Self Deception - an interesting tale!

 

All photos courtesy of Storyblocks

Have you heard the story of the bank robber named McArthur Wheeler in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who was told that if he rubbed lemon juice on his face, he wouldn’t need to use a mask to avoid detection because his face would be invisible to the cameras? This is not a joke; it’s true! He bought a Polaroid camera and a couple of lemons, squeezed them and applied the juice to his face. He then pointed the camera at his face and clicked, rotated the camera and clicked. He finished up with a photo of the ceiling but no image of his face, and he fully believed that the lemon juice did the trick.

A Priceless Masterpiece!

I’d like to draw your attention to a man called Harold St. John. Harold St. John lived from 1876 to 1957. He preferred to have his name pronounced “sin-jun”, feeling that the title of "saint" was too superior sounding. But if anyone wanted an example of saintliness, they could have pointed in Harold St. John's direction.

He was a banker and was well known amongst Christians in certain circles but today he has been mainly lost from sight.

Harold St. John was a man who travelled a lot in business and was called to preach the Gospel and to teach the Word of God, which he did on a worldwide basis. He had a tremendous ability to get alongside people and to talk to them about the Lord Jesus.

Let me relate to you a story from his life that is very interesting. One day he was in a private chapel at Keble College in Oxford. He was standing lost in contemplation looking at Holman Hunt’s masterpiece “The Light of the World”. A chattering group of tourists approached and the guide announced, in a strident voice, that the original of this sold for £5000. Without a moment of hesitation Mr. St. John step forward, “Ladies and Gentlemen” he said, “May I add that the true original of this picture was sold for 30 pieces of silver”. A hush fell on the crowd and they left the chapel in silence. Here was a man who was not only interested in great masterpieces of art but he was interested in the subject of this particular piece of art. “The Light of the World” was Holman Hunt’s masterpiece, in which Christ stands waiting for men and women to open the door of their heart to Him. 

Incidentally the things have not changed since then, the Lord Jesus still waits for men and women to receive Him. To do this you have to accept you are sinful, confess your guilt before God and receive Jesus Christ as your Saviour and Lord (see the Gospel of John 1:12).

The curator spoke very confidently about the fact that the picture was sold for £5000, not a lot in today’s currency but a lot then. Mr. St. John understood the greater value of the picture. It pictured the Son of God, Jesus Christ. It pictured one who gave Himself, sold for thirty pieces of silver, that He might become the one final sacrifice for sin. His objective was that men and women might be saved. I wonder how much you value Jesus Christ today? He is indeed a masterpiece, He makes wrong things right, He cleanses dirty hearts, He brings peace with God. He saves those who call upon His name. This is all true because of His death upon the cross. Trust Him and He’ll never let you down.

For more information or to ask questions visit www.seekthetruth.org.uk

CHRISTmas TRADING

During the Christmas season, vast amounts of money pass through the high street banks. This world is all about money. Making it, keeping it and spending it. And in order to get it, you usually have to work.

Shortly before His sacrificial death and triumphant resurrection, the Lord Jesus talked to His disciples about trading in the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 25.14-30). He compared Himself to a businessman who gave varying amounts of money to people to look after while He was away. He wanted them to use the money to do business i.e. to trade. The word trade actually means to 'work or toil'. The Lord gave His servants resources to work with and He expected a 100% growth rate! The servant given five talents made five more, and the servant given two talents made two more. The Lord commended them for their faithfulness and gave them proportionate responsibility in His heavenly kingdom.

But there was a third servant who the Lord draws our attention to. He dug a hole and put his talent into the ground and on the Lord's return, presented it back to Him, untouched. His excuse was that the Lord was hard, austere and oppressive. That lazy servant got a stern rebuke and was cast out into outer darkness. At the very least he should have put the money in the bank to gain interest, let alone worked with it to make it multiply to full advantage. So, the Lord took the money given to the lazy servant and gave it instead, to the servant who had worked the hardest. He knew that it would then be used to full effect.

Serving the Lord begins when a person gets saved, when a person is born again and is filled with His Spirit (Eph. 1.13). An account is instantly opened in the ‘Bank of Heaven’ and the Christian starts the work of investing in heaven’s currency. It is hard work and the rewards are not measured in the currency of this world - money and material things. Instead the Lord Jesus expects us to make full use of the gifts and resources He gives us to show to others His love, like He showed God's love to us. That involves getting to know God as your Father, and behaving in this world like the Lord Jesus did. He did not seek high status even though He is the King of Kings (Rev. 19.6). Instead, in humility and godly fear, He served others, ministering to their needs and in purity of thought and action, demonstrating the principles of God's heavenly Kingdom. It is not possible to be made redundant from that job, or to be underpaid. And the rewards far surpass anything that can be accumulated in this world and are eternal (not left behind at the gates of death as the treasures of this world are). God promises to call all those who are born again His Sons (Rom. 8.15), not just his servants. He gives them eternal life immediately and promises the splendour of heaven in the future. In addition He rewards their faithful service with 'crowns of righteousness' (2 Tim. 4.8) and positions of authority in His future worldwide administration.  It is not possible to serve two masters; it is either the true God or the god of this world i.e. the devil (Matthew 6.24).

Why not make 2014 the time when you choose to serve the Lord and invest in wealth that lasts forever?

Written for FTMP by a guest blogger. 

For more information, videos, podcast visit www.seekthetruth.org.uk