Home is where the heart is!

 

When I wrote this article, I was about to go to the airport to board a flight to Wellington, New Zealand. We were travelling home to Liverpool in the North West of England. Home is a wonderful place to be with your own ‘kith and kin’. It is never more appreciated than when you are away from them. Though we are not looking forward to the 30 hours of travelling, the anticipation of seeing our family and grandchildren again makes up for any minor discomfort.

Carole (my wife) and I have been away for about five weeks. We have thoroughly enjoyed our time in the southern hemisphere. The plan was to visit some churches in Australia and New Zealand, to speak at conferences and seminars on the world’s best-selling book, the Bible.

It never fails to amaze me how timeless and cross-cultural the Bible is. It addresses the most profound issues that we as humans grapple with, such as:

Where do we come from - our origin?

Why do evil and suffering exist?

Why are we all mortal beings who eventually die?

Where do our consciousness, identity, creativity, and intelligence come from?

Why is there order and design?

Why are we all morally aware of right and wrong?

Why do we need help to do what is right?

Where did the universal concepts of love, hope and peace come from?

These questions and many more have been debated and discussed for generations. There are answers, but they don’t come from philosophical arguments but from the revelation of God in the Bible.

A book I am reading puts it succinctly - ‘the Bible is the only book that makes sense of life 1’. The Bible goes beyond highlighting the problems and discussing the consequences as it delivers a solution. 

The Bible’s explanation of our origin answers many of these questions. It states in Genesis chapter 1 verse 1, ‘In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth,’ it goes on to describe the creation of humans - ‘Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them,’ Genesis 1. 26,27. 

Your health and welfare

All photos courtesy of Unsplash 

Sometimes when I sit down to write this column, I find that 101 things fill my mind, and I can’t quite focus on writing. Life is busy, and we often lose our focus because we have so many things bouncing about in our heads. 

There is a little statement in the book of Psalms, and it says this ‘Be still, and know that I am God,’ Psalm 46:10. Stillness is something that many of us crave and that most of us find very difficult to achieve. It is possible to be so preoccupied with living that we forget what life is really about.

 

The Lord Jesus Christ was very aware of this, and so he would on occasion call his disciples to take a break from the busyness of life and come aside and rest for a while. So, therefore, I want to invite you as you read this article to put aside anything that will distract you and come apart from the busyness of your life and reflect, rest, and consider this most important matter of your personal welfare. 

What has COVID-19 made you?

All photos courtesy of Unsplash

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.

A Binary Opposition - 1 John 2:7-11

A binary opposition is defined below.

A binary opposition (also binary system) is a pair of related terms or concepts that are opposite in meaning. Binary opposition is the system by which, in language and thought, two theoretical opposites are strictly defined and set off against one another.

Binary opposition - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

We have some examples of this principle in the following verses from the Bible. Old and New, Darkness and Light, Love and Hate. There is no middle ground; you either do one or the other you cannot take the middle ground. 

So it is with your response to the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

• You are either in darkness or light! 
• You are either still a sinner or you are now a saint!
• You have either believed the gospel or you are an unbeliever!
• You are either still dead in your sins or you have eternal life!
• You either love your brother (this is evidence that you are a Christian) or you still hate!

One of the classic verses in the New Testament in this regard is John 5.24; it reads:

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. Lets analyse this:

• You hear, deafness has passed. 
• You believe that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.
• You no longer fear the judgement or condemnation of God. 
• You have passed from a state of deadness in sin to eternal life in Jesus Christ.

Please note the conditions: You hear (deeper than merely listening) the words of the Lord Jesus and you trust God, the Father (the one who sent Jesus Christ, his Son to be the Saviour of the world) for salvation.

1 John 2. 7-11

7 Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.

8 Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.

9 He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.

10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.

11 But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.

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The Survival of the Fittest!

Quite often this phrase is used as a feeble excuse for treating others dismissively, who are vulnerable and less assertive than ourselves. When we want our own way and wish to achieve something, even though it may hurt and damage others, we justify our disgusting behaviour on "the survival of the fittest". We elbow our way to the front; we gain the high ground and in our doing so, we crush and insult the weak. We say that it happens in many strata of creation: some species have died out because more dominant forms of life forced them to extinction. In the conflicts of life’s arena, we vainly imagine that size, strength and supremacy are all that matter. The prize can be won by those who are prepared to do their utmost to get it.

Thankfully, in the matter of salvation, this principle has no place. Salvation is available to all; without money or price; without energy, effort or expense; it is not exclusively for the rich, the religious, the mighty, the noble, the famous, the deserving. In fact, the Lord Jesus said in Luke 19.10, "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." In Matthew 9.13, the Saviour said, "… I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."

The great cardinal word of the gospel is "whosoever" and that brings salvation within the reach of all mankind and every human being, regardless of creed, colour or class. You may feel greatly disadvantaged; your sins may now rise before you making you feel unclean and totally unworthy; you may feel that hitherto you have avoided and ignored God; but thank God, you can receive mercy and obtain the greatest blessing imaginable, God’s full and eternal salvation.

The Bible makes it clear that salvation is "not of works, lest any man should boast" Ephesians 2.9. The previous verse says that salvation is "… not of yourselves: it is the gift of God". Romans 6.23 states that "the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord". Whoever you are; wherever you are; you can now receive the forgiveness of sins and be saved from eternal judgment by trusting the Lord Jesus Christ and accepting the free gift of salvation, without offering anything in exchange. Own your guilt; confess your sins and accept the gratuitous pardon God offers. That is all that is required of you: no achievements; no penance; no attempts to make yourself more acceptable to God; "the only fitness He requireth, is to know your need of Him".

But how can God do all this for the sinner, the unworthy, the hell-deserving without compelling you to pay an incalculable price or achieve some remarkable feat? The answer lies in the amazing fact that God’s own Son offered to pay the staggering price of our eternal salvation and volunteered to bear the punishment for our sins. That is why He came from heaven, lived among hostile men for over thirty years and died at last upon a cross of shame and suffering. The mystery of the crucifixion has been revealed: "Christ died for our sins" 1Corinthians 15.3; "Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree" 1Peter 2.24; "Christ died for the ungodly" Romans 5.6; "Christ died for us" Romans 5.8; "The Son of God, Who loved me, and gave Himself for me" Galatians 2.20.

O Jesus Lord, Thou stoodest in my stead, God’s holy wrath was poured upon Thy head;

For me Thou once wast numbered with the dead; For me, O Lord, for me.

A.J.H. Brown - used by permission of Assembly Testimony

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