Father’s Day

All photos courtesy of Unsplash 

Father's Day is a relatively modern celebration compared with Mother's Day. It originated in the US by a woman called Sonora Louise Smart in Washington. After her mother died in childbirth with her sixth child, her dad brought up the family.

In 1909, Sonora heard a speech in church about Mother's Day and thought dads should also be celebrated. Several local clergymen accepted the idea and it is believed that 19 June 1910 was the first unofficial Father's Day.

In 1966, US President Lyndon B. Johnson decided the third Sunday in June should be Father's Day but it did not became official in the UK until 1972.

I especially want to acknowledge fathers today, or those who are like fathers to us - we hope that today is a very special day for you and for those who love you.

Children in Need

Photos courtesy of Unsplash 

What has Solomon from the Old Testament, the prophet Joel, again from the Old Testament, the late Sir Terry Wogan and Pudsey Bear got in common? Care for children, for ‘Children in Need’ to use the phrase from the BBC’s annual appeal as it raises millions of pounds to fund services for children. 

 

In Psalm 127, which is a song by Solomon for worship, we read that “Children are a blessing and a gift from the Lord.” As a comprehensive school teacher, I have had the privilege of working with thousands of youngsters for over 25 years now and also had the privilege of helping out in Sunday school work and Youth work. Children have, and continue to be a very important part of my day-to-day life. 

Does God care? Yes, God has time for you.

Does God Care?

This time of the year can be a lonely time for many people! Everyone has their family, or do they? There are a lot of people about who are very private and keep themselves to themselves. They would not trouble anyone with their problems and would not presume that anyone else is interested.

I have news for anyone who is reading this who thinks like that. I know someone who is interested in you; the Lord Jesus. He is recorded as saying in the Gospel of John – ‘I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly‘.

Death - Can you really face it with hope?

Death seems hopeless but let me remind you that even in a hopeless situation there is hope to be found in Jesus.

Facing Death

From time to time I visit people who are sick. Sometimes I call at their homes, but often I pop into the hospital to see them. Hospitals can be very sad places. The circumstances and struggles of life and the prospect of facing death are often confronted head-on in a hospital.

Nurses, Doctors, Porters and Cleaners are often amazing people. Their skills and abilities far exceed the basic requirement to clean, transport and provide medical care. Usually, it is these unrecognized people who have a kind word to say and the ability to encourage, amuse and lift a person’s spirit. They are quite an amazing group of people.

Two instructions you had better obey?

Photos courtesy of Storyblocks

Fulfilling the two great commandments (Matthew 22.36-40)

(this is truth for Christians) 

Love for God? 

We express this by our devotion to Him and His interests. We can do that as individuals and in local churches as is our norm. But now is not normal, so our individual devotion matters even more. When not able to meet together, our commitment to God must not waver!

 

Love for our neighbour? 

The best expression these days may be in selflessly protecting others from infection, isolating ourselves and saving our country’s resources from being stretched to breaking point.
 
Affirm your faith in Christ and your love for others by praying and continuing to serve your brothers and sisters in every way that you can. Firmly grasp His 'full assurance of hope,' Hebrews 6.11, as the storm rages around you. Hope is the spiritual anchor of every believer, and God will brighten our hope and comfort us the more as our burdens grow heavier. Remember that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind, 2 Timothy 1. 7.
 
In this time of distress, reach out to your heavenly Father in prayer. It is especially important that we make intercession for countries, governments, church leaders, communities, healthcare and other key workers, our families and neighbours, and our Christian brothers and sisters near us and in every land.
 
May we keep faithful and helpful, loving the Lord and loving each other.
 
“This is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us
and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.  (1 John 4.10)

Used by kind permission of Bert Cargill, Scotland

What would you give for a Sports Car?

All photos courtesy of Unsplash 

A young man was getting ready to graduate from college. For many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer's showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was all he wanted.

As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited signs that his father had purchased the car. Finally, on the morning of his graduation, his father called him into his private study. His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told him how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautiful wrapped gift box. Curious, but somewhat disappointed, the young man opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible, with the young man's name embossed in gold. Angrily, he raised his voice to his father and said, "With all your money you give me a Bible?" He then stormed out of the house, leaving the Bible on his father’s desk.

Many years passed and the young man was very successful in business. He had a beautiful home and a wonderful family, but realizing his father was very old, he thought perhaps he should go to see him. He had not seen him since that graduation day. Before he could make the arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to his son. He needed to come home immediately and take care of things.

When he arrived at his father's house, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart. He began to search through his father's important papers and saw the still new Bible, just as he had left it years ago. With tears, he opened the Bible and began to turn the pages. As he was reading, a car key dropped from the back of the Bible. It had a tag with the dealer's name, the same dealer who had the sports car he had desired. On the tag was the date of his graduation, and the words... "PAID IN FULL".

Sometimes the packaging can be deceptive. Every year in December we commemorate the birth of a child who came in humility – born into a working class family and laid in a manger.

To the religious and influential of His day, this child was unacceptable because, in their eyes, He came packaged wrongly.  In their judgement He was from the wrong place, brought up in the wrong family, and taught things that clashed with their traditions. They wanted a king born in a palace to become their Messiah and they could not accept a humble servant as their king.

Sadly even today people find the servant heart of the Lord Jesus Christ unacceptable. He just does not fit in with their expectations. 

On the other hand, the ones who discover His true worth discover the reality of the words, “To those who received Him, to them gave He the authority to become the children of God.”

Written by Stephen Treseder For Messages with Meaning (18/04/21) and Your542Day

Are you a Christian?

Can your parents make you a Christian?

Does the fact that you are born in a Christian country (so called) mean that you are a Christian?

Does going to Church or reading the bible make you a Christian?

Did I just make these questions up – no, I was once asked them by a girl in Liverpool when I was “street preaching’. She had been told that you became a Christian when you were christened and that if you are born in England you must be a Christian because it is a Christian country (that’s debatable!). 

Life's most important question!

Life's most important questions - Is Jesus alive?

The Lord Jesus Christ is no ordinary person. I make this statement in the present tense because the Lord Jesus is not just a figure of history but he is, today, still alive in heaven. I don't mean alive in the way we might think about a relative who has died and hope is now in heaven. As a Christian I believe people who have turned from their sin and accepted Jesus as their Saviour will be in heaven when they die but this is not my point at the moment. I mean that Jesus is alive, physically in heaven. 

Your response might be - impossible and unbelievable! 

Access Denied - when your computer locks you out!

A friend of mine recently bought a new computer. He, like me, was not very computer literate. Having set up the various programs and their passwords he sought to type his first message. Diligently following the on-screen instructions he was asked for the password, which he carefully typed in. Disaster! A message flashed across the screen "Access Denied". He tried again with the same result. He contacted me for advice. All I could do was ask him if he was sure that he used the correct password. He was adamant that he had. He had done nothing wrong, was sure that all was correct but something was wrong.

Goodnight but not Goodbye

Goodnight but not Goodbye

I have just come back from my Father in Law's funeral. This took place in Ballymena, Northern Ireland. I flew home lat night.

He was an amazing man. The Lord took him home to heaven on Saturday morning at 1:55 am. He is now in heaven, in the presence of the Lord Jesus, in the presence of God, the Father. Psalm 16:11 states 'in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore'. David McMullan is now enjoying the presence of the God, and of the Lord Jesus Christ, in a way that he had never experienced before.

For those of us left behind, who are Christians there is a slight feeling of jealousy. To be with the Lord Jesus will be the most wonderful thing we could ever imagine. In fact we cannot even begin to imagine it. The only way to be sure that we end up in heaven is to agree to heaven's terms. Jesus said 'I am the way, the truth and the life no man comes unto the Father but by me'.

Death is awful. It separates from loved ones in this life and can separate us for eternity from the love of God. However if we repent of our sin and believe the gospel nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus.

As I close let me remind you of what the Bible teaches about dying. This is a great comfort to all believers who have lost a loved one:

Psalms 116:15 - Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.

This is true because God delights to receive into heaven those who trust Him.

2 Corinthians 5:6-9 - So we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord— for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we do have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.

When we die we are 'away from the body'. We abandon our bodies at death as they were only needed for this life. In the next life we will either be in hell or with the Lord in heaven.

My last verse is this:

Psalm 17:15 - As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake I shall be satisfied, beholding your likeness.

My father in law is finally fully satisfied having looked into the face of The Lord Jesus Christ. Where would you be if you had passed through the 'valley of the shadow of death'? Would you have reached heaven's shore safely or will you one day hear the words of Jesus Christ saying, 'depart from me I never knew you'.

For us the parting was hard but the reality is we have only said goodnight and not good bye. We will see him 'in the morning' when Jesus Christ comes back again. The parting, although painful, is only for a little while. For the scriptures teach in Hebrews 10:37 For yet “in a very little while, the one who is coming will come and will not delay".

The Lord bless you.

Stephen