How many days are left until Christmas 2016

As I write there are 68 days left until Christmas 2016 - Oh no!!!

It could be the onset of years but Christmas seems to come around quicker every year. It is probably the early appearance of adverts and the Christmas commercial juggernaut appearing on the horizon which gives the impression that Christmas is coming.

For a Christian, the event which is celebrated at Christmas is not confined to December or even November. It is not even restricted to being about the Saviour’s infancy; it is actually about more about His deity and that is a truth which bears consideration all year round.

I don’t suppose anyone can ever fathom what it means for God to be born in a manger. How does one explain the Almighty stooping to become a tiny infant? It was the greatest condescension the world has ever known or will ever know. Our minds cannot begin to understand what was involved in God becoming a man. We will never comprehend why He who was infinitely rich would become poor, assume a human nature, and enter into a world He knew would reject Him and kill Him.

Nor can anyone explain how God could become a baby. Yet He did. Without forsaking His divine nature or diminishing His deity in any sense, He was born into our world as a tiny infant. How can both things be true?

Humanity and Deity

For nearly two thousand years, debate has been raging about who Jesus really is. Some say He is one of many gods, a created being, a high angel, a good teacher, a prophet, and so on. The common thread of all such theories is that they make Jesus less than God.

But let the Bible speak for itself. John’s gospel begins with a clear statement that Jesus is God: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made” (John 1:1-3). Who is “the Word” spoken of in these verses? John 1:14 removes any doubt: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth”.

The biblical evidence is overwhelming that this child in the manger was the incarnation of God. For one thing, He was omniscient (knew all things). John 2:24-25 says that, “But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.” Nathanael was shocked to discover that Jesus knew all about him before they ever met. It was enough to persuade him that Jesus was the Messiah (John 1:48-50). John 4 describes Jesus’ meeting with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. He knew everything about her (John 4:17-19, 29).

Jesus also did the works of God, saying, “Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves” (John 14:11). Jesus’ works are convincing proof that He is God. He began His miraculous ministry with a simple act—He created wine at a wedding in Cana (John 2:1-11). Only God can create. Moreover, He healed people who were hopelessly ill. He gave a blind man eyes. He opened ears that had never heard. He restored withered limbs. He created enough fish and bread to feed thousands. He raised the dead simply by a command.

This child was God

Why would God become a man and be born in such a lowly manner and let men treat Him the way they did?

“It was the Father’s good pleasure . . . through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross” (Colossians 1:19-20).

He did it to make peace between God and humanity. All of us have sinned, and we sin repeatedly: “There is none righteous, not even one” (Romans 3:10). “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 2:23). God hates sin and must respond with His wrath. He is a righteous judge who “is angry with the wicked every day” (Psalm 7:11). Humanity reacts with more hatred, rebellion, or indifference toward God: “There is no fear of God before their eyes” (Romans 3:18). The only possible response of a holy God to our sin is more than we can bear, for “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).

Only Jesus, because He alone is both God and man, could ever resolve the conflict.

He takes the hand of a repentant, yielding sinner and the outstretched hand of a holy yet loving God, and He joins the two. He can forgive our sins, reconcile us to God, and thus make “peace through the blood of His cross” (Colossians 1:20). And God is not reluctant for that to occur; rather it is the very reason He sent Christ into the world.

God is justifiably angry with our sin. Yet He loves us enough that He gave His own Son to live on earth, die on a cross, suffering the full weight of God’s wrath, which should have been our lot. He paid the penalty for sin and can bring peace between us and God. It could not have been done any other way.

Will you hear the voice of God in His word, the Bible and trust His Son, Jesus, for salvation. Our prayer is that you will.

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.

Written for STT by a guest blogger

Two reasons why Jesus lived and died! - 1 John 3:4-10

1 John 3:4-10

4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.

6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.

7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.

8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

And so.......

The bible verses we have posted today tell us two major reasons why the Lord Jesus Christ came into this world:

1. To take away our sins (writing to people who have trusted Christ for salvation)

2. To destroy the works of the devil.

The coming of Christ was for two very specific reasons - to saved 'people from their sins' and to reverse the works of the devil. All other 'side effects' of the presence of the Lord Jesus in the world are additional benefits but not the main reason for him being here. 

As is always the case with God the side effects in themselves are quite outstanding. The love of God was seen in the life of Christ, he was a great moral example, he showed us what it was to like to live a sinless life, he displayed compassion and care like no one else who ever lived and so the list goes on. BUT this was not the central reason for his being in the world. 

The central reason is expressed in the following verses:

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners - 1 Timothy 1:15

The Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world - 1 John 4:14

I am come that they might have life - John 10:10

How is it possible:

Only because of one thing - the death of Jesus on the cross. Hebrews 2:14 tells me that the Son of God took a body (flesh and blood) 'that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil and deliver them who fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage'. It is the death of Jesus on the cross that paid the price and laid the foundation for salvation. His death was the act that meant that the devil is a condemned foe who will ultimately face eternal judgement in the Lake of Fire. His death made it possible that we could be forgiven and our sins taken away.

So what do I need to do?

The response to that question is given in many places in the New Testament:

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ - Acts 16:31

Repent and be converted - Acts 3:19

Call upon the name of the Lord - Romans 10:13

Will you come, call, believe and be saved?

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.

3D Vision

Three views of the same part of town. All from a slightly different angle. That's what was happening when the gospel writers wrote their parts of the New Testament. They were all guided by the Holy Spirit to record slightly different angles of the birth, life, death and resurrection of The Lord Jesus Christ.

Matthew writes consistently the phrase 'that it might be fulfilled' so that we would understand that Jesus is the promised Messiah who was fulfilling ancient predictions. Mark records 'and straightway' emphasising the constant and urgent service of the Son of God. Luke in his orderly account records the compassion and care of the man who was God as he visits his people on earth. John tells us in no uncertain terms why he is writing: 'but these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name' (John 20.31).

You would find great blessing in reading these records for yourself. Buy a bible in your local book shop or read that copy that has been collecting dust on your bookshelf for a long time.

#it'sliverpool
#the bible
#peace
#liverpoolone

All posts have the aim of pointing people to Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour or to aid Christian growth and development.

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

Location:Liverpool One, Liverpool City Centre

The best get rich quick plan!

Thesaurus states that riches are ‘An abundance of material possessions and resources’ which covers many aspects of riches, but not all! 

Recently my wife and I with two friends did a fifteen-day tour of the cities of the seven churches named by John in Revelation ch.s 2 and 3. This took the first four days, and then we had a few days in Kusadasi where we visited Miletus. From Kusadasi we went to the Greek island of Samos from where the Apostle Paul sailed to Miletus to meet with the Ephesian elders. One night on that island and then a ferry down to Patmos, where John wrote the Book of the Revelation. This is a lovely island; we spent three nights there. Our last port of call was Kos Town on the island of Kos. It was there that we saw Roma Abramovich’s yacht ‘Eclipse’ in the harbour. It is the largest privately owned yacht in the world at 533feet long. It has a helicopter on board, two swimming pools, seventy staff, and if you want to rent it for a week it will cost you a reported £1.25million. It also has a sea to air missile defence system and a James Bond type submarine to vacate the yacht if under attack, apart from the normal bodyguards that attend his person. This highlights the dangers that come with being wealthy. Mr.Abramovich is a mega-rich man but according to Forbes Magazine he only makes No. 69 of he world’s top 400 billionaires.

The 8^th October issue of the magazine has an interesting article about David Green who is a born again billionaire (No. 79 on Forbes list of top 400). He is CEO of Hobby Lobby an arts and crafts store-chain (520) in America. The company is solely family owned and sponsors worldwide evangelical outreach. One venture he sponsors is the YouVersion Bible app for mobile phones. It is equipped to offer 300 different versions of Scripture in 114 languages. To date there have been 50 million downloads throughout the world. Have you got one?

Conversely, former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been disgraced by being sentenced to four years in prison for tax fraud. He is No. 169 on Forbes list at around $6 Billion. Whether he will spend one day in prison is another question, he has bounced back more times than a tennis ball from Roger Federer’s racket!  Some Billionaires have known the embarrassment of losing large amounts of their wealth by shrinking stocks, but others have recovered along the path of affluence by shrewd business dealings.

Proverbs 23:4 reads, “Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom. Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.”

The evangelist Luke tells us about four men that were rich and are worthy of consideration. The first one was a farmer; the second of the ruling class, the third a socialite and the fourth was a tax collector. 

The farmer had a good harvest and had thoughts of expansion, he said in Luke 12:18, “This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.” He planned for a life of ease and prosperity but had not planned for an early exit. God said to him, “Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” The farmer had a good eye for business but was blind concerning eternity; he had no plans for the future. Have you?

The young man from the ruling class did think about eternity, Luke said, in Luke 18:18, And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother. And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up. Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich. And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!” This young man had plenty of material things but did not have eternal life and he wanted it, the problem was he loved his riches more than his soul.

The rich man in Luke 16 died and went to Hell, the beggar Lazarus died too and went to Heaven. Anyone, rich or poor that dies without Christ as their Saviour, dies without hope. Jesus said, “ I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come.”  Jesus died and rose again and went to Heaven, anyone that believes in Him will also go to Heaven, but unbelievers will go to Hell.

The taxman in Luke 19:2  “Was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich” Whether it was curiosity or concern we do not know but we do know that Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus. He climbed a tree to see the Saviour and when Jesus was at the tree He summoned him to come down. Riches may elevate one in society, being prepared to be humbled by the Lord, to be brought down to earth, meant salvation came to Zacchaeus. Christ came to his home. His outlook changed from that point, he said that half of his wealth he would give to the poor and if he had robbed anyone that he would repay fourfold. A change of heart and a change of destination, he was Heaven born and Heaven bound.  He was rich in faith. Amen and God bless.

Written for Stephen Baker by Stan Burdit

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

Would a loving God send people to hell?

Would a loving God send people to hell?

Is this the right question or at least does it ignore some of the other issues of justice, choice and righteousness?

To start with let's look at what the bible says about life after death

No 1 - You are not just a body, you are made up of body, soul and spirit.

And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thess 5.23

No 2 - You are dead in sin (no relationship with God) long before your body dies. That's the result of Adam's sin.

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned - Romans 5:12

No 3 - You can have eternal life long before you leave this life.

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 - John 3.16

No 4 - You will never cease to exist, only your body will die temporarily. You will be raised to go to either heaven or the Lake of fire.

And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt - Daniel 12:2

But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days - Daniel 12:13

And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire Revelation 20:13-15

In regard to why a loving God would punish people, I recently heard one homeless man wisely tell another, “You wouldn’t want to live in a world where God didn’t punish injustices and just freely forgave sin—without any request for someone to choose the salvation He offers back. Imagine a place where injustice was never punished and people never recognized their sin and need for salvation. That would be terrible and painful.”

We all want justice to reign. For a good God to be truly good, injustice must be punished. This is why it makes complete sense that Jesus had to die. There must be a payment for the evil we inflict on the world and one another. Jesus’ death epitomizes God’s mercy and justice—and it all happened in one act.

Let me leave you with a couple of quotes that help as we consider good and evil, right and wrong and heaven and hell.

"Right is Right even if nobody does it. Wrong is wrong even if everybody is wrong about it."—G.K. Chesterton

“There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, in the end, "Thy will be done." All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. Those who knock it is opened.” 
― C S Lewis, The Great Divorce

J B Phillips said "God is indeed all goodness and light but he will show no more compunction towards the evil things that we have allowed to grow in our hearts than a human surgeon would to a malignant growth'. 

C. S. Lewis: "The Christian does not think that God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because he loves us."

Have a think about these things; they are too important to ignore

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

Proven Relief for a Troubled Mind

A large number of people read this blog every day and I am sure that they are all quite different. People were just the same when Jesus was around. For some reason we imagine that people in Bible times where a bit simple and not quite as civilised as we are - I beg to differ. I think they were much the same if not sometimes more intelligent. We have the benefit of accumulated knowledge i.e. 6,000 plus years of learning to draw upon, which they did not have yet they managed to accomplish some amazing feats of engineering and creativity.

If you are looking for relief for a troubled mind you will find that Jesus Christ is the only real answer. He said 'come unto me' to those who are weary and troubled and He promises to give them rest.

You may be a cynic and very doubtful about the claims of Jesus, the Bible and Christians. Read this chapter; Christ will remove your doubt if you are prepared to trust Him. The scriptures teach that 'faith comes by hearing the word of God'. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen - the Christian believes because he has come to understand that God can trusted.

Maybe you feel that you don't belong. Family relationships have long since faded and you feel alone. May I remind you again of what the Bible says - 'but to as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,' John 1;12. God welcomes you into His family when you receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. 

One last point - all of these blessings only come when a person has a change in their thinking about themselves and about God. The Bible calls it repentance. This change of thinking will change the direction of your life for ever. It is summarised in a statement found in Acts 20:21 which says become a Christian involves 'repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ'. Put simply you need to turn from your sin to God - this involves more than regret and sorrow but a permanent change in your thinking about God, your sin and your life. Secondly you must trust Jesus Christ, who died to pay for your sins and rose from the dead, if you want to be forgiven and saved.

I would encourage you to read the Bible. The scriptures are 'able to make you wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.'

As always for more information visit www.seekthetruth.org.uk

Are you being duped?

People love being fooled! Illusionists like Harry Houdini was a star a century ago, and even today his successors such as David Copperfield, David Blaine, Steven Frayne, etc., fascinate millions. People know that they are being deceived by these entertainers, but they adore it!

When I was a teenager, we had a neighbour called Mr. Tolly, a retired electrician. He was originally a Londoner, who as a young man worked in the very theatre in London where Harry Houdini performed. Mr. Tolly took a keen interest in how Houdini constructed and prepared his props, with all their secret compartments and hidden escape devices. Then, years later, he entertained our village by doing his own escapes from locked boxes; escaping from handcuffs, etc., at the local miners’ galas. 

Harry ‘Handcuffs’ Houdini was a Hungarian-American illusionist and stunt performer, who had originally come to fame for his escapes from police handcuffs. Actually the illusionist had studied locks all his life and had an encyclopedic knowledge of handcuffs. When challenged he looked at the cuffs and knew exactly what kind of key he needed to open them. His assistant then got the necessary key from Houdini’s huge collection and passed it to Houdini who hid it on his person, usually in his mouth. Having distracted the onlookers, he got the key out and opened the handcuffs – simple! As time went on he extended his repertoire to include chains; ropes slung from skyscrapers; straitjackets under water, and having to escape from and hold his breath inside a sealed milk churn.

One of Houdini’s famous deceptions was ‘The Hanging Straitjacket Escape’. Houdini usually performed this out on the street in front of the venue where he was performing, suspended from a crane above the gathered crowd. He had previously been tightly strapped into a straitjacket in front of the crowd and also had his ankles bound. A crane lifted him up so that the audience could see what he did, re-enforcing the impression that there was no trick to the feat and he escaped by magic. Houdini himself revealed how he escaped from such straitjackets in his 1910 book called Handcuff Escapes. The secret was creating plenty of slack in the jacket as it was strapped on. As the jacket was brought around the back, Houdini moved his arms outwards to loosen material around his chest. Houdini then held on to this slackened material, and as the jacket was buckled at the back, Houdini took a huge breath to expand his chest. Once the jacket was in place, Houdini had plenty of wiggle room. He trained and trained at this trick until he became so proficient that he reduced his escape time from half an hour to three minutes. 

All his other tricks had similar explanations, even the one where he appeared to move through a solid brick wall. What he himself called ‘the best escape that I have ever invented’ was getting out of a padlocked milk churn filled with water. Of course the churn was tampered with on the inside, so that he could easily escape! Read more at http://listverse.com/2014/11/02/10-secrets-to-harry-houdinis-greatest-illusions/.

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

If you got the chance what would you ask Jesus?

You owe God everything!

He gave you life and breath!

He gave you free will!

We have sinned and broken God's law!

He sent his son, Jesus Christ, to take our punishment!

Christ died for our sins, he was buried and he rose again on the third day!

God will forgive you if you turn from your wrong doing and wrong beliefs and accept Jesus Christ as your Saviour.

You owe God everything but if you got the chance what would you ask Jesus? Would you try to out-smart him as the people in today's passage did? Or would you ask him why, if he is God, he came down to earth to die for ungrateful people like us? Why he chose to take on our suffering and death? Why he left the utopia of heaven to come to a sick and sad world like this. 

The answer is already in the Bible - He came because he delights to have company with people like us. Because he loved his Father, in heaven, and God loved this world and sent his Son to be the Saviour of the world. The bottom line is he loved us because he chose to love us.

What love! 

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound!

Here is love vast as the ocean!

Herein is love not that we loved God but that he loved us........

Before you go please read this passage from the Bible.

Mark 12King James Version (KJV)

12 And he began to speak unto them by parables. A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the winefat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country.

2 And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard.

3 And they caught him, and beat him, and sent him away empty.

4 And again he sent unto them another servant; and at him they cast stones, and wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully handled.

5 And again he sent another; and him they killed, and many others; beating some, and killing some.

6 Having yet therefore one son, his wellbeloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son.

7 But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours.'

8 And they took him, and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard.

9 What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others.

10 And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner:

11 This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?

12 And they sought to lay hold on him, but feared the people: for they knew that he had spoken the parable against them: and they left him, and went their way.

13 And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words.

14 And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?

15 Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it.

16 And they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar's.

17 And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. And they marvelled at him.

18 Then come unto him the Sadducees, which say there is no resurrection; and they asked him, saying,

19 Master, Moses wrote unto us, If a man's brother die, and leave his wife behind him, and leave no children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.

20 Now there were seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and dying left no seed.

21 And the second took her, and died, neither left he any seed: and the third likewise.

22 And the seven had her, and left no seed: last of all the woman died also.

23 In the resurrection therefore, when they shall rise, whose wife shall she be of them? for the seven had her to wife.

24 And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?

25 For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven.

26 And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?

27 He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err.

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