I’ll get round to it someday!

How good are you at complaining. One man who was interviewed recently on television reminded us that whinging is different to complaining. Whinging is apparently just moaning but not doing anything about it. Formal complaining means that you are holding the service provider responsible for what they do or do not do and making sure that you get what you are paying for.

 

Once when coming back from a trip to Africa. En-route our cases stayed in Dubai while we flew to Lusaka. They caught up with us eventually, but we have a claim to lodge for extra expenses incurred because of an extra night that we stayed in Lusaka. Have I submitted it yet? I think you probably can guess the answer. 

Most of us feel that we deserve to get what we pay for. This is only fair, and it is our right but how many of us get round to complaining when things go wrong. The purpose for writing this article is not actually to encourage you to complain (not that it would be a bad thing) but to point out that most of us don’t get round to it very often. We mean to but we don’t quite get round to it. That’s true about a lot of things.

 

Think about this for example. How many of us have joined a gym and never used it? How often do we think about slimming but never quite get there? Or your mortgage – you know the rate could be lower but because of the hassle of changing provider we never get round to it. All these examples are about things that could improve our lives but we put off doing anything about. I want to ask you to consider another area of your life which we all tend to ignore and pretend that it’s too much hassle – that is your relationship or lack of one with God. We can all argue why we don’t think God is real but in our hearts, we know that God is there. Most of us live life as if it will never end and accuse people of being morbid who raise the issues of life after death. But we all know that we will die one day and to ignore the afterlife is fatal. You say if I’m wrong, I’m wrong but the reality is if you’re wrong you will be lost forever in a place you don’t want to be. 

Reflections on Elections

         

All photos courtesy of Unsplash 

 

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.

Are your children happy?

Children should be happy. One of the Bible predictions about the future is that, when Jesus reigns, “the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets” (Zech 8.5). 

One test of a nation’s moral character is its treatment of the innocent, the weak, and the vulnerable. If such members of society live in fear of abuse, mistreatment, or death, it seems obvious to all right-thinking people that there is a moral deficiency in the nation. 

Children should live free from such fears. They will one day. They certainly do not now. 

Children are not safe in the streets. They are not safe in the schools. They are not safe (often) in their own homes. Sadly they are not even safe in the womb of their mother. How cold, callous, and celebrative of wickedness must a nation be to rejoice in the slaughter of infants? Is this how society improves? Should we slaughter the innocent for the sins of the guilty? 

Who gave you the right to do that?

All photos courtesy of Unsplash

Bible Reading - Mark 11:20-33

Sometimes when I am trying to tell someone about what I believe they respond like this. Don’t shove religion down my throat! Who gave you the right to tell me that?

 

The rulers of the nation of Israel were out to get the Lord Jesus. They didn’t like the attention He was being given and as far as they were concerned He was a major threat.

 

On the day in this incident the Lord Jesus was in Jerusalem walking though the Temple Precincts. He was confronted by the chief priests, the scribes and the elders of Israel. To these men the Lord Jesus was ‘a nobody’ and they were the top people in Israel. They were soon to learn that they were facing someone greater than they were. We must never forget that the Lord Jesus is the greatest person we will ever encounter. He is the ‘everlasting Father, the mighty God,’ Isaiah 9:6.

 

Take a moment to think about the questions they asked, v. 28. They were basically asking where do you get the power to do what you do and who gave you it. The questions were an admission of their own ignorance. They did not believe what the wise Jewish teacher, Nicodemus, said in John chapter 3 -  ‘no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him’. If Nicodemus could discover the truth, John.7. 50,51, 19. 39, so could they. They were choosing not to believe the truth.

 

There are many people in our world who have never heard the truth. It is our responsibility to tell them. Sadly we will often meet people in our society who have chosen not believe the truth. Our job is to live and preach the truth and pray that they will be saved.

These posts are aimed at people who are already believers in the Lord Jesus Christ   

An offer you can't afford to ignore!

All photos courtesy of Unsplash

I am writing this column as I prepare to leave for a trip to Israel. It has been a lifelong dream to visit the land of the Bible, and my wife has arranged this 'once in a lifetime' experience for which I am very grateful.

 

The phrase - 'once in a lifetime' still has some significance. It evokes thoughts of exciting things that we would love to do. But, unfortunately, the chances of them happening are so unlikely that you will probably only ever get one chance to do it.

 

There are two significant 'once in a lifetime' events that we all experience. These are also the two bookends of human life, i.e., birth and death. You have no control over the former, and the latter is usually also out of your control. So, are these just random events, or is there a higher power in control? 

Are you prepared to believe the evidence?

All photos courtesy of Unsplash

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.

Moving the Boundary

All photos courtesy of Unsplash

Earlier this year, a farmer driving his tractor noticed a large stone in his path, and moved it out of the way. Such an event would not normally cause headlines, but it did on this occasion, for the stone had been there for two hundred years, marking the border between Belgium and France. Thus, ‘on the ground’, the farmer was increasing the size of Belgium by about 7.5 feet, and reducing France by the same amount! It appears that he did not know the significance of his action, but it was serious nonetheless; for the boundary had been established by a treaty in 1820, and no-one had the right to move it.

That reminds me of a boundary that God has set up: between right and wrong, truth and error, good and evil. Some people deny its existence, or ignore it, while others think that they can decide for themselves where it lies. However it remains, fixed, and we all have transgressed it: "For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not" Ecclesiastes 7.20. That is a serious matter, whether we realise it or not, for sin is against God, and we must face His judgment for it: "The soul that sinneth, it shall die" Ezekiel 18.20. "The wicked shall be turned into hell" Psalm 9.17.Although the farmer was in the wrong, the authorities had a forgiving attitude, and informed him that if he returned the stone to its proper place he would not face charges. Yet they also made it clear that if he refused to comply, a border commission would be convened, and he could suffer a large fine. I am glad to tell you that God does not want you to face the consequences of your sins either, and He offers a merciful solution to you. "The Lord … is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" 2Peter 3.9.

Tomorrow - handling the unknown!

All photos courtesy of Unsplash

The evening before anything major happens in your life can be quite traumatic - that’s of course if you know something is going to happen the next day. An exam, your wedding, a court case, the result of medical tests - most of us know what the fear of the unknown can make us think and feel in the dark lonely hours of the night. The rational becomes irrational, our strength of resolve seems to run for cover and leave us feeling exposed, the smallest possibility of things going in the wrong direction seems to be amplified until it's unbearable.

Who can you trust?

All photos courtesy of Unsplash 

When I was a young lad financial institutions were so secure that we thought that it was impossible for one to "go bust". That is probably why I joined one at the age of 20, but here we are in the 21st century and we cannot even trust a financial institution. What is left that is dependable? What worries me is that we are told one day that everything is fine by the very people, who then have to admit that everything has gone wrong so soon afterwards.

Truth seems to disappear, all for the sake of public confidence in something that is already destined to fail. Well those of you who have been reading these messages for any length of time, will know that I believe that God can be trusted. The Bible affirms that 'God cannot lie' and that the things that He says are 'true and faithful' i.e. they are to be trusted.

Key Principles for Successful Living

How we live our lives is vitally important. There are principles that guide each one of us. These could be positive or negative guidelines by which we live our lives. If we will live by God’s principles, we can expect to see His favour and blessing.  If we live by what ‘seems good to us’ it can often take us down a path we would later regret. Have you ever considered what are the principles by which you live your life?   The earlier we discover and apply these, the better, but it is never too late to begin!

 

Principle No 1 – You can be forgiven

 

We can and need to receive forgiveness from God. ‘If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.’ Because Jesus paid for our sins in full; we can know what it means to be forgiven. ‘He cancelled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.’ God is willing to remove our sin from us. ‘As far as the east is from the west’, so far is He willing to remove them from us.

 

Why does the Bible say, ‘as far as the East is from the West?’ Why did does it not say as far as the North is from the South? This is one great picture of God’s love. The North and South pole are definite points. You can go to those spots. But there is no East or West pole. When you get there, you can still go further to the East. So, in a very real sense, when God says, ‘as far as the East is from the West’ He means that He has totally and forever removed our sins, they are not coming back to haunt us.

Caught by his own camera

Photos courtesy of Unsplash 

In recent years, many car drivers have installed dashboard cameras, so that, if they are involved in an accident, the footage can be used to help establish liability. 

The trend has also been taken up by some cyclists, who have cameras fitted, not only for use in case of accidents, but also for recording careless driving by motorists. The photographic evidence is then forwarded to the authorities, and those who pose a danger to cyclists can be prosecuted, even if no collision has occurred. 

A couple of years ago, a cyclist in Ireland successfully implicated two drivers by this method. However, to his dismay, the investigators, on examining his video, found that he too had been guilty of breaking the law during his journey, and he was prosecuted, along with the drivers he had filmed.

Changes this weekend

All photos courtesy of Unsplash

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.

Barriers to coming to God

All photos courtesy of Unsplash 

Many things in life are barriers; we might find that our lack of skills or qualifications can be a barrier to work progression. Maybe an incident has happened in life that makes it difficult to be friends with someone; a barrier exists.

After God gave the 10 commandments to Moses, the people agreed to keep them; however, before Moses could return from Mount Sinai's summit, the Israelites had broken at least one of the commandments by worshipping a golden calf instead of the true God. Their sin became a barrier between them and God.

They failed to live up to God’s standards, so He stated that they should bring a sacrifice to Him when they sinned.

More than meets the eye!

More than meets the eye!

People often say that 'there is more to something than meets the eye'! By this they usually mean that there are hidden values or facts regarding something. Or sometimes when used about a person it can mean that they are more interesting or complicated than they appear at first.

We live in a world where that expression is so true about so many things. The United Kingdom is about to vote on whether to leave Europe or to stay. One of the problems the electorate has is knowing what the facts are! What is propaganda and what is truth!

A lot of people are big into conspiracy theories. I am not of that persuasion but I do think that there is a lot more going on behind the scenes than most people are aware of.

The Bible teaches that there are powers and influences over nations and individuals that people are not aware of. If you researched the book of Daniel in the Old Testament Bible you would discover in a number of chapters that there are Spirit powers (some good and some bad) who influence the decisions that are made by governments and people in positions of power. You may be very cynical about that claim but the Bible teaches it and many a time I have wondered how world leaders ended up making decisions that in the lead up to the vote they were unlikely to make - look into Mrs Thatcher and The Maastricht Treaty in this respect!

In Ephesians chapter two verse two we discover that people 'walk according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience'. We would like to think that we are all free agents and in one sense we are - we are responsible for our behaviour. But on the other hand there are evil influences in this world that find their source in the devil who is described in this verse as 'the prince of the power of this world'. These influences tempt us to do wrong, to look after ourselves, to indulge ourselves and to sin.

This is not the only passage in the bible that talks about the powerful influence of evil that pervades our world. In Second Corinthians chapter four we read that 'the god of this world (another description of the devil) has blinded the minds of the unbelieving ones so that the light of the glorious gospel of Christ (who is the image of God) should not dawn on them'. 

The reality is that the devil wants to delude and deceive people so that they end up in Hell and the Lake of Fire. He wants people to think that they have liberty to live as they like but what he doesn't tell them is that sinful habits ensnare and trap them. His master stroke is to convince people that he does not exist and that the idea of a devil is just a tool of religious people to make other people fear and or behave. He has no desire for people to live life as God intended them to or to know the forgiveness of sins. 

Yes - there is more to life than meets the eye. God is not mocked whatever you sow you will reap and there is an appointed day when God will judge the world in righteousness!

Make sure you see the truth for what it is and 'seek the Lord while he may found'.

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.