Migrants

One of the most pressing problems for the European Union presently is that of the migrants who set out to cross the Mediterranean every week in search of a better life. In the Far East a similarly ghastly scenario is unfolding as thousands of Rohingya migrants flee persecution in their homeland, Burma. Some of these have not been allowed to disembark in neighbouring countries and have been turned away to face the perils of the merciless Andaman sea, the horrors of further weeks adrift and the all too real possibility of perishing in the insatiable waves.

While many flee persecution, others are ‘economic’ migrants wanting to escape poverty, while yet others merely want peace and safety for their children. All have paid substantial sums to unscrupulous human traffickers and smugglers; they are herded like animals on to flimsy, unsafe boats that were never built for the journey they have to undertake. Many have perished, lost at sea and their hopes of reaching safety have been cruelly dashed.

They entrust their future to dishonest people who have no interest in their welfare and who could not care less if they ever reach their desired destination; all they are interested in are the ill-gotten gains of their evil trade. In some cases, crews have abandoned the boats and left their hapless passengers to face whatever dangers may befall them.

We are all migrants, crossing the uncertain sea of life with its countless dangers. We are being swept by the restless tides of time towards eternity with only one of two destinations ahead; heaven or hell. Every second of every minute of every hour of every day; even as we sleep, we are drifting nearer and nearer to the great forever that lies beyond this fleeting life, this brief crossing. We are moving inexorably from time to eternity, yes, but ‘whither, whither bound’? It is a journey from which we cannot escape; we cannot reverse, we cannot drop anchor and remain stationary, we cannot decelerate and yet many are careless, drifting aimlessly, with no assurance as to which destination they will inevitably arrive.

Many heed the unwise and mistaken advice to keep going and not worry about the outcome; it will all work out well eventually. Others have placed their hopes in religion, good works, charitable deeds, sailing along, with many a nagging doubt, towards an uncertain future. Others try to convince themselves that there is no great, eternal world on the other side, making lies their refuge and trying to rest and shelter in the tattered tent of atheism and agnosticism.

However, there are many of us who are sure as to where we are going and like the apostle Paul, we can confidently affirm, "I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day" 2Timothy 1.12. We knew that we could never reach heaven by our own feeble efforts, nor did we deserve a home on that celestial shore and so we trusted our eternal wellbeing to the capable and competent hands of the Lord Jesus. We were certain that if we remained as we were, we would undoubtedly arrive in the eternal night of hell.

In spite of knowing all this, many, like the ill-fated mariners on board the ship where Jonah was a passenger, row all the harder and hope against all hope and sanity that they will at last make it to heaven. You have one; one only option, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved" Acts 16.31.

We have an anchor that keeps the soul

Steadfast and sure while the billows roll;

Fastened to the Rock which cannot move,

Grounded firm and deep in the Saviour’s love.

For more information please visit www.seekthetruth.org.uk.

The real spirit of Guinness

The real Spirit of Guinness - A story worth telling. A Video Bible talk produced by Seek the Truth Bible Media. 

https://youtu.be/o_cq46OmE7I?list=PL83f44mqnfq47kbU16xcqs4BUon_X3H6a

Art and Beauty - Why we all have a view!

Earlier this year the town of Heswall had an exhausting but exciting two weeks when the Heswall Arts Festival took place. The number of events and performers were quite outstanding for a relatively small town but as many of us small people know great talent doesn’t need to come in large packages!

Art is a personal and subjective matter. What you like might not appeal to me and vice versa! Having said that we all have an uncanny sense of appreciation for beauty and the value of great talent. This ability to appreciate seems to be both universal and unique to the human species.

The sheer beauty of the universe tells us something about God. Who designed the sunset, or created the backdrop of the rolling hills or the rugged mountains? Who sourced the sound of the quiet babbling of a brook or the thundering pounding of a mighty waterfall! Where did the variety of colours come from, the magnificence of natural sounds, the multiplicity of materials and texture? Was this all by chance or did the Creator design a tapestry of wonder that makes you think – why, how and who?

In general, despite all our brilliance, we have damaged our world. The Bible explains ‘by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin’, Romans 5:12. Sin and evil has damaged the beauty of our planet, and lives, as a result of our actions and behaviour. The Bible compares the original state of our world with it’s current state in these terms - “You made him (Adam, the first man) for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honour, putting everything in subjection under his feet…..at present we do not see yet everything in subjection to him….but we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour that he by the grace of God should taste death for everyone”.

Life and it’s beauty do not last for ever; in fact things normally degenerate. God in the Bible offers to reverse the trend of deterioration in our lives by giving ‘beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness’. This offer is because of and through trust in His Son, Jesus Christ.

C S Lewis, the famous English author, spent many years of his life as a confirmed atheist. When he was 30 he became convinced that God was a reality. Two years later on the 1st October 1931 he wrote to his friend Arthur, “I have just passed on from believing in God to definitely believing in Christ – in Christianity. The great story really is true. God really sent his Son. He really died for our sins. We really can have forgiveness and eternal life in the presence of the One to whom all the Joy was pointing”1.

“Tolle, quæso, tempus ad meditandum”

1. The collected writings of C. S. Lewis, Vol. 1, Family Letters 1905-1931, ed Walter Hooper (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2004), p 974

For more links, podcasts, videos or blogs visit www.seekthetruth.org.uk

Fact or Fiction

Every year about 10 million people visit the Snowdonia National Park in North Wales. Some climb one or more of the 90 mountain peaks, and many climb or walk up Mount Snowdon itself, whose peak is the highest point in England and Wales at 1,085m (3,560 feet). However, many visitors just enjoy a leisurely stroll in the beautiful surroundings. One place many visitors end up in is the village of Beddgelert. Here they probably walk from the middle of the village to see the grave of the brave dog called Gelert. Reading the inscription at the grave they find the sad story of the dog that bravely killed a wolf attacking the baby of Llywelyn the Great (1172 –1240), the local prince. However, when the prince returned home, he found the baby missing, and thought that the dog – now with a blood-stained mouth - had killed the baby: he quickly drew his sword and killed the dog. Of course he eventually found the baby safe and well, and also discovered the dead body of the wolf. He buried the dog with great ceremony.

The visitor might be stirred by the story, as were many poets who later told the story in verse, and it even moved Joseph Haydn to set the story to music. However, the fine story turns out to have no real historical basis. The burial mound was constructed in the 1790s by a local enterprising hotel manager, David Prichard, to attract tourists, and even the name of the village – Beddgelert – which could mean ‘Gelert’s grave’, was actually named after a Christian missionary in Wales in the 8th century called Celert. Further investigation shows that this kind of story is found in various forms in many countries around the world, including India and Malaysia.

On the other hand, the historical evidence for the existence of Jesus Christ is very strong, with plenty of contemporary evidence apart from the four gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Writers in the first century such as the famous Jewish historian Flavius Josephus and the Roman writer Tacitus include references to Jesus in their writings. Few serious historians today doubt that such a person lived, even if they do not believe in Him.

We have a very good summary of the life of Jesus from the apostle Peter, who is reported in the Acts of the Apostles as saying: ‘God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him. And we [apostles] are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they [the Jewish leaders] slew and hanged on a tree [i.e., a cross]: Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly; Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead’, Acts 10. 38 – 42.

Peter then also pointed out, v. 43, that: ‘To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins’. So all the Old Testament prophets predicted Jesus would come and, even very importantly, the consequence of people believing in Him is that they receive the forgiveness of their sins. 

Knowing that there was an historic person called Jesus Christ is not an end in itself. Even if a person is given indisputable evidence that He existed, it doesn’t mean that that person will automatically believe in Him. However, none of us can say that Jesus has nothing to do with us, for the Bible says that ‘the man Christ Jesus . . . gave himself a ransom for all’, 1 Tim. 2. 5 & 6. 

There is hymn verse that sums it all up very well:

He died that we might be forgiven,

He died to make us good,

That we might go at last to heaven,

Saved by his precious blood.

Written by a Guest Blogger for Seek the Truth Bible Media. For more blogs, podcast, videos etc visit www.seekthetruth.org.uk