Today's hard times necessitate trusting God.
No matter what, with absolutely no exceptions.
It may be disastrous not to.
Whatever happens, refuse to fear, don't panic, but first seek God's counsel. If it is unclear at the time, seek the counsel of proven Christian people. God can speak through them, too.
No matter what is going on, remember what Jesus said. “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.” (Luke 18:27)
Ask God for help by praying. But remember that God never promised to shield you from difficulties. He only promises to be with you.
Being angry and blaming God won’t help you to get through the valley. Asking him to be with you can help you endure far more than you’d ever be able to on your own. You may wonder how to pray. Just speak, trusting God will hear you. Pray for his comfort and strength, rather than praying that he’d simply remove difficulties. You will grow in faith and courage if you pray this way.
And remember...
Adopt an eternal perspective.
God promises to make all of us well, if we only believe. But he doesn’t promise that will happen right now, in this life on earth. Some prayers get answered in heaven. We will be able to trust God when we focus on the fact that this life (and its struggles and pain) is temporary, but heaven is eternal. Amen.
Wednesday, 11 December 2013
Friday, 15 November 2013
Jesus is God
Jesus is God. If you have not accepted this yet then you need to look at what the Bible says about this absolute fact.
False religions such as Islam and cults like Jehovah’s Witnesses relegate Jesus to a mere created being. Not the creator. Let's not beat around the bush here, they are utterly wrong. Jesus was fully man and fully God. He created all things, He (the Word) was there in the beginning with God the Father. Jesus is the Alpha and Omega.
The Bible has numerous verses that prove this beyond any doubt.
First, let's look at Jesus’ words in John 10:30, “I and the Father are one.”
At first glance, this might not seem to be a claim to be God. However, look at the Jews’ reaction to His statement, “‘We are not stoning you for any of these,’ replied the Jews, ‘but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God’” (John 10:33). The Jews understood Jesus’ statement as a claim to be God.
In the following verses, Jesus never corrects the Jews by saying, “I did not claim to be God.” That indicates Jesus was truly saying He was God by declaring, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30).
John 8:58 is another example: “‘I tell you the truth,’ Jesus answered, ‘before Abraham was born, I Am!’” Again, in response, the Jews took up stones in an attempt to stone Jesus (John 8:59). Jesus’ announcing His identity as “I Am” is a direct application of the Old Testament name for God (Exodus 3:14). Why would the Jews again want to stone Jesus if He had not said something they believed to be blasphemous, namely, a claim to be God?
Why is the question over Jesus’ true identity so important?
Why does it matter whether or not Jesus is God?
The most important reason that Jesus has to be God is that if He is not God, His death would not have been sufficient to pay the penalty for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2).
Only God could pay such an infinite penalty (Romans 5:8; 2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus had to be God so that He could pay our debt. Jesus had to be man so He could die.
Salvation is available only through faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus’ deity is why He is the only way of salvation. Jesus’ deity is why He proclaimed, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
Jesus is God. The Bible could not be any clearer.
To deny Jesus is God is to deny God the Father. And that is the same as rejecting the only way for salvation, Jesus and His finished work on the cross.
Have you accepted that fact or not.
God offers salvation as a gift. All you have to do is accept it.
False religions such as Islam and cults like Jehovah’s Witnesses relegate Jesus to a mere created being. Not the creator. Let's not beat around the bush here, they are utterly wrong. Jesus was fully man and fully God. He created all things, He (the Word) was there in the beginning with God the Father. Jesus is the Alpha and Omega.
The Bible has numerous verses that prove this beyond any doubt.
First, let's look at Jesus’ words in John 10:30, “I and the Father are one.”
At first glance, this might not seem to be a claim to be God. However, look at the Jews’ reaction to His statement, “‘We are not stoning you for any of these,’ replied the Jews, ‘but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God’” (John 10:33). The Jews understood Jesus’ statement as a claim to be God.
In the following verses, Jesus never corrects the Jews by saying, “I did not claim to be God.” That indicates Jesus was truly saying He was God by declaring, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30).
John 8:58 is another example: “‘I tell you the truth,’ Jesus answered, ‘before Abraham was born, I Am!’” Again, in response, the Jews took up stones in an attempt to stone Jesus (John 8:59). Jesus’ announcing His identity as “I Am” is a direct application of the Old Testament name for God (Exodus 3:14). Why would the Jews again want to stone Jesus if He had not said something they believed to be blasphemous, namely, a claim to be God?
Why is the question over Jesus’ true identity so important?
Why does it matter whether or not Jesus is God?
The most important reason that Jesus has to be God is that if He is not God, His death would not have been sufficient to pay the penalty for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2).
Only God could pay such an infinite penalty (Romans 5:8; 2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus had to be God so that He could pay our debt. Jesus had to be man so He could die.
Salvation is available only through faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus’ deity is why He is the only way of salvation. Jesus’ deity is why He proclaimed, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
Jesus is God. The Bible could not be any clearer.
To deny Jesus is God is to deny God the Father. And that is the same as rejecting the only way for salvation, Jesus and His finished work on the cross.
Have you accepted that fact or not.
God offers salvation as a gift. All you have to do is accept it.
Monday, 16 September 2013
Temporal life
This life is temporal; it simply was never designed to last. For most people life on earth is a little more than threescore years and ten. In the grand scheme of things we are visible in history for only the blink of an eye then we are gone, mere dust.
James 4:14:
‘Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour that appears for a little time and then vanishes away’.
Our earthly bodies were never meant go on forever, far from it. Just as the riches and possessions of this world were also never meant to last and should not be the focal things in our lives. Riches and possessions, our bodies, even the current heavens and the earth, all of these things are merely temporal. They will not be here forever.
So what then?
Is our existence all about doom and gloom?
Is it a case of you are born you live and you die?
Should we just spend life enjoying what short time you have on this earth and cram in as much pleasure as you can because it’s all going to end one day.
Well no, that isn’t the answer at all. That isn’t what life is all about.
But sadly for a great many people the focus is on the here and now. They spend their time chasing self-gratification, making money, bigger house, better car.
Drinking, smoking and indulging in all manner of pleasures of the flesh. These people are looking in the wrong places, they are trying to find material things to make them feel complete, to fill that void.
Matthew 6:19-20:
‘Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal’.
Pursuit of the carnal is not the way, these things are not what we are about at all. God didn’t make us for any of that. We were made for better things.
It has been said that we have a God-shaped hole in our hearts. And of course only God can fill that hole and give true peace, nothing else can ever fill that emptiness.
God made us to have a relationship with Him. He wants us to turn from our innate desires, our temporary pleasures and repent and call out His name.
To ask our Heavenly Father to save us from ourselves and for us to seek out His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and realise we are lost without what was done for us at Calvary.
To confess that we need Jesus and that we will follow Him for the rest of our lives in our earthly bodies, then meet Him at last in our new bodies.
Yes God has prepared new bodies in heaven for His children.
When we rise from the dead, our bodies will be different than our earthly bodies; they will be eternal. There will be no sickness or death. We were first born in sin, which leads to sickness and death, but through Jesus, we will be raised in a glorious spiritual body that will never die.
Our earthly bodies will die, they were always meant to be temporal but through Jesus we will be raised in glorified bodies to eternal life.
1 Corinthians 15:53-54:
‘For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory’.
James 4:14:
‘Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour that appears for a little time and then vanishes away’.
Our earthly bodies were never meant go on forever, far from it. Just as the riches and possessions of this world were also never meant to last and should not be the focal things in our lives. Riches and possessions, our bodies, even the current heavens and the earth, all of these things are merely temporal. They will not be here forever.
So what then?
Is our existence all about doom and gloom?
Is it a case of you are born you live and you die?
Should we just spend life enjoying what short time you have on this earth and cram in as much pleasure as you can because it’s all going to end one day.
Well no, that isn’t the answer at all. That isn’t what life is all about.
But sadly for a great many people the focus is on the here and now. They spend their time chasing self-gratification, making money, bigger house, better car.
Drinking, smoking and indulging in all manner of pleasures of the flesh. These people are looking in the wrong places, they are trying to find material things to make them feel complete, to fill that void.
Matthew 6:19-20:
‘Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal’.
Pursuit of the carnal is not the way, these things are not what we are about at all. God didn’t make us for any of that. We were made for better things.
It has been said that we have a God-shaped hole in our hearts. And of course only God can fill that hole and give true peace, nothing else can ever fill that emptiness.
God made us to have a relationship with Him. He wants us to turn from our innate desires, our temporary pleasures and repent and call out His name.
To ask our Heavenly Father to save us from ourselves and for us to seek out His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and realise we are lost without what was done for us at Calvary.
To confess that we need Jesus and that we will follow Him for the rest of our lives in our earthly bodies, then meet Him at last in our new bodies.
Yes God has prepared new bodies in heaven for His children.
When we rise from the dead, our bodies will be different than our earthly bodies; they will be eternal. There will be no sickness or death. We were first born in sin, which leads to sickness and death, but through Jesus, we will be raised in a glorious spiritual body that will never die.
Our earthly bodies will die, they were always meant to be temporal but through Jesus we will be raised in glorified bodies to eternal life.
1 Corinthians 15:53-54:
‘For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory’.
Saturday, 7 September 2013
Christians and alcohol
For most of my adult life, before being saved, I had alcohol almost every Friday and Saturday night. Weekends spent binge drinking, indulging far more than I should have, and most often pretty drunk. Then a few years ago I gave my heart to Jesus and He changed me and took away my desire for alcohol, eventually completely. I am still tee-total, in my opinion the way it should be for a professing Christian.
Yes it is true that Jesus changed water into wine. It even seems that Jesus drank wine on occasion (John 2:1-11; Matthew 26:29). In New Testament times, the water was not very clean. Without modern sanitation, the water was often filled with bacteria, viruses, and all kinds of contaminants.
In that day, wine was fermented (containing alcohol), but certainly not to the degree it is today. It is incorrect to say that it was grape juice, but it is also incorrect to say that it was the same thing as the wine commonly used today. Again, Scripture does not forbid Christians from drinking beer, wine, or any other drink containing alcohol. Alcohol is not, in and of itself, tainted by sin. However, as Christians who love the Lord, we should definitely not have a lifestyle that glamourizes the consumption of or imagery associated with alcohol.
*** It is drunkenness and addiction to alcohol that a Christian must absolutely refrain from (Ephesians 5:18;1 Corinthians 6:12) ***
Consumption of small quantities of alcohol is a matter of Christian freedom. Drunkenness and addiction are sin.
However, due to the biblical concerns regarding alcohol and its effects, due to the easy temptation to consume alcohol in excess, and due to the possibility of causing offence and/or stumbling of others, it is often best for a Christian to abstain from drinking alcohol.
I think we need to ask ourselves what does alcohol bring to our walk with God, if the answer to that is nothing or even worse any kind of hindrance, then we should really think about casting it aside.
Yes it is true that Jesus changed water into wine. It even seems that Jesus drank wine on occasion (John 2:1-11; Matthew 26:29). In New Testament times, the water was not very clean. Without modern sanitation, the water was often filled with bacteria, viruses, and all kinds of contaminants.
In that day, wine was fermented (containing alcohol), but certainly not to the degree it is today. It is incorrect to say that it was grape juice, but it is also incorrect to say that it was the same thing as the wine commonly used today. Again, Scripture does not forbid Christians from drinking beer, wine, or any other drink containing alcohol. Alcohol is not, in and of itself, tainted by sin. However, as Christians who love the Lord, we should definitely not have a lifestyle that glamourizes the consumption of or imagery associated with alcohol.
*** It is drunkenness and addiction to alcohol that a Christian must absolutely refrain from (Ephesians 5:18;1 Corinthians 6:12) ***
Consumption of small quantities of alcohol is a matter of Christian freedom. Drunkenness and addiction are sin.
However, due to the biblical concerns regarding alcohol and its effects, due to the easy temptation to consume alcohol in excess, and due to the possibility of causing offence and/or stumbling of others, it is often best for a Christian to abstain from drinking alcohol.
I think we need to ask ourselves what does alcohol bring to our walk with God, if the answer to that is nothing or even worse any kind of hindrance, then we should really think about casting it aside.
Wednesday, 28 August 2013
Do we really need Jesus?
On the whole you are a good person. So you will go to heaven? So you don’t need God or Jesus right?
Yes OK, so maybe you have done a few bad things, but nothing major. Nothing that would really go against you!
I mean you haven't done anyone any real harm, now have you, nothing too serious.
I mean God only sends really evil people to Hell, like murderers and rapists, those folk who have done horrific crimes.
So you'll be okay, you are a good person so you don't need God, you will be fine because you aren't a bad person, right?
Well that kind of thinking is so wrong, there is not even a shred of truth in any of it.
You need God, in fact you need his Son the Lord Jesus Christ to get right with God the Father, there is no other way. And that is simply non-negotiable.
Satan, (the devil) the ruler of the world, is responsible for peddling these lies about you being good enough on your own merit and not needing God or His Son Jesus Christ. The devil is our enemy and wants to keep us in darkness. Satan wants us to believe that nonsense about we don't need Jesus to be saved. And that our good deeds will be enough for us to get to Heaven.
If you think the devil isn't real then he has done a good job on you.
Believe this!!!
Satan wants you to be ignorant and to think you'll be okay living day to day doing what you want. He hates God and never wants you to get to know Jesus. He wants your soul condemned, bound for Hell when you die.
When God created the world, it was perfect and good. Then he made Adam and Eve and gave them their own free will, so they would have a choice whether to follow and obey God. But they were tempted by Satan to disobey God, and they sinned. This separated them (and everyone that came after them, including us) from being able to have a close relationship with God.
God is perfect and holy and must judge sin.
As sinners, we couldn't reconcile ourselves to God on our own. So God made a way that we could be united with Him in heaven.
The Bible says:
‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life’
Jesus was born to die for our sins. Our sins are all the things that we have ever done wrong. Even the nicest person you ever met who wouldn’t hurt a fly is a sinner many thousand times over. God the Father demands perfection, he will not tolerate sin, even one will keep you out of Heaven.
The truth is that nobody apart from Jesus lived a sin free life. That is why His death on the cross is so vitally important.
The Bible says:
‘For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ’
Three days after Jesus died, He rose from the dead, claiming victory over death and the devil. Jesus repaired the gap between God and man so that we may have a personal relationship with Him BUT ONLY if we only believe, trust Him with all our hearts and be willing to repent and live for Jesus.
Jesus is the only way of salvation because He is the only One who can pay our the penalty for our many many sins.
Jesus had to be God so that He could pay our debt. Jesus had to be man so He could die. Salvation is available only through faith in Jesus Christ!
The Bible says:
‘Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved’
You really need Jesus, we all do, everyone who has ever lived. Will you believe that? Or will you take your chances and believe the devil's lies.
Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. You are lost if you do not trust in Him and ask Him into your heart and let God change you.
‘Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new’
Yes OK, so maybe you have done a few bad things, but nothing major. Nothing that would really go against you!
I mean you haven't done anyone any real harm, now have you, nothing too serious.
I mean God only sends really evil people to Hell, like murderers and rapists, those folk who have done horrific crimes.
So you'll be okay, you are a good person so you don't need God, you will be fine because you aren't a bad person, right?
Well that kind of thinking is so wrong, there is not even a shred of truth in any of it.
You need God, in fact you need his Son the Lord Jesus Christ to get right with God the Father, there is no other way. And that is simply non-negotiable.
Satan, (the devil) the ruler of the world, is responsible for peddling these lies about you being good enough on your own merit and not needing God or His Son Jesus Christ. The devil is our enemy and wants to keep us in darkness. Satan wants us to believe that nonsense about we don't need Jesus to be saved. And that our good deeds will be enough for us to get to Heaven.
If you think the devil isn't real then he has done a good job on you.
Believe this!!!
Satan wants you to be ignorant and to think you'll be okay living day to day doing what you want. He hates God and never wants you to get to know Jesus. He wants your soul condemned, bound for Hell when you die.
When God created the world, it was perfect and good. Then he made Adam and Eve and gave them their own free will, so they would have a choice whether to follow and obey God. But they were tempted by Satan to disobey God, and they sinned. This separated them (and everyone that came after them, including us) from being able to have a close relationship with God.
God is perfect and holy and must judge sin.
As sinners, we couldn't reconcile ourselves to God on our own. So God made a way that we could be united with Him in heaven.
The Bible says:
‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life’
Jesus was born to die for our sins. Our sins are all the things that we have ever done wrong. Even the nicest person you ever met who wouldn’t hurt a fly is a sinner many thousand times over. God the Father demands perfection, he will not tolerate sin, even one will keep you out of Heaven.
The truth is that nobody apart from Jesus lived a sin free life. That is why His death on the cross is so vitally important.
The Bible says:
‘For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ’
Three days after Jesus died, He rose from the dead, claiming victory over death and the devil. Jesus repaired the gap between God and man so that we may have a personal relationship with Him BUT ONLY if we only believe, trust Him with all our hearts and be willing to repent and live for Jesus.
Jesus is the only way of salvation because He is the only One who can pay our the penalty for our many many sins.
Jesus had to be God so that He could pay our debt. Jesus had to be man so He could die. Salvation is available only through faith in Jesus Christ!
The Bible says:
‘Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved’
You really need Jesus, we all do, everyone who has ever lived. Will you believe that? Or will you take your chances and believe the devil's lies.
Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. You are lost if you do not trust in Him and ask Him into your heart and let God change you.
‘Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new’
Friday, 23 August 2013
All-powerful God
God spoke the universe into existence by simply uttering
words. I say simply because for God it was just that.
Isaiah 45:12:
‘It is I who made the earth and created mankind on it. My
own hands stretched out the heavens; I marshalled their starry hosts.’
Scientists guesstimate there are more than an incredible 100
billion galaxies out there. But all the power contained in the entire universe
is but a small representation of the unlimited power of God. The mind-boggling
energy used to create the vast universe and everything within it does not equal
even a fraction of His almighty power.
Why?
Because the sovereign Lord has unlimited power.
He never gets tired, frustrated or bored - never sleeps and
never makes mistakes.
Isaiah 40:28:
‘The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of
the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary; His understanding is
unsearchable.’
God knows all the answers to all of life's questions, is
never surprised or puzzled because He is always completely aware of all events
past, present, and future. He also knows everything about your heart’s desire,
motives, and inner thoughts.
God knows more about you than you will ever know about
yourself.
Matthew 10:29-31:
‘Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them
will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head
are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows’.
Whatever your circumstances, whatever your need, God has the
answer. He knows everything about your situation and wants to help you.
For Christians, our God is always with us. Because He is an
infinite Spirit, He is not restricted to being in one location at a time. No
person or circumstance can ever remove us from the presence of our loving God.
God is always with us, hearing our cries for help.
God is always with us, protecting and guiding or paths.
God is always with us, watching our every move.
He is our ever-present God.
God never changes. In fact, it is impossible for God to
change. The influences that cause change in your life have no effect on God.
God's unchanging commitment guarantees everlasting security.
Hebrews 13:8:
‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.’
Friday, 12 July 2013
Jesus paid the price
It is an incredible concept, that for Christians, our sins no longer count as filthy crimes against God our Heavenly Father. It is as if they weren’t there. There is no guilt at all; there is no condemnation at all; there is no blame at all; there is no shame at all; none of that exists now. All our depravity, evil deeds and transgressions have been removed by God and laid upon his Son, Jesus Christ.
Jesus has taken all our sin, our past sin, our present sin and our future sin and he has put it all away for ever. So we are washed; we are clean.
Isaiah 1:18:
‘Come now, and let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.’
The truth constantly repeated in the Bible, is that we are saved by grace alone. Salvation from start to finish is the work of God, and we can add nothing to it. God’s salvation is all about His free gift of grace, which means that it is not of works. You cannot work for a gift. You can only receive it. It is impossible to buy God’s salvation.
Ephesians 2: 8-9:
‘For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no-one can boast.’
When we were lost in our sin, who did we sin against? God. Who forgave us? God. Who paid for them? God!
How does He do that? Well 2000 years ago on a hill outside the city of Jerusalem Jesus bore our sins in His body and died on the cross. He took our punishment.
It is true that:
We are unworthy of salvation
We are unworthy of God’s love
We are unworthy of mercy
We are fully worthy of the wrath of God.
We all deserve it, we have all sinned and fallen short of what we should be and indeed what God intended us to be when He made us. We have given our love and affection to other gods, money, cars and sex, anything you can think of that you put before attending to the one true God. We all do it and that is why we have all fallen short of the glory of God.
But God loved us so much that He saved us through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. God did so not because of who we are, but because of who He is, not because of what we do, but because of what He did. God is holy and just.
The Father sent His only begotten Son Jesus, who willingly gave His life, that ultimate price, for us, so that we would not have to pay it and to bring us back to Him.
Romans 5:8:
‘But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us’.
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