Do you think you are good enough for God?

All photos courtesy of Unsplash

When we talk to others, there are always things that we do not mind them hearing and other things that we would be so ashamed of if they became public knowledge.

Some people will often tell you how they helped others, did a good deed or gave money to a charity. These things are good, of course, and we should do more things like this. However, it is possible to become proud or boastful about them.

Why do I always make the same mistakes?

All photos courtesy of Unsplash

One of the common problems we all have is our weakness to resist temptation. It is the same for every one of us. We often explain it away by saying ‘we are only human’ or ‘it’s my weakness’ or similar phrases. The simple fact is that we are flawed by nature and there are things in life that we find very hard to resist. Having said all that when a person gets saved or becomes a Christian, they are a new creation, 2 Cor. 5. 17. They will still feel the struggle which is caused by temptation, but they now have new life and the Spirit of God to strengthen them and keep them from falling.

Scripture Reading

Let no one say when he is tempted,

‘I am tempted by God’;

for God cannot be tempted by evil,

nor does He Himself tempt anyone

James 1:13

Today’s verse is saying that God does not have a problem with evil. He is not attracted to it. This is best illustrated in the life of the Lord Jesus. When the Devil came to tempt Him, it is stated that there was nothing in Him that responded to his advances, John 14. 30. So simply put God does not struggle with evil not did the Lord Jesus. If only we could say that; but things are so different for us.

We all have a daily battle, see Romans 7, with right and wrong. Some days are worse than others and some things are more of a temptation than others. Resisting thinking wrong things is a problem but once a person is saved it can get more intense as their conscience is keener than before. Thankfully, they have the Holy Spirit to appeal to for help. 

In closing do not lose sight of this. God never tempts us to do evil. He may test us at times, but it is never His purpose for us to sin. In fact, he wants us to learn to resist temptation and to be aware of our weaknesses. Submit to God. Resist the Devil and he will flee from you, James writes in chapter 4 verse 7.   

The #Bastille Day Massacre #PrayForNice

The Bastille Day Massacre

At least 84 people were killed Thursday night when a truck careered through crowds of people celebrating Bastille Day in the southern French city of Nice. French President François Hollande has said the attack, which also left dozens of people injured, was likely an act of terrorism. He said later that there were 50 injured people “between life and death.” The driver was named as Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, 31, a resident of Nice, by French authorities.

What happened

According to eyewitness accounts, bodies were sent flying into the air as the heavy-duty white transport vehicle hit them on the Promenade des Anglais at about 10:30 p.m. local time, where people had gathered to watch fireworks by the Nice seafront. Videos taken by bystanders show the truck zigzagging as the driver apparently sought to hit as many people as possible as he drove along more than a mile of crowded road. Images from the scene show bodies sprawled along stretches of road. Local paper Nice-Matin reports the drive lasted 45 seconds.

The driver reportedly also opened fire on the crowd, and was killed in a shootout with police. Photographs show the windshield of the truck riddled with bullet holes after it was brought to a halt.

The reaction

France is in schock, the world has once again been traumatised. What does the future hold? How do we tackle this type of extremism? 

We have lots of questions but very few answers!

One word that keeps cropping up is the word 'prayer'. 

Lady Gaga tweeted to say 'I am praying for you France'. Simon Cowell said the same, so did Justine Timberland. Paul Coelho asked in a tweet 'is prayer enough', Kim Kardashian said 'God the world needs you'. 

My reflections

I believe, and the bible teaches, that the man who perpetrated this crime is evil. He is wicked! My prayers are for those who have been bereaved! My sympathy goes out to the families of the dead and injured. May God comfort them and strengthen in these days of grief, fear, anger and trauma. God is the God of all comfort and he can meet the needs of each of us in all the dilemmas we face in life.

Will Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel be punished?

Indeed the Bible teaches that he will be accountable for what he did! Sin never goes unpunished. Men may fail to implement justice but God will both in this life (at times) and in the next.

But is all evil the same, in other words are there degrees of sin and wickedness! Although the Bible is absolutely true when it states that 'all have sinned and come short of the glory of God' I have no doubt that we all agree that violent acts such as this extreme wickedness should be dealt with appropriately. 

Be in no doubt that 'the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolators, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death' - Revelation 21. 8. 

I repeat, evil will not go unpunished! God has appointed a day, in the which he will  judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead - Acts 17. 31.

But before any of us sit back and conclude that we will not face God's judgement (of course God must judge the terrorist and evil men but there's more to it than that) we should re-read these two passages of scripture.

Please read the other definitions in the list in Revelation 21 verse 8 - 'the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolators, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death'. God is duty bound to deal with all forms of evil not just the ones we don't like.

Please read Acts 17. 31 again. 

How does God go about judging the world. Just as a Premier, President or Prime Minister selects the right person to take public office so God has selected the right person to be Judge - His name is Jesus.

What is the basis of his assessment? - 'he will judge the world in righteousness'.

Can we be sure that the right person has been selected? - God has 'given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead'. The judge in the future will be the same Jesus who came into the world to save sinners. He lived on earth, he knows the human mind, he died for our sins and God brought him back to life to prove once and for all that he, Jesus, is God's Son and that he is the Saviour of the world.

Is prayer enough?

One of the questions in the tweets I read was 'is prayer enough'. The answer is that prayer is enough to change the sinful heart of the individual. We must come to God one by one. We acknowledge our sin as individuals and we trust Jesus personally as we repent of our sin and trust Him to save us. Prayer will not be enough if it is prayer without confession of sin or exercising faith in Jesus. If it's just a 'save our world' prayer or a 'preserve my comfortable life' prayer it won't have any effect but if it is a prayer of confession of sin and guilt then God hears and answers.

God the world needs you!

O how true these words are! If we had not turned our back on God the evil we have seen perpetrated in Nice would not have happened. If only we had not sinned then there would be no death, no tears, no abuse and no violence.

But - by one man sin entered into the world and death by sin - Romans 5. 12 and we find ourselves in an increasingly evil society.

What is the answer?

The answer is in turning back to God. By coming His way.  By receiving his salvation, by trusting his well beloved Son - Jesus.

I leave you with the words of John chapter 3 verse - it is the key and provides the answer:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Authorized (King James) Version (AKJV)

KJV reproduced by permission of Cambridge University Press, the Crown’s patentee in the UK.

For more information text the word INFO to 07747 101352 

To access podcasts and videos explaining the good news of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ visit www.seekthetruth.org.uk

This site will give you access to Bible Teaching Audio's and Video's as well.

All posts have the aim of pointing people to Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour or to aid Christian growth and development.

Good versus Evil!

The fact of evil in the world is a very disturbing thing and causes many people heartache and problems. It is quite right to question why evil exists, how things came to be the way they are and if there are any solutions to these big issues.

The Bible clearly teaches that God created good as well as evil. This is a puzzle to many and rightly so because we wonder how a God of holiness could create something called evil. As we read the Bible we discover this 'God is light and in him is no darkness at all'. We also discover that God is kind, compassionate, caring and loving. This is all summarised in the statement 'God is Love'. So there is no indication that God acts in an evil way despite the fact that at times we do not understand why he allows certain circumstances in our lives.

There are other very clear statements in the Bible which indicate that God expects people to obey his holy commandments and principles which are there to ensure our blessing and well being. However the Bible does state that God will judge all men according to his standard of righteousness on the day of judgment and our only hope of salvation is found in His Son, Jesus Christ. 

The Bible teaches that God created all things. He gave human beings the ability to think, act and choose certain courses of action. God established a principle in the universe of sowing and reaping. There are consequences to actions and outcomes to behaviours and the choices that we make. Bad choices end in bad outcomes and so evil is perpetuated as a result of wrong choices. To say that God wants us to make bad choices and reap evil consequences would not fit with what you read in the Bible. From the very beginning God told us what was good and what was bad. He told the first couple (Adam and Eve) that the day they disobeyed Him they would die. He warned them that breaking His law put them at a distance from him. And so it did! Since the day Adam sinned we live life without God. We hurt and suffer because of the existence of evil activity in our world. And if we end this life without seeking forgiveness and reconciliation to God we seal our fate and face eternal separation from God (bear in mind this includes all that God provides: love, joy peace, safety etc). 

It can be so different! God sent his Son (Jesus) into the world not to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved. God has taken the initiative and in the death of His Son paid the debt of sin. He offers the gift of eternal life to all who will take it.

The only condition is acceptance of our condition as guilty before God and acceptance of Jesus Christ as the exclusive means of salvation. If we turn from our sin and depend on Christ for salvation we will immediately come into the good of God's great offer of salvation.

For more information text the word INFO to 07747 101352 

To access podcasts and videos explaining the good news of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ visit www.seekthetruth.org.uk

This site will give you access to Bible Teaching Audio's and Video's as well.

All posts have the aim of pointing people to Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour or to aid Christian growth and development.