Going on holiday - a wonderful feeling!

Many of you will now be on holiday. It's a great feeling to be off but often anticipation of the holiday is half of the enjoyment. I always look forward to going on holiday. For weeks and often months I dream of the mornings when I don't need to be up at the crack of dawn, when I can have lie in (and not feel guilty), when I can read my book and not think 'O no, look at the time' I'd better get to sleep'. Then the holiday comes and goes in a flash and it's back to 'brass tacks' (I don't know where the saying came from but I know what it means!).

I really enjoy my holidays. I like the time to reflect, meet my friends, discuss 'everything under the sun', eat, read, walk and doing lots of other things as well. The Bible teaches the principle of 'taking time out'. The Lord Jesus told his disciples to 'come apart' and 'rest a while'. When God made the earth he rested on the 'seventh day'. It all adds up to the fact that we need to time to think, reflect, rest and enjoy the results of what we have been busy doing.

Do you take time out? Or is time to think and reflect wasted time in your reckoning?

I encourage you to take some time to think. Think about life, why we are here? What is it all about? Ask the dangerous questions! Read the Bible (the Word of God) and discover God who has the answers.

God made us!

We will meet him one day!

He sent his Son, Jesus, into the world so that we could get to know Him.

He understands that our sin and disobedience bars us from knowing Him personally. Like a good Father He holds us to account for our wrongdoing but unlike most, He is willing to pardon our sin because His Son, Jesus, took the punishment for us when he died on the cross.

Take time out today and learn the truth about you and your life. Read and thing about John 3:16 in the Bible, turn from your sin and trust the Lord Jesus for salvation.

John 3:16 says  "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"

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Departure Lounge

We had relaxed with a cup of coffee as we chatted with happy expectancy about our long anticipated holiday. We were enjoying browsing through the great range of duty free goods and wondering what the various family members would appreciate as a little gift, when the announcement was made calling us to go to the departure lounge.

We made our way to the gate and found a seat where we would await instructions for boarding. I looked across the departure lounge and there were lots of people and from all walks of life. Babies were there as were senior citizens; the rich were there who were allowed to embark to first and business class at their leisure and the poorer were there also; there was a sports team of very fit young people and there were others who required walking aids and even wheelchair assistance.

I thought this is just an illustration of life. Dear reader, we are all in the departure lounge, soon to leave for eternity. Every one of us must take the journey from time to eternity sooner or later. Age, gender, riches or their lack, will make no difference; we must all die. A wise woman commented, "For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again", 2 Samuel 14v14. We may ask, "why?" and the answer is found in the Bible, "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 5v12. Every person is constituted a sinner by God because Adam sinned and because of sin we must die.

We were looking forward to arriving in a most pleasant place for a much-needed holiday, but do you look forward to eternity? Then there are only two places, heaven or hell. To which of these places are you going? I am so glad that I am going to heaven. Some will say that is just presumption, no one can know where they will be until the judgment day. Such reasoning must be brought to the Bible and there we find that God has said, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him", John 3v36. This is very clear. If we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ we shall have everlasting life and be in heaven but if we do not, the opposite is true and we will be in hell. The Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life" John 6v47. This tremendous truth is underscored in John 5v24, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life."

We shall soon depart this life, but please ponder well the question, what is my final destination?

Written for FTMP by a Guest Blogger (Assembly Testimony)

Presented by Seek The Truth Bible Media. For more blogs, podcasts, videos or to contact STTBM please click on www.seekthetruth.org,uk

NHS Care or don't care!

What a week! We started back into the daily routines of the week having come back from a lovely time away over the festive period. Our son was complaining about having a bad back but over the weekend things developed and we realised that this seemed to be more that just some side affect of his snowboarding trip to Switzerland. On Monday night we took him to Whiston Hospital, Prescot and played 'the waiting game'. Eventually he was seen by a Doctor, after hours of writhing about in pain. The Doctor decided that he should go home, take 48 hours of antibiotics and wait to see if the infection would subside. It didn't and off to the local GP we went on Wednesday evening. The hospital doctor had assured us that if he was no better we would be admitted directly to the hospital without all the A & E 'waiting game' if we visited the local GP first. We duly paid our visit, sat, watched and listened to the GP call the hospital and book our arrival. A letter from the GP was written, signed and handed to my wife.

On arrival at the hospital no one knew anything about the GP's phone call and we joined the queue and were invited to play guess what - 'the waiting game'. Five hours later we eventually got admitted to a ward and see a Doctor. By this time our son was faint, retching with indigestion, having not eaten since three o'clock (as we expected him to be having an operation that evening) and generally exhausted from the infection that was surging through his body. The Doctor was very good and arranged for an anti-sickness drug, IV pain relief and an IV saline drip. As operating would not take place until the next morning our son was allowed to eat and once he was settled we eventually left the hospital at 1.30 am. 

Thankfully on Thursday everything went according to plan and the operation went smoothly. The medical and nursing staff were excellent and we arrived home (after rapidly consuming hospital bangers and mash - my son, not me!). 

When Friday came we had to arrange a visit to a surgery to have the wound dressed. Imagine our surprise when we were told that there were no slots in the surgeries left. NHS treatment in this country is bizarre. You, the patient, have to do all the running about! No one comes to your house (maybe if your are dying) and you have to argue and push even to get the back up care that is needed after you leave hospital. 

This is not meant to be a letter of complaint but an observation that many people in our society would not be able to survive such a system or to battle their way through these procedures to get appropriate treatment when they are ill especially if they live on their own.

As a Christian I am glad that the care procedure of heaven is not like the one we have in this country. The bible says that for those who care to trust him, God will be with us when we go through 'the valley of the shadow'. That if we call He will answer. That those who are weary and burdened with life can come to him for rest. The provision of that rest was expensive; it was purchased by the death of the Son of God, the Lord Jesus, on the cross. On rising from the dead the words of the Lord Jesus became so pertinent - "I am the resurrection and the life, he that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live" (Gospel of John 11. 25). Do you believe this?

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Today's blog comes to you from Stan Burditt in Orlando, Florida, where he is enjoying a sunshine holiday with some of his family.

Driving past Disney’s Theme Park entrance a few days ago, I saw alongside the models of Mickey and Minnie Mouse their slogan, ‘Where dreams come true’ and it got me thinking! Obviously the statement carries a double meaning, firstly it is a location where lots of children dream of going to see all the Disney characters and interact with them. For many children throughout the world that dream is never realised but for those that are able to visit, the WOW look on their faces is a joy to behold. However if we live in a world of fantasy of our own make-believe, a world of fluffy cuddly people, we are not seeing the truth of the real world, it is just an escape.

Mickey himself has a ‘fantasmic’ dream where all his animated and wonder world friends appear in imagination bubbles but then the dream becomes a nightmare of evil characters threatening his comfort zone. Then good prevails and ultimately all the good characters appear on a sail-by showboat leaving the audience with a feel-good finale. It is only make-believe isn’t it?

Some young girls dream of their Prince Charming to come along and marry them. Young men might dream of a good qualification that will secure a well paid job, a nice comfortable home, a lovely wife and children and maybe a particular car in the garage. Sometimes those dreams do come true, but in the real world responsibility and commitment are fundamental requirements for a ‘happy-ever-after’ life, and in this generation, fewer and fewer are subscribing to these.

If what has been reported in UK national newspapers is true then the ‘Theatre of Dreams’, Old Trafford football stadium has had nightmarish features since one of their players has been doing a bit of showboating himself, causing the manager selection problems. Who would know what decided the contractual turn around? Could it have been money??

Martin Luther King in his memorable speech ‘I have a dream!’ was pioneering a program of civil rights for the black population of the United States. He dreamed of a day when there would be equality for all people black and white, where social, education, medical and employment rights exist for everyone and not the privileged few. For him was it just a dream or was he a visionary? Looking for a better future for those oppressed by bigotry and racism.

There are eleven people recorded in the Old Testament and two in the NT that have dreams. In the NT the word dream occurs seven times, six in Matthew’s gospel and once in the Acts. In Matthew, four concern Joseph the husband of Mary, one, the wise men and the other is Pilate’s wife. With Joseph it is in relation to the birth of Christ, with Pilate’s wife it was His death.

Joseph in the Old Testament and Joseph in the New saw their dreams come true. Both Joseph’s had a father named Jacob, but it was Abraham’s grandson Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel who was the father of Joseph. This Joseph had two dreams. He interpreted the two dreams of Pharaoh, and his Butler and Baker. Genesis 37:6 reads, “Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf. And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words. And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.” Because of these dreams his brothers hated him and said, “Behold, this dreamer cometh” and wanted to kill him, but then they sold him as a slave into Egypt.

It became a nightmare for him in Potiphar’s house; he was wrongly accused of rape and put into prison. While in prison he interpreted the dreams of the Butler and the Baker, both dreams came true, one was restored, the other hanged.

Pharaoh had two dreams, which Joseph interpreted as being seven years of plenty and seven years of famine, which also became true. Pharaoh rewarded Joseph by putting him in charge of storing the corn in the plentiful years and administrating the distribution of the food during the years of famine. He made him second in command in all the land, it was then that his brothers came to Egypt seeking corn and bowed before Joseph. Joseph’s name means ‘adding’ and he was responsible for adding prosperity for his own people and the Egyptians. Pharaoh called him ‘The Saviour of the world’.

Joseph, the husband of Mary had a dream, assuring him that Mary had not committed fornication but was the chosen virgin to bring Jesus Christ into the world, “Behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost” His second dream was a warning that Herod was seeking to destroy the baby and he was told to take Mary and Jesus into Egypt. The third dream was in Egypt telling him that Herod was dead and that they could return to their own land. The final dream directed them back to Nazareth where Christ lived up to the age of thirty. All Joseph’s dreams came true and by them he was able to fulfill his responsibility in caring for his wife and his unique son.

Psalm 126 begins, “When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them. The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.”

Salvation is where dreams come true. God bless.

Wow, July has flown!

The month of July has been a very enjoyable yet busy month for me. I started the month by heading up to Scotland by train to speak at a Christian Youth Camp that is arranged every year by people in Ayrshire. The camp was based in Faskally House in Pitlochry. It was great to be with a crowd of enthusiastic people who were keen to have a good time and yet willing to devote some of their holidays to thinking about the big issues of life, the existence of evil, death etc. It is a great thrill to be able to share with people the message of hope in the Lord Jesus Christ. His death is sufficient to provide salvation to all who confess their need and come to him for ‘rest’. I was then back home in Liverpool for a week. After that it was back to the same place this time for the Tayside Christian Youth Camp – more of the same. I am currently ending the month with the Anchor Christian Camp. This is made up of people from Barrow, Jarrow and Workington and the venue is Quinta in Shropshire. Don’t ask how Jarrow, Barrow and Workington got together but it is good to be with them. I hope that you have a good summer and come to know God’s richest blessing in your life ‘through faith in Christ Jesus’.

Exams, Study, Career, Preparing for Life

I am sure that many of you are so happy that the exams are over and that you can now enjoy the summer and get on with your life. For some however this is just the beginning as they start a job or begin a new phase in their life. My daughter has just started a job in Manchester and is experiencing the thrill of getting up early to get the train and trying to go bed early to cope with the tiredness. Some say 'it's all part of the rich tapestry of life' others being more honest say it's just extremely exhausting.

I read an article in a paper we distribute in our community recently. It was about a young Naval Officer on his first day on the job after a considerable time of training. The prospect of guiding a ship across the Atlantic was very exciting. This was his first opportunity to prove to everyone that he had the ability to handle the ship efficiently. He confidently issued orders and the decks buzzed with men performing their tasks. The ship left it's moorings in record time and quickly cruised toward the open seas.

The young officer is handed a folded piece of paper. What is it he thinks? Was it perhaps a message of congratulations from the captain?

The note was a radio message that read. "You have completed the exercise according to the book and with amazing speed, in your haste, however you overlooked a vital though unwritten rule: "make sure the captain is aboard before getting underway." The note was signed, "your captain".

Like the young officer, many people study hard and prepare for life's journey with great intensity and a desire to do everything to the best of their ability. They often pull away from the "dock" without asking the Captain to come aboard in their lives. By failing to ask God to be in control they are destined for a life of always learning and never coming to the knowledge of the truth.