Storm Survival Advice

Scripture Reading

Acts chapter 27

Scripture Verse

‘I believe God that it will be just as it was told me’

Acts 27:25

This part of the story is scary for anyone who does not like sailing. Paul is starting his journey to Rome where he will meet the Roman Emperor. The soldier who is guarding him is called, Julius.  Julius is a nice man. He is kind, thoughtful and polite. He must also have been good at his job. He was part of a group of important soldiers and he was the boss.

Why does life hurt so much?

It’s our aim in this article to address some of the questions that people ask in life and to discover what the Word of God (the Bible) has to say about it. We place real confidence in the Bible because we have become convinced that the Bible is God’s communication to men and women and we wish people to benefit from what God has said.

I’m sure that most would agree that life hurts! That hurt can be caused by the normal progression from youth to old age and all the problems that come with ageing. Sickness also brings its heartaches! Natural disasters are devastating and destructive! To say nothing of the dreadful treatment that people endure at the hands of their fellow man. War and acts of terror produce unimaginable horrors. I’m sure that at times we all question why life is such a difficult and a hurtful experience.

Is there an appropriate response to this? The first thing I’d like to say is that “it's not personal”. What I mean is that we are not usually suffering as individuals because of something specific we have done. Before I go any further let me qualify that statement.  There are times in life when we do reap what we sow. There actually are consequences to our actions! But all the awful things that happen in the world are not usually the direct result of our personal actions.

My main thought when I say it’s not personal is this: ;people don’t die as a result of some sinful thing that they have done; old age doesn’t come because you did something wrong. The fact that we die, that we have sickness, that we grow old is explained to us in the Bible. The bible states that all of these conditions and circumstances exist because sin came into the world. As a result of Adam, the first man in the world, disobeying God the floodgates to all that was evil and damaging were opened. The fact that all of this is the result of the first man’s rebellion to God is explained by the biblical statement “by one man sin entered into the world and death by sin”,; Romans 5:12.

The Bible clearly teaches that God gave man a choice:

Obey Him,

Enjoy His presence,

Enjoy all that He created for him….

But, there is a but, God warned him that the day he ate of the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that he would die. And that is what happened! Adam didn’t die physically but he died as far as his relationship with God was concerned. He was dead spiritually. Sin, death, pain and suffering became the normal experience of life. He had to work by the sweat of his brow for everything. Childbirth became a painful experience for the woman and the earth was cursed. So life hurts as a result; a fact that we know only too well.

However, what is quite incredible about the biblical story of salvation is that God had already a plan in place. God’s plan to provide forgiveness and to offer salvation to men and women was devised long before time began, 1 Peter 1: 19,20.

God had always planned to send His ‘Son to be the Saviour of the world’. He made sure in the writings of the Old Testament, the first half of the Bible, that we would know Him when he visited earth. In the Old Testament, God told the prophets how to identify His Son. There were specific facts such as what family He would be born into, His distinctive and sinless lifestyle and His mode of death. Normally how people will die is an unknown fact but God was making a point in defining how Jesus would die in advance (see Psalm 22:16, Zechariah 12:10, Luke 2: 34,35 – all of these passages of scripture speak of crucifixion which at the time was unknown and of the piercing of the hands and feet of the Lord Jesus). All of this information was so that when He came we would know Him.

To me the greatest and most amazing thing about this whole thing is that God came to earth in person. He was a real but sinless man. He suffered, He hurt and He endured death to pay for our sin. God wants us to be forgiven therefore the price and the legal penalty for our sin was dealt with by the Lord Jesus Christ when He died upon the cross.

The Bible explains it like this:  “Christ died for our sins.”, 1 Corinthians 15:3, “He was despised and rejected of men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief”, Isaiah 53:3.

Today God offers us not hurt but forgiveness;

Today God offers us love.

The Bible tells us, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life”, John 3:16. The greatest proof of the love of God is that, “God commends his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”, Romans 5:8.

I want to point you to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, if you pray to God, today, confessing your sins He will forgive you.

I trust that you will do this.

May God bless you!

This blog is written by Stephen at

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. 

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.

Why Worry?

Worry is common to all of us. There is something we can do about this debilitating problem.

Worry and the Christian Life

The problem with worry is it’s often all in the mind – a message for Christians

I am told that 85% of what we worry about never happens.

In the Bible, the Apostle Paul writes a series of exhortations to the Christians in Philippi in his closing comments of the letter addressed to that Church. In chapter four verse four he has encouraged them to ‘rejoice in the Lord alway’. This is something we all need to be reminded about from time to time. When things get on top of us we often forget to see the blessings that we have and to rejoice in what God has done. I am sure we all know people who can see the goodness of God in everything. We should all cultivate this way of thinking

Someone's looking for you

In this busy world, where so many prying eyes are frequently upon us, it is difficult to escape the surveillance that we are so often under. Transactions carried out, using our credit cards, mean that we can be easily tracked and our movements monitored. CCTV cameras are everywhere and with sites like Google Earth, very little remains secret; complete strangers can visit our homes and move down our streets, undetected. "Big Brother Is Watching!"

A letter about Coronavirus

I received this letter today, I thought there was a lot insight in what the author said. Please read it and consider it carefully,

Kind regards, 

Stephen

Hi Stephen, As ever yesterday I was trying to finish my morning Bible reading on the Tube. Sadly in this secular society, contrary to the call of Jesus in Mark 8:38 to not be “ashamed of me or my words”, I always feel a little embarrassed to get the Bible out and be reading it in public. Well, not yesterday, not in the middle of the coronavirus outbreak. The new confidence I felt was pretty overwhelming.

Coping with Change!

Life’s usually is a constant cycle of change as we all know only too well. We just seem to get comfortable; find our slot and then things change. As a Christian, I have the assurance that despite the changes in life I have an anchor. My anchor is none other than Jesus Christ – He provides the hope, ‘both sure and steadfast’, ‘which hope we have as an anchor of the soul ^[1]’. An anchor is a heavy object attached to a cable or chain and used to moor a ship to the sea bottom. When life is changing, we need a fixed point of reference, an anchor to keep us steady. I believe that the Bible is the only document known to humanity that can give us stability and the fixed point of reference that we need as we make our journey through life. Within its pages, we will discover the reason we exist, the cause of all the evil and sin in our world and the way that we can know what is eternal i.e. things that are of lasting value. To be confident in this life we need peace, contentment and confidence that our life has real significance. I believe the only way this is possible is to get to know God, the maker of us all. He made us and he knows how we tick.

Looking over your shoulder! Trusting others!

Titus 3. 4

‘But when the kindness and the love of God our Savour toward man appeared’

What is your mental image of someone who is kind?  Does it conjure up an image of a certain type of person in your mind? This will all depend on the type of kindness that you have experienced in your life. Sadly some people don’t experience much kindness at all. I meet people who when they have met Christians for the first time cannot believe the care and kindness that they have been shown. They often wonder what the catch is! It is great to see them realise that there is no catch; it is just kindness for its own sake. When this happens the Christian is truly reflecting the type of kindness that God is known for.

Are You Fearful About The State Of The World?

By Stephen Baker

The state of the world today is scary. Are you afraid? Stephen Baker discusses the state of the world today and he gives us hope as he tells us that Jesus Christ can meet the needs of our society.

Life is full of questions and often the answers are difficult. Stephen Baker seeks to answer various questions about life and faith using the Bible as his only source. Listen to Stephen’s show, “Life Questions,” on HopeStreamRadio as he tackles the challenge of life questions.

Would you have been ready?

In most homes when someone is going out for the evening or leaving for work it is normal to hear someone shout 'are you ready yet'?

Preparing to go out or getting ready for various events in life is a major part of human activity. When two people fall in love and decide to get married then great preparation is made for the wedding day. Later on if they discover that they are expecting a baby there is equally as much planning that goes into the preparation for the arrival of the little one. Life is full of times of preparation. Often this is exciting and sometimes it makes life very hectic. 

As I consider the tragic events that took place in Manchester, England in the last week I wonder how many people who entered that arena were prepared for the end of their life. Please don't get me wrong I'm not trying to make mileage out of a sad event and I don't think that they shouldn't even have had to consider that life may have ended in such an awful way. But my question remains the same - how prepared was each individual, in that arena, to leave this world and enter the next. My heart breaks when I consider the age of the children that died. The tragedy of teenagers who had hardly begun to live and life was taking forcibly from them but the question remains the same – how prepared were they for this final step from this life to the next?

Please let me turn the question round and address it to you. Are you prepared for the next life? Do you understand that there is life on the other side of death? Do you realise that this life is about the preparation for the next?

There are a lot of other questions that sit alongside the ones that I have posed. Questions that might challenge some of the things that I have send! You might say that I'm making assumptions. Or you may deny the validity or the basis of the statements that I make. I would, with all due respect, ask you to read some of my other blog posts before passing judgement as they go into more detail about why I believe the Bible and the gospel of Jesus Christ to be the truth. 

I want to leave you with a couple of statements from the Bible and I want to request that you take time to consider them and reflect upon them. 

Proverbs 14:12

There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

Proverbs 16:25

There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

This statement is repeated twice by a man who is renowned to be the wisest man who ever lived. Basically he is saying that we think we know the truth, we think we know what is right but actually we get it wrong and our way ends in death. 

You are no doubt a very good person as measured against other people but we all are flawed and sinful and need salvation from a God who is holy and against whom we have sinned. 

Ecclesiastes 12:1

Remember now -- thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;

This is a warning to young people to think about God early in life. You might be well beyond 'the days of your youth' but if it was important to think about God when young then it must be even more important and urgent as life progresses. God is concerned about all his creation, he hates evil, he will judge the perpetrators of evil but he does not pick and choose which sins he judges. He judges grosser sin more severely than lesser forms of sin. However that will not be much of a comfort when you are excluded from heaven, God's grace and all that our hearts desire. God will judge all sin and humanity fairly and justly.

Amos 4:12

Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.

This recommendation was made to a nation. They had sinned against God and were about to be judged by him. The advice of the prophet Amos was that they should prepare to meet God. The advice is just as significant for us today in the 21st-century. We need to be prepared for the day when we meet God. 

I am praying that God would give help in our country to reduce and control terrorism. I doubt that will ever eradicate it but I hope that we can minimise it and reduce the horrible events of Manchester being repeated elsewhere. 

But let us learn a lesson. A lesson that we would rather not learn. We need to be prepared for the unexpected, prepared for the end of life, prepared even though we might not be in the age bracket where we expect life to end. It could, and did and the tragedy is that many were most likely not prepared. 

The ultimate advice in the Bible is that we should believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved, Acts 16:31. Would you take that advice today.

Why do we feel guilty?

Most of us feel guilty from time to time. Many parents whose children have been abducted are tormented at times with guilt as they wish that they could turn the clock back and that they had not left those lovely children alone for the short time that they did. I am not suggesting that they should feel guilty for most of us have done what they did. We left our children safely at a short distance from us and, thankfully, no harm came to them. As our children grow up we need to extend their freedom and we trust and pray that no harm comes to them or that we have not allowed them too much freedom too soon. If harm comes we blame ourselves and can always see what we should have done ‘in hindsight’.

There are times when it is right to feel guilty. If we have genuinely wronged someone guilt is the God given mechanism that warns us that ‘action needs to be taken’. Sometimes we can rectify the problem and make amends. Other times it is outside of our power to reverse the effect of our actions. It is only right that we should fix the problems that we have caused where possible.

Having said this, many mistakes in life are not really significant in the general scheme of things and will not make a big difference in our lives. Courtesy and true friendship, decency and honesty will however ensure that we behave in ways that are commendable.

A more worrying aspect of life is that of human beings and their relationship with God. In our current society we are in danger of being unaware that we have disobeyed our Creator (and therefore owner) and that he does not tolerate people who break his law. I was aware from childhood of the fact that God had stated his principles (the 10 commandments in the Bible) and that I was incapable of living up to them. The passage in the Bible that explains God’s standards is Exodus 20. The New Testament passage that states that we are not capable of living up to these standards is Romans 3:23 ‘For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God’.

Now, contrary to public opinion God gave his Law to make us feel guilty and not to make us feel good. The Bible says ‘Now we know that what things so ever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God’. The reality is that when you and I hear the Bible preached and become aware that God is holy and has his standards; we then realise that we cannot live up to his standards and get feelings of guilt. I lied, I lusted, I took something that did not belong to me (time, emotions, things etc) and as a result I am guilty and am limited as to what I can do to rectify the situation. My offence is firstly against God (Psalm 51:4) and will also often be against a fellow human being.

So we all need to go on a guilt trip – but not for long. When the awareness of our wrong living is heightened and guilt is triggered we will be forced do something about it. That is God’s plan.

What can we do? Again God in the Bible tells us what there is no point in doing! God says in Romans 3:20 that no action on our part will satisfy him because our problem is one we were born with (Psalm 51:5). The problem is reflected in our actions and behaviours but it is deeper than that. God says rather bluntly in the Old Testament that all the right things we do are like filthy clothes. We can never be good enough for God, ‘There is none righteous, no not one’.

I say again ‘what can we do’? The answer again comes from God. He says ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved’. The Lord Jesus says ‘I am the way, the truth and the life’. The early Christian preachers preached ‘neither is their salvation in any other for there is no other name under heaven, given among men whereby we must be saved’. God’s Son (The Lord Jesus) came to earth, lived and then was put to death on a cross. God was punishing him for sin, sin that he did not commit (for he is God and perfect) but that sin that he was prepared to atone for. He paid the price God demanded to put away sin and to provide forgiveness for us.

Go on a guilt trip? No way - admit your guilt to God and then accept his offer of salvation through trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ. You will experience inexplicable joy.

Fearing tomorrow - Acts 12

Suggested Scripture Reading

Acts chapter 12

Verse for the Day

Acts 12.17 ‘He declared to them how the Lord had brought him out of prison’

Imagine that it’s time to go to bed and you are feeling really tired. You want to sleep but you can’t. Lots of things keep popping into your head. Maybe you are a bit worried about something! A new job, project or someone who is threatening you! Or maybe you are excited and can’t wait for the next day to come!

Jesus’ disciple, Peter, was fast asleep one night when an angel came to visit him. He was in such a deep sleep that the angel had had to hit him on his side to wake him up.

"Where am I?", Peter must have thought? "I remember now. I’m in prison. Herod, that wicked King, locked me up and says he is going to kill me! I was a bit scared until I remembered what Jesus had told me before He went back to heaven. He said I wouldn’t die until I was old. Wow, that helped me get to sleep last night. Jesus is in control and I trust Him".  

The angel was really in a hurry. “Quick” he said, “get up”. Suddenly Peter’s chains fell off. He had been handcuffed between two soldiers but all of a sudden he was free. When Peter looked one way, the soldier was asleep, and then the other way, he was asleep as well. Amazing!

While all this has been going on Peter’s friends has been praying for him. They prayed at breakfast, in the morning, at lunch, in the afternoon, in the evening and at supper. They even stayed up all night to pray as well. It seemed like Peter was never going to be freed! He had been in prison right over the Easter holidays (the Jews call it Passover). But God heard their prayers and Peter got home safe and sound.

God can answer your prayers and will help you sleep when you are scared as well.

Suggested Prayer

Dear Father, sometimes I am scared and I want to thank you for looking after me when this happens.

The danger of being a Christian - Acts 8

Daily Bible Reading

Acts 7. 54-60, 8. 1-3, Acts 9. 1,2

Scripture Text

1 Timothy 1.15 

Paul said ‘This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, 

that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief”

Ø  In some countries being a Christian is easy but in many places it can be very dangerous. I don't know where you live but I know that it is hard for some people to follow Jesus. Jesus never pretended that following him would be easy. Sometimes He seemed to scare people off who wanted to follow him by telling them how tough it could be. Why did Jesus do this? I think it was so that people understood how hard it is to be a Christian. If they were going to follow Him it would be with their eyes open to the problems that they could face.

Life is unpredictable!

Life is so unpredictable. At times this can be very exciting but sometimes it can be very frightening.
That flood in the house, the illness that took us by surprise! How were we to know? It can be disconcerting! As mere mortals, we cannot control our circumstances and have to try to cope with what is inevitable as well as we possibly can.

Life's Uncontrollable Events

A New Year brings fresh challenges and opportunities but life is so unpredictable! At times, the variety life brings can be very exciting but sometimes it’s a bit frightening. That flood in the house, the illness that took us by surprise! The speed of change and our helplessness can be disconcerting! As mere mortals, we cannot control our circumstances and have to try to cope with what is inevitable as well as we possibly can.

Saying Goodbye - Acts 1

Acts 1.11 ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven’?

 Sometimes it’s hard to say good-bye to someone. But it’s

especially hard when we really love them. Jesus’ disciples had

seen Him every day for about three years. They had become very

attached to Him.

Who on earth was #Jesus?

History records that Jesus did miracles and supernatural things. It's not just the Bible that records this, it's non Christian historians as well. For example Tacticus and Josephus. There are over thirty non biblical historians who record some aspect of the life of Jesus Christ.

The question isn't did Jesus live or did he do miracles but where did the power come from? Who was he? What's this all about?

The Bible asserts that he is the Son of God. If he is you had better sit up and take note. 

He's the Saviour of the world!

He's the appointed judge!

He will return!

You will stabs before him and give account!

BE WARNED, BE PREPARED. 

Mark 11:27-33 KJV

“And they come again to Jerusalem: and as he was walking in the temple, there come to him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders, And say unto him, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority to do these things? 

And Jesus answered and said unto them, I will also ask of you one question, and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me. 

And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did ye not believe him? But if we shall say, Of men; they feared the people: for all men counted John, that he was a prophet indeed. 

And they answered and said unto Jesus, We cannot tell. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

http://bible.com/1/mrk.11.27-33.kjv

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

Don't waste my death - Seek the Truth Bible Media Blogs

Don't waste my death - Seek the Truth Bible Media Blog
http://liverpoolphotoblog.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/dont-waste-my-death-seek-truth-bible.html