Life is constantly changing.

 

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!

 

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'. 

 

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.

The experience of real freedom - Albania

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When the countries of Eastern Europe emerged from the tyranny of communist oppression the euphoria of freedom was countered by the serious lack of welfare and social facilities which are taken for granted in the West. The countries emerged with infrastructure in shatters, poorly constructed housing and industry which could not compete with the efficient, computer driven factories enjoyed in capitalist countries. 

One of the hardest hit countries was Albania which had been sealed off from the Western world by a notorious dictator known as Enver Hoxha. He had ruled the nation from virtually the Second World War until he died in 1985. He jammed outside broadcasts, refused all outside publications and insisted that the nation was in danger of invasion. This led to the construction of a million and maybe more bunkers all over the country. Some of them were huge going into mountainsides and every community had a bunker. The concrete used was immense and there were regular practices for families to flee to bunker whenever the siren went off. There was no choice and severe punishment was imposed if people failed to go to their bunker.

Following Jesus

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

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

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

God can really change your life!

 

Photos courtesy of Storyblocks

It is reported that there are 7.5 billion people living on planet earth today and sad to say not many of them could say that they have never misappropriated something that belonged to another person i.e. that they have not committed theft.  Possibly, the same could be said about lying but that is another subject.  The eighth commandment is “Thou shalt not steal”, the sixth is “Thou shalt not kill” the seventh “Thou shalt not commit adultery”, so God is precise in giving us an exact code of moral conduct for life.  The definition of theft is to dishonestly appropriate property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it.  The word ‘theft’ covers many acts of misappropriation, larceny (theft of personal property), robbery, fraud (identity, benefits, expenses, mortgage, insurance, etc), embezzlement, and burglary.  The writer received six strokes of the cane at senior school for stealing apples from the school orchard, therefore, identifying himself with any other person that has violated the eighth commandment.  Other acts of misdemeanors before my conversion would be too shameful to share.  

Are you prepared to believe the evidence?

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Believing the Evidence

J. Warner Wallace was an atheist for 35 years. He was passionate in his opposition to Christianity, and he enjoyed debating with his Christian friends. He became a Police Officer and eventually advanced to Detective. Along the way, he developed a healthy respect for the role of evidence in discerning truth. When he took time to be honest with himself, he had to admit that he never gave the case for Christianity a fair hearing. When he finally examined the evidence properly, he found it difficult to deny, especially if he hoped to retain his respect for the way evidence is utilised to determine truth. J. Warner found the evidence for Christianity to be convincing.

What has COVID-19 made you?

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It has now been over a year since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sadly, it has claimed millions of lives and changed how each of us relates to and navigates the world. All of us have been affected, but how has the pandemic impacted our lives these past 14 months? Here is a story that may explain how we have coped and reacted during these difficult times.

A young woman went to her grandmother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her.  She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling.  It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose. 

Her grandmother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water.  In the first, she placed carrots, in the second, she placed eggs, and in the last, she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil on the gas stove without saying a word. In about twenty minutes, she turned off the burners.  She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl.  She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.

Changes this weekend

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Quite a few changes are expected this weekend! There are routine ones like the clocks going an hour forward to British Summer Time, bringing the prospect of more daylight hours in the evening, and warmer ones too.

 

Then there’s the one most of us have been looking forward to, when we can meet again for our church services. We’ll be starting again in the Gospel Hall here this Sunday in a limited way, but then hope to be able to open up more freely again soon for more people. But that will depend on the Covid situation throughout our countries, as people mixing more with each other can push up infections. I think it’s still ‘go slowly and cautiously, a step at a time’.

 

We would like to hope and believe that lockdowns will soon be a thing of the past. The first lockdown a year ago brought the biggest change any of us had ever seen in every aspect of our lives, and all over the world. We could hardly believe it at first, hardly knew how we would cope with those awkward restrictions so that we could stay safe, but we have got through what has been a very difficult year. It may be, however, that some changes will be permanent, or at least long lasting. Some changes for the better will maybe come with us into the future, for I think during the year we have learned to value even more some of the really important things in life.

The times they are a changing!

 

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Another week and another amazing number of things going on in the world! The French ex-president Sarkozy found guilty of corruption; Harry and Megan’s interview about to explode on the world’s media, global covid cases rise for the first time in seven weeks, the pandemic won’t be over in 2021 and so on. News, fake news, real news, fears and facts – who knows what to believe any more. All in all, you would be forgiven for thinking that the world is in quite a mess. Who can sort it out? In terms of physical health, mental health, economics or social cohesion, it will be a tough job to keep society together. I think most would agree that there are no easy answers, and it will take impressive leadership to steer us back to better days.

 

If you read the bible carefully, you would not be surprised. The bible predicts wide-ranging changes in the world, some of which we could be witnessing at the present time. Many of the things that we are seeing are among the catalogue of changes that are defined in the bible: global changes, increased seismic activity, political upheaval and changes in the social and economic fabric of society.

Accepting the inevitable!

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Sometimes in life, we have to accept the inevitable! There is a quote by Francis of Assisi where he says, “Lord, grant me the strength to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

Let me remind you of something we can change. 

 

We can change what we value and where our priorities lie! Maybe life is tough for you! Illness has been stalking you! You have fears about the future! Life has been very uncertain! Often when we cannot change our circumstances, we can control how we respond to them. 

The Mumbles Railway

Do you remember the Mumbles Railway?

Anyone who lived in Swansea in the 1950s can hardly forget the ‘Bump, Rattle and Roll’ of the double decker tram as it lurched its way along Swansea Bay. For those of you who, perhaps, were not around in the 50s, the Mumbles Railway was a two decker tram that ran along the edge of Swansea Bay from the town centre to the lighthouse on Mumbles Head -  a distance of just under 6 miles.

Stephen Hawkings and the Afterlife!

We all have come to understand that life is constantly changing and that nothing lasts for ever. In many ways this is a tough and sad reality. Most of us find it hard to accept that we will grow old, that loved ones will pass on, that children grow up and leave home. You know the types of things that I am talking about. Sad realities! It is hard to see people you love deteriorate! It is unbelievable that people who once were so capable do not now even know what day it is or the difference between a cup of tea and a plate of soup.

I have good news for you. 

The Bible teaches that God made us with an eternal soul. The real person lives in this body and though the body ends in physical death, the soul lives on. Many people don't believe this! They think that better education, social conditions and the developments of the 21st century remove the need to think about matters of life and faith.

Stephen Hawking, British Physicist and author dismisses the notion of an afterlife. To quote he said recently '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'. This argument sounds very feasible especially when proposed by such an intelligent man. It does however ignore the fact 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 ability to explain. Consciousness cannot be defined in purely physiological terms. Add to this the evidence for the supernatural and the spiritual and you have many questions which without the revelation in the Bible we will struggle to answer. 

Let me introduce the book which has for generations provided answers. Answers that could not find their source solely in the mind of a human being. This book is the Bible. It is easy to dismiss the Bible as the purely the writings of men but that would not be doing justice to the information it contains and the consistency of its message. The Bible has an inbuilt testing system of prediction and fulfilment which either stands or falls on the substantive evidence of archeology, science, history, geography and social development. There have been no developments to date in any of these disciplines which have produced evidence which undermines the truthfulness and probity of the Bible.

If all of this is true may I suggest that we should pay more attention to what it teaches about life, death, the afterlife, God etc. One of the books of the Bible (John's gospel) specifically 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'. My prayer is that this will be the outcome if you choose to read the Bible for yourself.

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