Be my Valentine . . .

Picture taken from www.jolietdowntown.com

It’s that time of year again. Friday will be Valentine’s Day! Whether you will be waiting patiently for the post, expecting a bunch of flowers or a box of chocolates is the question. It’s all supposed to be about expressing your affection for someone, maybe secretly, or even openly. It is supposed to be romantic to propose marriage on the day. Maybe the older you get the more you feel the whole business is more about commercialism than romance.

 

However, isn’t it good to be reminded of the need to tell those closest to you of your love, and affection for them? We get caught up in the day-to-day struggle of life, and forget to say thank you to those who do most for us. Preoccupied with the daily grind, we neglect to express our love for those closest to us. The difficulty comes when organisations want to charge exorbitant prices for a simple bunch of flowers, or chocolates that come in a heart shaped box.

 

The Christian message is about the expression of God’s love for each one of us. The Bible says that ‘God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son’. Whilst some people may complain about their partner, who either forgot to buy or bought something cheap as a token of their affection, God gave all that He had – His only and well-loved Son. It cost God everything!

 

If you receive an expensive gift, there is always the possibility that you feel you’re worth it. After all I do for him/her, it might be said, that’s the least I deserve. The Bible reminds us that God’s gift was given to us ‘while we were yet sinners’. God didn’t give His Son for those who loved Him in return. God didn’t give His Son to those who had some vague feeling towards Him. God gave His Son to die upon a Roman cross for those who hated Him, reviled Him, and rejected Him. That’s love far greater than any human being can express.

 

Why did God do that? Because He loves us, and wants to save us from the punishment that our failures and sins deserve! But let us also appreciate that God does not force His love upon us. He offers it to all, but it is only experienced by those who are prepared to trust Him, and accept His Son as their Saviour.

 

I wonder how you would feel if, after spending a considerable sum of money, you gave a gift to a loved one only to find it thrown away, rejected, and broken. What would be your reaction? Think of how God feels when so many give no thought or time to what He has already done. Are you prepared to turn your back upon an old life that is opposed to God and accept His offer of love and salvation?

Mansfield school in cash for grades controversy

Picture taken from: http://www.qeacademy.org.uk

‘Furious students at a failing Mansfield school are demanding money owed to them after they were promised cash for grades – and not paid’. This is the opening sentence of a story featured in the CHAD local newspaper. It would appear that students at the school were offered cash incentives to improve their grades at GCSE but have not yet been paid.

 

For many, this would seem a strange state of affairs. Why should students be offered payment for results? Is it necessary to offer money to ensure that students work, and fulfill their potential? Yet aren’t such questions denying the whole thrust of society? The government and its advisors have argued that teachers should be paid by results for a long time. Bank employees, particularly at the highest levels, have had some considerable bonuses, based upon results so-called. Isn’t that the way the economy works? Why apply it to adults, if it is considered to work, and not children?

 

This is one way in which the Christian gospel message goes against the thinking of so many today. That message tells us, guilty sinners, how we can be forgiven by God, cleansed of our sin, and made fit for heaven. How is that possible? Do we have to work for it? No! Will we be forgiven based upon our effort and results? No! Do we have to pay for it in some other way? No! Do we have to attend church and become “religious”? No! How, then, can guilty human beings, you and I, be forgiven by a holy God?

 

The Christian gospel message is about a person, Jesus Christ, God’s Son. It tells us that He died on a Roman cross some 2000 years ago. He died there to provide a sacrifice for sin, to pay the penalty that was rightly due to us. On Calvary, outside of Jerusalem, God judged His Son in my place that I might go free, be forgiven, be cleansed, and received into God’s presence. He bore God’s punishment for my sin. What about you? Have you accepted God’s Son as your Saviour?

 

It would seem that some students at the school above feel they have been cheated – they have not yet been paid. Promises were made but not kept, or that is how it seems. Let us be clear that when God promises He keeps those promises. He cannot do otherwise because He is God. What are you trusting in for heaven?

Happy New Year

http://www.nocturnar.com/fotos/wallpapers-hd-happy-new-year-2014/

 

Yes. I realize that I’m a bit late. We are ten days into the New Year. Hardly, on time am I? However, there is a point in my delayed welcome to 2014 and greetings to all the KGH blog readers.

 

There used to be a slogan – New Year, New You. I can’t really remember what the slogan was attached to, but the phrase has stuck in my mind. Many people see the start of a new year as an opportunity for a new start. New lifestyle? New diet? New relationship? New hairstyle/makeover? All these are considered and discussed. I suppose that the idea is that we must shake off the shackles of the old year. We must forget the misfortunes of the past and focus on the possibilities for something better in the future. I wonder, now we have reached January 10^th, how many of the best laid plans are still being followed, and how much optimism there still is now most of us have returned from the holiday period back to the routines of life.

 

What do all these failed resolutions and plans tell us? They tell us what we are really like. Even if you’re still sticking to your resolution and achieving some success in whatever it is, there is still the lesson of what we can hope to achieve. The best we can achieve will still leave us short of God’s standard for our life. We may be able to lose the most weight and achieve our target. We may be able to change jobs and have a really successful and prosperous career. We may be able to turn our life around and become the best partner, parent, or friend anyone could want. However, we can never reach God’s standard of perfection. The Bible says we are sinners – all of us. We need God’s salvation and blessing to fit us for heaven.

 

What we seek to tell our readers through this blog is that God has provided a Saviour and a way of salvation. All we have to do is admit that we are sinners and accept God’s gift of salvation through faith in His Son. As the Lord Jesus Christ died some 2000 years ago outside the city of Jerusalem, He died there for your sin and mine. God judged His Son for our sin. However, the importance of that sacrifice of Jesus Christ can only be applied if we accept it and believe it was for us. Salvation is not automatic. It requires my faith, my willingness to accept it. Will you? That would make 2014 a New Year – the start of a new, Christian life!

_._._._._._.mas? What do you think is missing?

Image taken from: http://the3inone.wordpress.com

I wonder if you’ve already guessed what’s missing from the title of this blog. I know it’s not really that difficult. At this time of year when everyone is celebrating and looking forward to time off work and spending that time with family and friends, I doubt it would take anyone long to work out what the words is and the letters that are missing. However, there is a fundamental problem that we want to highlight. Amongst the tinsel, the frantic shopping, the presents, the parties, and the stress, have we forgotten what this season is really all about? I realize that December was not the time when Christ was born in Bethlehem, but it is the time when we are supposed to think about that tremendous event. Do we? What thought have you given to the Christian message of “a Saviour which is Christ the Lord”?

As that short quote from Luke’s Gospel reminds us, the person who was born in Bethlehem was important, even unique. Even the sceptic or atheist has to accept that “Jesus came into the world”. There is historical evidence to confirm it. For them, the difficulty arises with the Biblical record that the baby Jesus was none other than “Christ the Lord” – the Son of God. If Christmas was about the birth of just another baby, it would be nothing special or significant. However, it is not about just another birth, but about the birth of the Son of God by the virgin Mary – a miraculous event! That’s something worth remembering and celebrating. The Son of God has become man!

But that begs the question “why?” The Bible provides the answer: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”. God sent His Son, and Jesus Christ came, that we, you and I, might be forgiven, cleansed, and brought back to God. Each of us has a problem called sin – simple disobedience, a rejection of God’s Law and standards. That problem of sin keeps us at a distance from God and could separate us from Him eternally. The Lord Jesus came, born in Bethlehem, lived amongst men, and died upon a Roman cross at Calvary, a place outside of the city of Jerusalem, to save us from the penalty of our sin.

Our prayer is that this Christmas you might pause and think about the real significance of this time of year. Amidst all the family, friends, and food, we hope that you might spare a thought for the Son of God who came to save you and I, to give His life that we might be forgiven. That was God’s gift to men and women like us. Are you prepared to accept it?

Storms

Picture taken from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25253080

Sitting in my office I could hear the strong winds buffeting the building and making things rattle outside. It was not a pleasant experience but it was nothing compared with what some people have suffered in recent days. Storms have pounded Scotland and parts of northern England and surge tides are about to bring flooding to parts of the east coast. These are not happy days for some who will be worried as they survey the damage to their properties and wonder how it will be paid for, or whether there is the likelihood of more.

 

Of one thing I am sure. I am grateful that I was not out upon the sea in any part of that storm that hit our coast. The news programmes indicated the number of people who had been rescued from inland properties as the floods hit, but what of those at sea?

 

I thought of an occasion that the Bible records. Some experienced fishermen were working on the sea when, without warning, a ferocious storm arose. With every sinew of their bodies they fought to stay afloat as the wind blew and the waves pounded into the boat. They were in real fear for their lives. Fortunately for them there was one person in the boat who could provide a solution to their panic and fear. That person was Jesus Christ. As one said on another occasion, “Lord, save me”, he found in Jesus Christ One who was willing and able to save.

 

One of the benefits that we have living in the 21^st Century is adequate warning of dangers. The Environment Agency issues colour coded alerts to warn us of the dangers – storms, snow, flooding. We can make preparation, just in case the worst happens. The Bible issues a warning as to the dire consequences that await those who reject Jesus Christ and His message of salvation. What should we do to escape God’s judgement upon our sin and disobedience? We need to cry, like Peter the apostle, “Lord, save me”. I imagine some people smiled when the latest warning were issued. “Storms? We’ve heard that before, and it never happened!”

"I'll ring you back . . ."

Image from: http://www.amazon.co.uk/

Dictum meum pactum – My word is my bond.

Since 1801 this has been the motto of the London Stock Exchange where bargains are made with no exchange of documents and no written pledges being given. I think they have it in Latin as dictum meum pactum but it means the same thing. If you’re wondering what relevance that has for you, let me explain.

 

It was a trying experience. I thought it was just a simple insurance claim for a new windscreen but apparently it wasn’t. After getting nowhere with a call centre worker, I asked to speak to a supervisor. It seemed that the supervisor was unavailable at that moment but they promised he would ring me back. He didn’t. I rang again. The manager was “in a meeting”, but he would definitely ring back. He didn’t. Sound familiar? People make promises and don’t keep them. The saga dragged on for 24 hours before, finally, the matter was resolved.

To be fair it might not have been the manager’s fault. Something might have happened that meant he just couldn’t return my call. We’re not always able to honour our promises – we’re not in command of every circumstance.

The beauty of God’s message to you and I today is that if God promises it will come to pass. That’s really great. When I came to realize that I was a guilty sinner in need of God’s salvation, I trusted Christ. I wonder if you’ve ever come to that point. Have you ever realized that you have failed to live as God wants you to live? You have never given to God the place in your life that He deserves. You stand guilty and condemned before a holy God – that is the verdict of the Bible. Not just for you, but for me as well! What can we do? The answer is simple. We come to God and confess our failure – it’s time to say sorry and change the direction of our life forever. We must believe that Jesus Christ died in our place, bore the punishment for our sin, to provide salvation for us. God says, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life”. The Lord Jesus said, “He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life . . . is passed from death unto life”. That’s a promise!

I’m confident that I am on my way to heaven. That would be a foolish thing to say if it wasn’t for the fact that God promised – I have “everlasting life”, a home in heaven, and peace with God. I’m not relying upon a human promise. When the Lord Jesus said, “I will come again, and receive you unto myself” nothing can stop Him from doing exactly that. That’s a promise and a hope worth having!

Poppies

The 10^th November 2013 was Remembrance Sunday. It was the time set aside to remember those who have given their lives in various conflicts across the globe – British soldiers who have fought and died to preserve the freedom that we take for granted. It was on a visit to Crich and the memorial there that I began to appreciate the significance. There was the record of 11000 men killed in the First World War and over 2000 killed in the Second World War. This is a just a snapshot of how many were killed across the many regiments of soldiers in the country. We think of those that died in vast numbers. We think of the families affected. It is right and fitting that those who have benefitted should show their respect for the dead.

 

I wonder. How many people give any thought to One who gave His life some 2000 years ago? It was outside the city of Jerusalem that He was crucified by the Romans. Rejected by His own people, despised by the leaders of the nation, He was taken by the Roman soldiers, brutally treated and crucified by nails driven through His hands and feet. He too was a victim of conflict – the conflict between good and evil. Peter described the events when he said to the Jews, ‘ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain’. The crucifixion was an expression of human self-will, sin, a testimony to man’s wickedness. Does that mean that evil triumphed? No!

 

Those that we remember each year on the second Sunday in November gave their life to maintain many of the freedoms we take for granted. Jesus Christ laid down His life to give us a freedom far greater. Jesus died to free us from sin – its penalty, its power, and, one day, its presence. When He died, He died as a sacrifice for sin. He died to pay the penalty of our sin and guilt and to restore us to fellowship with God.

 

We observe a few minutes silence once a year by way of remembrance of the dead of numerous conflicts. It’s not much in minutes when compared with the minutes that make up a year. Just two minutes! To think that the Son of God loved me and gave His life to ransom mine, what time do I spend in remembrance of Him? Have you given any thought to the death of Jesus Christ? Have you ever considered why? Have you ever considered that your sin and mine cost God His own Son to provide us with the possibility of salvation from sin – freedom?