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“Selkirk reading his Bible” (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
On Wednesday last week I reached a bit of a milestone. Since becoming a Christian I set my mind to reading though The Bible as many times as I could, simply to gain more understanding as to the reasons I came to believe and what it all actually means. During the previous seven months to my conversion, my deliverance, my accepting Jesus as my Saviour, call it what you will, I had read through The Bible from cover to cover in my search for God and to gain understanding. I was determined to read through its pages again for I realised there was much more to learn than just from reading it through once or by selecting abstract passages alone. The whole set of its books must be read because they are inextricably linked. I have honoured that promise I made to myself and throughout my 24 years as a Christian I have read through The Bible now 30 times having just finished reading through from cover to cover again on Wednesday. That is on average more than once a year. Of course I read many of its books and pages in isolation as well as making reference frequently to confirm what other Christians are saying or just for self-edification and reassurance but mostly to learn and to gain understanding. People who make reference to certain passages to perhaps justify their unbelief or their attitude and lifestyles and who have probably not read through The Bible even once do not realise that The Bible cannot be used in this way. The Bible and the messages it contains need to be studied in-depth and that takes time. Although I have read it more than 30 times I am still learning and I am the first to admit that I have much to learn yet. A milestone may have been reached but there are many more of them along the road yet! After a short break I will probably return again to The Book of Genesis and start over.
All Things Bright and Beautiful the Lord God made them all
There are many things in this world that I like, there are many things that I love. The things around me are necessary for my existence and I cannot live without them. The air that I breathe, the water that I drink and the food that I eat are my basic requirements in continuing to live. Anything else has no effect on this basic fact but to live a life that has meaning much more is needed. I need companionship, friendship, family and a purpose for living. All these things provide for a happy existence given that my environment is a nice place in which to dwell. Nice as all these things are and as life itself is, they all pass away as if they had never been. We live out our lives ever searching for things that please us, ever reaching for something new and exciting in our lives. We crave happiness and love. Our desire is to be accepted and loved and we do all we can to achieve such things but even these things will pass away. There has to be something more to life than this. There has to be a purpose. I often wondered why it is that we, human beings, are all so very different. We are all made of the same stuff and yet we remain different. The reason for this is that we are spirit beings inside a physical body. The spirit lives on when the flesh dies away, so the next question is where does the spirit go when we die? In simple terms it returns to the one who created it, God. Above all things that I possess, above all things that I am is the One who created me. I place my trust in Him alone and put Him above everything else.
God has made all things well. He knew us while we were in the womb. Before we were conceived He knew us, He knows every hair on our heads and everything about us. Scripture tells us this, Psalm 139 (New International Version – UK)
Psalm 139
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
1 O LORD, you have searched me and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.
5 You hem me in— behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
16 your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you.
19 If only you would slay the wicked, O God! Away from me, you bloodthirsty men!
20 They speak of you with evil intent; your adversaries misuse your name.
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD, and abhor those who rise up against you?
22 I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting
Every hair on your head…………..you are intimately known!
When I was much younger I took little notice of my mortality and far less about those around me or those whom I knew as celebrities for instance. As time went by I would learn of the death of a famous person but still it only registered for a short while before the concerns in my own life took over my thoughts. Further still along the timeline I learned more and more of people I knew as celebrities and some I knew personally going the way of all flesh. As I grew older I became more and more aware that one day I too would pass away just as everyone else will do. I don’t remember much about my grandmother’s death which happened in 1968, that is my maternal grandmother and I never knew my paternal grandmother, who died before I was born. I never knew either of my grandfathers but only one who I would call a step-grandfather and whose death passed by with hardly any notice on my part. It is only in more recent times that the reality of death and mortality became more personal to me when my mother and father died in 1997 and 1999 respectively. E’s father passed away only seven years ago so I remember these times quite vividly. Her mother is still with us. My four siblings, all younger than I, the youngest being ten years my junior, are alive and well. I am presently in my 68th year but I know that one day it will be my turn to hang up my keys and leave the building but whereas at one time the thought terrified me, it no longer does. For some people death is a horrifying prospect, for others it is nothing to worry about. However I don’t treat death as the end of my existence, it isn’t, it is the beginning of an eternity elsewhere. My spirit, that part of me not in any way part of my flesh, will live forever. My flesh will rot away but my spirit cannot. I know my spirit will live on in the hearts of those I knew in life but when they’ve gone there will be no-one on earth to remember me and it won’t matter, that is unimportant. What matters is where my spirit will be after my death and I have the confidence and the promise of that location by the one who created me, God my heavenly Father for He made that possible through His Son, my Saviour Jesus. I wonder how many of those I see falling away around me were filled with the same confidence and assurance or will they have not cared, thinking all ended with their last breath? If they did, they will have been in for a surprise and it is now too late to do anything about it. I say to people don’t leave this world without Jesus as your Saviour, do something about it while there is still time.
Gospel message at Drumderg The placards are a familiar sight on trees all over rural Ulster. This one is in the townland of Drumderg – northwest of Keady (County Armagh). It bears part of 1 John 1:7 (in full: “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”)
Many people do not believe in God and will not have heard theGospel message. Many people do believe in God, have heard the message but have not taken it to heart. Yet others who believe in God, have heard the message and have taken it to heart, they have repented of their ways and have accepted Jesus Christ as their Saviour. Some have done this early in their lives and some late in their lives, perhaps only realising what the message ofsalvation really meant. It doesn’t matter when you repent and accept this wonderful gift of God and the salvation He has given through His son Jesus Christ, it just matters that you do. There are many arguments for the existence of God and equally against the idea He exists but arguments are simply that, arguments, ideas put forward for each case. For the Christian believer this isn’t a problem for we have the understanding and the faith to believe but more than that we have the assurance of forgiveness and a confidence we never had before. It isn’t difficult to repent and turn to God but to those who resist it is. The stubborn heart that will never repent will never get to know personally the love of God. Remember, God loves each and every one of us whether believer or not but only those who accept Him, accept Jesus will be saved. Salvation to the unbeliever is meaningless, it is foolishness and means nothing but the sad thing is, they leave it that way and condemn themselves to an eternity in hell. Each and every day God continues to offer His free gift to those who refuse until one day they find themselves at death’s door and perhaps relent. Some unfortunately don’t get that final chance and they perish. Why take that chance? Why leave it till the last minute? One good reason is the fact that you do not know when that last minute will come! You may be taken completely by surprise and it will be too late! The next time someone asks if you’ve repented and accepted salvation in Jesus’ name tell them no but you are prepared now to do so……You may not get another chance!
Time is short and may be shorter than you think………..
This video was originally posted on http://vineoflife.net
People just do not want to admit that God exists even when there is much evidence. I mean it’s ridiculous isn’t it that there should be a God who wants us to know about Him. Those who take the time to watch this short video may turn and say things like ‘There are unseen forces that we know nothing about yet’, or ‘We have much to learn about the human body and its capabilities to heal’. They will make up any story other than face the fact that God really does exist. The Bible says as much. There is a veil which blinds them to the truth and their hearts are hardened. They see with their eyes yet they cannot understand. I know these things for I was in that state before the veil was lifted from my eyes. I always chose not to believe until that one day I began to seek God out and months later it all finally dawned upon me. I became a Christian and if you’d have known the previous version of me you would swear it was impossible. Since that glorious day when I saw and understood I have come into contact with more and more evidence of things like miraculous healing and activity in the spirit realm. You see, if you are not actively following God you are doing something else which keeps you from seeing these things because they are of no interest to you. Here is a remarkable story about God’s angels and the subsequent miraculous healing that followed one man’s rescue from certain death. Take the time to watch this short video.
Jesus Heals … Cancer?? (Photo credit: Better Than Bacon)
I thought you might like to follow the thread which follows the above picture as shown on Wikipedia……….
Why is it sad? There are well documented cases of The Lord Jesus healing people of cancer (for instance, see: www.godhealscancer.com/ ) – the evidence is there if we open our eyes & look, but some people still choose not to believe the evidence, because of the word “God”. Atheism & Secularism are belief systems, not the antithesis of belief. It was G K Chesterton who said: “When people stop believing in God, they don’t believe in nothing — they believe in anything.”
Am I supposed to go buy that book now? I’ll trust double-blind studies over anecdotal “cases,” no matter how ‘documented’ they are. One of the only studies cited in support of prayer is by R. C. Byrd, and I think the most he could claim is that Jesus Power gives you +6% chance of surviving a specific ailment, or something, which is fishy first of all and hilarious even if it’s true.
You don’t understand what constitutes evidence. You just don’t understand how it works, and how easy it is to delude yourself with anecdotes. That’s sad, too.
My comment was a question, yours is a judgmental statement. What makes you think I “don’t understand what constitutes evidence”, especially as you neither know me, or my background?
If somebody has what the doctors diagnose as inoperable cancer and then as a direct result of prayer and laying on of hands has no sign of the disease, I would call that evidence of a miracle, as would any intelligent person.
Please do not accuse me of being “deluded with anecdotes”, simply because of your own unbelief. I have first hand experience of healing miracles. If you choose not to believe, that is your choice, but please do not insult the intelligence of those who have seen, beyond doubt, the healing power of prayer.
You must remember that Bible believingChristians are NOT some sort of uneducated, gullible sub-culture. Many Christians were once hard hearted atheists. What makes you so sure that you will never change?
“If somebody has what the doctors diagnose as inoperable cancer and then, a few days later has no sign of the disease, I would call that evidence of a miracle, as would any intelligent person.”
Yeesh. Turns out I was right to be judgemental.
There are plenty of intelligent, educated Christians, for sure. I was arguing with a friend one time about the effects of his prayers, and how he could ‘see’ that it worked and that it couldn’t be tested. Twenty minutes later, the conversation drifted, and we ended up both sharing a bewildered laugh at how stupid people were for doing rain dances, for centuries, because they could ‘see’ that it worked but never bothered to really check. Despite being an intelligent guy (more so than I), the irony was lost on him.
People doubt because they have preconceived opinions as to what does and does not constitute truth. It is pride which prevents people from acknowledging the work of God when they see it; pride in thinking that just perhaps the prejudices they have against God’s word are wrong. Also, many non-believers ideas of Christianity are totally deluded, but they refuse to be educated, thinking that they know best.
There are some healings I have seen which go beyond doubt, where even the most atheistic doctors are lost for words. It is these which I would say are the true miracles. Unfortunately, even then, the skeptics will claim that the illness would have got better on its own. Some people refuse to see the evidence of God working, even when it is obvious.
I know this is condescending but, to give a feeling for how you sound to someone like me, I’ll translate your reply:
However, there are some rain storms I have seen which go beyond doubt, where even the most atheistic meteorologists are lost for words. It is these which I would say are the true miracles. Unfortunately, even then, the skeptics will claim that the rain would have come on its own. Some people refuse to see the evidence of the rain dance working, even when it is obvious.
Or, if that seems too far removed (it doesn’t to me), think of analogous ‘translations’ for Islam, Scientology, or the IPU. Like it or not, you’re lumped with them because your explanation is equally unjustified, superficial, and unsatisfying.
You disappoint me, my friend. Just when you were beginning to look at the subject with an open mind, your humanistic fear of anything which cannot be scientifically rationalised begins to rear its ugly head again.
Do you have first hand experience of atomic science, brain surgery, Radio Astronomy, etc. No? But you trust the teachings of those who do. However, when it comes to Christian healing, you have no first hand experience or knowledge of the subject, but you claim to be an expert, able to dismiss out of hand the knowledge of those who do!
It was you, not me who first mooted the strange idea of linking Christian healing with native American rain dances. For someone who eschews “superstition”, you seem to have a fixation with this particular tradition. Your analogy is very tenuous, so let me offer another “translation”…
“Or, if that seems too far removed (it doesn’t to me, because I’m open to any discussion except on the subject of Christianity, because I’m an expert on it), think of analogous ‘translations’ for Islam, Scientology, Humanism, Secularism, Atheism, or the IPU. Like it or not, I’m lumped with them because my explanation is equally unjustified, superficial, and unsatisfying”.
Touche?
You can’t have a balanced, open discussion if you are not open to listening to all explanations. There are many testimonies to the fact that Jesus DOES heal. Your argument relies on providing evidence that Jesus does NOT heal. If you cannot provide this evidence, your comments stand on shaky ground. In other words, either put up, or shut up. Your preconceived prejudices on the subject of Christian healing, together with your arrogant assumption that all Christian views are “wrong” are serious blockages to your supposed search for rational enlightenment.
Do you have first hand experience of atomic science, brain surgery, Radio Astronomy, etc. No? But you trust the teachings of those who do.
If there were Hindu astronomy, Christian astronomy, Secular astronomy etc, and they all arrived at different conclusions via the same means, we’d both be sceptical about those means. That situation would suggest that the methodology doesn’t separate what is true from what is false.
The fact that we don’t have Christian astronomy versus Islamic astronomy bodes well for the methodology of science; it factors out the human bias as much as possible, and humans can be pretty biased depending on what culture/era they’re born in. If you were transported to India as an infant and raised there, you’d have a totally different set of beliefs incompatible with Christianity. Would you be saved? If not, who’s ‘fault’ is it then?
The question of whether prayer increases one’s chances of surviving cancer is a scientific question, because you’re positing both an observable cause and an observable effect. People have done these intercessory prayer studies for all kinds of illnesses, and the double-blind studies invariably find no relationship. This doesn’t rule out Jesus healing people, it just means that whenever scientists are watching ol’ J.C is content letting people (and their families) suffer horribly drawn out deaths.
However, when it comes to Christian healing, you have no first hand experience or knowledge of the subject, but you claim to be an expert
I am most certainly not an expert, and don’t ever intend to be, for the same reason I’m not an expert in Scientology. You’re not an expert in Scientology, so how can you discount the power of their Tech? Maybe because you think they’re a cult espousing totally retarded nonsense made up by a second-rate sci-fi writer? (okay, now I’m speaking for you, sorry…). Again, you trust what people have to say if you trust their methodology, and that’s why I trust what scientists have to say, and not what Scientologists or Christians think happened.
Anyway, you said the analogy between rain dancing and prayer was tenuous, but I don’t understand what distinguishes one “cause->effect” hypothesis from the other.
There are many testimonies to the fact that Jesus DOES heal.
Don’t conflate testimonials with evidence. Double-blind studies are evidence, and they speak volumes. Someone who just goes around witnessing ‘miracle healing’ doesn’t have any perspective on all the times healing didn’t occur, because they’re not paying attention.
Your argument relies on providing evidence that Jesus does NOT heal. If you cannot provide this evidence, your comments stand on shaky ground. In other words, either put up, or shut up.
I tried to bypass this kind of silliness with the IPU link. Maybe you can put up or shut up about the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Ugh, these replies are getting longer and rehashing standard arguments. Go do some reading. I have to work.
Your comments on the IPU and the Flying Spaghetti Monster are totally spurious. Atheists do not actually believe in these things, they are just a childish “insult” thrown at people whose faith they do not, cannot, or will not share. That is their choice. Atheism is NOT “anti belief”, it is simply another belief system. I can tell that you are getting nervous, when you throw casual “insults” like “do some reading”. I have read much more on the subject that you have, otherwise I wouldn’t take the stand I now do. As I have said, you do not know me, my background or qualifications, so you should think before you speak/type.
In the paraphrased words of St. Paul; “If we [Christians] are wrong, we are to be pitied, but in the end, have lost nothing. If You [non-believers] are wrong, you will have lost everything. The choice is yours, but are you prepared to take that chance?
I too have a life outside YouTube and it appears we’re not going to convince each other. I will pray for you.
The point of IPU and FSM is to show you what it’s like to argue with a believer. I could go on and on pretending to believe in strict Pastafarianism—challenging you to prove me wrong, “Pasta has spread all over the world, where’s the evidence that FSM doesn’t exist?” and so forth—all to show you what it’s like to face a ridiculous statement like “YOU must provide evidence that Jesus does NOT heal.” Don’t dismiss the comparison—use it to gain perspective and to avoid sounding similarly ridiculous yourself.
I’m sure you’ve read a lot on the subject of religion, but I’m suggesting you read on the subject of refuting religious arguments. If you want to convince a sceptic to reflect on his or her biases, you’ve got to do better than parroting standard nonsense like Pascal’s wager and “atheism is just another belief system” (you know the quote “atheism is a religion like ‘not collecting stamps’ is a hobby”).
Besides, atheism is a conclusion, not a ‘system’. Anyway, except for its effects on politics all of this is just philosophical, so no sense getting too upset about it. Have a nice life.
Who’s getting upset? All I am saying is you cannot be conclusive. Like most Christians, I have made the transition from non-belief to belief. You may do the same one day. In the meantime, your use of insults and claimed “conclusions” is unnecessary, unhelpful and uneducated. God bless.
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How stubborn are the hearts who refuse to claim the truth, who refuse the free gift of everlasting life through Jesus Christ who took upon himself the sins of the world, even your sins, so that all who believe in him and the One who sent him shall be saved and have that everlasting life! If it was a free gift of £10,000 you’d take it………this free gift is for eternity!
Something nobody else has done
Nailed to a cross in the heat of the sun
Suffered the shame and the agony
He did it for you and he did it for me.
Why would anyone do such a thing?
Especially for all of the pain it would bring.
O such a love that is yours and mine
O what a Saviour for all of mankind.
The world is getting out of hand, more drugs, more theft and robbery, more anti-social behaviour, more rape, more disobedience and lack of respect for property, life and the law. This is despite what people will tell you. When I was young reports of murder were few but these days there is hardly a week goes by without hearing of murder or manslaughter somewhere in the land. Life it seems is cheap to some people. In and around the town I grew up in, Liverpool, there has been an ever-increasing number of gun crimes in recent years mostly members of rival gangs shooting one another. Sadly sometimes innocent bystanders get in the line of fire as was the case a few years ago when a young boy was shot dead accidentally as he rode his bicycle in a pub car park and got into the line-of-fire. A short while ago there was a report of someone walking into a pub, singling out an individual and then shooting him and then shooting him once more whilst he was on the floor just to be sure he was dead. He then walked calmly out of the pub and into the night. People who carry out such evil seemingly have no conscience at all. Can anyone really be that callous? What is it that drives people to do such things? We can blame their up-bringing, their poor social standing, their parents and many other things but in the end it is down to the individual. Or is it? Even since writing this a few days ago there have been reports of more guns being fired in anger. Remember a post I placed soon after Christmas? How long will the good will to all men last? I am not surprised at all this for it says……………
1 But mark this: there will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God – 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.
Evil resides in the heart of those who who turn away from God.
A picture of Pisgah Baptist Church in Four Oaks, North Carolina, USA.
There are many things in this life that hold no interest for me and this is the same for everyone on the planet. We can’t all like the same things or have the same interests right across the board. I hear people talking about their hobbies and interests and sometimes those things coincide with mine but not always. For so long in my life I couldn’t understand why people went to church on a Sunday and I felt it was more to do with their traditional habits than their belief in God. Of course at that time I had no interest in God so going to church meant nothing to me. When I actually started going to church on a regular basis it was a ritual for me, it meant nothing spiritually and it was more to do with my children. For reasons not known to me at that time I felt pushed to take them along but wasn’t quite sure why. The children enjoyed going, which helped and I felt happy that they were learning the traditions of men, not realising they were learning about God and Jesus Christ too! As I sat in the pews my experience was one of listening but not understanding. It was simply what I did on a Sunday morning. Before too long we moved away to where we live now and I found another church to attend on a Sunday. Both of these two churches were Methodist. It was during my first year at the second church that I began to take an interest in God and I read the Bible from the beginning to the end for the first time. This ultimately lead to me conversion and I had a ‘born again’ experience. I also began to attend a Pentecostal church about this time. These events are listed in my pages above for those who wish to know more so I won’t elaborate here. My life was changed completely for the better once I became a Christian believer and my sole wish was to tell others about this pearl of information I had discovered so they too might benefit by coming to God as I had done. This desire to ‘preach the Gospel‘ has stuck with me ever since and really it should be the desire of every born again believer! So I witness to people given every opportunity. You might ask why we Christians want others, complete strangers to know about God and salvation but there is a new driving force within us called the Holy Spirit empowering us and there is a new love in our hearts for those who don’t know. Writing about God in a Blog is a very easy thing to do, far easier than speaking with people face to face but I enjoy doing both. I expect a lot of rejection for my efforts for many say in their own way, ‘It’s not for me’, as if it were a hobby or a pastime for me, something I just do as a hobby or because I have an interest in Christianity. Christianity isn’t anything like Islam or Buddhism, Hinduism or any other ‘religions’ for it is the only one with the promise of eternal life. Believing in a deity, is difficult to accept for many people so they dismiss it out of hand. It is only by openly pursuing God that He will be found though. We have to make the effort and earnestly seek Him. Saying that God doesn’t exist doesn’t mean He doesn’t but people will say the opposite,’believing in God doesn’t mean He exists either’. Well I didn’t know avocados existed before I saw one! The difference is that I can take avocados or not as I please without any consequences but this isn’t the same for God. If I don’t take hold of His free gift of life everlasting in Jesus Christ I will pay the consequences and these consequences will last an eternity! There will not be a second chance so why take that chance? Why gamble with your destiny? No, Christianity isn’t just a hobby or an interest, it isn’t all about going to a church or following the traditions of men as many do. It is about salvation, ETERNAL SALVATION. Pooh-pooh the idea if you think that isn’t true and I know many of you will do exactly that. It won’t stop me trying to get through to you though because I know the gift is very much worth accepting.
English: Norwood Green in spring. These lovely daffodils are often “harvested” for Mothers’ Day. Sad that “Mothering Sunday” should be so abused.
Sunday marked the anniversary of the birth of our youngest son. He is now 28 years old. He paid us a visit of course in order to give his mum a small gift as it was also Mothering Sunday, another of those annual events that have become fashionable to observe in the last century, possibly half-century? The tradition goes back quite a few hundred years in fact (check the link below this post). Time flies by rather quickly these days, well obviously it doesn’t but it seems to as we get older. Monday, today as I write this, is back again and it only seems like yesterday it was Monday. In my part of the country it is very sunny with only a few clouds in the sky but it is bitterly cold in the strong north-easterly wind making the 1 degree temperature seem minus 7! It is very pleasant in the sunshine and in fact I have to close the curtain for a few minutes as I sit writing this for I cannot see the screen. I have just been out to do a small job locally and have returned home because there are no other jobs scheduled. I am in two minds as to whether a trip to the pub for lunch is on the cards. I will decide later. I didn’t wish to get out of bed this morning but my commitment to work forced me to. Actually, I have been trying not to spend too much time in bed and getting more active instead. For the first time this year I saw the sun shining into my bedroom which faces more or less north-easterly. As the sun rises progressively from a more northerly point until the summer solstice it gets to shine more and more into my room in the early hours after sunrise, another good reason for getting out of bed. The job I had to do was very simple indeed and took next to no time to do once I’d visited the supplier for the part I needed. The elderly gentleman asked me if I would like a drink and I accepted. He is 75 years old but doesn’t look anything like it and he was surprised to learn that I was 67. He admired the fact that I don’t look my age either. He asked about my history as an electrician and commented on the fact that it was unusual for a woman to have been trained as an electrician way back in 1962! I had to concur but said nothing more about it. He seemingly supports the idea that women should be able to do anything that men do in the workplace. I have to agree with him. He then asked about my faith for he remembered that I am a Christian from a previous visit to do another job for him last year. He was intrigued and asked questions so I gave him the ‘full monty’ as they say, explaining the Gospel message and what it means to be a Christian. He asked about other faiths too and I explained what God says about them in the Bible. So most of my time with him was spent chatting rather than working but I think it was time well spent. Another good reason for getting out of bed and meeting people! I take every opportunity to spread the Gospel message for I know only too well what I was like before I became a believer.
English: Satan Going Forth from the Presence of the Lord, by William Blake.
Well there you are sitting pretty in your little house or apartment. A nice car stands on the driveway or tucked away inside your garage. There’s money in the bank, though you’d probably like some more. You have a decent job and a family around you or you have retired and are living the good life. Maybe you are single and can do your own thing. Your diary is filled with social engagements and you have many friends to call upon. You make a point in dining out as often as you can. Life is one long holiday but even so you like to go off somewhere once or twice a year as funds will allow. The wine cellar is full and so is the refrigerator. You own the latest television set and computer, mobile phone and tablet and you have many hobbies to keep you occupied. Your garden is well-kept with its immaculate lawn and borders. Fruit trees grow in abundance and tomatoes grow in your large greenhouse. Life is good. It couldn’t be better. All your needs are met and you want for nothing. Suddenly it is all taken away from you. Without your possessions and lifestyle you have become nothing. What would you do? Well this is what one man did when he found himself in a similar situation..
1 In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. 2 He had seven sons and three daughters, 3 and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.
4 His sons used to hold feasts in their homes on their birthdays, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would make arrangements for them to be purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, ‘Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.’ This was Job’s regular custom.
6 One day the angels[a] came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan[b] also came with them. 7 The Lord said to Satan, ‘Where have you come from?’
Satan answered the Lord, ‘From roaming throughout the earth, going to and fro on it.’
8 Then the Lord said to Satan, ‘Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.’
9 ‘Does Job fear God for nothing?’ Satan replied. 10 ‘Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11 But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.’
12 The Lord said to Satan, ‘Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.’
Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.
13 One day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the eldest brother’s house, 14 a messenger came to Job and said, ‘The oxen were ploughing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, 15 and the Sabeans attacked and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!’
16 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, ‘The fire of God fell from the heavens and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!’
17 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, ‘The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!’
18 While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, ‘Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the eldest brother’s house, 19 when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!’
20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said:
‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall depart.[c] The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.’
22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.
Think about your life and how that one day it will be taken from you. What will you do when you realise you are in the presence of God facing judgement?
1 Remember your Creator
in the days of your youth,
before the days of trouble come
and the years approach when you will say,
‘I find no pleasure in them’– 2 before the sun and the light
and the moon and the stars grow dark,
and the clouds return after the rain; 3 when the keepers of the house tremble,
and the strong men stoop,
when the grinders cease because they are few,
and those looking through the windows grow dim; 4 when the doors to the street are closed
and the sound of grinding fades;
when people rise up at the sound of birds,
but all their songs grow faint; 5 when people are afraid of heights
and of dangers in the streets;
when the almond tree blossoms
and the grasshopper drags itself along
and desire no longer is stirred.
Then people go to their eternal home
and mourners go about the streets.
6 Remember him – before the silver cord is severed,
and the golden bowl is broken;
before the pitcher is shattered at the spring,
and the wheel broken at the well, 7 and the dust returns to the ground it came from,
and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
8 ‘Meaningless! Meaningless!’ says the Teacher.[a]
‘Everything is meaningless!’
The conclusion of the matter
9 Not only was the Teacher wise, but also he imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs. 10 The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true.
11 The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails – given by one shepherd.[b]12 Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them.
Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.
13 Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter:
fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the duty of all mankind. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment,
including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil.
Footnotes:
Ecclesiastes 12:8 Or the leader of the assembly; also in verses 9 and 10
How can it be that I am happy and yet feel so bored I could jump off a cliff? Regular readers of this blog, that is those who have been following for a couple of years will know that I have irregular times of being bored for no apparent reason. I just cannot be bothered sometimes. Life is good for a number of reasons, best of all is that it is God-given but even knowing that doesn’t prevent my journeys into getting fed-up with it. The things I like doing, the interests I have and even my work all seem to lose my attention to them at times. When these feelings come over me I lose interest in all those things, I can’t be bothered with them or anything. If I play my guitar I normally enjoy it but then get bored and put it down after a few minutes, if I browse the Internet it bores me soft and I switch to playing solitaire for ages instead, if I decide to stay at home I get bored and if I go to the pub all I want to do is return home. I find the everyday things in life a chore, I speak with people then wished they would just leave me alone, yet I sometimes yearn for company. I like driving but almost never just go for a drive somewhere and if I do I begin to think to myself where are you going and what’s the point? Well exactly, what is the point? Yet through all of this I feel ecstatically happy! How strange is that? Many might say I am just depressed but it isn’t depression as in the clinical meaning of the word, it is simply boredom and anything anyone suggests to me to alleviate it is totally uninteresting. I know it will pass, it always does and yet I feel more and more at home with the feelings I get as time goes by. I am getting used to it like a soul who just wants to turn off the switch and disappear into the distance never to be seen again. I have tried to explain these feelings before but each time, as above, it doesn’t really make any sense. I’ll remain bored until it wears off else get used to it and remain that way………….in the meantime………….I’m…………….Oh I can’t be bothered…………
I have said this many times in the past but I don’t worry about anything these days, I put my hope and faith in God who takes away my cares. Ok I know some of you will disagree with that but nevertheless it is true for me, He really does take away my cares. Personal problems I may have do not compare to the problems that face so many in the world. If you click on the link to the right ‘Vine of life news’ or here instead, http://vineoflife.net you will see the column to the far right of its home page items of news from around the world which will open your eyes to what is really going on, some items of news you never hear about from the media or main television news reports. The world is in a terrible state, people facing danger, starvation, military and religious oppression of all kinds and we should be concerned. I know I am concerned but I’m not worried about it all, these things we are told will happen before the end time. As sure as God has a plan they will, He knows things before they happen, it is all in prophecy. Mankind is heading for its own destruction unless there is an intervention, and there will be as sure as there is a tomorrow. I do not worry about these things for it is all in God’s hands. I am not surprised to read about many of the things we human beings get up to all in the name of religion, greed, power and such things. Man’s inhumanity toward his fellow being at times beggars belief and to what end? I remember how much my father was upset about such things and he would often say so whenever he learned of another way mankind had behaved toward his fellow-man. People tell me that we as human beings are gradually improving in our relationships with each other and that the world is becoming a better place but from where I stand and what I can see going on all around me that suggestion is a difficult one to accept. We have had many generations come and go to get it right but I don’t think we are even close or ever likely to be but as I said, I am not worried, God takes that away from me for I place everything into His hands.
1 Peter 5:6-7
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
Takva: A Man’s Fear of God (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Once upon a time this country was called a Christian country and God-fearing. The laws of God, His precepts were strictly adhered to for fear of God’s wrath. Probably many folk were more frightened of the Church because of the way the Church preached the Word but nevertheless the message was received and accepted. Religion has always been a problem in preaching God’s Word. Would God or does God recognise His Church in these last days? Much of the Church has lost its way and struggles with doctrine, often miss-interpreting Scripture along the way or allowing secular thoughts to influence in decision-making. God gave us His Word in writing showing us the covenants He made with us and laying down His laws and precepts for us to obey. Those laws and precepts remain true even to this day and will remain so forever. When we choose to disobey those rules (laws and precepts) we place ourselves in danger for He gave them to us for a good reason. However, many have turned away from God and choose to do their own thing and live their lives as they please but to be sure God isn’t pleased with them, though some who believe in Him would maintain that He does! Each defiant step we take away from His laws, away from His precepts takes us further away from Him. God loves us all but in no way loves the sins we commit before Him. Sins are what keeps mankind separated from God. This country, this nation, apart from those who love God and obey Him, has moved far away from God and is getting further away from Him every day. Under the umbrella of the ‘Human Rights‘ advocates God’s laws are being disregarded and ignored, issues concerning homosexuality, same gender marriage, abortions, all go against God’s law. God is not pleased and will pass judgement in due course. The saying by many that this country of ours has ‘gone to the dogs’ is not far from the truth and we will most certainly reap the rewards for our evil ways one day. Our once great kingdom will no longer be great and is already part-way down that road. We, as a nation, need to repent of our ways and get back to God. It is then and only then will we prosper.
Jeremiah 18
5 Then the word of the Lord came to me. 6 He said, ‘Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?’ declares the Lord. ‘Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel. 7 If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, 8 and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. 9 And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, 10 and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.
2 Chronicles 7
14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
Many of the people I know have no belief in God despite how many times they are witnessed to. A brick wall surrounds them, their eyes are open but they cannot see, their ever-open ears hear nothing, their lives are all they see. They are born, they live and then they die as if for no reason whatsoever. According to their hearts they are all here by accident, by chance, by some fluke of nature and are simply a product of a universe they know nothing about or where it came from. The universe with all it’s galaxies came from somewhere, it was created. In the same way we were created too. God declares He is the creator of all things and He did it all through Jesus Christ and by His Spirit. God spoke and it happened. God speaks today and things happen. Those who know God will know these things but for those who don’t, they remain in ignorance. God however loves all His creation and would have none of us perish or be outside of His love. Unfortunately many do not accept this and place themselves in great danger, not in this life but in the next. We are all sinners and as such deserve nothing from God but in His mercy we may obtain forgiveness and everlasting, yes EVERLASTING LIFE if we repent and accept the one He sent, Jesus, as our Saviour. Without Jesus we are doomed to eternal punishment, Throughout The Bible we are told about this message, this Gospel, this good news but it is up to us to respond. In the final page of Revelation, the last book in the Bible, God calls out to those who have yet to come to Him through Jesus. A final warning and a final invitation. Why? Because He loves you!
Revelation 22
Epilogue: invitation and warning
12 ‘Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
14 ‘Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. 15 Outside are the dogs, those who practise magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practises falsehood.
16 ‘I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.’
17 The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come!’ Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.
18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: if anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. 19 And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.
20 He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’
This is a powerful vision that a dying man received from God, please watch and let his words stir your soul. If you doubt now about the existence of God please take a small moment to watch this video, hear his words and let his conviction open your heart towards Jesus. Don’t take another second of your life not believing because tomorrow might be too late.
I thought you might like to follow the thread which follows the above picture as shown on Wikipedia……….
Comments and faves
politbike(62 months ago)
Why is it sad? There are well documented cases of The Lord Jesus healing people of cancer (for instance, see: www.godhealscancer.com/ ) – the evidence is there if we open our eyes & look, but some people still choose not to believe the evidence, because of the word “God”. Atheism & Secularism are belief systems, not the antithesis of belief. It was G K Chesterton who said: “When people stop believing in God, they don’t believe in nothing — they believe in anything.”
Better Than Bacon (59 months ago)
Well, you know why I think it’s sad.
Am I supposed to go buy that book now? I’ll trust double-blind studies over anecdotal “cases,” no matter how ‘documented’ they are. One of the only studies cited in support of prayer is by R. C. Byrd, and I think the most he could claim is that Jesus Power gives you +6% chance of surviving a specific ailment, or something, which is fishy first of all and hilarious even if it’s true.
You don’t understand what constitutes evidence. You just don’t understand how it works, and how easy it is to delude yourself with anecdotes. That’s sad, too.
politbike(59 months ago)
My comment was a question, yours is a judgmental statement. What makes you think I “don’t understand what constitutes evidence”, especially as you neither know me, or my background?
If somebody has what the doctors diagnose as inoperable cancer and then as a direct result of prayer and laying on of hands has no sign of the disease, I would call that evidence of a miracle, as would any intelligent person.
Please do not accuse me of being “deluded with anecdotes”, simply because of your own unbelief. I have first hand experience of healing miracles. If you choose not to believe, that is your choice, but please do not insult the intelligence of those who have seen, beyond doubt, the healing power of prayer.
You must remember that Bible believing Christians are NOT some sort of uneducated, gullible sub-culture. Many Christians were once hard hearted atheists. What makes you so sure that you will never change?
Better Than Bacon (59 months ago)
Yeesh. Turns out I was right to be judgemental.
There are plenty of intelligent, educated Christians, for sure. I was arguing with a friend one time about the effects of his prayers, and how he could ‘see’ that it worked and that it couldn’t be tested. Twenty minutes later, the conversation drifted, and we ended up both sharing a bewildered laugh at how stupid people were for doing rain dances, for centuries, because they could ‘see’ that it worked but never bothered to really check. Despite being an intelligent guy (more so than I), the irony was lost on him.
politbike(59 months ago)
People doubt because they have preconceived opinions as to what does and does not constitute truth. It is pride which prevents people from acknowledging the work of God when they see it; pride in thinking that just perhaps the prejudices they have against God’s word are wrong. Also, many non-believers ideas of Christianity are totally deluded, but they refuse to be educated, thinking that they know best.
There are some healings I have seen which go beyond doubt, where even the most atheistic doctors are lost for words. It is these which I would say are the true miracles. Unfortunately, even then, the skeptics will claim that the illness would have got better on its own. Some people refuse to see the evidence of God working, even when it is obvious.
Better Than Bacon (59 months ago)
I know this is condescending but, to give a feeling for how you sound to someone like me, I’ll translate your reply:
Or, if that seems too far removed (it doesn’t to me), think of analogous ‘translations’ for Islam, Scientology, or the IPU. Like it or not, you’re lumped with them because your explanation is equally unjustified, superficial, and unsatisfying.
politbike(59 months ago)
You disappoint me, my friend. Just when you were beginning to look at the subject with an open mind, your humanistic fear of anything which cannot be scientifically rationalised begins to rear its ugly head again.
Do you have first hand experience of atomic science, brain surgery, Radio Astronomy, etc. No? But you trust the teachings of those who do. However, when it comes to Christian healing, you have no first hand experience or knowledge of the subject, but you claim to be an expert, able to dismiss out of hand the knowledge of those who do!
It was you, not me who first mooted the strange idea of linking Christian healing with native American rain dances. For someone who eschews “superstition”, you seem to have a fixation with this particular tradition. Your analogy is very tenuous, so let me offer another “translation”…
“Or, if that seems too far removed (it doesn’t to me, because I’m open to any discussion except on the subject of Christianity, because I’m an expert on it), think of analogous ‘translations’ for Islam, Scientology, Humanism, Secularism, Atheism, or the IPU. Like it or not, I’m lumped with them because my explanation is equally unjustified, superficial, and unsatisfying”.
Touche?
You can’t have a balanced, open discussion if you are not open to listening to all explanations. There are many testimonies to the fact that Jesus DOES heal. Your argument relies on providing evidence that Jesus does NOT heal. If you cannot provide this evidence, your comments stand on shaky ground. In other words, either put up, or shut up. Your preconceived prejudices on the subject of Christian healing, together with your arrogant assumption that all Christian views are “wrong” are serious blockages to your supposed search for rational enlightenment.
Better Than Bacon (59 months ago)
If there were Hindu astronomy, Christian astronomy, Secular astronomy etc, and they all arrived at different conclusions via the same means, we’d both be sceptical about those means. That situation would suggest that the methodology doesn’t separate what is true from what is false.
The fact that we don’t have Christian astronomy versus Islamic astronomy bodes well for the methodology of science; it factors out the human bias as much as possible, and humans can be pretty biased depending on what culture/era they’re born in. If you were transported to India as an infant and raised there, you’d have a totally different set of beliefs incompatible with Christianity. Would you be saved? If not, who’s ‘fault’ is it then?
The question of whether prayer increases one’s chances of surviving cancer is a scientific question, because you’re positing both an observable cause and an observable effect. People have done these intercessory prayer studies for all kinds of illnesses, and the double-blind studies invariably find no relationship. This doesn’t rule out Jesus healing people, it just means that whenever scientists are watching ol’ J.C is content letting people (and their families) suffer horribly drawn out deaths.
I am most certainly not an expert, and don’t ever intend to be, for the same reason I’m not an expert in Scientology. You’re not an expert in Scientology, so how can you discount the power of their Tech? Maybe because you think they’re a cult espousing totally retarded nonsense made up by a second-rate sci-fi writer? (okay, now I’m speaking for you, sorry…). Again, you trust what people have to say if you trust their methodology, and that’s why I trust what scientists have to say, and not what Scientologists or Christians think happened.
Anyway, you said the analogy between rain dancing and prayer was tenuous, but I don’t understand what distinguishes one “cause->effect” hypothesis from the other.
Don’t conflate testimonials with evidence. Double-blind studies are evidence, and they speak volumes. Someone who just goes around witnessing ‘miracle healing’ doesn’t have any perspective on all the times healing didn’t occur, because they’re not paying attention.
I tried to bypass this kind of silliness with the IPU link. Maybe you can put up or shut up about the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Ugh, these replies are getting longer and rehashing standard arguments. Go do some reading. I have to work.
politbike(59 months ago)
Your comments on the IPU and the Flying Spaghetti Monster are totally spurious. Atheists do not actually believe in these things, they are just a childish “insult” thrown at people whose faith they do not, cannot, or will not share. That is their choice. Atheism is NOT “anti belief”, it is simply another belief system. I can tell that you are getting nervous, when you throw casual “insults” like “do some reading”. I have read much more on the subject that you have, otherwise I wouldn’t take the stand I now do. As I have said, you do not know me, my background or qualifications, so you should think before you speak/type.
In the paraphrased words of St. Paul; “If we [Christians] are wrong, we are to be pitied, but in the end, have lost nothing. If You [non-believers] are wrong, you will have lost everything. The choice is yours, but are you prepared to take that chance?
I too have a life outside YouTube and it appears we’re not going to convince each other. I will pray for you.
Better Than Bacon (59 months ago)
The point of IPU and FSM is to show you what it’s like to argue with a believer. I could go on and on pretending to believe in strict Pastafarianism—challenging you to prove me wrong, “Pasta has spread all over the world, where’s the evidence that FSM doesn’t exist?” and so forth—all to show you what it’s like to face a ridiculous statement like “YOU must provide evidence that Jesus does NOT heal.” Don’t dismiss the comparison—use it to gain perspective and to avoid sounding similarly ridiculous yourself.
I’m sure you’ve read a lot on the subject of religion, but I’m suggesting you read on the subject of refuting religious arguments. If you want to convince a sceptic to reflect on his or her biases, you’ve got to do better than parroting standard nonsense like Pascal’s wager and “atheism is just another belief system” (you know the quote “atheism is a religion like ‘not collecting stamps’ is a hobby”).
Besides, atheism is a conclusion, not a ‘system’. Anyway, except for its effects on politics all of this is just philosophical, so no sense getting too upset about it. Have a nice life.
politbike(59 months ago)
Who’s getting upset? All I am saying is you cannot be conclusive. Like most Christians, I have made the transition from non-belief to belief. You may do the same one day. In the meantime, your use of insults and claimed “conclusions” is unnecessary, unhelpful and uneducated. God bless.
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How stubborn are the hearts who refuse to claim the truth, who refuse the free gift of everlasting life through Jesus Christ who took upon himself the sins of the world, even your sins, so that all who believe in him and the One who sent him shall be saved and have that everlasting life! If it was a free gift of £10,000 you’d take it………this free gift is for eternity!
Shirley Anne