Happy Valentine's Day

Graphic taken from: http://www.weeksuntil.com/valentines-day

 

I am aware that I have missed it. It was last week. It would be difficult to miss it in reality. There is so much publicity leading up to it and on the day itself. Gift and card shops, supermarkets, and a multitude of other retail outlets are geared up to maximising their profits from our obsession with Valentine’s Day. However, it made me think about our appreciation of love. Is our love just about one day in the year? Is our love defined by flowers, cards, chocolates, or some other gift on just that one day? Surely, if love is to have any meaning it must be more than that?

For most people love is an emotional attraction and attachment to another individual. That individual may be a spouse, relative, or friend, and, to a large extent, the strength of that relationship is dependent upon that attraction. Sadly, as attraction fades or becomes un-natural, relationships are severed or turned to abuse.

The Bible speaks of a love far greater than mere attraction and attachment: ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life’ [1]. God’s love is an expression of His heart and His will: ‘But God commendeth his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us’ [2]. It may surprise you but we are not attractive to God. As those who have rebelled and sinned against Him we are far from loveable! Every time we break God’s law, and every time we choose to go our own way rather than God’s, we sin against Him – we offend Him. Yet, as our verse tells us, God still loves us. If it was just a matter of emotion, God’s love might well have faded. But God’s love is unchanging and unchangeable.

 

Equally, God’s love is unlimited. The defining act of God’s love has been expressed in the verse above: ‘he gave his only begotten Son’. As another verse puts it: ‘He . . . spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all’ [3]. God delivered up His Son to death, and that the most evil and inhumane death conceived by man – crucifixion! He did that in order to express His love and to provide us with His salvation from sin’s penalty and power.

You may be familiar with the idea of unrequited love – the person you love does not love you and rejects your gifts and affection. God has given so much for you and for me. He has given His Son. He has provided a way for us to be saved, forgiven, and washed clean from the defilement of our sin. What is our response? Are we prepared to accept God’s love toward us? Are we prepared to turn from our life of sin and take Jesus Christ as our Saviour?

 

[1] John chapter 3 verse 16

[2] Romans chapter 5 verse 8

[3] Romans chapter 8 verse 32

 

Calendars for 2017

We trust that if you accepted or received one of our 2017 calendars that you will enjoy using it and, particularly, the photos featured on it. It shows what tremendous national parks there are in the British Isles. If only we had time to visit them all!

That is what made me think. Calendars, apart from the pictures they might contain, are indicators of the passage of time as well as heralds of what is to come. You may be aware of hoe time has slipped by. No sooner had we entered 2016 than now we are at its close. Where has the year gone? I wonder how many of the things that you intended to do were completed and, if they were, how many were completed in the time span you thought possible. So often we look back and remember what still remain unfinished, incomplete, or not even started. In some cases, we might have re-evaluated our list of jobs and decided that some things were not as important as we thought.

What I would ask is: where does your plan for eternity feature? What preparations have you made for life beyond the span you spend here on earth? The calendar we distribute contains some excellent Bible verses about this key issue. One speaks about the way that seems right to men and women. [1] Many are so busy ‘enjoying’ the present that they give no thought to the future, specifically life beyond death. Don’t be fooled by the thinking of the secular world that this life is all that there is. God has shown us that there is more and that we have a choice to make now as to whether we will spend that eternity with Him or separated from Him. So, in the words of another calendar verse, are we busy laying up treasures on earth, or treasures in heaven? [2]

If we want to be assured of heaven we need to have our sins forgiven. We need to have the guilt associated with our shortcomings and failures removed. We need peace with God. How can this be achieved? Another of the calendar texts tells us. ‘Jesus saith unto him, I am the way . . . no man cometh unto the Father, but by me’. [3] Because Jesus came to earth as a babe in Bethlehem and went to die upon a cross at Calvary (remember the Easter story?), we can be forgiven. His death was God’s remedy for our sin. Jesus Christ provided a sacrifice for sin, a payment to ransom us from its power. Are you prepared to believe it? Another text says, ‘By grace are ye saved through faith’. [4] Do you have that faith? Another text says: ‘Choose you this day whom ye will serve’. [5] What will you do with Jesus Christ and God’s offer of salvation found in Him?

 

[1] Proverbs 14. 12

[2] Matthew 6. 20

[3] John 14. 6

[4] Ephesians 2. 8

[5] Joshua 24. 15

‘Helped over finish by brother’

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/triathlon/37404116

This dramatic picture, taken from the BBC Sport website, is of Alistair Brownlee helping his brother Jonny over the finish line in the final triathlon event of the season in Mexico. In spite of his supreme effort to win the event Jonny Brownlee had run out of strength at the critical point of the race. Out in front, with the finish line not too far off, he was close to collapse. Seeing his plight, his brother took him and urged and almost carried him towards the finish. It was a tremendous gesture of affection between brothers but meant that someone else won the race.

In our last blog we pointed out the folly of thinking that we can earn our place in heaven by our own endeavours. If we were either of the Brownlee brothers then we might expect to earn a gold medal at the Olympics by our own efforts. Equally, we might expect to finish first in the World event. Their innate abilities and rigid training regimes can ensure that. However, in respect to heaven and blessing, it is not a matter of our own effort and endeavour. What struck me about the picture and the story was the selfless effort of one brother for another to get him across the finish line. This is true family affection. What would we be prepared to do for a family member that we love? One thing the Bible says is this: ‘None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him’.[1]

Many of us would like to do things for our brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, or other close relatives. Some have donated kidneys, or bone marrow to offer life to a relative who is critically ill. Some have given money to pay for treatments, to relieve poverty or debt, or to bring joy to a relative in a difficult place. What we cannot do is secure their salvation. Salvation is a personal matter. It is something that we can only do for ourselves. Personal faith in Jesus Christ is the only means of blessing. If we want our sins forgiven, our follies and faults removed, then we have to come God’s way – by the way of the cross. We have to acknowledge that we have been, and have done, wrong in the sight of God but we are now trusting in the work of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. This is something that only you can do. Will you?

[1] Psalm 49 verse 7

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