In the final seconds . . .

http://www.express.co.uk/sport/othersport/585454/Lutalo-Muhammad-claims-taekwondo-bronze-for-Great-Britain-in-Baku

‘Devastated Muhammad breaks down in interview. Lutalo Muhammad speaks to BBC Sport after seeing gold snatched away in the final seconds by Cheick Sallah Cisse’. This was the story that appeared on the BBC News website on the 20^th August 2016. In the closing stages of the Rio Olympic Games a British athlete had seen his hopes of Olympic gold dashed. He had got so close, but had to be satisfied with the silver medal.

I am sure we would all want to offer sympathy to the athlete. He has spent years preparing for this event, ensuring that he is at his peak of performance at just the right time. He has successfully progressed through the preliminary rounds. He stood on the very edge of success, fame, and achievement of his dream. Most of us have never been there. We can’t begin to imagine what it must feel like, even though the achievement of the silver medal is terrific and worthy of celebration. Lutalo’s words were, ‘I am so distraught’.

My mind went to a different scene altogether. Sadly, there are many people who are working hard to get into God’s heaven. They have been expending their efforts on good works, church attendance, and other such endeavours expecting that it will see them received in glory in a coming day. Many of their friends and compatriots may well set them up as examples and mentors because of what they have accomplished. Everyone expects that they should be safe and worthy of heaven. Lutalo may have been capable of the gold medal. However, those expecting their own efforts to get them into heaven are working under a delusion. Equally, for Lutalo there may be another opportunity in four years for him to compete again. For those who expect to stand at the gate of heaven and be accepted on the merit of their own efforts there is no ‘second chance’!

It is the purpose of this blog to point you to Christ as the only Saviour of sinners. If you want to be assured of a home in heaven, then it is essential that you cease from your own efforts and put faith in Christ alone. All our best endeavours will only result in failure and a failure far more catastrophic that anything Olympic medal loss. The Bible says, ‘Christ died for our sins’ [1]. On the cross, He ‘suffered for us’ [2]. All that I am and all that I have done can be forgiven if I put faith in Him and accept His work at Calvary as necessary for my sin and guilt.

The question we all have to face is whether we’re prepared to accept God’s verdict on our lives: ‘none righteous, no, not one’ [3]. Are we prepared to come God’s way, humbly, repentantly, and by faith in Christ? The decision is yours! You may be in ‘the final seconds’, what will it be?

 

[1] 1 Corinthians 15. 3

[2] 1 Peter 2. 21

[3] Romans 3. 10

 

Royal Garden Party

https://www.royal.uk/our-garden-party-palace

Like me, I doubt whether you have ever been invited to a garden party at Buckingham Palace. It is not a privilege that is extended to many. Perhaps if you have made some significant contribution to society, you are successful business person, sporting superstar, or winner of some award it is possible that you might be invited. I understand that if you are invited there is sent with your invitation a guide as to what you must wear. There is a standard of dress. Similarly, you may be advised on how to speak to members of the Royal Family, just in case you are introduced to one or more of them.



http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7067417.stm

I think we’d all agree that Lenny, the man in the second picture, is hardly dressed for the palace. Having been homeless for 29 years, according to the story, he doesn’t possess the right clothes and would not be seen as a suitable candidate to receive an invite. There could not be a sharper contrast between those in the dress of the palace and those like Lenny. Whilst some might criticise that contrast and the fact that some live in luxury whilst others live in poverty I want to use it to illustrate the Christian message.



Like Lenny we are ‘down and out’. That is a statement that describes our state before God. We are not fit for His presence. All of our best efforts are like the filthy rags of the person sleeping rough.[1] They will not gain us entry into the presence of a holy God. As sinners, we fall short of what God requires.[2] We might think we can present ourselves at the gate of heaven and be accepted but that is less likely to occur than if Lenny walked like that to the gate of Buckingham Palace and expected to be received at the Royal Garden Party. It would not happen. It will not happen to us for God’s standard is far higher than the Queen’s.

But the news of the Christian gospel is that a transformation can be made in all of us. It is not that we require a “wash and brush up”, as might be the case for the palace. That would be to change the outside only. What we need, and what the gospel of Christ can achieve, is a change from the inside out. Our sins can be blotted out – forgiven. We can be changed.[3] We can be made a new person in Christ. But how is that possible?



Some 2000 years ago Jesus Christ gave up His life on a Roman cross outside the ancient city of Jerusalem. That death, or sacrifice, was not an accident, or just a miscarriage of justice. It was a voluntary act to deal with the problem of our sin and guilt. As a Christian I can save that Jesus suffered and died there for my sin. He paid the penalty that I might be cleansed and made fit for God’s presence. I am trusting Him for my salvation.

I’ve never been to a Garden Party at the palace. I probably never will. But I do know that I will be received into heaven one day. I will see the face of my Saviour on that day. I know which I’d sooner have! What about you?

[1] Isaiah 64 verse 6

[2] Romans 3 verse 23

[3] 2 Corinthians 5 verse 17



Time flies

It is nearly six months since our last blog post. In looking back over that period I am deeply conscious of how time flies. Was it really less than a month before Christmas 2015 that we last completed a message? Where have the months gone?

Of course, the reality is that time does not fly. It is just our impression. Our celebration of Christmas was months ago. Easter was six weeks ago. However, as the daily routine takes over so the weeks pass quickly and, before we blink, we will be celebrating another Christmas. My concern in this theme is how quickly life will be past. What preparation in the busy passage of time have we made for eternity?

When we are young life seems to lie ahead in all its fullness. We feel we need to live a little, enjoying what life has to offer. We can put off such things that we feel belong to later life. In reality, there is never a better time to consider our salvation than now. The Bible tells us 'now is the day of salvation'.[1] A tremendous opportunity lies within the range of each of us - to secure our home in heaven and peace with our creator God. But we must get right with God now. We must get our sins forgiven whilst we have opportunity. Our sins are the barrier between us and God, between us and heaven.

The good news is that God offers us forgiveness and cleansing. God says, 'Come now, and let us reason together . . . though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow'.[2] Through the death of Jesus Christ on Calvary's hill we can be saved - forgiven of our sins and cleansed of their stain. All it takes is faith - a firmly held belief that when Jesus Christ died, He died for you! Come to God now. Tell him of your deep need because of your sin. Do it now - tomorrow may be too late!

[1] 2 Corinthians 6. 2
[2] Isaiah 1. 18

What’s on your present list this Christmas?

It was some years ago that one of my students alerted me to the fact of what some people spend on presents at Christmas. She was telling me what her mother had promised to buy her for Christmas, not in terms of tens of pounds but in hundreds. I commented about how wealthy her mother must be to afford to spend such large amounts on her, only to be told that her mother would borrow the money in order to fund such generosity. It got me thinking. Is this how we measure a parent’s love for their child? Is the quality of a child’s Christmas judged in terms of the value of the presents they receive?

 

However, this is not a rant at the commercialism and exploitation that is so often a key feature of Christmas. What I find most upsetting is that in the dazzle of the Christmas lights and the fervour of Christmas shopping we have lost sight of what the festival is supposed to be all about. Christmas is supposed to be about Christ! It would be easy to dismiss the point because we don’t actually know what time of year Jesus Christ was born. But there is sufficient historical evidence to know that He was born and He did live in Israel. Indeed, we wouldn’t have a year 2015 if it wasn’t for His coming – the way in which we calculate the year is determined from the point at which men have assessed He was born.

 

Whether we look at our presents this Christmas and calculate how much people have spent on us or not, have we ever stopped to think of the present God gave to human kind some 2000 years ago? One thing is sure, we can measure God’s love by the value of what He gave – ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son’.[1] But it was not just that God gave His Son to be born, or to live a good life. He gave His Son that He might die upon a Roman cross and suffer untold agony and grief. Why? The Bible puts it this way: ‘But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us’.[2] The death of the Lord Jesus was for us – you and me! In reality, Jesus died that we might have forgiveness and cleansing from our sin and its defilement. He died to bear the penalty for our sin and provide a means of reconciliation to God. The Bible says He, Jesus, ‘was delivered for our offences’,[3] and that we can be ‘reconciled to God by the death of his Son’.[4]  

 

Perhaps this Christmas we might think about that verse from the Bible: ‘For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given’.[5] God gave us His Son. What have we given to God in return? Have we given Him our life, or have we ignored that most costly gift, or, worse still, thrown it back in His face?

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[1] John chapter 3 verse 16

[2] Romans chapter 5 verse 8

[3] Romans chapter 4 verse 25

[4] Romans chapter 5 verse 10

[5] Isaiah chapter 9 verse 6

Seen it all?

‘With nigh on 30 years in the police service . . . you think you've seen it all until you learn of yesterday's events’. These are the words of Chief Superintendent Adrian Watson of Police Scotland speaking at a news conference after the tragic death of a sixteen-year-old youngster stabbed to death in an Aberdeen school. One relatively simple act by another sixteen-year-old male has devastated a family, mentally scarred a school, its children and staff, and shocked a community.

Some may remember that not too long ago a supply teacher in a Yorkshire school was stabbed by a student. He survived the attack whereas the teenager in Scotland did not. However, do these recurring tragedies make us think or, like so much shocking news that is beamed into our homes, are they news today and forgotten tomorrow? It is easy to become hardened. Indeed, the words of Chief Superintendent Watson suggest that possibility to be real. It is a way that such professionals cope with the awful consequences of people’s actions, the mess that they often have to ‘clear up’. For the rest of us, are we becoming case-hardened and rather cynical?

The concern of every Christian is that we are becoming de-sensitized to sin. We are beginning to accept things that we know to be wrong. Our conscience tells us. The law may even confirm the fact, but, because having to face the penalty of law-breaking is unlikely, we accept the situation. That is until something as shocking as yesterday’s incident in a Scottish school makes us think. But does the horror of such a crime taking place in what is perceived to be a safe and caring environment cause us all to appraise our behaviour?

If we think that any of our actions, however seemingly trivial, go unnoticed then we are deceiving ourselves. The law may not always bring us to book but nothing escapes the eye of God and, ultimately, the Bible says, ‘be sure your sin will find you out’.[1] Equally, we may come to ‘see things differently’ and accept what we once regarded as wrong. We may become hardened and not be shocked by things that would once have scandalised the country. However, the Bible makes it clear that God and His standards do not change and are not compromised: ‘For I am the LORD, I change not’.[2]

One young man’s actions have blighted a family, a school, and a community. Too often we all fail to think seriously about the consequences of our actions. One day we will be called to account. We will stand before God and be called to account for every aspect of our lives. I’m just glad that I will be able to point to the Lord Jesus Christ and, through faith in Him, be able to say that He bore my sin and guilt when He died on the cross of Calvary. What about you?

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[1] Numbers 32 verse 23

[2] Malachi 3 verse 6

Longest Serving Monarch

Picture taken from: http://6m2k14.global2.vic.edu.au/2014/06/09/queens-birthday-public-holiday-isnt-it/

Today, the 9^th September 2015, is the day the Queen becomes the longest serving monarch in British history. She has served the country for over sixty years, a fixture in the midst of a period of rapid and bewildering change. Prime Ministers have come and gone. Other world leaders have come and gone. Only the Queen has remained as the head of state in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. All should readily admit the tremendous achievement, especially for someone who will soon be ninety years of age!

However, the Queen’s reign and the stability that has offered to the nation amidst the tide of change is only figurative. Only one can truly be classified as unchanging, and that is God. He states, ‘I am the Lord, I change not’. Mal. 3. 7. The Queen has seen many different aspects of change in her long reign, changing attitudes being one of them. Things that were once frowned upon are now viewed as acceptable and normal. Indeed, for some, those who question the validity of such behaviour would be classified as bigots. Sadly, those who welcome the changing attitudes to immorality and other aspects of behaviour fail to remember the unchanging God to whom we will all answer in a coming day.

God does not change. His attitude to sin is the same today as it was sixty or 600 years ago. His standards have not altered. Whatever successive governments may legalise and attitudes of society accept does not change or affect a holy God. Sin is still a failure to do what God wants us to do!

Against that background of the unchanging holiness of God, there is another aspect of God’s character that is unchanging – His love for guilty sinners! Although God hates sin, He loves the sinner and wants to provide a way of salvation for all. Through the death of His Son, Jesus Christ, He has done just that. Jesus bore God’s judgement upon sin. If we are prepared to accept that truth, turn away from our sin and make Him our Saviour, we can be saved. If you want a relationship with God, and forgiveness for your sin, here is the answer.

Everything changes, except God. The positive aspect of that fact is that once truly saved from sin you can never be lost. God will not go back upon His promises!

Inadequate

http://www.chad.co.uk/news/health/kirkby-gp-practice-put-into-special-measures-1-7362191

‘A Kirkby GP surgery has been placed into special measures following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). They found the quality of care at Kirkby Community Primary Care Centre to be inadequate following an inspection carried out in May 2015’.  This story was featured in the Ashfield Chad, July 2015. According to that story, over 5000 people are registered with the Centre and rely upon it for their health care when needed. I would be surprised if some of the patients are not worried by the Commission’s findings, concerned as to whether their treatment there has been sufficiently thorough. I hope that these fears can be alleviated quickly and the concerns of the Commission addressed.

 

The situation made me think. We all need to have confidence in the key services that we rely upon, whether that is doctors, hospitals, police or fire service. All of these services have an impact upon the quality of our lives. We need to know that such services are there, can be relied upon to deal with our case effectively, and enable some return to normality once that service has been used. Failure in any one may even put our life in danger. We depend upon them.

 

In my experience, albeit mainly of the health care aspect, the service and the treatment have been excellent and I would commend the staff at my GP surgery, and the local hospitals where I have been treated. But I am aware that people make mistakes. They get things wrong! Diagnosing illness is not only difficult but prescribing the right course of treatment can be harder. With something so vital, the patient wants certainty, both in terms of what is wrong as well as what needs to be done to put it right.

 

I wonder what we are placing our faith in when it comes to the matter of our eternal destiny. In the matter of our physical health, we would spare no effort or expense to keep our health and be assured that we will not die young. Sadly, many people give no thought to what lies beyond death, and have made no preparation. Some people have given it thought. They attend church; they give to charity; they are caring and generous people. They are pinning their hopes on the things that they do! If there was a ‘care commission’ that had oversight of efforts for heaven, its word for such activity would be ‘inadequate’.

 

The Bible says that all our best efforts will never be good enough for God. But isn’t that unfair? No. In medical terms, the Bible presents us with the diagnosis – we are sinners who are on our way to a lost eternity. But, thankfully, God has provided a cure for the problem of sin. In the person of His Son, Jesus Christ, we can have our sins forgiven, the guilt of those sins lifted, and the assurance of a home in heaven. Why? The Lord Jesus Christ paid the penalty for my sin when He died upon the cross. When I trusted Him I found forgiveness and cleansing! What about you?