Planning for the right season of life

Do you have any plans for today, the next few days, weeks, months or later on in the year? What are you looking forward to most? Do you have a special birthday coming up? Do you have an engagement party or a wedding to look forward to, maybe? Do you have a holiday planned? 

Where does God fit in to any plans that you have made for a future date? I once heard this excellent advice a few years ago: “Plan as if Christ’s return were years away but live as if it were today.” Can I ask how do you respond to that advice? 

It was Benjamin Franklin who said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” He also said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!” These are wise words and reinforce the quote I have already shared with you. 

What is the world's best selling book?

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When I wrote this piece, I was about to go to the airport to board a flight from Wellington, New Zealand, to the UK via Sydney, Australia. We were travelling home to Liverpool in the North West of England. Home is a wonderful place to be with your own ‘kith and kin’. It is never more appreciated than when you are away from them. Though we were not looking forward to the 30 hours of travelling, the anticipation of seeing our family and grandchildren again makes up for any minor discomfort.

Carole (my wife) and I had been away for about five weeks. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in the southern hemisphere. The plan was to visit some churches in Australia and New Zealand to speak at conferences and seminars on the world’s best-selling book, the Bible.

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It never fails to amaze me how timeless and cross-cultural the Bible is. It addresses the most profound issues that we as humans grapple with, such as:

Where do we come from - our origin?

Why do evil and suffering exist?

Why are we all mortal beings who eventually die?

Where do our consciousness, identity, creativity, and intelligence come from?

Why is there order and design?

Why are we all morally aware of right and wrong?

Why do we need help to do what is right?

Where did the universal concepts of love, hope and peace come from?

Are you satisfied?

 

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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.” 

 

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.” 

Reflections on Elections

         

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Election Choices

 

Are you excited about the local elections? Many people are, it seems. Politicians and their followers vigorously promise and pledge while criticising the opposition, the media endlessly comment and analyse, and leaflets and flyers are dropped through our letterboxes. It’s all very intense just now!

 

When polling day comes, each person has to make up their own mind, choosing who or what they think is best for them and for the country by putting a cross in the appropriate space. But afterwards, when people find out that they did not get the choice they made, they are disappointed or even become angry. Their chosen candidate is not elected because another one got more votes.

Through the Bible in 66 Days - Isaiah

 

The book of Isaiah stands like a great mountain in the Old Testament, and at its summit shines the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Many have rightly called it "the Gospel of the Old Testament" because it proclaims—seven centuries before Bethlehem—the good news of a coming Saviour: His birth, His character, His ministry, His sufferings, His death, and His resurrection. Isaiah speaks as a prophet, a preacher, and, at times, almost an evangelist, pointing forward to the Lord Jesus with remarkable clarity.

The Gospel Thread Running Through Isaiah

Isaiah's message can be gathered around several great themes that anticipate the New Testament revelation of Christ. Each theme is rooted in Isaiah's prophecy and confirmed by the apostles.

1. The Virgin-Born Son: God's Sign to the World

Isaiah begins the Gospel story by announcing a miraculous conception.

• Isaiah 7:14 — "Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."

• Fulfilment: Matthew 1:22–23 quotes this directly, identifying Jesus as the promised Immanuel—God with us.

This is not merely a prediction of an unusual conception; it is the declaration that God Himself would step into human history. Isaiah's Gospel begins with grace: God comes near.

Through the Bible in 66 Days - Ecclesiasties

Ecclesiastes: When Life Feels Like Chasing the Wind

The book of Ecclesiastes stands as one of the most unusual and striking books in the whole Bible. It refuses to gloss over life's frustrations. Instead, it walks straight into them, naming the emptiness we often feel but rarely admit. The Teacher—it's writer—speaks with a raw honesty that resonates deeply with anyone who has ever wondered, What's the point of it all?

Yet Ecclesiastes is not a hopeless book. It is a signpost pointing beyond the emptiness of life "under the sun" to the fullness of life found only in Jesus Christ. The Gospel shines where human experience grows dim.

Through the Bible in 66 Days - 1 Chronicles

 

Did you realise that God knows everything? He is looking after us even if we're not aware of it. When some people realise that they say, " Why should we really need to pray? For if God knows everything, why would we need to tell them about our issues, problems and situations? We could get on with our lives, and He will sort everything out as we go along.

First Chronicles tells the story of King David, but you may remember that we read about him in 1st and 2nd Samuel. First Chronicles tells the story of David's life from God's perspective. Please note that God knows every detail of not only David's life but also our lives - our motives, deepest desires, secret sins, and so on. He is the creator, law-giver, and judge, and we will all stand before him and answer for how we have lived at some stage after we die. 

So it is with the Gospel message in the New Testament. The Gospel announces undeserved hope and unlimited redemption. It is firmly grounded in the remarkable truth that God knows every intricate detail of our lives—our struggles, fears, and dreams. Despite His infinite wisdom, He longs to have a deep relationship with us, inviting us to be honest with Him about our lives. This raises a thought-provoking question: If God is already aware of our needs, why should we bother to pray? The answer unfolds beautifully in the pages of First Chronicles, illuminating what a relationship with God is really like.

Sir James Simpson - Discovering meaning in life

In  Bathgate, a town in Scotland, a boy was born in 1811.  His family were not wealthy, and his mother died when he was nine years old, but he went on to become one of the most famous doctors that has ever lived.  His name was James Simpson, and he was educated at the University of Edinburgh and trained as a doctor.

He attended the operating room soon after starting his medical training and the place was not as clean as it might be, and there were no gowns, masks or gloves worn by those doing the operation. The patient was terrified and had to be held down firmly on the table as the operation took place.  As the surgical knife was used, the screams of the patient echoed around the building as there were no anaesthetics in those days.  The sound of that distressed patient stayed with James Simpson, and he determined to see an end to such suffering and conscious surgery. 

Loving Christmas

I love Christmas time!

From boyhood days right through to the present, I have always looked forward to the Christmas season – and I love it all.  As the lights start to go up and Christmas songs begin to be included in the radio selection, I begin to have that sense of anticipation.

Having said that, there are, of course, a number of Christmas traditions which have absolutely no place in the true Christmas story.  Whether it be Christmas trees, Santa Claus or fairy lights, we would all admit that these are just traditions that have crept in from different sources that have intrinsically become part of our December customs.

But even when we look at the Christmas story itself, if we look very carefully, some things that we often take to be true are actually traditions which were not there in the original record; many of them appearing in our much loved carols.  

A new lifeboat station

 

 

At Anstruther in Fife, a new lifeboat station is being built with a new slipway to facilitate launching. Seven lifeboats have been stationed there since 1865, the latest being the Kingdom of Fife from 1991 to 2024. It was a Mersey class boat, but reaching the end of its operational life, it has been replaced by a Shannon class vessel, the beautiful, 13-47 Robert and Catherine Steen which arrived just over a year ago. It is superior in many ways, upgraded throughout and with a top speed of 25 knots. 

 

However, it is too big to fit inside the existing boathouse. So, at a cost of around £100,000, this new facility will be an all-round improvement for the benefit of the volunteer crew and for accommodating and launching the lifeboat to respond to emergency calls for help at sea.

 

“Saving lives at sea” has become a familiar slogan for the RNLI, and indeed that is its mission. Since its foundation in 1824 its crews have saved over 140,000 lives, some in the most difficult and dangerous conditions. Probably very few of us have had to call on them, but those who have, and have been rescued, are overwhelmingly grateful.

A Month of Remembering

November 5th wasn’t always about fireworks and fun, writes Bert Cargill of St Monans Gospel Hall. It began as a way of remembering the treason of Guy Faulkes and his friends who tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605. Now it has created a hazard for people and pets in some places!

November 11th is different. It’s an opportunity to remember the many courageous men and women who gave their lives in the cause of freedom in wars that have blighted this earth for centuries, and sadly, they still do. So, in a more sombre mood, communities and individuals will pause this weekend, reflect, and observe a minute of silence. “We will remember them.”

The El Niño weather pattern

 

We live in days when so much information is available to us and even then we know so little about the total knowledge available.  In July 2023 it was announced by the World Meteorological Organisation that El Niño was confirmed which is a weather pattern that has worldwide effects.  Such an occurrence is not new and has been known for many generations. It was given its name in the 1600s when Peruvian fishermen noticed that the water was warmer around Christmas time and this affected the weather and reduced their catch of fish.  They gave the phenomenon the name of ‘El Niño de Navidad’ which simply means ‘the Christmas Boy’. 

An El Niño is usually announced when surface temperatures of the Pacific Ocean near the equator increase by half a degree centigrade over a three month period.  Such occurrences happen every two to seven years and can last from nine to twelve months.  Usually in the Pacific the trade winds move from east to west and so move warm water towards Australia and S.E. Asia.  The warm water is replaced by cold water from the depths of the ocean which is nutrient-rich and the process is known as ‘upwelling’.  During an El Niño for reasons which are not fully known the process is reversed and great masses of warm water flow to the east and reach the Americas.  The result is that normally dry areas of Peru, Chile, Mexico and as far north as SW USA are deluged with rain.  This can produce landslides and leave many people homeless. 

Through the Bible in 66 days - Joshua

 

The next book in the Bible is also full of excitement, the same as we have discovered in the previous books. In this book, Joshua, the military commander, has been instructed to take his nation into the land which God promised for his people, Israel. Imagine you have been presented with a new land to live in. Everything in it is going to be yours: towns, farms, food, animals, and wealth. The problem you're facing is this: it belongs to you, but you don't actually occupy it. You have to go into that new country and get rid of your enemies, and then enjoy the land that has been entrusted to you.

This might seem somewhat unfair to those who are already living in that land. To fully understand what's going on, you have to realise that the people and nations who occupied that land had for hundreds of years been involved in child abuse, child sacrifice, abuse of women, self-harming and many other practices which are so sinful, demeaning and damaging to people. God had warned them that He would judge them if they did not repent, and they had refused to listen to him. It's a bit like the story of Noah leading up to the flood. God had warned people for a long, long time that judgment would come, but they refused to listen.

Two famous men who got saved

 

Salvation is having faith in Jesus Christ. The Bible clearly teaches that it’s a gift from God, made possible through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Paul wrote to some Ephesian Christians stating that “…it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”

Faith in Jesus means trusting in Him as the Son of God who died for our sins and rose again. Such faith brings forgiveness, a new identity, eternal life and transformation. Christians then begin to reflect the characteristics of Jesus including love, humility, obedience, compassion, and perseverance.

One powerful story that illustrates this truth comes from Nicky Cruz, a notorious gang leader turned evangelist, whose story impacted Britain deeply through the ministry of David Wilkerson and the eventual film and book The Cross and the Switchblade. 

But perhaps the most relevant and influential British story is that of C.S. Lewis, the Oxford academic whose faith journey transformed lives worldwide. Clive Staples Lewis, better known as C.S. Lewis, was a professor at Oxford University and an avowed atheist for many years. Born in Belfast in 1898, Lewis was a brilliant scholar with a love for literature and mythology. His experience in the trenches during World War I left him further disillusioned with religion. Yet, through friendships with Christian colleagues like J.R.R. Tolkien, Lewis began to seriously reconsider the claims of Christianity.

In 1931, after a long intellectual and spiritual struggle, Lewis surrendered his life to Christ. He described himself as “the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England.” But this step of faith radically altered the course of his life.

Lewis didn’t simply believe in Jesus—he allowed that faith to reshape his values, purpose, and actions. He became one of the most prolific Christian writers of the 20th century, authoring Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, and The Chronicles of Narnia. His writings have reached millions, presenting the good news of Jesus Christ, the gospel,  in a compelling, logical, and imaginative way.

What marked Lewis’s life after conversion was not just intellect but humility and love. He gave generously, responded to personal letters from readers, and bore personal suffering—such as the loss of his wife—with quiet faith. His salvation didn’t make him perfect, but it made him new.

Faith in Jesus Christ brings about real change. Notable characteristics evident in Lewis’s life, and in any truly saved life, include a recognition of personal sin and dependence on God. That’s humility. It also includes a growing love for God and others as well as a desire to follow God’s Word, even when facing difficult situations. 

Perseverance is also involved which is a steady faith that endures trials and suffering and is a life that points others to Christ, whether through words or actions.

Salvation through faith in Jesus Christ is not merely a religious decision; it is a life-changing encounter with the living God. C.S. Lewis’s journey from scepticism to vibrant faith reminds us that salvation is available to all, regardless of background or intellect. It’s not about joining a religion, but about entering a relationship with Jesus, who said “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Faith saves, but true faith also transforms. As Lewis’s life shows, salvation through Jesus Christ creates a legacy that can echo across generations. What about your relationship to Jesus? Do you have a faith and daily seek to live life God’s way with God?

All photos courtesy of Unsplash 

DAILY MESSAGES WITH MEANING (01/10/25)

Written by NIGEL BINDING