The country of France is even more secular and godless than the UK (if this was possible!). An example of this being the fact that the Gideons are not allowed into French state schools with a view to distributing New Testaments.
This means that multiplied thousands of French kids are not being given the chance to hear/read the Gospel. This means that their souls are in mortal danger unless someone tells them how to be saved. Fortunately, in the good providence of God, a number of French kids come to Canterbury every year on school trips, be it for the day or a few days. When they come there is every chance that they may encounter a street evangelist giving out Gospel leaflets/booklets in French. I'm am one those evangelists.
Whenever I go to Canterbury to give out English Gospel leaflets I also take with me a pile of French comic booklets that contain a clear Gospel message, and a warning to people of the eternal consequences of rejecting Christ. The English title of this booklet is "This was your life"; if you want to read this online simply Google "This was your Life cartoon booklet".
On the back of this is written a Paris address and a French language website that explains more of the truths of the Christian faith; there is also a link on this website giving details of churches right across France.
This booklet has been well received by the kids; I've even had some come up to me and ask for copies when they see what their friends have got! Truly this represents a wonderful opportunity to spread the Word of God.
Over the years hundreds of French kids have been reached in this way. Only eternity will reveal what good has been done in the salvation of precious souls.
What lessons can we draw from this? Two things in particular:
1. That God is sovereign. The devil has attempted to prevent French kids from hearing the Gospel. The banning of Gideons from going into French schools is a direct attempt by Satan to stop people being saved. This is the kind of opposition we expect from the devil's servants and is nothing new. However, if God has his hand upon someone then he, or she, will hear/read the truths that lead to eternal life. God will providentially cause that person to come across the Gospel.
2. We need not despair when we are opposed. Our responsibility is to spread the Word of God no matter what opposition there is. We sow the seed and God gives the increase. Our responsibility is to be faithful and leave the results with the Lord.
Let us re-double our efforts to preach the Gospel to everyone remembering that the Gospel has never in any place converted all, but has, in every place, converted some.
"Go into all the world and preach the Gospel". Mark 16 v 15
Tuesday, 25 March 2014
Friday, 14 March 2014
Germany's Shame
The issue of whether or not to send one's children to state school or home educate has long been a matter of debate and discussion among Christians. For myself, I sent my boys to state school and have not regretted it. However, I fully respect the views of those who wish to home educate, especially when one considers that education today is even more godless and satanic than it was 20 years ago. In the 1990s when my sons were at school, the teachers were not obliged to teach sexual perversion to children as they are now.
Moreover, it is wholly wrong for the state to persecute parents who wish to home educate. In this country parents have the right to home educate but in some countries it is illegal - one such place is Germany.
In the Nazi era a law was passed making it compulsory for all parents to send their kids to state schools. This was intended to ensure that they were taught Nazi dogma. However, this law was never repealed even after Germany lost the war. Consequently, any parent who does not wish to send their kids to state school risks losing them. When one considers that state education in Germany is as godless as in the UK this is very serious. The state obviously wants to indoctrinate children into vile practices and teach them sinful behaviour.
In recent years a number of Christian families have fled Germany rather than lose their kids and have obtained asylum in other countries. One such family is the Romeikes. They fled to the US and sought asylum in order to protect their children. However, the Obama government fought tooth and nail to send them back. No doubt if they were gays fleeing "persecution" in Iran they would have been fast-tracked to full citizenship, but because they belong to the hated Christian faith their application was blocked.
After a long campaign by many Christians to help this family they have finally been allowed to stay. This means that the parents can raise their children in the Christian faith without the interference of a godless and satanic regime.. These children can be raised in a godly environment without being forced, by government diktat, to accept sinful and unnatural perversions.
However, this whole issue raises one fundamental question - how can a supposedly tolerant country like Germany call itself a democracy when it allows, and even encourages, the persecution of a decent family who simply wish to raise their kids in a loving, Christian environment?
What happened to the Romeikes, and others like them, will happen to other families across Europe if the EU becomes even more totalitarian than it has been hitherto. Moreover, our supposed love of freedom in the UK will be under serious threat if the EU decreed that all European families must send their kids to state schools, there to be indoctrinated in the ways of abominable behaviour.
As this country, and continent, becomes ever more dark we need to be vigilant in watching out for such threats to our freedoms, and we need courage to stand up for what we believe in.
We are to walk in the ways of the godly, not to succumb to the pressures from the ungodly to be like them.
Psalm 1 "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful......."
Moreover, it is wholly wrong for the state to persecute parents who wish to home educate. In this country parents have the right to home educate but in some countries it is illegal - one such place is Germany.
In the Nazi era a law was passed making it compulsory for all parents to send their kids to state schools. This was intended to ensure that they were taught Nazi dogma. However, this law was never repealed even after Germany lost the war. Consequently, any parent who does not wish to send their kids to state school risks losing them. When one considers that state education in Germany is as godless as in the UK this is very serious. The state obviously wants to indoctrinate children into vile practices and teach them sinful behaviour.
In recent years a number of Christian families have fled Germany rather than lose their kids and have obtained asylum in other countries. One such family is the Romeikes. They fled to the US and sought asylum in order to protect their children. However, the Obama government fought tooth and nail to send them back. No doubt if they were gays fleeing "persecution" in Iran they would have been fast-tracked to full citizenship, but because they belong to the hated Christian faith their application was blocked.
After a long campaign by many Christians to help this family they have finally been allowed to stay. This means that the parents can raise their children in the Christian faith without the interference of a godless and satanic regime.. These children can be raised in a godly environment without being forced, by government diktat, to accept sinful and unnatural perversions.
However, this whole issue raises one fundamental question - how can a supposedly tolerant country like Germany call itself a democracy when it allows, and even encourages, the persecution of a decent family who simply wish to raise their kids in a loving, Christian environment?
What happened to the Romeikes, and others like them, will happen to other families across Europe if the EU becomes even more totalitarian than it has been hitherto. Moreover, our supposed love of freedom in the UK will be under serious threat if the EU decreed that all European families must send their kids to state schools, there to be indoctrinated in the ways of abominable behaviour.
As this country, and continent, becomes ever more dark we need to be vigilant in watching out for such threats to our freedoms, and we need courage to stand up for what we believe in.
We are to walk in the ways of the godly, not to succumb to the pressures from the ungodly to be like them.
Psalm 1 "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful......."
Tuesday, 11 March 2014
...and yet another atheist now knows he was wrong.
News has come through of the death of Bob Crow, a militant union leader, who passed away this morning at the age of 52.
After hearing of his death I did some research on his life and discovered that, he not only had communist views (which, of course runs counter to the Word of God), but also that he was a convinced atheist.
A review of his life shows that he was a powerful trade union leader and very influential in the field of extreme, left wing politics. He also earned a huge salary as a union leader. However, it was his atheist "beliefs" that concern me the most; why is this? For one very simple reason - atheists arrogantly dismiss the notion of a God to whom they must give account. They think they can live their lives without the constraints of Biblical teaching and morality. Indeed, I believe that atheists adopt that belief (or should I say non-belief) system because they want to live their lives "their way" and not do what "the man upstairs" tells them to do.
It is for this reason that atheism is the most arrogant of all beliefs. In effect they are strutting around saying "look at me, I'm master of my own destiny". Well, I've got news for all atheists - you are NOT master of your own destiny, God is in control of your life and destiny. He determines the length of your days on this earth, and when He is pleased to take you away from this life and bring you into account then that is what He will do. What good will your arrogance and self-assuredness do when you keep that appointment with God. (Remember Hebrews 9 v 27 -"... it is appointed unto man once to die, and after this the judgement").
One day we will ALL have to give account of our lives to God. No one is bigger than God, He has the perfect right to require of us total obedience to His inspired, inerrant and infallible Word - the Bible.
As we head towards the 2nd coming of the Lord Jesus Christ then we must expect more expressions of arrogant atheism to manifest itself. Indeed, in the book of Revelation (Chapter 12 verse 12) we read that the devil has come down "having great wrath because he knows that he has but a short time". This means simply that, as the devil knows his time is running out he becomes ever more zealous to inspire wickedness in people's hearts and behaviour, hence the reason why atheism is becoming more pronounced in our society.
However, the days of all such people are numbered. They know that one day they will pass into the presence of God, and they WILL have to account to the One they have spent their lives denying. There WILL be a day of reckoning.
I will end this article by quoting from Psalm 37 verses 35-36 "I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree. Yet he passed away and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found".
P.S. Since I posted this article online I have been accused by atheists of "gloating" over someone else's death. My reply to such allegations is two-fold; firstly, I am not gloating at all, simply pointing out that we must all give account to God, and atheists are in for a shock; and secondly, I seem to remember that, when Maggie Thatcher died, atheist, lefty types were openly gloating over her death and even holding up banners proclaiming that "the witch is dead|". The words pot....kettle....black come to mind.
After hearing of his death I did some research on his life and discovered that, he not only had communist views (which, of course runs counter to the Word of God), but also that he was a convinced atheist.
A review of his life shows that he was a powerful trade union leader and very influential in the field of extreme, left wing politics. He also earned a huge salary as a union leader. However, it was his atheist "beliefs" that concern me the most; why is this? For one very simple reason - atheists arrogantly dismiss the notion of a God to whom they must give account. They think they can live their lives without the constraints of Biblical teaching and morality. Indeed, I believe that atheists adopt that belief (or should I say non-belief) system because they want to live their lives "their way" and not do what "the man upstairs" tells them to do.
It is for this reason that atheism is the most arrogant of all beliefs. In effect they are strutting around saying "look at me, I'm master of my own destiny". Well, I've got news for all atheists - you are NOT master of your own destiny, God is in control of your life and destiny. He determines the length of your days on this earth, and when He is pleased to take you away from this life and bring you into account then that is what He will do. What good will your arrogance and self-assuredness do when you keep that appointment with God. (Remember Hebrews 9 v 27 -"... it is appointed unto man once to die, and after this the judgement").
One day we will ALL have to give account of our lives to God. No one is bigger than God, He has the perfect right to require of us total obedience to His inspired, inerrant and infallible Word - the Bible.
As we head towards the 2nd coming of the Lord Jesus Christ then we must expect more expressions of arrogant atheism to manifest itself. Indeed, in the book of Revelation (Chapter 12 verse 12) we read that the devil has come down "having great wrath because he knows that he has but a short time". This means simply that, as the devil knows his time is running out he becomes ever more zealous to inspire wickedness in people's hearts and behaviour, hence the reason why atheism is becoming more pronounced in our society.
However, the days of all such people are numbered. They know that one day they will pass into the presence of God, and they WILL have to account to the One they have spent their lives denying. There WILL be a day of reckoning.
I will end this article by quoting from Psalm 37 verses 35-36 "I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree. Yet he passed away and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found".
P.S. Since I posted this article online I have been accused by atheists of "gloating" over someone else's death. My reply to such allegations is two-fold; firstly, I am not gloating at all, simply pointing out that we must all give account to God, and atheists are in for a shock; and secondly, I seem to remember that, when Maggie Thatcher died, atheist, lefty types were openly gloating over her death and even holding up banners proclaiming that "the witch is dead|". The words pot....kettle....black come to mind.
Wednesday, 5 March 2014
Do you know why Jesus died?
After having proved the emptiness and folly of atheism in my last article, I turn now to details of a leaflet I am using in the run-up to Easter. It's entitled "Do you know why Jesus died?" and answers that question with the following four points:
1. His death was predicted long ago.
The events of Good Friday were not a chance happening, nor was Jesus caught out by circumstances beyond His control. This was all part of the plan of God put in place before the world was even created.
The Old Testament contains many prophecies about the coming of a Saviour, and Jesus fulfilled every one of them (further proof that the Bible is the inspired, infallible and inerrant Word of God). Many of these prophecies relate to His sufferings and death. An example being Isaiah chapter 53.
2. His death was punishment for others.
When Jesus was crucified there were 2 thieves also being put to death. One of them admitted that Jesus had done nothing wrong. Why then, was He being thus punished? The answer: as a sacrifice for others, as a sacrifice for us, as a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. As 1st John 2 v 2 puts it "He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world"
(The word propitiation simply means that the wrath of God against sin was laid upon Jesus, so we can go free).
The Bible also says that Christ suffered for sins "the just for the unjust" 1st Peter 3 v 18.
3. His death provoked 2 kinds of response.
As mentioned earlier there were 2 thieves being crucified with Jesus. One of these recognised Jesus's claims and expressed faith in Him (this man went to Heaven); the other thief refused to put his trust in Jesus thus ensuring that he would end up in Hell.
This sums up everyone in the world. The whole world is on one or other side of the cross. For those who truly repent of their sins and turn to Christ there is the absolute certainty of eternal life in Heaven. However, for those who refuse to do this, or simply ignore the call of Christ, there is the absolute certainty of eternal damnation in Hell.
4. His death still demands a response.
The Bible says that the "...message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing but to those who are saved it is the power of God" 1st Corinthians 1 v 18.
The cross will either draw a person to Christ or repel that person. Every time someone is confronted with the Gospel (Christ died for our sins........and rose again - 1st Corinthians 15 v 3-4) that person is forced into a situation where they must make a choice, simply ignoring the Gospel is to choose to reject it.
Christ's resurrection after 3 days is the proof that His sacrifice for sin was complete, and that we cannot earn our way to Heaven by good works but through faith in Him as our personal Saviour.
Please pray that, as these leaflets go out, God will draw precious souls to repentance and faith in Christ.
1. His death was predicted long ago.
The events of Good Friday were not a chance happening, nor was Jesus caught out by circumstances beyond His control. This was all part of the plan of God put in place before the world was even created.
The Old Testament contains many prophecies about the coming of a Saviour, and Jesus fulfilled every one of them (further proof that the Bible is the inspired, infallible and inerrant Word of God). Many of these prophecies relate to His sufferings and death. An example being Isaiah chapter 53.
2. His death was punishment for others.
When Jesus was crucified there were 2 thieves also being put to death. One of them admitted that Jesus had done nothing wrong. Why then, was He being thus punished? The answer: as a sacrifice for others, as a sacrifice for us, as a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. As 1st John 2 v 2 puts it "He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world"
(The word propitiation simply means that the wrath of God against sin was laid upon Jesus, so we can go free).
The Bible also says that Christ suffered for sins "the just for the unjust" 1st Peter 3 v 18.
3. His death provoked 2 kinds of response.
As mentioned earlier there were 2 thieves being crucified with Jesus. One of these recognised Jesus's claims and expressed faith in Him (this man went to Heaven); the other thief refused to put his trust in Jesus thus ensuring that he would end up in Hell.
This sums up everyone in the world. The whole world is on one or other side of the cross. For those who truly repent of their sins and turn to Christ there is the absolute certainty of eternal life in Heaven. However, for those who refuse to do this, or simply ignore the call of Christ, there is the absolute certainty of eternal damnation in Hell.
4. His death still demands a response.
The Bible says that the "...message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing but to those who are saved it is the power of God" 1st Corinthians 1 v 18.
The cross will either draw a person to Christ or repel that person. Every time someone is confronted with the Gospel (Christ died for our sins........and rose again - 1st Corinthians 15 v 3-4) that person is forced into a situation where they must make a choice, simply ignoring the Gospel is to choose to reject it.
Christ's resurrection after 3 days is the proof that His sacrifice for sin was complete, and that we cannot earn our way to Heaven by good works but through faith in Him as our personal Saviour.
Please pray that, as these leaflets go out, God will draw precious souls to repentance and faith in Christ.
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