The Story of Christmas - No 7

Today's Christmas episode deals with the arrival of the wise men from the east. They had probably travelled for around 900 miles. The guidance they had was the star. They knew they had come to see a new King, the King of the Jews. 

Their problem was they were looking in the wrong place. I wonder if you are looking in the right place when it comes to meeting God, finding the meaning of life and knowing the peace of God within your soul. The right place is not church nor religion. You can approach God directly by prayer and know the forgiveness of sins when you turn from your sins (repent) and confess them to the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible promises 'the blood of Jesus Christ his Son (God's) cleanses us from all sin,' 1 John 1:7. 

Read this passage to discover how these wise men made their journey and finally discovered Jesus Christ, the Son of God

Why do we hurt?

It’s our aim in this blog post to address some of the questions that people ask in life and to discover what the Word of God (the Bible) has to say about it. We place real confidence in the Bible because we have become convinced that the Bible is God’s communication to men and women and we wish people to benefit from what God has said.

I’m sure that most would agree that life hurts! That hurt can be caused by the normal progression from youth to old age and all the problems that come with ageing. Sickness also brings its heartaches! Natural disasters are devastating and destructive! To say nothing of the dreadful treatment that people endure at the hands of their fellow man. War and acts of terror produce unimaginable horrors. I’m sure that at times we all question why life is such a difficult and a hurtful experience.

Is it wrong to question why? No it isn't. Even the Lord Jesus asked the question - why? 

The first thing I’d like to say is that “it's not personal”. What I mean is that we do not usually suffer as individuals because of something specific we have done. Before I go any further let me qualify that statement.  There are times in life when we do reap what we sow. There actually are consequences to our actions! But all the awful things that happen in the world are not usually the direct result of our personal actions.

My main thought when I say it’s not personal is this: ;people don’t die as a result of some sinful thing that they have done; old age doesn’t come because you did something wrong. The fact that we die, that we have sickness, that we grow old is explained to us in the Bible. The Bible states that all of these conditions and circumstances exist because sin came into the world. As a result of Adam, the first man, disobeying God the floodgates to all that was evil were opened. The fact that all of this is the result of the first man’s rebellion to God is explained by the biblical statement “by one man sin entered into the world and death by sin,” Romans 5:12.

The Bible clearly teaches that God gave man a choice:

Obey Him,

Enjoy His presence,

Enjoy all that He created for him….

But, there is a but, God warned him that the day he ate of the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that he would die. And that is what happened! Adam didn’t die physically but he died as far as his relationship with God was concerned. He was dead spiritually. Sin, death, pain and suffering became the normal experience of life. He had to work by the sweat of his brow for everything. Childbirth became a painful experience for the woman and the earth was cursed. So life hurts as a result; a fact that we know only too well.

However, what is quite incredible about the biblical story of salvation is that God had already a plan in place. God’s plan to provide forgiveness and to offer salvation to men and women was devised long before time began, 1 Peter 1: 19, 20.

God had always planned to send His ‘Son to be the Saviour of the world’. He made sure in the writings of the Old Testament, the first half of the Bible, that we would know Him when he visited earth. In the Old Testament, God told the prophets how to identify His Son. There were specific facts such as what family He would be born into, His distinctive and sinless lifestyle and His mode of death. Normally how people will die is an unknown fact but God was making a point in defining how Jesus would die in advance. Psalm 22:16 and Zechariah 12:10 speak of the death penalty as crucifixion and of the piercing of the hands and feet of the Lord Jesus which at the time was unknown. All of this information was so that when He came we would know Him.

To me the greatest and most amazing thing about this whole thing is that God came to earth in person. He was a real but sinless man. He suffered, He hurt and He endured death to pay for our sin. God wants us to be forgiven therefore the price and the legal penalty for our sin was dealt with by the Lord Jesus Christ when He died upon the cross.

The Bible explains it like this:  “Christ died for our sins.”, 1 Corinthians 15:3, “He was despised and rejected of men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief”, Isaiah 53:3.

Today God offers us not hurt but forgiveness;

Today God offers us love.

The Bible tells us, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life”, John 3:16. The greatest proof of the love of God is that, “God commends his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”, Romans 5:8.

I want to point you to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, if you pray to God, today, confessing your sins He will forgive you.

I trust that you will do this.

May God bless you!

For more information or to get in touch visit www.seekthetruth.org.uk

#Time's Up it's Friday - The Daily Diary of a Bible Blogger

What a week this has been! 

Life is so unpredictable! 

You think you have everything planned out, but nothing goes according to the plan!

You try to make allowances for interruptions, but you still run out of time!

I won't bore you with the details, but I am sure you will know what I'm talking about. 

Why is it so impossible to control our time? For years, I attended business courses and seminars about time management. Eventually, I gave some lectures about the same subject, but I still struggled to manage my time. I can schedule tasks, arrange meetings, and draw up lists, but controlling time is ultimately impossible. 

Now, don't get me wrong; I'm quite efficient. My desk is uncluttered, and I work my way through lists. I get a lot done in a day, but time beats me. 

I think the question really is, is it possible to control time? You can manage what you do with your time, but time never stops. It marches on relentlessly. 

This is true in every aspect of life. Minutes tick away, growing into hours. Hours grow into days. Days turn into weeks. Weeks turn into months. Months turn into years, and before you know it, middle age has crept up on you. Old age is not a lifetime away, and you think, where has it all gone?

In Ecclesiastes chapter three, Solomon reminds us there is a time to be born and a time to die. 

The scriptures warn us of the end of life creeping up on us rapidly in Psalm 90:9-11 - 'For all our days have declined in Your fury; we have finished our years like a sigh. As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, or if due to strength, eighty years,

yet their pride is but labor and sorrow; for soon it is gone and we fly away. Who understands the power of Your anger and Your fury, according to the fear that is due You?

In light of the brevity of time and the suddenness of death, it would be wise to prepare to meet God. 

Have you prepared? You can do this by repenting of your sins and turning to God for forgiveness. The Bible summarises the final stage of conversion in these words: 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved' (Acts 16:31). 

As always, please let me know if I can help you further. You can reach me at www.seekthetruth.org.uk. 

New York Times Opinionator column

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

The Radical Claims of Jesus

All photos courtesy of Unsplash

As you survey the New Testament, it’s easy to see that Jesus made history’s most radical claims (John 6:35,John 8:46, John 8:58, John 10:27-28, John 14:6, 9, Matthew 9:2, John 14:15). Even a cursory reading of the four Gospels reveals that Jesus claimed to be a whole lot more than a “good teacher,” “spiritual leader,” or a “prophet.”

Search the writings of the world’s religions, and you’ll never read anything like Jesus' claims on the lips of Buddha, Muhammad, Confucius, Joseph Smith, or you name the leader. But anyone could say the things Jesus said. Saying those things doesn’t necessarily mean they are true. And Jesus knew that. So, Jesus didn’t just make the claims. He proved that what He said was true by…

• Fulfilling dozens of Old Testament prophecies
• Living a sinless life for which we even have the eyewitness testimonies of his enemies
• Opening the eyes of the blind
• Healing lepers
• Opening the ears of the deaf
• Causing the lame to walk
• Casting out demons

• Feeding 5,000 people with two fish and five loaves of bread

Love is of God - 1 John 4:10-21

1 John 4King James Version (KJV)

4 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:

3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

5 They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.

6 We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.

8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.

12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.

13 Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.

14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.

15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.

16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

19 We love him, because he first loved us.

20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?

21 And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

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.

Exotic Love - 1 John 3: 1-3

The section of scripture that I have posted today is rich with truth about the character of God. 

God is called 'Father' in the first verse. John is writing to people who are followers of Jesus Christ i.e. they are believers. When they first turned from their sin (repented) and confessed that Jesus Christ is Lord they were automatically born into the family of God. They immediately became a child of God and so called God, Father. This is true of all believers, which is quite amazing. 

John is so delighted when he thinks about the type of love that God gives to His children. Someone has described it as exotic love that is completely foreign to the human heart.

Despite the fact that those of us who are saved are children of God we are not yet 'the finished article' as far as God is concerned. We will always fall short of being what God wants us to be. This will be true until we get to heaven. In that day we will fully understand what the Lord Jesus is like because by then we shall be like him. That's another amazing truth!

The section ends by encouraging Christians who eagerly await the coming of the Lord Jesus to keep themselves pure just as the Lord Jesus is pure. This will mean that we must live our lives in way that pleases God. To do this we need to be careful about what we get involved in, what we read, watch and think about. The glorious fact is that our Saviour is pure and we are going to be like Him one day.

1 John 3King James Version (KJV)

3 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

Keep visiting www.seekthetruth.org.uk for links to video bible teaching, bible based podcasts and broadcasts of bible teaching on 1st Corinthians.

Brexit - Your Choice!

UK nationals will soon be voting whether to stay in the European Union or to leave. Big issues are being raised, such as national security and the future of our economy. Restoring sovereignty to our nation is a big issue!

Wake up and Vote

Politicians are urging folks to wake up and vote, telling them that this will be the greatest decision of their lifetime. I’ve got news for them; there is a bigger decision we all have to make in our lifetime. It affects more than the next generation of Europeans. The consequence of our personal decision affects where we will spend eternity, that is, whether we are in or out of Heaven. The Bible says ‘Choose this day whom you will serve,’ Joshua 24:15.

Scare Tactics

In the E.U. debate the protagonists on both sides are using scare tactics. Warnings of the dangers that lie ahead if the wrong choice is made are being given on a daily basis. There is a danger in making a bad choice. We could make the wrong choice in respect of Europe and have to live with the consequences for many years to come! I am not using scare tactics but I must honest. We could make the wrong choice about God and faith in Jesus Christ and discover too late that there is no recourse or opt out from the destination. An old proverb in the Bible says ‘there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death,’ Proverbs 14:12.

In or Out

I have never been in extreme danger but it must be a frightening experience. In these situations everyone would want to be out of danger.

But there are also places that we want to be in. We want to be in good health, to be in a good hotel or a good resort when go on holiday. We want to be in a good frame of mind. We need to make the right choice to securing the best result.

One day Jesus had a discussion with people who found him obnoxious. He was never afraid to speak with his opponents and always talked frankly and courteously with them. The discussion is recorded in Luke chapter eleven in the New Testament. As he talked Jesus made it clear that no one could take the middle ground or sit on the fence when it came to their opinion about him. They were either in or out. Did they think he was the Son of God? Or was he a fraud? His actual words were ‘Whoever is not with me is against me,’ Luke 11:23.   

The choice is yours

Europe - in or out? Jesus - in or out? I know what my decision is, do you?  One choice may affect your lifetime, the other will affect your forever!

More info and contact details at www.seekthetruth.org.uk

The Key to Life - 1 John 1:1-4 (the Bible)

The key to joy, eternal life, forgiveness, peace with God and salvation is only to be found in one person - Jesus Christ. The record of his life and the truth concerning salvation through his name is only found in the word of God, the Bible.

1 John 1King James Version (KJV)

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;

2 (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)

3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

4 And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.

For links to videos, podcasts and blogs explaining the 

message of the gospel of Jesus Christ visit 

www.seekthetruth.org.uk