In the annals of human history there is one person who towers above all others - the Lord Jesus Christ. Indeed, even non-Christians will acknowledge something of His greatness and the impact He has made down through the ages. I have outlined below 6 points about the Lord Jesus that mark Him out as different from anyone else who has ever lived.
1. His birth was unique. Matthew 1 v 23 says: "Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated 'God with us' "
2. His teachings were unsurpassed. In John chapter 7 we read of officers being sent to arrest Jesus, they came back empty-handed saying "No-one ever spoke like this man" - verse 46.
3. His life was undefiled. The apostle Peter said of Jesus "He did no sin, neither was guile found in His lips". 1st Peter 2 v 22.
4. His death was undeserved. At Jesus' "trial" the governor Pilate said: "I find no fault in this man". Luke 23 v 4. His death was a sacrifice for the sins of the world.
5. His resurrection was unexplained. A Roman guard was put around His tomb to stop anyone nicking the body and yet after 3 days the body had gone, why? ""He is not here but is risen!" Luke 24 v 6.
6. His return is unavoidable. In 2nd Thessalonians 1 v 7-8 we read: ".....when the Lord Jesus is revealed from Heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ".
It is all very well acknowledging the uniqueness of Christ, but this is not enough. We must respond to the above facts by repenting of our sins and accepting Him as our Lord and personal Saviour. For those who do there is the assurance of an eternal Heaven; however, for those who don't there is the certainty of eternal damnation.
Sunday, 27 September 2009
Friday, 18 September 2009
Charlie not so peaceful
One of the most notorious criminals in Victorian England was Charlie Peace. It would be unedifying to list all this man's crimes. Suffice to say that he went to prison several times for burglary but even after his release continued his lawbreaking to the point where he murdered two people (that we know of!) and attempted to murder others. Eventually he was caught and, after a fair trial, was hanged at Armley jail in Leeds.
You may well ask what that brief outline of a criminal's activities is doing on a Christian blog. The answer is simple: when Charlie was being led to the gallows a Chaplain walked alongside him reading extracts from the Bible. Charlie turned to him and said "Do you believe that? If I had believed that was true I would have crawled across England on broken glass to tell people it was so".
Think of the implications of that statement - if the Gospel is really true, if Jesus really died to save us from our sins and cause us to have a place in Heaven, surely this message should be spread at great sacrifice and cost to the believer. Indeed, to spread the Gospel, by word of mouth or the printed page (or both!) should be the most important work of our lives.
Let's spend a moment in reflection. For those of us who know Jesus as our personal Saviour it is good to look back to the point when we first heard the Gospel. Some may have been raised in a Christian home and first heard from their parents or siblings. Others may have been told of Christ by a schoolfriend or work colleague. Still others may have been given a piece of literature on a street or other public place. Each of us have come to Christ in different ways but always, always, because someone cared enough about our souls to share Christ.
Perhaps when we were first saved we wanted to tell everyone about Jesus, a change had taken place in our lives and we were on fire for God. Then as the years have gone by and we have got settled in life, maybe that fire has dimmed; the spark is still there, or perhaps the embers, but maybe we don't have that same burning desire to make Christ known that we experienced at the first. Maybe the apathy of the unsaved has got to us and we can't motivate ourselves anymore. It is so easy to become discouraged as we forget that the work of conversion is God's doing, our part is simply to share Jesus. It can happen to the best of us, such is the impact of soft, modern, Western Evangelicalism (or perhaps, "evanjellyism"). Maybe we are content just to drift through the Christian life, sing a few hymns and patiently wait until God calls us home, little caring for the multitudes around who are dead in sin and heading for Hell.
If we have reached that stage may I suggest thinking through that statement from the lips of Charlie Peace. Are we prepared to "crawl across England on broken glass to tell people it is so"? If not, why not?
You may well ask what that brief outline of a criminal's activities is doing on a Christian blog. The answer is simple: when Charlie was being led to the gallows a Chaplain walked alongside him reading extracts from the Bible. Charlie turned to him and said "Do you believe that? If I had believed that was true I would have crawled across England on broken glass to tell people it was so".
Think of the implications of that statement - if the Gospel is really true, if Jesus really died to save us from our sins and cause us to have a place in Heaven, surely this message should be spread at great sacrifice and cost to the believer. Indeed, to spread the Gospel, by word of mouth or the printed page (or both!) should be the most important work of our lives.
Let's spend a moment in reflection. For those of us who know Jesus as our personal Saviour it is good to look back to the point when we first heard the Gospel. Some may have been raised in a Christian home and first heard from their parents or siblings. Others may have been told of Christ by a schoolfriend or work colleague. Still others may have been given a piece of literature on a street or other public place. Each of us have come to Christ in different ways but always, always, because someone cared enough about our souls to share Christ.
Perhaps when we were first saved we wanted to tell everyone about Jesus, a change had taken place in our lives and we were on fire for God. Then as the years have gone by and we have got settled in life, maybe that fire has dimmed; the spark is still there, or perhaps the embers, but maybe we don't have that same burning desire to make Christ known that we experienced at the first. Maybe the apathy of the unsaved has got to us and we can't motivate ourselves anymore. It is so easy to become discouraged as we forget that the work of conversion is God's doing, our part is simply to share Jesus. It can happen to the best of us, such is the impact of soft, modern, Western Evangelicalism (or perhaps, "evanjellyism"). Maybe we are content just to drift through the Christian life, sing a few hymns and patiently wait until God calls us home, little caring for the multitudes around who are dead in sin and heading for Hell.
If we have reached that stage may I suggest thinking through that statement from the lips of Charlie Peace. Are we prepared to "crawl across England on broken glass to tell people it is so"? If not, why not?
Wednesday, 9 September 2009
Proof that God exists.
As Christians, we are often told that God does not exist, or even if He does we cannot prove it. Well I have found irrefutable evidence that He does exist. The following is a true story:
Jim was a highly successful salesman with staff under him and, on the surface, it seemed that everything was going well. However, the reality was different - his life was falling apart. He was simply forcing himself to go on living and working. One day two ladies at his work said that they knew things were not right and they were praying for him. A short while later one of those ladies invited him to her church. He went to the service but didn't really pay any attention as he was pre-occupied with his problems. However, he did remember the Pastor saying the following words "The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will keep your minds and hearts through Christ Jesus". He thought that was a nice statement but after the service he left intending never to bother going back.
Some while later he went on a 2-3 week business tour, visiting sales reps and staying in a number of hotels along the way. The words spoken by that Pastor kept going through his mind, and he figured that they must be from the Bible, but he didn't know whereabouts in the Bible. In fact, his knowledge of the Bible was so poor he didn't even know there were two testaments. However, he decided on his last visit of the tour to look in the hotel for a Bible and see if he could find the verse.
After checking in he went to the room allocated to him and went to the bedside locker to look for the Gideon's Bible that he felt sure should be there. As he opened the draw, sure enough, the Bible was there. It was opened out and a part had been highlighted, it was Philippians 4 v 6-7. As he looked at those highlighted verses, to his utter amazement, he read the same words the Pastor had spoken in that church. Jim realised at that point that God was speaking to Him. The possibility of a co-incidence was simply not believable. The statistical chance of such a thing happening would be 1 in a million, or even a billion. He contacted the lady mentioned earlier and asked her to take him to that church, he was soundly converted, went on to marry that lady and went into the ministry. He has now been in the ministry for 15 years.
Atheists often like to say that we are deluded for believing a "fairy story". I would suggest that holding to the view that the above was a co-incidence takes a lot more faith. God is real, and He has proved His existence in the above, and in many other true accounts of "God's-incidences" not co-incidences.
Jim was a highly successful salesman with staff under him and, on the surface, it seemed that everything was going well. However, the reality was different - his life was falling apart. He was simply forcing himself to go on living and working. One day two ladies at his work said that they knew things were not right and they were praying for him. A short while later one of those ladies invited him to her church. He went to the service but didn't really pay any attention as he was pre-occupied with his problems. However, he did remember the Pastor saying the following words "The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will keep your minds and hearts through Christ Jesus". He thought that was a nice statement but after the service he left intending never to bother going back.
Some while later he went on a 2-3 week business tour, visiting sales reps and staying in a number of hotels along the way. The words spoken by that Pastor kept going through his mind, and he figured that they must be from the Bible, but he didn't know whereabouts in the Bible. In fact, his knowledge of the Bible was so poor he didn't even know there were two testaments. However, he decided on his last visit of the tour to look in the hotel for a Bible and see if he could find the verse.
After checking in he went to the room allocated to him and went to the bedside locker to look for the Gideon's Bible that he felt sure should be there. As he opened the draw, sure enough, the Bible was there. It was opened out and a part had been highlighted, it was Philippians 4 v 6-7. As he looked at those highlighted verses, to his utter amazement, he read the same words the Pastor had spoken in that church. Jim realised at that point that God was speaking to Him. The possibility of a co-incidence was simply not believable. The statistical chance of such a thing happening would be 1 in a million, or even a billion. He contacted the lady mentioned earlier and asked her to take him to that church, he was soundly converted, went on to marry that lady and went into the ministry. He has now been in the ministry for 15 years.
Atheists often like to say that we are deluded for believing a "fairy story". I would suggest that holding to the view that the above was a co-incidence takes a lot more faith. God is real, and He has proved His existence in the above, and in many other true accounts of "God's-incidences" not co-incidences.
Thursday, 3 September 2009
"...........and see what emerges"
Mark was a pleasant enough bloke, and people warmed to him as soon as they met him. Indeed, no-one had a bad word to say about him but he did have a problem - he tended to be full of big ideas that were not properly thought through. One day he met his best friend John.
"Hello Mark, how are you?" asked John, "You're looking pleased with yourself".
"Yes" came the reply, "I'm going to build a house, I've bought a plot of land and ordered the materials. I'm going to start Monday."
"That's good" said John, "let's see your plans".
"Oh, I haven't got any plans, I'll just put one brick on top of the other......and see what emerges! Don't you think that is a good idea".
"No, Mark, I think you're a nutter!"
Whoever heard of a builder with no plans. Everyone building a house must work with a set of plans so that he knows what he is doing and where he is going. Jesus said "I will build my church and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it" - Matthew 16 v 18.
When we spread the Gospel , through the printed page or the spoken word, there may be a tendency to "see what emerges". However, that is the wrong attitude as it implies that God is leaving the matter to chance and has no plan. Just as a builder has a plan so does the master builder Jesus.
As we spread the Gospel then Jesus is building His church, not brick by brick, but person by person. In the book of Acts we can see this plan in action. In Acts 1 v 8 we read that the disciples would be His witnesses in "Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the uttermost part of the Earth". We see this as the book unfolds, the Gospel starting in Jerusalem then spreading further and further like ripples in a pond when a stone is dropped in. One key verse for me is Acts 2 v 47 where we read "....the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved". As the Gospel was being preached it was the Lord doing the work of building His church.
So then, Christian friends, be encouraged - carry on spreading the Word knowing that Jesus is building His church, and the wise master builder will complete the work.
"Hello Mark, how are you?" asked John, "You're looking pleased with yourself".
"Yes" came the reply, "I'm going to build a house, I've bought a plot of land and ordered the materials. I'm going to start Monday."
"That's good" said John, "let's see your plans".
"Oh, I haven't got any plans, I'll just put one brick on top of the other......and see what emerges! Don't you think that is a good idea".
"No, Mark, I think you're a nutter!"
Whoever heard of a builder with no plans. Everyone building a house must work with a set of plans so that he knows what he is doing and where he is going. Jesus said "I will build my church and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it" - Matthew 16 v 18.
When we spread the Gospel , through the printed page or the spoken word, there may be a tendency to "see what emerges". However, that is the wrong attitude as it implies that God is leaving the matter to chance and has no plan. Just as a builder has a plan so does the master builder Jesus.
As we spread the Gospel then Jesus is building His church, not brick by brick, but person by person. In the book of Acts we can see this plan in action. In Acts 1 v 8 we read that the disciples would be His witnesses in "Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the uttermost part of the Earth". We see this as the book unfolds, the Gospel starting in Jerusalem then spreading further and further like ripples in a pond when a stone is dropped in. One key verse for me is Acts 2 v 47 where we read "....the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved". As the Gospel was being preached it was the Lord doing the work of building His church.
So then, Christian friends, be encouraged - carry on spreading the Word knowing that Jesus is building His church, and the wise master builder will complete the work.
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