Impressions

First impressions are not always wrong. Over my long-ish life, I have discovered that first impressions are usually confirmed as correct as time passes. What starts as a feeling, or thought, almost always turns into a certainty. But we do not, and should not, act on any first impressions because on occasion they can be wrong, and we do not have confirmation either way, well at least not quite yet. More time is needed for that.




I’m not saying this requires the gift of discernment. Perhaps you have been gifted in this, but experiences over the years may also have resulted in us recognising characteristics which draw people together, or maybe make us think ‘caution’, or ‘beware’. Don’t misunderstand me, I am certainly not advocating making an enemy, after all, we are told that a mark of a true disciple is Godly love for all, including our faith brothers and sisters.




Perhaps I need to be corrected, but I have found that we can almost immediately and naturally be attracted to a person and really get along with them. However, there are other times when I will love my brothers and sisters, but wouldn’t usually choose to have a coffee together. On a personal level, I do not like confrontation, so the ability to ‘love but not necessarily like’ a very few of my friends may work for me, and all the while does not affect my Christian walk. Question: Am I on my own, or is this your experience too?

Nearly

Having been around churches of various denominations throughout my life, I can usually recognise the differences, and even appreciate the things that separate us in theology and practice. I’m not going to argue that we have more in common, than that which separates us, but make another observation which has been growing in my mind over the recent past.

The one thing we all share, is the life changing gospel of Jesus Christ. Or it should be a
common thread running through all evangelicals to some degree.

It concerns me that we are becoming ever better at talking about what the gospel is,
than we are at preaching it. We have become clever and intelligent as we learn more
about Bible times, and how the early disciples changed the world. Armed with this great
knowledge, why do we not preach the gospel instead of talking about it? I see a real
and fundamental difference, and in this case ‘nearly’ is not good enough for all and
any of the mainstream church denomination family.

I well remember the induction service of a new pastor, and an old saintly pastor,
close to retirement after many good years in the pulpit say to the new minister, “The
pulpit is not here to have a conversation with your congregation, it is here to preach
the Gospel”. The words were spoken many years ago, are true today, and nearly
is still not good enough.

Blogger's Block

You have heard of writers who get writer’s block, well its distant cousin is Blogger’s Block. There is little known about what causes it, but apparently it can be a small thing. I don’t know how you deal with the things on your mind, for my part I tend to write it down. I suppose that makes me a blogger of sorts. Not so much to get a response, but as a kind of therapy to face the issues that mean something to me.

I usually end up writing about matters of faith, because that is the subject that means
the most to me, and in a normal week about 2 or 3 blogs will be written and possibly
published on a couple of systems. Responses are good for the most part, and even those
who would not claim to be of the same church or faith group will be positive in their
comments. So, what has happened during this month’s dry spell?

When something rocks the foundation of your belief system, it drags you down, and in
dragging you down you stop doing those normal routine things. The bottom line is that
you don’t see a way to work through your ‘problem’, and so the Blogger’s Block happens.
Fortunately this doesn’t happen often, and my solution is to give it enough time to
percolate through my subconscious and convince myself the thing I worried about
was never really a problem in the first place. Was it? Or is it still there?

Festive Cheer?

It’s that time of year again, so take a deep breath and get right in among it! There’s the gift of giving, scented candles, decorated trees inside and outside the house, the laughter of children, the mystery associated with Santa, a table set for a lavish family dinner and prepared so well by a wife or mum, carol singers, Christmas jumpers, the church services, and the list could go on. These are just some of the things that bring happiness for so many, both young and old.

Looking at the day from another angle, these are exactly the same things that bring sadness to the hearts of many in our nation. For some, the season has lost some of its magic and sentiment. It was lost with the loss of a loved one. Perhaps a parent, spouse, sibling, or a favourite aunt or uncle. Those things that once brought a smile, now bring a tear.

However, for the believer, this has little to do with the list of activities mentioned before. Behind all of the glitter lies the baby Jesus who really is the reason for the season, no matter what the commercial world tells us. Because of that, and only that, the believer can lift their face to the heavens and say, “thank you Jesus” for being the baby in the manger who became our Saviour on the cross. From the Christmas story to the resurrection. Whether we show a smile, or shed a tear during this Holy season, we each recognise the value of the baby on that very special day.

The Calm

It’s the calm before the storm we say, and we know it is true both in weather, and our own lives. In recent days there have been some devastating hurricanes which caused widespread devastation across the Caribbean and into some southern US States. Sadly lives have been lost, and equally sad is the fact that these storms will happen again!

When the hurricane is approaching, warnings are given and homeowners start to make preparations by shuttering windows, and stocking up on essential provisions. With today’s advanced forecasting, these storms seldom catch us by surprise. We can react to the approaching hurricane, as we batten down the hatches! Then we tough it out as best we can in the hope that we have prepared well enough. Then a strange thing happens, right in the middle of the hurricane comes the uncanny calm. It seems out of place because we know we are in the ‘eye’ of the storm and it will start again. We have taken the necessary precautions, but this window of calm perhaps allows us to think about our mortality, and the people who are important to us, and trust they are safe. In essence, we get time to calculate how bad the storm has been, and are warned that it will be repeated.

Our hurricanes in life are like that. We usually know when they are coming. There are warning signs, and the wise will take the steps they know will be necessary to ride it out. Our storms will be hurricanes of financial distress, illness, family health, or death of a loved one. I would also suggest it can be the worry of the state of the church, or the strength of our own faith. Sometimes we have to just sit tight and ride out the storm, and then the eerie calm of the ‘eye’ comes. This is the time to hunker down and pray for the things we have no control over, and leave in God’s hands. Sometimes this is exactly the time to re-evaluate the strength of our faith, or our church. These things are in our hands, and we can usually do something in addition to pray.

When the calm of the ‘eye’ has passed, we know what will be coming. It already took its effect on us and will do so again. However, this time we can determine to change something that’s in our control that we didn’t take care of when the storm first hit. It may be time to take our faith deeper and to put some of those fears we carry, behind us where they belong. We may know the storm is coming, but we don’t always understand how it will affect us. That is the very time to use the period of calm. If we don’t, we will be no stronger when the next hurricane hits us, and let’s be honest, nothing is surer. Indeed, the eye of the storm can be a real Godsend.

In Common

A new command I give you: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. John 13:34 NIV

And all who believed were together and had all things in common. Acts 2:44 ESV

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 2 Corinthians 1:3,4

Jesus gave the commandment to His disciples, and yes it is a command, but how did the early church do this? How did they put Jesus’ words into practice? Come to think of it, the commandment applies to us too, so how do we manage to cope?

I am familiar with the sharing of food, goods, money, trades, and all the practical things which make life easier as you become an integral part of a shared community, but is that as far as it goes? I don’t think so. People have other needs which are not as easily seen, like feelings, emotions, and anxieties, so I would suggest that Jesus meant us to ‘be there’ for our friends in Christian love. If that means sharing food and work, that is good, but we miss something when we don’t recognise that we also share in each other’s lives in full. If one of our group is absent for a week or two, do we notice? Perhaps we conveniently assume they are on holiday, or away for the weekend. I would suggest that we should care enough to check if they are ill, or going through a tough time before we make any other assumptions. Why should we do this? Because the Word of God says: so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 2 Corinthians 1:3,4. I suggest that is reason enough.

Take a Knee

If you haven’t heard the phrase ‘Take a Knee’ then you have been asleep, or in a TV News-free Zone. It’s everywhere. The protest is against alleged unfair USA police brutality aimed at the black community. These allegations have been around for a long time, and it’s not for me to pass any opinion on whether there is any truth in them or not.

For now, all I see are black millionaire NFL sportsmen protesting with their brothers in solidarity. But they are a million miles from the poverty which is claimed to be at the root of the problem. It’s like poking the bear, because President Trump then weighs in and takes centre stage (where he likes to be), calls the protesters an unholy name, and shouts that they should be fired. I get the impression he thinks he is still on the set of the Apprentice, passing his own style of TV justice on the unsuspecting victim of his wrath. As another rich but white millionaire, he is also far away from the reality of the poverty experienced by the youth of his country, both black and white.

So, the protesters ‘take a knee’ instead of standing during their country’s national anthem. Let me get this right. You make that protest against the nation that you are so unhappy with. The nation that has made you millionaires. The nation that has given you celebrity status, wouldn’t it be best to show that you mean what you say by finding another place to live? Another country where there is no  segregation, or discrimination, or apparent, alleged unfair police treatment against your brothers? Ah, but there’s the rub. That would mean turning your back on the source of your wealth and  status. My guess is that the NFL players would not want to go that far. They know which side their bread is buttered, and anyway such a nation does not exist.

I hate to be so obvious and transparent, but there is only one person who is fair in all deliberations, and He is the only one that is worthy to take a knee for. Take that in two ways. We can use one or both knees in prayer because God is a sound judge, and you can also ‘take a knee’ when the final curtain of life is drawn, either of our life here, or the end of the world as we know it. The wisdom of the old prophet said it long before it was obvious to anyone else. His peers probably thought he was crazy, but the prophecy in the Old Testament is clear:

By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: ‘To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.’

Isaiah 45:23 ESV

By the way, the knees that will bow will include those millionaire NFL Sportsmen, both black and white, plus Kings and Presidents across the globe. Humbling isn’t it?

Now What?

Then Jesus said, ‘Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.’ Mark 4:9 NIV

Imagine you are in a discussion and the argument is going back and forth with no progress. Out of the blue your friend says something to stop the conversation in its tracks. You hear your friend say, “Now that I have your attention….” and proceeds to finish his sentence. Normally, the discussion is over at this point because instead of thinking what to say next while your friend is still speaking, he has your full attention. You are no longer speaking over him/her.

On more than one occasion, Jesus used the expression: ‘Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.’ He is saying, now that I have your attention, stop your arguing and listen. Right then, all that is left for us to say is “now what?” because we recognise that Jesus, and only Jesus, has the answer we need to the questions we face.

What is it that has your attention, while Jesus is trying to get through to you? Money worries? Family troubles? Marriage problems? Health? Pain? Sometimes God can use times like these to catch our heart’s attention. We need to use our ears because Jesus knows we don’t always hear properly (if at all). We all know of times when God has only been able to really get through to us, and get our attention, when we are in a place where we can’t try anything else. There is only one person to go to, and that is our loving God.

It is so much better to listen up in the first place, than wait until problems and pain are the only way for God to get our attention. We can almost hear Jesus say to us, “Now that I have your attention”, and the only response we can make is surely, “Now what Lord”?

Berean?

As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. Acts 17:10,11 NIV

I’m one of those annoying people who treats their faith as important. It is important on a surface level as I sit in a pew, sing the songs, pray, and soak in the sermon which has been prepared by a Godly pastor. But it’s more than that. If I am going to believe in the Gospel that my church teaches, and that it is truth, then for me it is important enough to know why I believe it. So, the theology behind the doctrine is important too because it must be in harmony with the Bible.

The result in my case is that I will look into the beliefs closely, and check them against Scripture and only then what other commentators say. The reason is simple. When we do anything else in this life, or buy into any secular scheme, we do it with much care. This is more important than choosing my next car, so it must be even more important that I get my theology right.

So far, so good, but there can be a problem that comes with the quest. While chasing up, and checking out the truth of doctrine, I find myself asking other pastors and leaders whom I respect, what they think, and more importantly, believe. This can come across as questioning their own faith, and that is far from the truth. I am not in college or university, so I don’t sit at the seat of learning to sharpen my faith. I have to do that part by bouncing my thoughts off other human beings, and I try to choose carefully. Unfortunately, I have found to my horror that I have unwittingly offended as I chase the importance of my church’s theology.

After all, each church has its own take on interpretation, so do I just stick a pin in a sheet of names and go there? Do I blindly accept the doctrine of the church I attend, or do I find out why? Eternity is real, so my thinking is that the articles of faith I accept are important. I trust I will be like the Bereans and examine the Scriptures first and foremost.

Question: How do you and I confirm the beliefs that are important to us and our church?

Dilemma

The definition of ‘dilemma’: “a situation in which a difficult choice has to be made between two or more alternatives, especially ones that are equally undesirable.”

Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people said nothing.

1 Kings 18:21 NIV

The thing that jumps out of the page at me is the fact that the people said nothing. Can you believe it? They didn’t make a decision either way, and in today’s language they sat on the fence. I may be taking this verse out of some context, but allow me some slack here.

The easiest thing to do when faced with a difficult choice is nothing. That is especially true when either choice is not a good one, or pleasant. Why not bury our face in our hands, close our eyes, and hope it goes away? But it doesn’t, and in fact it never does. Note that Elijah says, “how long”, telling us that ultimately a choice is necessary.

How I recognise this truth. Stuck between two thoughts, beliefs, or opinions and staying quiet, in the forlorn hope that the situation wasn’t there. But it is, and eventually I need to make a decision. No matter which way I choose, there will be disappointment and possibly hurt feelings, if not mine then someone else’s.

I have argued with myself for too long. How I wish I had someone to talk to. It’s time to decide and live with the consequences. I know understanding will be in short supply, and criticism will follow, even from friends. But what is more important? Saying nothing and continue to stew, or take a stand for conscience and getting rid of this burden?

Pecking Order

You are young, but don’t let anyone treat you as if you are not important. Be an example to show the believers how they should live. Show them by what you say, by the way you live, by your love, by your faith, and by your pure life. 1 Timothy 4:12

Life has a pecking order in many things, and we have to submit to it. Or do we? Society is making us think twice about the natural order of things, especially in the subject of equality. Apparently we are all equal, and the Bible supports this in the words of Galatians 3:28: “Now, in Christ, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Greek, a slave or free, male or female. You are all the same in Christ Jesus.”

One of the pecking orders we don’t get right sometimes, especially in the Church, is the value of our youth. Paul reminds us that we should not treat them as unimportant. In fact, they are to be an example! Hold it Paul, what about us grey haired, mature folks who have seen a bit of life?  We know better, and we should be respected and honoured, after all, if it were not for us, those youngsters would not have a church to go to. We sacrificed to get it here for them. We paid the pastor’s salary when they were in nappies. We should be recognised as the important ones! I ask you, how does that sound? Sounds proud and even arrogant to me, and Paul, inspired by God, must have known this. And yet he tells us that these same young people are to be our examples.

The reason may be that they have not had time to be tainted by the sins of jealousy, envy, pride, or arrogance. They may just be in a better place to be examples than those older, mature Christians who think they know it all. Jesus tells us to be like little children, and Paul says that our youth are important enough to be our examples, yes even to the older, wrinklies in the fellowship. (Note to self: Respect the example of the Godly youth in the church!)

Time Slots

I have found myself asking this question recently: Is a series of 20 minute get togethers enough to be able to know someone? It may even be the same 20 minute setting every week, but if it’s online, and because of the way we ‘feel’ about the video or podcast, are we really that much closer to what that person is like during the other 23+ hours of the day?

When you were young, and maybe you still are, you deliberately took as much time as possible, over a long period, to get to know the love of your life. If you relied on the same 20 minutes, once a week, at the same time, do you think that would give you enough information to decide if you wanted to marry, and spend the rest of your life together? Not to mention commit yourself to all the financial and emotional needs?

The internet is a minefield, and I’m sure you already know that. But how seriously do we take some things that are said there, especially when they are said with some authority and conviction? I have learned recently, that a short 20 minute sermon is not enough to form a correct and accurate opinion of someone, and even more so if that time is pulled down from an untrusted website.

Like it or not, we can all crave a Godly figurehead that we can respect and look up to. We want to believe them when they preach, but does that short window give us enough time to throw our lot in with them, perhaps calling them our ‘example’, ‘mentor’, ‘teacher’, or even ‘Pastor’? There are many self proclaimed Bible preachers on TV and the internet who command a large following, and for many it’s all down to the 20 minute sermons they preach.

Some followers don’t even live in the same country as their leaders. So, when your life is falling apart and you need a counsellor, can you ask them to drop in and pray? If a loved one is at death’s door, who will be there with you to comfort? If you want your baby to be dedicated, will your distant ‘Pastor’ perform that sacrament for you? Marry you? Bury you? Who do you fellowship with, and who do you give your tithe and offering to? And the list goes on.  

It concerns me greatly that some very well educated, clever Christians are sucked into the ‘online church’ because it tickles their ears with what they want to hear, at least for 20 minutes a time. Is that really what is intended in Hebrews 10:24-25 by “ And let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”?

Legalism?

I didn’t realise it at the time, but apparently I am branded as a legalist (usually spoken with a hiss!) because I grew up in an apparently legalistic church. It was my church. The place where I found my faith and I saw obedience to the law of Scripture as a benefit to my Spiritual welfare, and a good thing for growth. I learned the importance of salvation, the reality of hell, and the assurance of heaven. I also learned the difference between good and evil, right and wrong. If it was seen by some as being legalistic, I didn’t, and was ok with it, and even appreciated and embraced it for what it was.

The Ten Commandments are a legalistic list and we are ok with that. The New Testament also has its share of things taught by Jesus and the apostles which are clearly right and wrong, good and evil. These can all be viewed as faith’s requirements, after all when we come to Jesus just as we are, our Saviour in His wisdom does not leave us in that same sinful condition. We are changed from the inside, and that affects our whole life. Some of those changes could be considered by some as legalistic, but I see them as good, to be desired, and perhaps even natural.

Nowadays, any form of legalism in church is frowned upon, and actively discouraged as being old fashioned and plain wrong. As a result, there is a generation of church folks, who rest on grace to the extent that it can give a green light to a behaviour which is less than Godly, and verging on immoral. We don’t like anyone telling us what to do I suppose. After all, we are not under law (the rules) but under grace (above the law) we argue. Perhaps we need to take a closer look at the verses which could be used to soften our attitude to sin or immorality even at some small level. To put it another way, if our nation didn’t have laws and rules, we would have anarchy and be out of control. We need rules, laws, and yes some legalism in our churches too, or we get out of control. Can I suggest one of the reasons the Church is in decline today is that we want to decide for ourselves the laws of God we want to actively obey? Then the laws of Scripture take a poor second place.

I suggest there are two camps in the legalism debate. Either you believe that in order to be saved you must FIRST obey the rules. Or in response to God’s saving grace you THEN become happy to obey and fall into step with God’s will, rules and laws. The answer to that question says a lot about the kind of Christian you are, and the opinions you form of others. Which camp do you fall into? Or to ask it another way, which camp do others think YOU fall into?? Paul saw this problem in the early church, and addressed it head on:

Sin will not be your master, because you are not under law. You now live under God’s grace. So what should we do? Should we sin because we are under grace and not under law? Certainly not! Romans 6:14,15

The Coin

Every coin has two sides, and Jesus recognised this when he taught his disciples the full message of His Father’s love and judgement. Each is a side of the same coin, and just as no coin has only one side, love and judgement go together and are needed to complete the whole truth.

In the past, some evangelical preachers were seen solely as ‘hell fire’ messengers as if that was the only message of the gospel. I think we have moved on from that, but perhaps we have replaced it with something just as incomplete. The message that Jesus loves everyone, irrespective of their actions, and if we just love the sinner fully and completely, that will be enough to see them enter the gates of heaven. I think we need to be careful that we don’t preach or teach a ‘one sided’ Gospel.

Scripture is full of warnings to sinners of remaining in their sins, and not turning from their sinful ways. The words are old fashioned, but they remain necessary. Words and phrases like, ‘confession of sin’, ‘repentance’, ‘born again’, and ‘saved’. Again, we need to be careful to preach and speak the whole counsel of God.

Teaching the message of love, without pointing out the consequences and dangers of remaining in sin, is incomplete, and only part of the full Gospel of Jesus Christ. God accepts us in His love just as we are, warts and all, but that same love doesn’t allow Him to leave us the way he found us! Now that is amazing grace. Paul puts it this way:

Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace. Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. Romans 6:14-16 NLT

The Untarnished Gospel

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. Romans 1:16

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit. Ephesians 1:13

Possibly like you, I have sat under many sermons and from many differing churches and pastors. Sometimes I did not recognise the gospel that brought me to Christ. I believe we can be guilty of making the gospel something it is not. At the risk of offending or saying something out of turn, let me share with you some of the things that the gospel is NOT.

The gospel is NOT:

A talk on history. Not even middle east history.

A lecture on Sociology.

A discourse on Psychology

A comparison of religion to science

… If I needed any of these improvements to my education, I would go back to University or Night Classes. My own thought is that these things can be used to show how clever or knowledgeable the preacher is. They do not have anything to do with the gospel, the grace of God or our salvation.

When will we get back to basics and preach the whole gospel in our various churches? Our wise God gave us all that we need to know, through His Word, and the advice to young pastor Timothy when he encouraged him, and us, to:

Preach the Word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favourable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching. 2 Timothy 4:2

What If...

Have you suffered from ‘what if’ syndrome? I have, and it can get you down when you second guess each decision you made down through the years. The big things like, what if I….did better at school?.....learned that musical instrument?....picked different friends?....listened to my parents more?....married a different person?.... took that better paid job?....saved more instead of spending so much?... The list is endless, and will get us down because all these things are in the past and we can do nothing about them now.

Now, take a step back, and look at life from where you are. Life really isn’t so bad is it? Yes, there have been bad times, but these are far outnumbered by the good times. How did I get such a loving spouse, who put up with all my issues down the years? How did it work out that I have lovely children, and terrific grandchildren? The job I had paid well enough to allow us to go away on a family holiday most years. I have friends that I wouldn’t trade for anything. I found my Saviour, or to be more accurate, He found me! Things are really pretty good.

So, instead of mulling over all those ‘what ifs’ down the years, count all those blessings that came your way in spite of the apparently wrong decisions. When you have finished counting them, count again and and give thanks. Every time we made a decision in the past (and those still to come) God was right there beside us, and He knew where it would lead. I don’t want it to come across irreverently, but I can imagine Jesus looking on and smiling at our feeble attempts at life and decision making, and saying “don’t worry, I’ve got this”. The Word of God reminds us in Romans 8:28 “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” NLT. Next time you are tempted to go down the old ‘what if’ road, hold that verse close. When we are in God’s family, we are blessed beyond measure, and in spite of our own failings as we may see them at the time. After all, He was at least one step ahead of us every time, and still is!

Normalised!

I am noticing more and more that things once held as ‘wrong’ are seen as ‘right’ and the other way around. I also frequently hear the words “who has the right to tell me what is good and bad anyway”? It’s a fact that if you keep on doing (wrong) things for long enough, you get used to it. In fact it becomes normal and accepted not only by individuals, but also by the community and eventually society.

The liberal thinkers will call it progress, but cast your mind back some 20-30 years and ask yourself, have all these liberal changes been good for our youth or have we passed them a poisoned chalice? Whether from local or national government, we have relaxed our views on many things we once felt ‘wrong’ and immoral. It’s not difficult to list some and you could add more:

>Ease of gender abortion.

>Making a district a ‘safe place’ for prostitution.

>Providing clean drug rooms where addicts can inject and ‘stay safe from infection’.

>Movie and TV censorship is now almost non existent, and sex and violence is rampant.

>Unrestricted access to pornography on the unregulated internet.

>Promotion of ‘alternative gender lifestyles’ to appear inclusive, and not cause offence.

>Calls for the decriminalisation of drugs.

>There is no absolute truth. Everything is relative. What is right for you, is not right for me.

I think there is a direct link between the fact that the gospel is no longer preached in many of our churches, and has now been replaced by a feelgood, social psychology message without the need for repentance. Small wonder church attendance is falling. The primary  reason for the church’s existence is no longer known, taught or preached, so why attend? If ever a Holy Ghost revival is needed, it is now!   

Woe, judgment is coming to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Isaiah 5:20 AMP

Hacked and Scammed?

Be careful—watch out for attacks from Satan, your great enemy. He prowls around like a hungry, roaring lion, looking for some victim to tear apart. 1 Peter 5:8 TLB

We take great care that no one hacks into our computers, intending to scam us into doing something that usually costs us money, we don’t really want to do. But sometimes we fall for it, and the least savvy are always the target of these immoral people who have no scruples. We have all seen the reports of those who have been ‘reeled in’ and played like a big trout until money changes hands, and sometimes that’s a LOT of money! Perhaps we know someone who has fallen prey. We feel sorry for the ones who have been hacked and scammed, and have nothing but contempt for those who perpetrate these hateful deeds. Will they ever be caught? Probably not in this life.

That brings me onto my real point. When it comes to the faith filled life of Christianity, there are folks looking on who see our actions, and they don’t want to be hacked and scammed into a ‘religion’ that bears little resemblance to the Jesus in the Bible. They don’t want to fall for the trick of a shallow or false faith when there are bells ringing and lights flashing in their brains. Is the message true? More to the point is the question, is the messenger true? The devil’s scheme works well and the average person does nothing. They stay where they are because they don’t trust the messenger to provide the true message, and they don’t want to be hacked and scammed into a false gospel. Result? The devil wins because he is the one who sows those seeds of doubt and disbelief, and we fall for it!

When we fall for a scam in this life, the most we lose is some money and our reputation. This will pass, and we will be wiser for next time. However, when we fall for the devil’s scam, we lose eternal life in heaven, and get to spend that eternity with the devil and all his scheming demons in hell. What a waste! The moral of this little story? Live a life given over to the Jesus of the Bible, and live your faith so that others looking on will not be hacked and scammed by the father of lies, the devil. There is literally everything to lose!

Peace

It has been more than 100 years since the outbreak of WW1 which was touted as “The war to end all wars”. The commemorations are sobering and a reminder of the futility of war. The first day of the war saw a death rate of 450,000 in slimy mud which bogged down the living and engulfed the dead. Here we are 100 years later and North Korea is launching long range Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles with the capability of reaching the whole USA. Their next step is the addition of a nuclear warhead. All this time has passed, and we have not progressed. A wise man once said, “The one thing we learn from history, is that we don’t learn from history”. How true.

Our little planet earth has never been free of fighting and war since Cain and Abel fought out their differences in Genesis, and it has been going on ever since. The Bible is right up to date on this, and many other subjects, when it records these words in Jeremiah 6:14:

They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace. Has anything changed?

Our peace is founded on the person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Messiah who assures us in John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” As the nations of the world goad each other for supremacy, we have the assurance of that peace which can only come from God. Jesus also said in John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” I don’t know about you, but that gives me real peace and great comfort.

The TOP

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. Matthew 6:33

I think I have been reading this verse wrong for a long time. Jesus isn’t saying we need to stop sinning and find the Kingdom of God, although that is also true. He is saying this to those who already have followed Jesus up the mountain. They want more of His words of wisdom. They have followed Him, and are already convinced, and now their Messiah is coaching them on the sermon on the mount to greater truth.

Most, if not all who read this, are doing their best to live righteously as this verse commands, so we are part way there. In among all of our right living, we are also seeking the Kingdom of God. That becomes one of our many goals. But Jesus says we must put our seeking of His Kingdom FIRST. Not one of a list of ‘to dos’ but right at the top of every Christian’s “Things to Do”.

Only when we do that, Jesus says: He will give you/me everything we need. How good is that? So will we start today to “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else”? We have nothing to lose, and everything to gain. What a great thought.

Disown?

We do it on Facebook when we decide that someone posts things which are offensive, inappropriate, or racist, and we think nothing of it. We do it in life with some folks we come into contact with who might be opposite from ourself in so many ways and you get irritated and annoyed when you are in their company. Churches do it, by excommunicating or excluding those who do not uphold that church’s beliefs, and who go directly against doctrine. They might be called heretics. These are all examples we could live with, and we may have done one of these ourselves. Social media comes to the rescue, and makes it so easy to ‘unfollow’, ‘unfriend’ or ‘block’ that annoying person.

Does this mean we are free to disown anyone we take a dislike to, or one who goes against the things we like, accept, believe, or uphold? Disowning someone publicly has serious consequences, especially if we claim the name of ‘Christ’-ian. In life, there are lots of people who don’t agree with us in everything, and likewise there are those we don’t much like ourselves. Is it enough to disown someone purely because we don’t like their lifestyle? I don’t think so. We might decide never to holiday with them, but disown them? No.

What message are we giving to the people we would disown? Maybe it’s that they don’t live up to my or your standard? Is it because they are inferior? Could it be that we forget how we behaved when we were immature, and the behaviour we now detest, we once did ourselves? Am I getting uncomfortably close to the truth? If we really want to claim the name ‘Christ’-ian we need to believe His word and behave like He tells us. After all…..

God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8

'D' for Different

The trouble began with an unhappy church attender. Let’s face it, which of us has always been happy with our church? It can be the pastor, the singing, the choice of songs, the things seen as important, or even as simple as the people who share that same space once a week. We are a motley crew, and hard to please at times.

This particular church member wasn’t just unhappy with the peripherals in his place of worship. He really loved his church, but didn’t like everything that went on in it, from the leader up. But what to do? Being a good and righteous man, he researched and studied, watched, listened and learned from others around him, both the good and the bad. But on top of everything, he read his Bible from cover to cover because he believed it to be the ’Word of God’ and if truth was anywhere, it would be there. He showed some wisdom because it was a good place to start, but not everyone thought the same. It got him into trouble with the church leaders.

It came down to two things, Bible interpretation, and church practice. You know how that goes. We’ve always done it this way, so why change now? It has served us well until now. We know it’s ok to complain between friends who may agree, but when you take your worries to the top of the church organisation, that’s when it can get difficult, and it did. They were not prepared to listen and instead dug their heels in and remain unchanged to this day.

This man was certainly ‘D’ for Different but the letter ‘D’ is also the Roman numeral for 500, and it has been 500 years since this not so young church leader literally nailed his colours to the mast by fixing his 95 differences he saw with the corruption of indulgences within the church he loved. The result was that his actions echoed around Europe and the World, slowly but surely forming an unstoppable movement which protested against the wrongs of the the church of his day. It had moved so far from the original teachings of Christ, it could no longer could be called ‘Christian’. To this day, adherents will refer to themselves as ‘Catholic’ and not as ‘Christian’.

My hope and prayer is that the reformed church of today never strays so far from the teachings of Scripture that it takes another Martin Luther to help us change course again. As a renowned theologian, he paid the price of excommunication from the church he wanted to help. We need never be complacent in our core belief that The Bible is the very Word of God, and we must to read it constantly, and live by its teachings. History is clear, and should not be repeated.

Hidden Heart

Have you watched the TV adverts which show how to be better, bigger, lovelier, softer, stronger, happier, etc etc…? They all have one thing in common. To be liked and loved, you need to change, and we are here to take your money and help you. So we are sold an image of a bodybuilder, a youthful looking 70 year old, happy, smiling holiday times, contented spouses, and again the list could go on. Each one depends on a change to the outer you. That part which others see. The superficial. So, does a change to the outside make a corresponding change on the inside? I fear not! Are we so stupid? Apparently we are, because the sales of these products increase every year.

The world is good, and getting better at convincing us that the answer to all our problems is a pill, potion, lotion, some makeup, or a work out. Surely we are not that gullible? Can we not see through the commercial sham? On the other hand, what if the change came from the inside? Would that make a corresponding difference to our outward appearance at no cost? Absolutely yes, and with 100% certainty! Ask yourself, who would I want to  spend the rest of my life with, a good looker or a good heart? Case closed. Once again, the Bible is not silent.

For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. Proverbs 23:7

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of … all uncleanness. Matthew 23:27

Prayer

As a Christian community of believers, we all agree that prayer is important, and in fact, essential for growth. I can see this importance in two ways.

Firstly, it is our duty and responsibility to pray and intercede for everyone and anyone who asks for prayer, and even for those who do not know we are taking their name before the throne of God. These petitions can range from health, finance, salvation, Christian growth, to fruit of the Spirit and others. We don’t always know the impact our prayers have on others, and there are times we can doubt their worth, especially when we don’t see results. We are even prone to ask, “what good is it doing”?

But look at it from the other side. The side of the person who doesn’t go to church often, and may not know how to pray, but who equally knows that they want and need the prayer support of those who do! They know they need prayer, and they believe it works, and there is no reason for them to think otherwise. What do they have to lose? So I ask you, who knows the importance of prayer better, the pray-er or the person on the receiving end of your petitions?

When we see prayer from these two sides, we have no reason to think or believe our stumbling prayers are not important. They are supremely important, and in the hearts of those who know full well that they need them, these prayers are essential. Prayer makes a difference to circumstances, but perhaps more importantly, prayer changes us! The moral? Keep on praying, even if you don’t see any results! After all, the Bible says:

The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. James 5:16 NIV

Myopic

Jesus said to him, “Do you believe this just because I said I saw you under the fig tree? You will see much greater things than that!” John 1:50 ERV

We can’t always see the big picture, and so we settle for a small vision. We are short sighted, and Jesus’ words tell a story that applies to us today too. Jesus was calling Nathaniel to follow Him, and it appears from the text that Nathaniel believed because Jesus saw him under a fig tree from far away. That was enough to settle it for this disciple, but Jesus’ promise to Nathaniel that he “will see much greater things than that” is one for us to grasp too.

When we strain to see things too closely, we lose the ability to pull back and therefore lose context. Guilty? I think we all are at times. We become content in our little shells, going to church, singing the songs, praying and can miss the significance of our salvation through grace. We are greater than the sum of our parts.

It’s not the going to church, singing, or praying that saves us. These things are just the outflowing of a full heart of thankful worship for eternal life. While we journey through this life, we have fulness of joy. We may not always be happy because tough times hit us just like other people, but joy is different. In fact we are reminded that it is our strength to get us through the hard times when it can be difficult to smile.

And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10 ESV