'Right is Right even if nobody does it' - True or False?

"Right is Right even if nobody does it. Wrong is wrong even if everybody is wrong about it."

G.K. Chesterton

I like to listen to and consider what other people say and hear how they think but many people talk without thinking through the consequences of their words and ideas. For instance you will hear people say ‘it’s ok as long as it’s ok for you’. This is a ridiculous statement as it doesn't work in practice when you take into account other people's rights and personal interests. As G K Chesterton said ‘right is right’ and ‘wrong is wrong’. He was of course reflecting what the Bible teaches. 

A Diamond Rush

All photos courtesy of Unsplash 

South Africa is famous for its diamonds. Not many ‘world records’ stand for more than a century, but a diamond discovered in that country in 1905 remains the largest ever found. So when, a few months ago, a cattle herder unearthed a promising-looking stone near a village in the east of the country, he hoped that it was that precious mineral. Word spread, and by mid-June this year many people had arrived, from different parts, to dig in the earth. Most were poor, and longed to discover gems that would lift them out of poverty.The Bible describes a poverty that is not material, but spiritual, and which affects not just a high proportion of the population, but all of it: the condition of sin, which afflicts all of mankind. The wealthiest are not exempt: the Lord Jesus spoke of "a certain rich man" who was "not rich toward God" Luke 12.21. In Scriptures such as Luke 7.40-50, sin is likened to a huge debt, which we cannot pay. Hence, if left to ourselves, we would remain unforgiven, to suffer the consequences, in the Lake of Fire: a state of unending spiritual poverty, with no hope of escape.

Who do you think Jesus was?

Mar 15:39 And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.

 All that the centurion witnessed on that historic day brought him to this conclusion ‘truly this man was the Son of God’ As we consider all that the Saviour said and did we conclude the same. How fundamental is this truth in days when so many try to deny it.

 Our passage today brings us to Calvary and reminds us of all that happened there. This day was pivotal in the history of the world. It was planned before the world began, spoken of in the Garden of Eden and illustrated by pictures and type throughout the Bible.

The Lord Jesus Christ is at the centre of these events as the Lamb of God that bears away the sin of the world. Have you been to the foot of the cross and realised what the Saviour did for you? Have you bowed the knee in repentance and believed in your heart that it was for you personally that He died? Do you believe that the man who died on that cross that day was none other than the Son of God? If not then this remains the single most important thing that you can do in your life. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved!

Jesus Christ was a unique man. He was unique in His birth; born of a virgin Mat 1:23. He was unique in His life; in Him is no sin 1 Jn 3:5. He was unique in His death; death had no claim on Him. He was unique in His resurrection. There have been those who set out to disprove this truth of the resurrection and ended up writing about the evidence that supports it after they themselves came to trust the one that they wanted to disprove. Truly this man was the Son of God!  

Jesus was socially excluded!

I wonder if you have ever thought about how popular Jesus was in his day. The impression we get at times is that he was loved by everyone right up until his rejection by the Jewish authorities, his prosecution by the Roman authorities and his ultimate death of crucifixion.

From the early days of his time on earth the Lord Jesus was excluded and rejected. There is quite a considerable period (from age 12-30) where we have very little information about the behaviour and activities of the Lord Jesus but we do have the commentary of God, the Father, when he publicly spoke from heaven (which was a very unusual thing to do) and said the he was delighted with His Son. This indicated that though there is scant information about these eighteen years there is nothing in that period (or any other period for that matter) that displeased His Father, God.

Money could keep you out of heaven!

Money could keep you out of heaven!

Short Reading – Mark 10:17-27             

Longer Reading – Mark 10:1-27

Key Verse – Mark 10:21

Life is busy, time is money and there are many questions on my mind. Meet the man who thought money could buy everything!

His question was – ‘What shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?’ The key to the man’s question are the words ‘do’ and ‘inherit’. He was a self made man; everything he had achieved was as a result of what he had done. He probably had worked hard for everything he had. He thought of eternal life as something he could inherit. An inheritance is wealth that someone has worked hard to accumulate and the people who inherit it have a right to it. He wants eternal life but he doesn’t understand that you don’t get it the way you get wealth and possessions.

Christ the Head - The Sustainer of the Church

Days portion for reading – Ephesians 4:1-16

Christ the Head – The Sustainer of the Church – Eph. 4:15

In Ephesians, Eph 1:22, 23, we discovered that ‘Christ is head over all things to the church, which is his body’.

In this post we are explaining why Christ cares and provides for the Church. But before we get into that I need to explain what I mean when I use the word church.

There are two ways in which the word church is used in the New Testament. The most obvious is that it describes a group of Christian believers who meet together, Matt. 18:17, Acts 5:11, 1 Cor. 1.2. So you might be in fellowship in a church in New York or in Liverpool, England. You might relocate and so leave the church you meet with and start to meet with a church in another area. Sadly, many Christians are not in fellowship in a local church. They miss out on a lot of blessing but that doesn’t mean that they are not saved.

Headship - Christ - The Church's Head

Days portion for reading Ephesians 1:1-23

Christ the head over all things to the Church – Ephesians 1:22

When reading the letter to the Ephesians one never ceases to be amazed at the unbelievable truths that we are presented with. In chapter one we wallow in the wonder of being accepted with God, of being forgiven, of unlimited divine wisdom being available to the believer, of learning about the good pleasure of God’s purposes and of discovering that God is in control of everything. More exciting and thrilling truths keep overwhelming us with the majesty of the divine dealings of our God. In addition to this we discover that we have an integral part in the things that He is doing.

Psalm 102 - A Psalm of Agony and Ecstasy.

This is a Psalm of extremes. We initially read the words of a person in deep distress, verses 1-11. Then there is a sudden change. We are confronted with the eternal, unchanging God and hope is stirred in the writer’s heart, verses 12-28. How can the same person be so different? It can only be the result of the Psalmist lifting his eyes from his problems and fixing them on God. God is greater than our problems and helps us put life into perspective.