in following in the footsteps of the Lord who came to earth not that others would serve Him but that He would serve others. We need to get rid of the selfish heart which focuses only on what is good for me and realise that we should serve others and help meet their needs. With such sacrifices God is well pleased. </font> </div></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><div>DAILY MESSAGES WITH MEANING (24/01/24)</div><div>Written by PAUL YOUNG </div></div>Stephen Baker of Seek the Truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561040292481776300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28011147.post-13699855393032505582024-01-25T19:14:00.001+00:002024-01-25T19:14:37.424+00:00Do you have good friends? <div><br></div><div><img id="id_b76f_3538_bc44_b4e4" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1wbIJ-PIb-0aVGlKxicB0nFGpq3DRK9mu" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_7bca_8611_6532_8d52" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1A-75146ZJVkoWez9tA564XZvY9_He5K6" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br></div><div>All photos courtesy of Unsplash</div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><div><font size="5">Isn’t it great to have a good group of friends around you? Do you have school, college or Uni friends that you keep in touch with? What about work colleagues or even friendly neighbours? </font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">Jesus had a number of good friends too. There were the 12 disciples, as an obvious example. Jesus also had a good relationship with a group of three siblings: Lazarus and his two sisters Mary and Martha. </font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">In John’s Gospel, we learn of Lazarus’ death. The sisters sent Jesus a message: “Lord, your dear friend is sick.” </font></div><div><font size="5">When Jesus heard it, He said, “The final result of this sickness will not be the death of Lazarus; this has happened in order to bring glory to God.” </font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">Jesus added, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I will go and wake him up.” The disciples replied, “If he is asleep, Lord, he will get well.”Jesus meant that Lazarus had died, but they thought he meant natural sleep. So Jesus said, “Lazarus is dead, but for your sake I am glad that I was not with him, so that you will believe. Let us go to him.” </font></div><div><a name='more'></a></div><div><font size="5">When Jesus arrived, He found that Lazarus had been buried four days before. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet Him, but Mary stayed in the house. Martha said to Jesus, “If you had been here, Lord, my brother would not have died! But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask him for.” </font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">"Your brother will rise to life,” Jesus told her. “I know that he will rise to life on the last day” she replied. Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me will live, even though they die; and those who live and believe in me will never die. Do you believe this?” </font></div><div><font size="5">“Yes, Lord!” she answered. “I do believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.” </font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">Jesus asked “Where have you buried him?” “Come and see, Lord,” they answered. Jesus wept. This is the shortest verse in the Bible and proves that Jesus had emotions just like us. </font></div><div><font size="5">Some said, “He gave sight to the blind man, didn't He? Could He not have kept Lazarus from dying?” Jesus went to the tomb, which was a cave with a stone placed at the entrance. “Take the stone away!” He ordered. </font></div><div><font size="5">Martha answered, “There will be a bad smell, Lord. He’s been buried four days!” Jesus said to her, “Didn't I tell you that you would see God's glory if you believed?” They took the stone away. Jesus looked up and said, “I thank you, Father, that you listen to me. I know that you always listen to me, but I say this for the sake of the people here, so that they will believe that you sent me.” </font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">He then called out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” He came out, his hands and feet wrapped in grave cloths, and with a cloth around his face. “Untie him and let him go” said Jesus. </font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">On hearing Jesus saying “I am the resurrection and the life”, Martha replied with “I do believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.” Are you able to use the same words and affirm a personal faith in Jesus? Remember His words: “Those who believe in me will live, even though they die; and those who live and believe in me will never die.”</font></div></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><div>DAILY MESSAGES WITH MEANING (25/01/24)</div><div>Written by NIGEL BINDING </div><div><br></div></div>Stephen Baker of Seek the Truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561040292481776300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28011147.post-77398720489936147882024-01-25T19:13:00.001+00:002024-01-25T19:13:22.712+00:00Do you have good friends? <div><br></div><div><img id="id_b76f_3538_bc44_b4e4" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1Kt_RwN80ymbt6oO75NtB6_27ikwFYQu8" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_7bca_8611_6532_8d52" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1FOhVQY3u1OA6tNQI55bPbE-vVaQ0ZEsI" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br></div><div>All photos courtesy of Unsplash</div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><div><font size="5">Isn’t it great to have a good group of friends around you? Do you have school, college or Uni friends that you keep in touch with? What about work colleagues or even friendly neighbours? </font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">Jesus had a number of good friends too. There were the 12 disciples, as an obvious example. Jesus also had a good relationship with a group of three siblings: Lazarus and his two sisters Mary and Martha. </font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">In John’s Gospel, we learn of Lazarus’ death. The sisters sent Jesus a message: “Lord, your dear friend is sick.” </font></div><div><font size="5">When Jesus heard it, He said, “The final result of this sickness will not be the death of Lazarus; this has happened in order to bring glory to God.” </font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">Jesus added, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I will go and wake him up.” The disciples replied, “If he is asleep, Lord, he will get well.”Jesus meant that Lazarus had died, but they thought he meant natural sleep. So Jesus said, “Lazarus is dead, but for your sake I am glad that I was not with him, so that you will believe. Let us go to him.” </font></div><div><a name='more'></a></div><div><font size="5">When Jesus arrived, He found that Lazarus had been buried four days before. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet Him, but Mary stayed in the house. Martha said to Jesus, “If you had been here, Lord, my brother would not have died! But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask him for.” </font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">"Your brother will rise to life,” Jesus told her. “I know that he will rise to life on the last day” she replied. Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me will live, even though they die; and those who live and believe in me will never die. Do you believe this?” </font></div><div><font size="5">“Yes, Lord!” she answered. “I do believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.” </font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">Jesus asked “Where have you buried him?” “Come and see, Lord,” they answered. Jesus wept. This is the shortest verse in the Bible and proves that Jesus had emotions just like us. </font></div><div><font size="5">Some said, “He gave sight to the blind man, didn't He? Could He not have kept Lazarus from dying?” Jesus went to the tomb, which was a cave with a stone placed at the entrance. “Take the stone away!” He ordered. </font></div><div><font size="5">Martha answered, “There will be a bad smell, Lord. He’s been buried four days!” Jesus said to her, “Didn't I tell you that you would see God's glory if you believed?” They took the stone away. Jesus looked up and said, “I thank you, Father, that you listen to me. I know that you always listen to me, but I say this for the sake of the people here, so that they will believe that you sent me.” </font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">He then called out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” He came out, his hands and feet wrapped in grave cloths, and with a cloth around his face. “Untie him and let him go” said Jesus. </font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">On hearing Jesus saying “I am the resurrection and the life”, Martha replied with “I do believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.” Are you able to use the same words and affirm a personal faith in Jesus? Remember His words: “Those who believe in me will live, even though they die; and those who live and believe in me will never die.”</font></div></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><div>DAILY MESSAGES WITH MEANING (25/01/24)</div><div>Written by NIGEL BINDING </div><div><br></div></div>Stephen Baker of Seek the Truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561040292481776300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28011147.post-7828689033516478402024-01-25T08:00:00.000+00:002024-01-25T08:00:00.346+00:00TTNY - ‘This time next year’ <div><br></div><div><img id="id_d3d_6446_2c7e_3ffb" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1ZsVUA3Z9QxmiOtXLTWiVg74_ByfRwmUb" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_bea5_5f87_db26_a490" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1vgOLuk0PvxO-KNldu_W2q_MmW5Onb7kq" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_9bc2_6387_3fad_f40f" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1ZWEcI68A260adROE5Ei_tRw0Suc5eFCQ" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br>All photos of Unsplash</div><div><br></div><div><div><font size="5">A few years ago in the church I attend, there would be a short, weekly interview with an individual about TTT: This Time Tomorrow. It was a great way of getting to know what a Monday morning would look like in somebody else’s life journey. </font></div><div><font size="5"> </font></div><div><font size="5">Whilst reflecting on those life journeys, I thought about TTNW: This Time Next Week. Then, we could go further into next month, next year, the next 5 years, 10 years and then reality has got to kick in at some point, hasn’t it? So allow me to ask about TTNY: This Time Next Year. </font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">Some of you may remember a TV show, This Time Next Year, that was presented by Davina McCall. It aired between November 2016 and March 2019 over 3 series. </font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">For any who didn’t watch it, participants made a pledge to fulfil a personal life goal within a 12 month period. The show continued as if a whole year had passed in the space of a few minutes. It was cleverly done. We saw massive weight loss stories such as a mother and daughter who successfully lost 15 stone between them, new careers being followed and a deaf toddler fitted with a cochlear implant for the first time being able to hear and respond to sound. </font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">There were before and after interviews with a brief 12 month diary clip shown in between which was very emotional and often had viewers in tears. Davina McCall gave some good advice along the way including…</font></div><a name='more'></a><div><font size="5"> </font></div><div><font size="5"> </font></div><div><font size="5">“Goal setting is a really good way of improving your self-esteem…You set yourself little goals and achieve them, it’s such a good way to make you feel good about yourself.” Here’s some more from Davina… </font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">"Every time you achieve your goal you think, ‘I did that’. I do this all the time... I set out a goal for myself and tell people and I think it’s to shame myself into making it happen.” </font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">Let me then ask you about where you’d like to be This Time Next Year, given that we’re in January of a new year when many people make New Year’s Resolutions. Think of different areas of your life such as family and friends, work, school, college, university… </font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">But, what about any spiritual goals? Paul, when writing to the Philippian Christians thought about his past, present and future when he said… </font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">“ whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ…I consider everything a loss because of the…worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord…I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own…but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection…Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on…one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal…All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things.” </font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">May This Time Next Year be a time when you reflect on your journey with God and it may be that today is when it all begins!</font></div></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><div>DAILY MESSAGES WITH MEANING (18/01/24)</div><div>Written by NIGEL BINDING </div></div>Stephen Baker of Seek the Truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561040292481776300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28011147.post-62306749548570400072024-01-24T20:03:00.000+00:002024-01-24T20:04:02.858+00:00How much do you value your life? <div><br></div><div><img id="id_9245_9ca4_8bb_cb1f" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1Y1U2jG2rLk-ZK_dumePvM001lsUmH8ZX" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_3bf9_177d_8f3c_b2f4" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1CAe2cv1Ij1PFyLL8-cmTDHpFCvPHnLA9" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br></div><div>All photos courtesy of Unsplash</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border: 0px; font-family: "helvetica neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 1.625em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; caret-color: rgb(55, 55, 55); color: rgb(55, 55, 55);"><font size="5">Recently a lady took an oil painting by L.S. Lowry (1887-1976) to an ‘Antiques Roadshow’ to be valued. After inspection by a knowledgeable connoisseur of art she was informed that it could be worth £100,000. The lady was shocked and said, “I had no idea it was so valuable.” For years it had been in the house and few people even cast a second glance at it but the name of the artist so clearly visible at the bottom of the painting meant it was a treasure.</font></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border: 0px; font-family: "helvetica neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 1.625em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; caret-color: rgb(55, 55, 55); color: rgb(55, 55, 55);"><font size="5">After reading this story I began to think of the people, many of whom have heard the gospel from infancy, who should know how valuable God’s salvation is, and who only discover its importance when it is too late to obtain it and they have found themselves in Hell, on the wrong side of the “great gulf fixed” of which the Lord Jesus spoke in Luke 16.26. For years they were deceived into thinking that salvation was something only for the religiously inclined, a pleasant addition to life but not absolutely necessary; to them it was a mere badge of respectability, but they never considered it a ‘must-have’ in view of an unending eternity.</font></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border: 0px; font-family: "helvetica neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 1.625em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; caret-color: rgb(55, 55, 55); color: rgb(55, 55, 55);"><font size="5">My friend, you can live quite successfully and happily without salvation but you can never be in Heaven without it; that is a complete impossibility. The main reason for its importance is the name which is linked to salvation. It was the Lord Jesus Christ Who provided salvation at an infinite cost: the giving of His life. Only by accepting Him can you obtain the salvation of your soul. Salvation is not obtained in any place, practices, prayers or piety; it is linked to the Person of the Lord Jesus, God’s only begotten Son. To receive Him as personal Saviour is the only way by which your sins can be forgiven.</font></p><a name='more'></a><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border: 0px; font-family: "helvetica neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 1.625em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; caret-color: rgb(55, 55, 55); color: rgb(55, 55, 55);"><font size="5">No monetary value can be placed on salvation; its worth cannot be estimated or calculated but, amazingly, you can receive it “without money and without price” Isaiah 55.1. You cannot pay for it or earn it in any way; you will never deserve it but you can claim it as a free gift. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” Romans 6.23. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” Ephesians 2.8,9.</font></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border: 0px; font-family: "helvetica neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 1.625em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; caret-color: rgb(55, 55, 55); color: rgb(55, 55, 55);"><font size="5">In Revelation 20.10 the archenemy of souls is identified as “the devil that deceived them” and multitudes have succumbed to his deception, resulting in them missing out on the greatest blessing in life and the one thing which is vitally important to reaching Heaven. My friend, be persuaded that the one thing you need now, more than anything else, is the salvation of your soul and the forgiveness of your sins; trust Christ and instantaneously receive God’s forgiveness and the peace that inevitably comes with it. Do not allow yourself to be deceived another day, for “how shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation …?” Hebrews 2.3. There is nothing of greater value!</font></p><dl style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border: 0px; font-family: "helvetica neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; caret-color: rgb(55, 55, 55); color: rgb(55, 55, 55);"><dd style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><i><font size="5">There’s a Saviour now waiting for thee,</font></i></dd><dd style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><i><font size="5">With His heart and His arms open wide;</font></i></dd><dd style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><i><font size="5">Will you come, and from judgment be free</font></i></dd><dd style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><i><font size="5">Through the Lamb who on Calvary died?</font></i></dd><dd style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><i><font size="5"><br></font></i></dd><dd style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4">Used by kind permission of Assembly Testimony</font></dd></dl></div><div><br></div>Stephen Baker of Seek the Truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561040292481776300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28011147.post-27997182897029035452024-01-23T20:27:00.001+00:002024-01-23T20:27:16.893+00:00God is never too busy to answer your call!<div><br></div><div><img id="id_6a6e_9ae1_cdb9_c260" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/16uKuhEj08Cu5jN6trZBp6MHbXIs6KouS" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_a7d5_14f0_cbac_670d" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1RFJwWZVwPHlFGZv-fpjBmu69zW9eUq8R" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_6910_b61a_49d5_f2a6" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/17gHpxcfru3IE2LOONJUsd4w2eivxIKGY" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 812px; height: auto;"><br><br></div><div>All photos courtesy of Unsplash</div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">In the Gospel of Mark we read the story of Bartimaeus, a blind beggar from the town of Jericho. Due to his disability he was unable to work and had to beg for a living. He, in all probability, had heard about Jesus and the miracles He was doing. The problem was that by this time Jesus was well known and was always followed by a crowd of people. They may not have had radio, television, twitter, Facebook or mobile phones, but the message would travel fast and people would surround Jesus. </font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">How does anyone get access to Him under these circumstances, especially someone with the disability of blindness? Sometimes we can feel like this as well. Perhaps we feel that Jesus is too busy and too consumed with the greater good or the affairs of the world, why would He stop for ‘little old me’! This story reminds us that regardless of the crowds, HE is willing and waiting to respond to our callings! HE is not beyond our reach. </font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">Perhaps Bartimaeus had hoped and longed that he too could meet Jesus. Then, the most unlikely thing was happening – Jesus was passing by and He was passing by the very spot where Bartimaeus was. The very person he had hoped to meet was right there, close to him, within his reach. </font></div><a name='more'></a><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">He just lets rip and starts to scream. He took the window of opportunity and grabbed it with all he had. A window of opportunity requires some effort, but that effort will be rewarded. Bartimaeus may not have been able to see, but he certainly made good use of his hearing and his voice.</font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">It is interesting to notice, in the story, that MANY rebuked him. When he started calling out he got opposition - many rebuked him and told him to be quiet. His response to this deluge of hostile opposition is interesting.- he shouted even louder! It was only at this point that it got the attention of Jesus. Perhaps he had even thought that Jesus was ignoring him? But he did not give up. Then for me, comes the most intriguing element of this great story. In the midst of the bustling crowds and the noisy activity and with Bartimaeus shouting louder and louder, JESUS STOPS! </font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">Jesus will stop for us too. He is never too busy to stop when we call on Him. That Jesus was willing, and prepared to stop all His activity, to stop His plans and agenda to deal with this blind beggar man should be an encouragement to all of us. Bartimaeus received his sight and discovered that Jesus was not too busy to solve his problem and meet his need. </font></div><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">The good news of the Bible is that God is not too busy for you and me either. He is not some distant, remote force who acts coldly without feelings as the owner/operator of the universe. The Bible teaches just the opposite. He is a God of feelings. He cares. He is compassionate. He loves. There are things that please Him and things that cause Him anger. He is fair. He is true. He is holy and the good news is He is near and intimately aware of everything that is happening in our lives. Is God interested in us, today? Of course He is!!! He wants to have a very personal and permanent relationship with us. He offers that to us today.</font></div><div><br></div><div><div>DAILY MESSAGES WITH MEANING (23/01/24)</div><div>Written by PETER FRANCIS </div></div> Stephen Baker of Seek the Truthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561040292481776300noreply@blogger.com0