What are the 3 most commonly told stories in the world?

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When the film 'Titanic' was first premiered, millions of filmgoers watched in awe as “Titanic” disappeared beneath the waves. The film had a huge global audience; many people attended six or seven times, according to newspaper reports. A cartoon strip had a mom saying to her family: “I am going, uh, shopping. I will be back in about four hours, maybe.” The family exchanges knowing glances: “Titanic—again.”

Historians and statisticians report that the three most commonly told stories in the world are:- 

1. The life and death of Jesus Christ 

2. The American Civil War and 

3. The sinking of the Titanic. 

Especially with the first and third stories, one element has captured the world: the possibility that a person who goes down with the ship into the icy Atlantic and drowns—can someday live again. People wanted to believe that the ill-fated lovers, Jack and Rose, could actually be united again on the grand staircase of Titanic. That heroic dads who put their wives and children into lifeboats and then perished might someday experience the Bible’s promise of a Resurrection Morning.

Is what the Bible says about resurrection true? Did a dead person named Jesus come out of the tomb on that first Easter ‪Sunday morning‬? Or did His disciples steal the body, hide it, dry their tears, and then concoct this tall tale to beat all tall tales?  It is not just the fate of “Jack and Rose” which rests on Bible truth. All of us are intimately affected by what we read in the Bible of the possibility of us ever living again, it rests entirely and completely on the doctrine of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.‬

The Bible tells us that:- “If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised and if Christ has not been raised, your preaching is useless and so is your faith. . . . For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for THIS LIFE we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.”

If we reject the doctrine of Christ’s resurrection or begin to doubt that He really did come out of that tomb, then we immediately have to also embrace—or at least wince and acknowledge—the reality that when we sink into our own "Atlantic Ocean" and close our eyes in death, that it is all over for us  . . . forever!

Do we want chocolate eggs and bunnies or the plain Word of God? Do we want Jesus the wandering poet or Christ the Risen Lord? Do we want our end to be when a ship goes down or the lights go out . . . or do we look forward to a wonderful and everlasting life in God’s eternal kingdom made possible by Jesus Christ breaking through the walls of that garden tomb?

"I AM the Resurrection and the Life", Jesus promises. Do we believe Him today? "He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die."

There in the ground, his body lay

Light of the world, by darkness, slain

Then bursting forth in glorious day

Up from the grave, he rose again

And as he stands in victory

Sin's curse has lost its grip on me

For I am his and he is mine

Bought with the precious blood of Christ

Written by Peter Francis for Messages with Meaning (‪06/04/21‬)‬/Your542Day

Hate and it"s consequences

 

You don’t wonder at the deep shock and sadness, even outrage and horror, that gripped our nation when the awful riots and destruction took place, which affected many parts of our country recently. The attack and cruel murder of little girls in Southport caused bitter grief and many tears to those who were affected and to many of us, far and near, who felt the tragedy of it. How unbelievable it is that such grief was overtaken by rioting and senseless destruction fuelled by misinformation and lies spread by peddlers of hate.

 

Wider society had to pay a high price for the wickedness of others. Controlling it and then cleaning up the mess used resources that could have benefitted the society that is still suffering in many places.

 

Hatred is volatile and unpredictable. You have probably seen it yourself. It can lead to so much damage and loss. Love is the opposite. Hatred wants to hurt and destroy. Love wants to protect and give unselfishly, not to be confused with lust, which selfishly wants to seize and get.

 

The Bible tells us that God is love—that is His very nature. But God hates certain things because of the harm they do. For example, in the Book of Proverbs, chapter 6, we are told of seven things the Lord hates, the last of which is “sowing discord among others.” It's sad to say that we’ve just seen that in action.

 

We know that a God of love must hate evil. He hates the wrong things we do and our sins but still loves us deeply. In fact, He loves us all so much that He gave His own Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins on a cruel cross so that we might be forgiven and saved forever from their consequences. By putting your faith in Him, you can receive the gift of salvation He offers you now.

Written by a guest blogger

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What do the words "Grace" & "Faith" mean?

 

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'For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works so that no one can boast,' Ephesians chapter 2 verses 8-9.

 

Grace and faith are two fundamental things that we must grasp if we are going to be right with God.

 

Grace means that we have received something we don't deserve. Since God is the creator and giver of all good things, His grace is already being shown to all. The most outstanding example of His grace was sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to be born in Bethlehem and eventually grow up and die on the cross. Through His death, He took our penalty for sin so that we, sinful men and women, can come to God. No wonder the Bible describes God's grace as 'exceeding abundant,' 1st Timothy chapter 1 verse 14.

On what basis are we then to come to God? The answer to that is in the second part of this verse. By faith! We read about faith in another passage in the Bible: 'Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen,' Hebrews chapter 11 verse 1.

 

Does that mean that Christian faith is blind? Certainly not! We can understand this point from an example in daily life; we have good reason to trust in a qualified lifeguard if we are in danger in water. We also have good reason to trust in God, who provided His Son for our deliverance from sin and Hell. All that is left for us to do is put our faith in Christ that He will forgive our sins and grant us eternal life in Heaven. After doing this, the Bible calls us saved.

Written by a Guest Blogger

Forgiveness - how far does it reach?

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One day Jesus told a story comparing the kingdom of heaven to a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants by calling in all his debts.  As he began the settlement, a man who owed him 10,000 talents was brought to Him. In those days that was a considerable chunk of money, the equivalent of about £20 million. We’re not sure exactly how he ran up this kind of debt but it’s clear that he would never be able to repay the king.  So since he couldn’t pay the debt, the king ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had, had to be sold to repay the debt.” The king knew he could never recoup all his losses - he just wanted to get back whatever he could.

At this point, the servant did what most of us would have done. He fell on his knees and said, “Be patient with me, and I will pay back everything.” Even though he could never pay it back, he is now desperate. He cannot stand the thought of his family being sold because of the debt he ran up.  The king was moved. The Bible says that he was filled with compassion. And, he does something the man does not even ask for. The king not only releases him, he also forgives the debt. This is at great personal cost to the king. By assuming the debt, he allowed it to go unpaid and thus impoverished his treasury. He wiped the slate clean, erased the books, and cancelled the debt. Now the man owed him nothing.   

This is exactly what forgiveness is all about. To forgive is to cancel the debt. When we’ve wronged someone, and they choose to forgive us, they are in essence saying, “I cancel the debt. The slate has been wiped clean. You do not owe me anything - I release you from ever having to pay me back.” Now it is quite clear that the servant did not deserve this forgiveness; it was purely an act of grace and mercy on the part of the king. 

We are a lot like the man in the story that Jesus told. We stand before a holy God with our sins piled up higher than Mount Everest.  Our sins are like a £20 million debt that we can never repay. And yet, out of compassion for our moral predicament, and motivated by His love and grace, God sent His Son Jesus to pay off our spiritual debts.

We all need Divine forgiveness today.  We need to come face to face with God, own our sin, and then asked Him for release? We need to do it, if we have not already done so - forgiveness is our deepest need and God’s highest achievement. Admitting our sins to a holy God is the way to receive His forgiveness? If we have not done so, now is the right time. The cost of our sins is more than we can pay, but the gift of our God is more than we can imagine. 

Repentance is the key to being forgiven.  In the Bible book of Proverbs we learn that “he that covers his sins shall not prosper: but whosoever confesses and forsakes them shall have mercy." If we can confess it, we  can be forgiven of it! It does not matter what we have done, if we turn to God and confess our sins, He will forgive us of ALL unrighteousness... that includes anything we have done, that we are willing to bring before Him! So remember today, "If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness."

Produced by Messages with Meaning and published by 542day - with permission

An offer you can't afford to ignore!

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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? 

Jesus - Liar, Lunatic or Lord?

Can I say first that the Lord Jesus was most humble and unassuming!

You will search in vain to find any proud, arrogant, assertive statements about himself. 

BUT you will never find a denial about who He is. 

All of this is a fulfilment of another bible prophecy - Isaiah 42:2 "He shall not cry, nor lift up, not cause His voice to be heard in the street". 

Note when He had carried out a miracle he often instructed the person not to go and broadcast what had been done, see Mark 7:36 "And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more He charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it".

THE LORD JESUS LEFT ANY RECOGNITION AND ACCLAIM TO BE GIVEN BY HIS FATHER, GOD, MEN AND WOMEN WHO RECOGNISED HIM FOR WHO HE IS - HAVE YOU?

God spoke from heaven - "this is my beloved Son/Thou art my beloved Son as recorded in Matt 3:17, Matt 17:5, Mark 1:1, Luke 3:22, 2 Peter 1:17

Men said - Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God - Matthew 16:16

Thou art the Son of God; Thou art the King of Israel - John 1:49

I perceive that thou art a prophet - John 4:19

Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ - John 4:29

This is indeed the Christ the Saviour of the world - John 4:42

You have to decide who you think Jesus is? This is not an option! Either you decide in life and come to know Him as your Lord and Saviour or you leave it or ignore it and find out that He is the Son of God when it is too late to accept him as your Saviour. 

For more information and further explanations of the message of the bible via videos, blogs and podcasts please visit www.seekthetruth.org.uk

How do you see yourself? - A Seek the Truth Bible Media Blog

How do you see yourself?

An interesting question? 

Often we do not see ourselves as others see us. These pictures reflect how dementia patients often see themselves. As they once were or as they think they are now!

We have been thinking about William Shakespeare in our most recent blogs. Now let me turn your attention to the Scottish Poet, Robert Burns.

He once wrote 'To A Louse'

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia

"To A Louse, On Seeing One on a Lady's Bonnet at Church" is a 1786 Scots language poem by Robert Burns in his favourite meter, standard Habbie. The poem's theme is contained in the final verse:

Burns original	Standard English translation
O wad some Pow'r the giftie gie us To see oursels as ithers see us! It wad frae mony a blunder free us, An' foolish notion: What airs in dress an' gait wad lea'e us, An' ev'n devotion!	And would some Power give us the gift To see ourselves as others see us! It would from many a blunder free us, And foolish notion: What airs in dress and gait would leave us, And even devotion!

In this poem the narrator notices an upper class lady in church, with a louse that is roving, unnoticed by her, around in her bonnet. The poet chastises the louse for not realising how important his host is, and then reflects that, to a louse, we are all equal prey, and that we would be disabused of our pretensions if we were to see ourselves through each other's eyes. An alternative interpretation is that the poet is musing to himself how horrified and humbled the pious woman would be if she were aware she was harboring a common parasite in her hair.

You might see yourself as clever, respectable, good living, morally righteous etc. If you do then you probably cannot understand that God sees you as a sinner. In Romans 3:23, in the Bible, it states 'for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God' - the glorious standard of God. Again in 1 Kings 8:46 it says that 'there is no man that sinneth not'. If you are honest you will admit that no one is perfect and we all get things wrong regularly. You may not feel that your shortcomings qualify to be described with such a serious term as sin! While I sympathise with your viewpoint, in God's terms sin is sin. Anything less than completely right is wrong. God isn't being awkward or difficult in this respect. He is a perfect being and so anything less than his glorious standard is substandard. If you are a perfectionist you probably can understand this. Earth has been damaged, defiled and corrupted by our self centred and sinful behaviour and God will not allow heaven to be defiled in the same way. Therefore nothing that defiles will be permitted into God's presence, see  Revelation 21:27.

Alternatively, you may see yourself as a bad person who can't get things right and you live with guilt, remorse and fear. The good news is that you can be forgiven. The guilt can be removed and your fears can all be dealt with by the Lord Jesus Christ.

Read these verses of scripture. Consider them and ask God to open your eyes to understand the truth of them.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
['He' is God in this verse]

Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:  And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. Acts 13:38,39

["This man' is Jesus in this verse]

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30

['I' is the Lord Jesus Christ in this verse]

Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. Hebrews 2:14,15

['He' is the Lord Jesus Christ in this verse]

My prayer is that you will seek the truth and discover that God loves you despite your sin and that you can be forgiven.

For more information, videos and podcasts visit www.seekthetruth.org.uk

Leaving #London

Doesn't time fly! It hardly seems two minutes since I left home to head for London. Plans made, objectives set and great anticipation as I looked forward to sharing good news with the people of London. 

Realistically I know you cannot reach many people in a two week period. But telling people that they can be forgiven, their guilt can be removed, they can have peace with God is worthwhile whether you tell 20 people or 2,000 people. 

I enjoy the privilege of sharing the gospel. Despite the fact that many people don't want to know! Despite the fact that lots of people get very agitated and angry when I raise the issues of God, Jesus, life, sin, death, our accountability, the day of judgment etc. It raises temperatures and people get hot under the collar. They are often indignant that I have the audacity to talk about such personal and private issues. 

The question is - Are these issues totally private? Are they only for personal discussion? The answer is yes and no! At a very simple level Christians believe that it is essential to warn and help people when they are in danger. That's why Christians have started hospitals, changed laws, developed social improvements and worked for the good of society. 

Imagine if I had the only treatment for a disease and you had the disease but were unaware that you were ill. Would I be cruel or kind if I ignored you and didn't do the following - 1. Make you aware of your illness and 2. Offer you the treatment? Common sense says that even if I am intruding in your private world in the long run I'm trying to help you. 

Here's another example. I am walking away from a cliff edge. Fog has fallen. You are heading towards the cliff edge but you are blind and unaware of both the fog and the cliff edge. What am I going to do? Maintain my distance, ignore you and leave you alone or step across the privacy line and warn you of your potential danger. 

In both cases I think the answer is obvious!

The truth is I am addressing matters of eternal significance. Everything else only affects this life - these matters are enormous as decisions made in this life cannot be reversed when we cross the line of death. 

Personal and private matters often need input from others so that we make good decisions. For instance you consult others when making big decisions in life. Whether it's health, finances, career, relationships and so much more it is almost impossible to make good decisions on your own. We often need input and information from people who know more than us to make good choices. 

So as I close I leave you with probably the most well advertised verse in the Bible - John 3:16. 

"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".

If you get the truth of this verse it will literally change you forever. May it be so!

For lots of videos, podcasts, blogs and explanations of the gospel of the grace of God visit www.seekthetruth.org.uk