Does It Matter Who Jesus Is?

Is Jesus Christ the Son of God? 

Why are Christians are so convinced that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and why is it deemed to be so important? It’s an excellent question! Christian belief is laid on a very solid foundation. First of all we believe that God has revealed information, to the prophets who wrote the Bible, to point us in the right direction. Our beliefs are not just based on human research or discovery. 

In other areas of life when we want to learn about something outside of our sphere of experience we seek information from a trustworthy source. So if you are researching space travel for the first time you would go to NASA or some other space agency to ask them questions. It is wise practice to go a reliable source. 

Post-truth and Fake News

Every year the Oxford English Dictiounary introduce a new word to their word dictionary.

Back in November, Alison Flood wrote an interesting leader in The Guardian about post-truth, she wrote,’ In the era of Donald Trump and Brexit, Oxford Dictionaries has declared “post-truth” to be it's international word of the year. Defined by the dictionary as an adjective “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief”, editors said that use of the term “post-truth” had increased by around 2,000% in 2016 compared to last year. The spike in usage, it said, is “in the context of the EU referendum in the United Kingdom and the presidential election in the United States”.

Joy & Sadness - the offering of Christmas

Joy and sorrow are opposite emotional experiences that all of us know throughout our lifetime. Life is like a tapestry of bright and dark colours and often the bright parts shine the brighter when set against a dark background. 

I am reminded of Benjamin Malachi Franklin’s poem ‘Just a Weaver’, 

David & Goliath - Lucozade Advertising

Lucozade Energy goes back to biblical times by purporting to tell the sequel to the David and Goliath epic.

The campaign by Grey London puts the rift between the young shepherd and his adversary in a more modern context with a humorous film and hand-painted oil poster. In the ad, David wakes up feeling groggy and is reminded that he picked a fight with Goliath by calling him a giant. When Goliath comes to take his revenge, the shepherd boy takes a swig of Lucozade Energy before grabbing a sling and venturing out to conquer his colossal foe. The work was written by Jay Marlow and Rob Greaves, art directed by Henrik Ridderheim and Sam Daly, and directed by Harold Einstein through Outsider. 

Wonderfully Made - Part 6 - The Cells

Our fifth and final subject for study in the series is the cells, the basic building blocks of our bodies. There are an awful lot of them, about 40 trillion (million million), with a mere 35 billion, thousand million, skin cells, and around two billion cells in our hearts. 

There are about 200 different kinds of cell, including blood, muscle, skin, nerve, glandular cells, etc. Half our cells are taken up by red blood cells.

Wonderfully Made - Part 3 - Blood

Our third subject for study in the series is our liver, the largest of our internal organs, situated on the right hand side of the belly. It is also one of our most complex organs, doing about 500 jobs at once, including fighting off infection; neutralizing poisons; manufacturing essential proteins and hormones; controlling blood sugar and helping with the clotting of our blood. However the liver's main job is to clean up the blood coming from the digestive tract, before passing it on to the rest of the body. At any one time, the liver contains about one eighth of all the blood in our bodies, and it pumps out about one and a half litres of purified blood per minute.

20% of people in the UK admit to loneliness!

I discovered recently that ‘1 A national commission investigating loneliness in the UK in January 2017 showed that a fifth of the population privately admits they are "always or often lonely”’.

Herbert Van Zeller, 1905-1984, once wrote ‘the soul hardly ever realises it, but whether he is believer or not, his loneliness is really a homesickness for God’. That’s quite a statement. Loneliness is deeper than a lack of company and it affects people in all stages of life.

Sought and Found

SOUGHT AND FOUND

In February 2013, an 18-year-old British backpacker went missing in the Australian outback for three days. He was young, healthy and very fit, since he was a keen long-distance runner. He had been working on a cattle station in Queensland and decided to go for a jog. In the heat of some 40oC he became disorientated and instead of running back to the cattle station and safety, he was going in the opposite direction. Thankfully, there were folks searching for him and he was found during a helicopter search of the region. It must have been a dreadful ordeal for this man and his family; almost unimaginable.

Rushing about - a busy life!

Sometimes there is just not enough time to do everything. Sometimes we spend time, trying to use our timesaving gadgets to create time, if they don’t work we have wasted our time and had a frustrating time and we end up losing time. We take a very long time trying to get everything done in time. Then we hope to be back in time for a relaxing or good time with the family (family time.  Time impacts on nearly every aspect of our lives. Why is it so precious?

Resurrection Day

Mark 16:6 And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.

 The resurrection of Jesus Christ is foundational for Christianity. If He had not risen from the dead then we could not be saved. What great hope we have knowing that Jesus Christ is alive today. A man in heaven who one day we will see!

Paul wrote in 1 Cor 15 that if Christ is not risen then our faith is in vain. He goes on to say that we would be of all men most miserable. The resurrection is at the root of all that we believe. Christianity is unique in this. Religion boasts in its dead leaders. They cannot take you to an empty tomb and say He is not here but is risen.

Belief in the resurrection is vital for salvation. Rom 10:9 tells us ‘that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Great efforts were made to ensure that the body of Jesus could not be taken away by his disciples. A large stone with a seal and Roman guard however could not keep the Lord in the tomb. The stone was rolled away and the guards became as dead men at the sight of the angel. Of course it was only rolled away to show that the tomb was empty. No doubt rumours of the resurrection spread and the soldiers were paid to lie. Those rumours could have easily been stopped. All the authorities needed to do was to show the His body. But they did not because they could not because He had risen.

 No one has ever been able to disprove the resurrection. The evidence to support it far outweighs the contrary. What hope and joy we have because HE IS ALIVE!

Nobody is perfect!!

‘He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He’.

Deut 32. 4

Take time to read today’s verse though a couple of times. Note carefully the absolute statements that are made.

‘He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He’.

The writer, Moses, had no doubts about the character of God, no grey areas no maybes. I wonder if that is that the way that you and I think about God.

A brief overview of the Bible would convince you that although Bible characters did not always understand what God was doing or why he was doing it they without exception declare his right to act as he chooses and defend the principle that God always acts justly and fairly. 

Is God as loving as Christians claim?

Suppose you stop someone in the street and asked if they believed in God. You would undoubtedly get a wide range of responses which would vary depending on where you are. When I think about what people say to me I think that most common impression people have of God is - God is love. They are not wrong in fact it is very true. However it is amazing that most tune in to this strand of God’s nature.

Can God be trusted?

Romans 11

Verse four ‘I have reserved for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal’

Verse twenty nine ‘For the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable’

You may be forgiven for thinking that the passage that we have given you to read today, Romans 11, does not at first sight make you think about the fact that God is faithful. However the more you read through the passage and think about what is written you begin to see this principle.

What is God really like - holy?

  

‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory’

Isaiah 6.3 

‘Be holy, for I am holy’

1 Pet 1:16

In the book of Habakkuk the writer has a moment of truth. He says to God ‘You are of purer eyes than to behold evil,’ Hab. 1. 13. The writer is actually being quite sarcastic with God when he says this. He is complaining that God has used a sinful nation, the Chaldeans, to judge His people. While arguing the case he says to God ‘you wouldn’t even look at evil’ never mind do it so why use these sinful people to judge your own people. 

What a web we weave

 

I was visiting my mother in Scotland recently and having a look round her garden. One of the local artisans was painting her shed at the time, and so I was checking if the job was being done properly - this in itself is a bit humorous as I am 'Mr Not - DIY - International'. But, as dutiful sons do, I was checking to see if the paint was drying (I thought it did that itself!) and if the shed needed another coat. If you met my mother you would know that she wouldn't accept my word for it and would be checking later to see if the work was up to a satisfactory standard - which she did!

Signs of the times - Mark 13:4

Mar 13:4 Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?

 We are incredibly privileged to know what the future holds for us and this world as we find in the Bible. What other book do you know tells the future and then what it tells come to pass? This is a great book to get into. Don’t miss out on what the Bible has to say about our future. 

To be continued - Mark 8:25

After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly. (Mark 8.25)

Have you been for an eye test recently? The Lord Jesus is better than any optician. As I read through the Gospels, it is interesting to see how He uses different treatments to heal blind people. Today’s man has two eye tests. He is healed gradually not immediately.

Heart 2 Heart - Mark 7:21

From within, out of the heart of man, proceed evil thoughts … (Mark 7.21)

My heart is a wonderful engine. It pumps 7000 litres of blood a day, beating more than once a second. It should last for 70 years without a service or MOT. But humans are more than machines – I am a spiritual creature made in God’s image. And so I can learn more about my heart in the Bible than in any Biology textbook!

Using what you have for God!

Using what you have for God

Short Reading – Mark 11:1-11  

  

Longer Reading – Mark 11:1-19

Key Verse – Mark 11:3 ‘The Lord hath need of him’

Imagine that I just bought a new car. It is just the model I dreamed about, the pearlescent metallic paint is looking great, the alloys are really cool and the leather seats are ….well what can I say! I have only one problem. Someone has asked me to take a new family, with their children, mucky feet etc, to an outreach meeting. What should I do?

Final Post on Headship - Col 2:19 - Christ the Head - To be honoured

Days portion for reading  - Col 2:11-23

Christ the Head – to be honoured – Colossians 2:19

This is the last post in our studies about Christ – the Head. Has it made a difference to you as you have learned or rediscovered something of the wonders of this truth about the saviour? Did it make you bow in worship as you realised the way God has so carefully organised things? Was your reaction one of joy and gratitude when you realised that God has included you in all of his purposes because of your links with the Lord Jesus. Our reaction should have been all of these things at the very least.