Life Rule - Always expect the unexpected!

Life is so unpredictable. At times this can be exciting but sometimes it is extremely frightening.

There are many situations in life that we cannot control. Illness, the weather, what other people do and say and how other people drive for example. Some things can be avoided and we can take precautions but many circumstances are outwith our control. The ultimate example being death. We may be able to take our life by force (it is tragic when someone gets to that level of despair) but we cannot and do not live for ever and have no power over the day of our death.

What are you living for?

Jim Elliot was a boy who loved Jesus. He knew Christ from an early age and was never afraid to speak about Him to his friends. One day a friend of his parents asked him if he was going to be a preacher when he grew up. ‘I don’t know,’ Jim replied. ‘But I would like to tell someone about Jesus, that never heard of Him before!’ And that is just what happened.

When Jim grew up, he and his wife Betty (Elizabeth) were missionaries in Ecuador, where there were several different tribes of Indians living in the jungle. Some of them were being taught by missionaries already whilst others had never heard of Jesus. One of these tribes was a violent and murderous tribe called Aucas who had never had any contact with the outside world. They were great hunters of wild pigs, monkeys, and jaguars with their spears and bows and arrows. 

Ukraine Visit Day 1

Back in Ukraine. It’s been four years since my last visit which was for a wedding of a couple we have come to know very well. I first visited Ukraine in 2007 and looking back things have changed considerably since then. I dare say that the villages across the countryside may have not changed much but the towns and cities have developed. Shopping malls, industrial and business complexes are popping up everywhere. Wi-fi is available in every petrol station, mall or commercial centre. Cafes and Coffee Shops are quite sophisticated, in fact more so than many equivalent venues in the UK. 

Life moves on but in this country the majority do not benefit from these developments, only the wealthy and the upwardly mobile.

God is described in the Bible as unchanging and constant but He is also always up to date. Hebrews 13:8 states that Jesus Christ is ‘the same yesterday, and today, and forever’. God says, about Himself in Malachi 3:6 ‘For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed’.

You see, we constantly change things hoping to improve them. That is because we are all marked by sin as Romans chapter 3 verse 23 states, ‘For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God’.

God never changes as He cannot improve Himself; He is perfect and complete and in no need of improvement. 

This is the reason why God sent His Son into the world as John chapter three states: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 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.

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

John 3:15-21

My prayer is that you will be saved and changed into a person who glorifies God. 

Britain to punish Putin’s cronies - right or wrong?

Britain to punish Putin’s cronies - Right or Wrong?

'MINISTERS are plotting new sanctions against Vladimir Putin and Kremlin-linked oligarchs after the Russian government expelled 23 British diplomats and launched an assault on its cultural ties with Britain'1. 

It seems ok to punish the perpetrator of a crime, i.e. if it's Putin and his regime then take action, but my question is, is it fair to punish someone else for crimes that they have not done?

As always, I am not getting into politics in this blog so this piece is not about passing judgment on Putin and Russia and their culpability or not for the recent chemical attack in Salisbury. But I am asking if, in principle, it is fair to punish one party for another’s crimes?

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. 

God cannot deceive people!

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked: for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap - Galatians 6:7

I think it would be fair to say that no one likes to be deceived. We feel cheated and manipulated when someone has misled us and wilfully abused our trust. We know inertly in our hearts that this type of behaviour is unacceptable.

As a Christian I am confident of this. God is absolutely trustworthy, He never deceives us. In our daily readings over the last few days we have been considering some of the characteristics of God that make him dependable and worthy of our trust. He cannot lie, He does not break promises and He can do everything except sin.

Let me talk to you for a moment about self deception. It is possible to deceive yourself. Our verse today warns us of this possibility. We could ‘stick our head in the sand’ and try to pretend that we can do what we like and get away with it. This verse states however that this would be amount to deceiving ourselves and the end result would be personally damaging. There is a principle at work here - you reap what you sow! This principle works in all spheres in life. The gap between sowing and reaping may vary depending on the situation. It is most vividly seen in the agricultural world. However it is also true in relationships, in business and financial matters. Why then would it not be true in the spiritual world. If we give time to God, invest in things that are of spiritual value, give priority to our spiritual health then we will reap the benefits in the long term.

Invest your life in the things of God for His glory and you will reap the results. If not in this life, in eternity. What a wonderful person our God is. We should praise and give glory to His name!

Truth seems to be disappearing!

I know every one has written about it but it is big news. When I was a lad, Banks were so secure that we thought that it was impossible for a Bank to "go bust". That's probably why I joined a Bank at the tender age of 16 and spent the next 26 years of my life working in the financial services sector. So here we are in the 21st century and you cannot even trust a Bank. What is left that is dependable? What worries me is that we are told one day that everything is fine by the very people who then have to admit that everything has gone wrong so soon afterwards.

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.

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

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Seek the Truth Bible Media Podcasts

The latest podcast from Seek the Truth Bible Media - I trust that you benefit from listening.

STT010 - Can you gauge trustworthiness impulsively? by seekthetruthpodcast

http://soundcloud.com/seekthetruthpodcast/stt010-can-you-gauge-trustworthiness-impulsively/s-iKoy2

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Take some advice that you can really trust!

Serious about life and it's potential, then watch this vblog

Taking a guilt trip

Most of us feel guilty from time to time. I am sure that Mr & Mrs McCann, of Liverpool, UK,  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’.