Stephen Hawkings and the Afterlife!

We all have come to understand that life is constantly changing and that nothing lasts for ever. In many ways this is a tough and sad reality. Most of us find it hard to accept that we will grow old, that loved ones will pass on, that children grow up and leave home. You know the types of things that I am talking about. Sad realities! It is hard to see people you love deteriorate! It is unbelievable that people who once were so capable do not now even know what day it is or the difference between a cup of tea and a plate of soup.

I have good news for you. 

The Bible teaches that God made us with an eternal soul. The real person lives in this body and though the body ends in physical death, the soul lives on. Many people don't believe this! They think that better education, social conditions and the developments of the 21st century remove the need to think about matters of life and faith.

Stephen Hawking, British Physicist and author dismisses the notion of an afterlife. To quote he said recently 'I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail. There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers. That is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark'. This argument sounds very feasible especially when proposed by such an intelligent man. It does however ignore the fact that we are not just biological computers. It ignores man's consciousness which the best of brains have grappled with but have to admit is beyond their ability to explain. Consciousness cannot be defined in purely physiological terms. Add to this the evidence for the supernatural and the spiritual and you have many questions which without the revelation in the Bible we will struggle to answer. 

Let me introduce the book which has for generations provided answers. Answers that could not find their source solely in the mind of a human being. This book is the Bible. It is easy to dismiss the Bible as the purely the writings of men but that would not be doing justice to the information it contains and the consistency of its message. The Bible has an inbuilt testing system of prediction and fulfilment which either stands or falls on the substantive evidence of archeology, science, history, geography and social development. There have been no developments to date in any of these disciplines which have produced evidence which undermines the truthfulness and probity of the Bible.

If all of this is true may I suggest that we should pay more attention to what it teaches about life, death, the afterlife, God etc. One of the books of the Bible (John's gospel) specifically states that it was written 'that we might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that believing you might have life through his name'. My prayer is that this will be the outcome if you choose to read the Bible for yourself.

For more information text the word INFO to 07747 101352 

To access podcasts and videos explaining the good news of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ visit www.seekthetruth.org.uk

This site will give you access to Bible Teaching Audio's and Video's as well.

All posts have the aim of pointing people to Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour or to aid Christian growth and development.

The greatest person who ever lived!

The greatest person who ever lived!

On June 10^th three celebrations took place, two in London and the other in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.A. The Duke of Edinburgh’s 95^th low-key birthday celebration occurred on the same day as his wife’s Official 90^th Birthday. Over in the States a different event took place; the funeral of Muhammad Ali who died aged 74 years.

Queen Elizabeth II had three consecutive days of celebrations beginning with a Service of Thanksgiving at St. Paul’s Cathedral. The following day as Colonel in Chief of the five Household Cavalry Regiments, she took the march-past at the Trooping of the Colour ceremony at Buckingham Palace. This pageant is believed to have taken place from the reign of Charles 11.

On Sunday 12^th a street party called "The Patron’s Lunch" was held in The Mall where 10,000 people paid £150.00 each to attend. The attendees were mainly from the 600 plus charities that the Queen is Patron of, and the rest from the general public. Rain in the morning did not deter the well-wishers as they showed affection and loyalty to Her Majesty. The rain ceased in time for the final electric festival themed atmosphere of choriographed entertainment produced by members of the charities and organisations that the the Monarch supports.

Whatever one’s views are about individual members of the Royal family, it would be most uncharitable to deny what the Queen has done for the country during her long reign. One celebrity said, “She has been the glue in our nation”, she has managed to maintain peace in a multi-cultural nation through many changes over the years.

For me to say that Elizabeth II has been England’s greatest Monarch would be speculative. She is positively better than bloody Queen Mary who was notorious for burning many Protestant Christians at the stake. At Lewes in Sussex, six men and four women were burned at the same time, eighteen in all died in the flames, for their faith. That queen would have met her Maker, guilty of the blood of many martyrs who were burned at the stake during her reign. The Bible records the history of good kings and those that did evil, nothing is hid, all is revealed, there can be no cover up with God!

Muhammad Ali was never in doubt as to who he thought was the greatest boxer in his day. “I’m the greatest,” he shouted loud and clear, “I dance like a butterfly and sting like a bee” he told his opponents among many other outlandish boastings. He said that he could switch the light off at the wall switch and be in bed before the room got dark! He must have had a dimmer switch with an effective delay, he was quick, but not that quick? He could talk the talk and he could fight the fight, but sadly it was finally Parkinson’s disease that put his light out, to go and meet his Maker, the Greatest of all.

Before John the Baptist was born it was said of him in Luke 1. 15, “For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.” That is where true greatnes is, it is in the sight of the Lord, not in man’s assessment or approval, but God’s. In Luke 7. 28 Jesus said, “For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist.” That was an appraisal of the highest order, not some give-away title in a birthday honours list, but recognition of a life in the service of preaching the gospel and pointing men and women to Christ. He proclaimed in Matt. 3. 2, “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”. Jesus preached the same in the next chapter. Men and women in that day were called upon to examine their lives in the sight of God, to confess their sin and to turn away from it, that is what repentance is, it is saying sorry to God and asking His forgiveness. Have you done that? If not, why not quietly get alone with God and tell Him about your sin.

The ultimate in greatness is seen in Christ, Paul said in Titus 2. 13, “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.”  Luke records in chapter 1 verse 32, “He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David.” People today despise Him, they use His name as a swear word to curse anyone or anything. The amazing thing is that God would forgive such people with a foul tongue and give them the greatest possession a person could have, eternal life. He did that for me, not only cleansed my mouth but all the sin of my life and made me a child of God, a new creation in Christ Jesus.

Looking at creation we see variety, vastness and beauty, all made by Him, John says in chapter 1 verse 3, “All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made”. In Psalm chapter 33 verse 9 we read, “For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.” The whole creation was brought into being by the spoken word of the Son of God,the Son of the Highest, now that is greatness. When Jesus died on the cross He said, “It is finished”, He was saying that all the work required by God to redeem sinners back to Himself has been completed. Creation and Redemption  could only be done by the greatest being, the Son of God, the Saviour of the World.

Paul said in 1st Corinthians chapter 13 verse 13, “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.” Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ secures salvation for those who call upon Him. He gives eternal life and the most glorious hope that anyone could have, but better still He plants a love in the believing heart that is the greatest possession a person could have.

Have you got faith in the greatest person? A living hope for the great eternity? And the love of God in heart and soul?

John chapter 15 verse 13 says, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.  Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.” 

God bless.

Written for FTMP by a Guest Blogger

To access podcasts and videos explaining the good news of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ visit www.seekthetruth.org.uk

This site will give you access to Bible Teaching Audio's and Video's as well.

The First Day of the Week - Sunday

Today is the day of the week when early followers of Jesus met together. People know this day as Sunday but in the New Testament is became known as the Lord's Day, Revelation 1:10. 

This special day is observed by most Christians as the weekly memorial of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is said in the Gospels to have been witnessed alive from the dead early on the first day of the week.

According to some sources, Christians held corporate worship on Sunday in the 1st century.^[1] The earliest Biblical example of Christians meeting together on a Sunday for the purpose of "breaking bread" and preaching is cited in the New Testament book The Acts of the Apostles chapter 20 and verse 7 (Acts 20:7). 2nd-century writers such as Justin Martyr attest to the widespread practice of Sunday worship (First Apology, chapter 67), and by 361 AD it had become a mandated weekly occurrence. 

I am looking forward to today. It will be my privilege to remember and worship the Lord Jesus Christ. I am in Coleford, England, UK for the week speaking at a Holiday Bible Club. It will be a thrill to tell children about the love of God and explain that the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ was to provide salvation and blessing that has an eternal effect  

All in all this is an excellent day. How was your day?

1. ^ Roger T. Beckwith (2001). Calendar and Chronology, Jewish and Christian: Biblical, Intertestamental and Patristic Studies. BRILL. pp. 47–. ISBN 0-391-04123-1.

More than meets the eye!

More than meets the eye!

People often say that 'there is more to something than meets the eye'! By this they usually mean that there are hidden values or facts regarding something. Or sometimes when used about a person it can mean that they are more interesting or complicated than they appear at first.

We live in a world where that expression is so true about so many things. The United Kingdom is about to vote on whether to leave Europe or to stay. One of the problems the electorate has is knowing what the facts are! What is propaganda and what is truth!

A lot of people are big into conspiracy theories. I am not of that persuasion but I do think that there is a lot more going on behind the scenes than most people are aware of.

The Bible teaches that there are powers and influences over nations and individuals that people are not aware of. If you researched the book of Daniel in the Old Testament Bible you would discover in a number of chapters that there are Spirit powers (some good and some bad) who influence the decisions that are made by governments and people in positions of power. You may be very cynical about that claim but the Bible teaches it and many a time I have wondered how world leaders ended up making decisions that in the lead up to the vote they were unlikely to make - look into Mrs Thatcher and The Maastricht Treaty in this respect!

In Ephesians chapter two verse two we discover that people 'walk according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience'. We would like to think that we are all free agents and in one sense we are - we are responsible for our behaviour. But on the other hand there are evil influences in this world that find their source in the devil who is described in this verse as 'the prince of the power of this world'. These influences tempt us to do wrong, to look after ourselves, to indulge ourselves and to sin.

This is not the only passage in the bible that talks about the powerful influence of evil that pervades our world. In Second Corinthians chapter four we read that 'the god of this world (another description of the devil) has blinded the minds of the unbelieving ones so that the light of the glorious gospel of Christ (who is the image of God) should not dawn on them'. 

The reality is that the devil wants to delude and deceive people so that they end up in Hell and the Lake of Fire. He wants people to think that they have liberty to live as they like but what he doesn't tell them is that sinful habits ensnare and trap them. His master stroke is to convince people that he does not exist and that the idea of a devil is just a tool of religious people to make other people fear and or behave. He has no desire for people to live life as God intended them to or to know the forgiveness of sins. 

Yes - there is more to life than meets the eye. God is not mocked whatever you sow you will reap and there is an appointed day when God will judge the world in righteousness!

Make sure you see the truth for what it is and 'seek the Lord while he may found'.

To access podcasts and videos explaining the good news of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ visit www.seekthetruth.org.uk

This site will give you access to Bible Teaching Audio's and Video's as well.