Finding the Missing Peace

How old is the earth?

2012-01-20T15:45:00.001Z

I met a guy today when I was in Liverpool City Centre at lunch time. My friend and I were handing out leaflets about Christianity and a young man asked me if I believed that the earth was only 5000 years old. I am not sure where he got his figure from but if you take the chronology of the bible literally you do come to a figure of roughly 6000 years. I am not really into arguing these kinds of issues as my knowledge in this area is limited. I know Christians who believe that the earth is millions of years old. They think that geology can prove this. Others take the bible literally (as I do) and feel that God created a mature earth that looks, feels and appears to be very old but has only been around for a more limited period of time. You see when God made the earth it was formed to be inhabited, the trees would have looked mature (they were not all young saplings), the plants, the rivers, the landscape did not grow to maturity, it was mature when created.

Think about the first man and woman, Adam and Eve. They were not born as babies, young children or even adolescents, they were created as a mature man and woman. We are not told their ages but we are told that they were capable of being responsible for their actions. This is why when sin came into the world that God held Adam responsible for his actions (Genesis.3.11). He then addressed Eve. Both were accountable for what they had done. By the way things are no different today - we will be held accountable for our beliefs, behaviours and words. The holy scriptures record God's assessment of what happened the day that sin and evil entered the world: "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned" (Romans.5.12) .

I couldn't argue the case for an old earth/young earth from an intellectual point of view but I do know this - the bible is true. Sin and death are here. We all have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans.3.23) and the wages of sin is death. I do however love the rest of this last quotation - "the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans.6.23).

Adam brought sin (Romans.5.15/1.Corinthians.15.22) but the Lord Jesus brought the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. He (Jesus) purchased salvation through his death and came back from the dead so that we can be right with God.

Go on my webpage to learn more or e-mail me. I'd love to hear from you.

Testing, Testing

2012-01-13T22:48:00.006Z

Everyone gets excited these days about Health and Safety. We all like to be safe but we don't like the hassle that the modern world puts us through to get there.

Health - no one wants to be ill, we don't really want to die prematurely if we can help it! But no one likes the check ups and the don't eat this and don't eat that regime that seems to go with good health.

Fitness - fat and flabby. Don't call me that you say! No one wants to be unfit but the discipline doing exercise seems to be more than most people can manage.

And so on.............

Spiritual health - I don't really think it's that important just now. Wait until you are dying you will then! What if your life is cut short will you wish that you had paid more attention. I hear lots of people regret not trying harder at school, not giving more attention to their first marriage but it's too late now. These issues are important but not as important as your eternal destiny.

The Bible advises - Prepare to meet your God.

The truth is if you seek the Lord He will be found, if you call upon Him, He will hear.

The Bible says - whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.

Get fit, seek life and pursue it.

Listen, watch or read more at my webpage.

What is a Christian?

2012-01-06T23:18:00.003Z

Can you be born a Christian?

Do you need to live to a certain standard and struggle to prove you qualify?

Can your parents make you a Christian?

Does the fact that you are born in a Christian country (so called) mean that you are a Christian?

Does going to Church or reading the bible make you a Christian?

Did I just make these questions up – no, I was asked them today by a girl in Liverpool when I was “street preaching’. She had been told that you became a Christian when you were christened and that if you are born in England you must be a Christian because it is a Christian country (that’s debatable!).

The bible actually says that a person is born into the family of God upon believing. The disciple John wrote in his gospel (John.20.31) ‘these things are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ: and that believing you might have life through his name’. I would prefer to trust the teaching of a man who knew and loved Jesus than all the tradition that has built up over the years since then.

What about you, are you a Christian in the Bible sense of the term? It’s vital that you have the right answer!

Watch my latest video about building life on a good foundation at youtube through seekthetruth.org.uk.

Gratitude

2012-01-01T16:37:00.003Z

The Oxford English Dictionary says of gratitude, ‘The quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness’.

It is commonplace in many homes at this time of the year for children to write their thank-you letters to family and friends for the recent gifts received. It is courteous to show gratitude for the generosity of those who think kindly of us and give us an acceptable gift out of love and friendship.

Material value of the gift should not necessarily flavour the receiver’s thoughts about the giver, but rather that someone had expressed their thoughtful feelings towards us, and that for this we are most thankful.

Paul wrote to Timothy and said that in the last days, “For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy.” (2 Timothy 3:2) There are some ugly characteristics in that list of behaviour, selfish to the core with never a kind thought to anyone else. Unfortunately, this is the day that we are living in, so we should be more grateful for those who wear their heart on their sleeve and express their love in kind ways.

Being thankful and appreciative is not restricted to a particular season but should be daily seen as part of the makeup of our life.

I am so grateful that back in 1957 a man was prepared to cycle fifteen miles from Luton to the RAF station at Henlow, Bedfordshire, to come to Billet 454 and tell us airmen about the Bible, about the Son of God who came to bring salvation to sinners such as us. That man saw eight out of eighteen men that lived in that billet converted to Christ. Some of those men (including me) saw their wife saved too. That preacher’s name was Gordon Brind and he is in Heaven now. Down through the years I have thanked the Lord many times for Gordon’s selflessness and love for sinners, and failingly tried to emulate him.

Anyone that reads my column ‘Light Reflections’ in The Light newspaper will observe that every article is 454 words long, a weekly acknowledgement of what took place in Billet 454. Praise God!

George Hodge assured me that he had not edited one word out of the articles I send him, even though my grammar is not right on some occasions. To do this for me for 21 years deserves a public mention of gratitude to him for this good thing.

Looking in the Bible at the term ‘good thing’ I discovered that the first mention is in Deuteronomy 26:11 and says, “And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the LORD thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thine house” God is good and His character is to give, He gave His only begotten Son to die for us, that is the extent of His giving, there is nothing greater than this. When people receive Him as their Saviour their house and family becomes a joyous place to be. James 1:17 reads, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” There is no inconsistency with God, He is reliably good, never changing, One to whom we can trust for our souls salvation.

In John ch.9 we read of a man that was born blind. I will pause there to ask the question, “Do we ever thank the Lord for the precious gift of sight, and other faculties that He has given us?” The poor man that John tells us about had never been able to see, he had not lost his sight because of disease. He did not know colours or distances because he had never been able to see anything at all, he lived in permanent darkness. How blessed it must have been for him when Jesus sent him to the Pool of Siloam to wash the clay from his eyes that He had put on them. The man went, he washed and came back seeing. As that man stooped to wash his sight came, and the first thing he saw was his own face. He saw himself as he really was. That is what happens when we do what God tells us to do, we see things as God sees them and we see ourselves as we really are. He got his precious sight and wended his way home and the neighbours first saw the change in him, but some could not believe that Jesus had done this miracle. His parents told the Jews, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind: But by what means he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: he is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself.” The religionists excommunicated him, but “Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.” That man showed his gratitude to the Saviour in that act of worship, and there are millions of people since that have done the same.

Paul wrote to the Thessalonians “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

What would Paul himself thank the Lord for? Top of his list would be his life changing experience on the road to Damascus, and then the many people who he led to Christ when he preached the gospel in so many places. Each of the Apostles would have cause to thank the Lord for, even being counted worthy to suffer for the name of Christ.

If we could ask William Carey what he continually thanked the Lord for, would it be for the ability to translate the Bible into thirty-five languages in order that thousands might believe and be saved.

How would George Muller show his gratitude to the Lord for providing means for thousands of orphans to be housed, fed and educated in the ways of God? Or Livingston for opening up Africa to the gospel. Each with composer A.P.Gibbs could say,

‘ O Lord, from my heart I do thank Thee For all Thou hast borne in my room, Thine agony, dying, unsolaced, Alone in the darkness of doom, That I, in the glory of heaven, Forever and ever might be - A thousand, a thousand thanksgivings, I bring, blessed Savior, to Thee!’

HAPPY NEW YEAR and may the Lord bless you through 2012.

Written by Stan Burditt

Listen to brief explanations about life and faith in God at www.seekthetruth.org.uk

Light to them that sit in darkness

2011-12-24T16:29:00.005Z

It's Christmas. What an exciting time of the year. All the bright lights, the presents, houses decorated and lots of lovely food. Well that is the way it is in our country but I appreciate that for many people it is not that pleasant.

When the old priest Zacharias heard that Mary was 'with child' and that her baby would be the Son of God he burst into a song of praise for all that God was doing. For him it was a very exciting time. One of the things that he said was that God was visiting His people to 'give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace'. What beautiful words!

God did indeed visit the world when Jesus came. One of His names is Emmanuel meaning "God with us'. If you are in any doubt that this is true then consider his life again - His miracles, His teaching, His sinless perfection, His fulfilment of ancient predictions, His death and resurrection. Truly it can be said 'the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world'.

What about the light. He is, was and always will be "the light of the world". If we follow Him "we will not walk in darkness but will have the light of light". We do indeed sit in darkness and face death and the live in the shadow of it. So the coming of Christ meets a need we cannot meet from our own resources. We need life, we need peace, we need Christ.

Will you confess your need, confess your sin and trust Christ for salvation this Christmas. I am praying that you will do.

Here we go again!

2011-12-10T18:24:00.005Z

Do you ever get frustrated about jobs that never seem to go away. Whether it's cleaning the house, washing the car, shaving or submitting your tax return it just seems like yesterday since you last did them. The unending cycle of repetitive jobs. Wouldn't it be good if some jobs could be done once, never need repeated and the effect of the initial work never went away. There are very few things in this world that are like that, in fact I can't think of any at the moment.

Please read on....

The Bible teaches that there is something that was done so well, that it never needs to be repeated and its effect is for ever. What is it you might say? Let me quote the Bible to you again. It says about Jesus that 'once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself' (Hebrews.9.26). The Bible says that 'this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God' (Hebrews.10.12).

You can know the everlasting effect of the work that the Lord Jesus did when he died on the cross. He came that we might have life. He promises that if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us.

Will you trust him and experience the everlasting effect of salvation?

Listen to seekthetruth for more information.

Thanks, Stephen

Good Will

2011-12-02T17:18:00.001Z

The Christmas season is looked upon as the time of goodwill but will it be for many people in different parts of the world, particularly the Middle East? Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Syria, Iran, Lebanon, Iraq, Israel to name but a few. Problems of political contrasts, social and religious divides cause an absence of goodwill. Some of their leaders have had to either stand down or be executed, having lost the confidence and goodwill of the people.

Back in July Dr. James Zogby, Founder and President of the Arab American Institute wrote an article entitled ‘Diminishing goodwill for U.S. Middle East policy’. He stated ‘A few months back I had a quick exchange with President Obama about the U.S. standing in the Arab World. When I mentioned that we would be conducting a poll to assess Arab attitudes two years after his Cairo speech, he responded that he expected that the ratings would be quite low and would remain low until the U.S. could help find a way to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Well, the results are in, and the President was right. In our survey of over 4,000 Arabs from six countries (Morocco, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE), we found that favorable attitudes toward the U.S. had declined sharply since our last poll (which had been conducted in 2009 after Obama's first 100 days in office). ……If anything, the results of this latest poll of Arab opinion demonstrates how precarious the position of the United States is in the Middle East and how important it has become for American policy makers to pay attention to what Arabs are saying. Some may play politics with critical Middle East issues and gloat at their success at having stymied the President's efforts to make peace and restore America's image in the region. But as the results of this survey make clear, their success has come at a price; one that is being paid by the entire country.’

Is there any goodwill being shown in the demonstrations, riots or strikes in so many places? Folk have their own agenda and give little thought to the consequences of their actions as it relates to the disadvantaged. Many suffer loss as a result of violence and selfish behaviour.

Allow me a moment of fantasy. How if top managers and CEO’s were only rewarded for success and not failure and that their bonuses bore semblance to the level of success and did not put the rewards of their emplyees in the shade. What if young men and women, instead of defacing and trashing their enviroment used their energy and ability to improve their locality and assisting elderly or disabled people to cope with daily life. Some business people do show goodwill to their employees wth an appropriate gift at Christmas. A generous boss will secure the loyalty of their workforce when production is required to rise, or overtime to be worked. Goodwill is a two way street and has a tendacy to improve relationships and the well being of all that benefit.

There are five quotations of ‘Good will’ in the Bible, the first in Deut.33 is the blessing of the tribe of Joseph by Moses before he died, “And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the LORD be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath, And for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon, And for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills, And for the precious things of the earth and fulness thereof, and for the good will of him that dwelt in the bush: let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren. Moses showed plenty of good will himself to Joseph but also wanted God’s good will upon him.

The first New Testament quote is probably the best known one, it is Luke 2;14, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” It was when the heavenly host of angels announced the birth of Jesus to the shepherds at Bethlehem. Their song was only fourteen words, revealing three precious aspects of truth. They sang, “Glory to God in the highest”, giving praise and worship to God for sending His Son into the world to be the Saviour of sinners such as us. Salvation finds its source in the deep love of God; we owe everything to Him for sending and giving His Son ultimately to die on a cross at Calvary. They sang, “And on earth peace,” this poor old war-torn world that is marked by such daily blood shed, will soon enjoy the blessing of this heavenly melody when the Prince of Peace returns to establish His kingdom. I think that the last four words, “Good will toward men” would have been a crescendo of praise by the sweetest of voices, expressing the desire of God’s heart for the blessing of all mankind. God desires that all should be saved, be born again, His good will is seen in sending Christ in order that mankind might be blessed with salvation. But everyone will not be saved, because not everyone believes in Christ nor have received Him as their Lord and Saviour, never been born again. John said, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” to enter the kingdom of God one must be born again.

Now think of this! At the time Christ sets up His kingdom on earth, every person entering in will be born again. There will be peace on earth for the government shall be upon His shoulder. Bloodshed of man will not be a daily thing, it will not happen; all on earth will experience the good will of God. Hallelujah! What a Saviour!

Written for Stan Burditt and published on Stephen G Baker’s Blog

Old shoes are the best

2011-11-18T21:26:00.003Z

Some things in life are so normal that we don’t think about them and then when they happen we seem surprised. Take for instance things wearing out and needing to be replaced. Shoes for instance. We feel comfortable in them, they seem to grow with us and we are quite happy to wear them for a while longer but sometimes they just need to be replaced. They grow used, worn and old and we don’t even notice it.

Lots of things are like this in life in fact nothing really is permanent. But we all like constancy to some extent and even people who are constantly up for new things have habits and routines in the way that they do certain things. To some extent you could say that we yearn for things that are lasting and eternal.

My blog today is written to remind you that the God I trust is an eternal God. Even Jesus, the Son of God, when described by a prophet hundreds of years before his coming is described as the one ‘whose goings forth have been from old, from everlasting’ (Micah.5.2). He is also described as ‘the everlasting Father’ or the ‘Father of eternity’ (Isaiah.9.6). God is an eternal being, the great un-begun beginner and the ultimate originator of everything.

Life is not eternal on this planet everything is degenerating. However humans were created in the image of God and are in eternal in the essence of our being i.e. as the old preachers used to say “we have a never dying soul”. Quaint but true!

The question is where will be in the great eternal existence that lies beyond this world? How do we know it exists? Why are Christians so convinced? All the questions are answered in one person, Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Son of God who came into the world from heaven. He has all the hallmarks of being God - supernatural power, knowledge that is beyond the mind of humans, fulfillment of prophecy, the virgin birth, flawless humanity – which is why Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God but that discussion is not for just now.

What can the Lord Jesus offer to us creatures of time who have a longing for eternal life and all its values? Jesus said that He came that we might ‘have life’; He gives to those who realize that they are spiritually dead in sin, ‘eternal life’. He can offer this because he by his death ‘offered one sacrifice for sins for ever’ (Hebrews.10.12). The question is have you got eternal life? If not your soul will be lost forever. This is not annihilation but an eternal existence separated from God and all that he is i.e. love, justice, peace, safety, strength and so on. The solution is ‘believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved’. Salvation is freely available through faith in Jesus, the Son of God.

Listen on seekthetruth.org.uk

Twenty five life changing words

2011-11-11T16:18:00.003Z

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.

To most Christians these are familiar words. When I was young old preachers described this verse as 'the gospel in a nutshell'. They meant that this one verse sums up the good news of what Christianity is all about in 25 words.

If you count 12 words from the start of the verse the next word is SON

If you could 12 words from the end the next word is SON

Do you think it is significant that the central word of the verse is SON, I do? Jesus Christ, the SON of God is central to the Christian message.

He was born of a virgin girl as predicted in the Bible.

He is the perfect Son of God but he lived for 33 years in an imperfect world and contrary to all the norms of life he was perfect and faultless - the Bible calls it, sinless.

He lived a life to display what God is like. The Bible describes Him as God revealed in flesh.

He died for our sins. The Bible says this in numerous places i.e. 'Christ died for the ungodly' (Romans.5.6), 'while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us' (Romans.5.8).

He is the only way of salvation. The Bible says 'neither is there salvation in any other: for there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved'

Finally one of the ways of reading the verse that was explained to me was to insert your name into the text. It makes the verse keenly personal to you. Why not try it but best of all believe it.

For God so loved Stephen Baker that he gave his only begotten Son that if Stephen Baker believes in him Stephen Baker should not perish but have everlasting life.

By the way the verse is written to apply to all. If it had my name in it it would exclude you. If your name was there it would exclude me but it says WHOSOEVER which means it includes everyone.

Inevitable

2011-11-07T19:34:00.002Z

The late Harold Wilson, former Prime Minister and leader of the U.K.Labour Party said, “A week is a long time in politics”. The last week ofOctober must have been so for the Eurozone leaders when they met in Brussels tofind a solution to the Euro crisis. Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor said,“If the Euro fails, Europe fails.” Thereis an inevitability about her words and possibly caused her fellow national leadersto pull back from the brink of total collapse. They agreed a bailout planinitially for Greece but also for other countries that are tottering such asSpain, Portugal, Italy and Ireland, who also have major debt problems. Many newspaper financial commentators are sceptical about how this planis going to be implemented in time, they have heard euphemisms before but theywant to hear words that will work. One lady said that they were just kickingthe can down the road. We understand her words to mean that at some point intime someone has got to pick the can up, though battered and damaged, it hasgot to be addressed, there is no point in kicking it further down Debt Avenue.

When I worked with our Gospel Van in Cornwall, it was said of theweather, that if it rained for two weeks there would be floods and if it didn’train for two weeks there would be a drought! It was inevitable! It always puzzled me as to whyan area that has so much rainfall, could not conserve it in reservoirs for theinflux of tourists that can treble the population of the county when the sunshines. Management of the earth’s resources is vital as the world’s populationtops seven billion people and over one half of them live in poverty and with noclean water supply. Every human being is dependant on water, our bodies areseventy percent water and we cannot survive many days without it. In many places in Africa they don’t kick their cans down the road, theycarry them to a point where clean water is available, fill them up, put thevessel on their head and carry it home, sometimes at a great distance. Share Africa is a Christian Charity that is helping village communitiesin different ways, paying for books and the education of children. They alsohave a well sunk in the village and pump the water up into a storage tank forfamilies to draw their water from and save them a long walk to the river. Othercharities do similar things and are commendable for their involvement.

If you jump off a cliff with nothing to control your rate of descent,you will according to gravity go downwards, accelerating at 32 feet per second,per second, it is inevitable that you will hit the ground, damaged or dead.

If you hold a live power line inyour hand with bare ends and if you touch those ends together, either a fusewill blow or you will suffer a shock that could kill you.

If you hold a gun to your head with a chamber full of bullets andsqueeze the trigger, it is inevitable that you will die. You do not need me toillustrate incidents that are life threatening, it is common sense to avoidsuch situations.

Allow me to ask you a question and in so doing I am not insulting yourintelligence. If you can reason that things that are fatal must be avoided, whyare you choosing to ignore the warnings in the Bible about youragnostic/atheistic position and where you will spend eternity?

It is inevitable that a person who believes that Jesus Christ is theirLord and Saviour will spend their eternity in Heaven, whereas an unbelieverwill be in Hell. I can almost hear the shouts of disapproving readers, so Iwill tell you what the Apostle John said in ch.3:36, “Hethat believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not theSon shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” Thatis conclusive isn’t it? These are not my words they are God’s words and weshould sit up and take notice. It is futile to play the ‘good-works-card’ todeceive oneself into thinking, I’m all right, I’ve never done any one any harm,I always pay my way and never steel anything from anybody. I’m all right, I cancarry on living as I do and when it comes to the end, if there is a Heaven,then I will go there because God would never send me to Hell.

Is the direction your life is taking leading to an inevitable outcome?

Jesus said “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayingsof mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built hishouse upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the windsblew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon arock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not,shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: Andthe rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon thathouse; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.” If a person buildstheir life on the shifting sands of the philosophies of men, that life willcatastrophically fall, it is inevitable. The life that is standing on the RockChrist Jesus will never flounder but will stand for all eternity.

I have heard Anguillians call their island, ‘The Rock’. People from other places may not have heard that but to folk that live there it means something to them. The Lord Jesus Christ is also called the Rock and to those who believe, He is the most precious person alive. Augustus Toplady wrote, ‘Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee; let the water and the blood, from thy wounded side which flowed, be of sinthe double cure; save from wrath and make me pure.’

In the wilderness the children of Israel drank of water from thesmitten rock, Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10:4 “And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.”

The soul that stands on the Rock Christ Jesus is saved and satisfied,both are inevitable. Why? Because He said so!

God bless.

Written by Stan Burditt Nov 2011

2011-10-24T15:31:00.001Z

I was reading today in the book of Deuteronomy in the Bible. This book title means the second law. It is the second account of how God spoke to Moses and how Moses received the Law of God and the Ten Commandments. It makes an interesting read and it is not as hard going as you might imagine. The reason it had to be rewritten was in effect because before the law had been written down the first time the nation of Israel had already broken it. As Moses came down Mount Sinai he and Joshua thought that they heard the shouts of people at war. In fact they were hearing the noise of a wild party where their people were dancing and worshipping a golden calf.

What did God do then? Before Moses left the presence of God he had been warned what was going on at base camp. God had threatened to destroy the nation and start a new one through Moses. Moses in a characteristic act of humility and bravery reminded God of the shame and criticism that God would bring on His name if he destroyed his own people and in an amazing turnaround God agreed not to judge them. Now I don't really know how all this works but it seems to me on a simple reading of scripture that there have been a few men who had real power of persuasion in the presence of God (Moses, Abraham and Jacob to name a few) and God responded to their prayers - that should give us all hope.

As I close I want to summarise by pointing you to a couple of verses in Deuteronomy:

Deut.4.24 - "The Lord thy God is a consuming fire even a jealous God". This is so true and reflects the power and holiness of God. He is jealous (this is not an evil sense of the word jealous) of His holy character and will not allow it to be violated. So where does that leave flawed and sinful people like you and I - look at the next verse and also bear in mind Moses prayer.

Deut.4.31 - "For the Lord thy God is a merciful God". Is this a contradiction in terms? I personally don't think so. God preserves His character and will not allow it to be defiled but in grace he makes provision for sinful people to be forgiven. In the Old Testament it was sacrifices that had the temporary effect of covering sin. These sacrifices pictured the death of the Lord Jesus on the cross. His ultimate sacrifice makes it possible for us to be forgiven and experience the mercy of God. Scripture says "if we confess our sins, he faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1.John.1.9).

May the Lord bless you in this manner today.

Stephen

PS please watch my latest video on Moses and the Passover

Bible Exhibition

2011-10-17T22:20:00.000Z

I am in Wallingford this week working with a Gospel Hall. The Christians who meet in the Gospel Hall have erected a Bible Exhibition so that people will be made aware of the history and message of the Bible. From tomorrow we will have schools in visiting every day. This evening we had an invite only event for adults. It was great to share with people the history and truth of this wonderful book that God has given to us and preserved for us.

If you are not familiar with the Bible it is worthy of your attention. Even extreme atheists such as Professor Richard Dawkins agree that the Bible should be read by everyone, of course I know he means from a literary point of view as he does not enjoy the blessing of faith in Christ for salvation but nevertheless you should read it.

Maybe you have an unread Bible at home. Go and get it. Read the word of God, it is able to make you wise unto salvation. Believing and resting on what God has done through Christ for your eternal blessing is what it is all about. Having said that you will not appreciate your need of God's salvation until you admit that like the rest of us you are a sinner. When you do get to that point remember 'Christ receives sinners' and that He came 'into the world to save sinners'. Repentance toward God (or turning away from sin and turning to God) and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ are the key ingredients in recipe that God has provided for our forgiveness and salvation. May God bless you.

Stephen

(listen to www.seekthetruth.org.uk or visit me on http://www.facebook.com/StephenBakerGoodNews4U)

Busy Busy

2011-10-07T15:43:00.000Z

I don't know about you but I am having a hectic time at the moment. It seems hard to fit everything in and yet I must admit that I really enjoy all the biz! I would be bored if I was not busy.

However we can be too busy! If any of my friends and family are reading this they will probably laugh at me admitting this but it is true. If we are too busy to spend time with our spouse or children then it will damage our relationship with them. If we are too busy to pay our bills or eat properly other consequences will arise. Many things can and do suffer if we do not allocate time to them and give them appropriate attention.

If you read my blog regularly then you will know that I spend a lot of time preaching about the bible and interesting people (or trying to) in their relationship with God, or the lack of it. It is essential to spend time on this part of our lives as this is the only bit that survives.

I was saddened to hear of the death of Steve Jobs of Apple Inc. I know it was inevitable due to his illness but it is always sad when it happens. You feel for his family, friends and colleagues of many years. He will no doubt be remembered for quite a long time by our techie generation but all the success of his life was only for this life. The Bible says we come into the world naked and we leave it in the same way.

Please take time today to consider your soul and your need to eternal life. If you want to know more read my other blogs to listen to some of my podcasts on www.seekthetruth.org.uk. Alternatively follow me on Facebook - www.facebook.com/StephenBakerGoodNews4U.

Appearances can be deceiving!

2011-10-03T16:49:00.002Z

Itwould appear that pilfering money internally from a Bank is easier than anexternal attempt by seasoned bank-robbers with their elaborate plans involvingexplosives and getaway vehicles. Inthe early to mid 1990’s Nick Leeson worked in Singapore for Baring’s Bank asgeneral manager of their Futures Markets. By the title of his book he became a‘Rogue Trader’, meaning that he fraudulently ran up debts against the Bank ofUS$1.4Billion. Eventually, in 1995 he was charged with fraud and sent to prisonfor six and a half years but was released in 1999 having been diagnosed withcolon cancer. It was alleged in the New York Times that the British Press haduncovered accounts linked to him for the value of US$35million.

Springtime2008 at Societe Generale Bank was not a happy place to be. In January anothertrader, Jerome Kerviel caused the Bank losses of US$7.2Billion by fraudulenttrading. Then in March the Bank sued a Turkish Jeweller for the non payment of15 Tonnes of Gold, the Jeweller accepted responsibility of payment for only3,250 kg of the precious metal valued at US$94Million. This now you see it, nowyou don’t, has all the appearance of a massive scam.

German International Broadcaster Deutsche Welle, reportedon 24^th. September, ‘The chief executive of Swiss banking giantUBS, Oswald Gruebel, resigned on Saturday in the wake of a rogue tradingscandal that cost the bank some $2.3 billion (1.7 billion euros).’ A Londonbased trader for UBS, 31 year old, Kweku Adoboli has been charged with fraudand if found guilty could face a long custodial sentence. Barings,Societe Generale and UBS all appeared to be sound financial houses but eachwere found wanting in relation to security, no proper checks and balances werein place to avert such happenings.

About25 years ago, my wife and I took our Motorhome/Gospel Van to the ‘ElephantFayre’ in Cornwall. A word about the title, it had nothing to do with elephantsother than if you look at a map of S/W England you will see that the County ofCornwall is shaped like an elephant’s head. The three day Rock/Arts Festivalwas staged at Lord Elliot’s estate at St. Germans, styled on the GladstonburyFestival. Drugs and alcohol being an indulgence of many of the 30,000 peopleattending. Weattached a market type stand to the side of our van, displaying free literatureand presented a Gospel Witness to those that passed by, promoting some goodspiritual conversations. Twoyoung ‘Punk Rockers’ presented themselves to my wife with the question. “Doesyour religion give a cup of tea away?” She replied, not only so but if theywanted to join her in the van she would prepare them some cheese and tomatosandwiches. Their faces brightened, then they told her that they had beenliving out of the bins the past few days. I joined them at the table in the vanand got talking to them and my heart went out to them as I told them thegospel. We had two sons of similar age to them! Theirappearance was typical to their following, both had mohican hair cuts, one wasdyed pale green, the other orange. From a distance you might have thought thatthey had got a parrot on their head. During the conversation one boy said tome, “Don’t judge us by our appearance”. I replied that I never judge a book byits cover! Their brashness seemed to disolve as we got under their radar andtargetted their souls with the life giving message of the gospel.

Someappearances can be pretence, but the three appearances of the Son of God inHebrews ch.9 have nothing false about them. “For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, whichare the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear inthe presence of God for us: Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as thehigh priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; Forthen must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but nowonce in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by thesacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but afterthis the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; andunto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sinunto salvation.”

The first reference tells us where Christ ispresently; He is in the presence of God in Heaven. This statement confirms thefact that He is a living Saviour and that He is there FOR US! People thatbelieve on Him and have committed their life to Him have the assurance thattheir Saviour is presently in Heaven for them, interceding on their behalf. Itis good to know that one’s life is in the hands of the highest person in thehighest place.

All this has been secured because in timepassed He appeared on earth to deal with the offensiveness and guilt of man’ssin. He did this by giving His life at Calvary, where He died on our accountthat He might bring us undeserving sinners back to God. I love the gospel because it tells me of the grace of God (GRACE = God’sRiches At Christ’s Expense). He loved me and gaveHimself for me. Paul said that and so can all those that are saved by faith inHis death and resurrection.

Soon that third reference will take place, He is going to appear thesecond time, apart from the sin question, because He is coming to reign as Kingof Kings and Lord of Lords.

It is not popular in today’s secular atheistic world to believe in anyof those three appearances of Christ found in Hebrews ch.9, but I do and wouldencourage you to start with the middle one relating to the past, He appeared toput away your sin. Believe that and your present life will take on a differentmeaning and your future will be no pretence but you will appear with Him inglory. How about that? God bless.

Written for Stephen Baker by Stan Burditt of Northampton

For further information visit www.seekthetruth.org.uk

No one is perfect!

2011-09-24T12:26:00.003Z

Every Tuesday and Friday I am part of a small team of people who run a street meeting in Liverpool City Centre telling people about the message that God is still communicating to the people of the world in the Bible.

Yesterday I had quite a chat with a really nice guy, he was interested to find out more about God and life after death, why I believed it, how you can be sure etc..

One of the things we agreed on was that no one is perfect. I thing you would agree with this statement as well. It has almost become a strap line and possibly an excuse on occasions when we know we have done wrong but don't feel that we could have behaved any better. I know that it is not a popular way of putting it but the Bible simply calls it sin. That is not making the grade, not reaching the target or not being perfect.

Who sets the standard? Why do we feel imperfect? Are we just conditioned by our parents? I don't think so and the Bible definitely doesn't teach it that way. The Bible says that God is the law giver and he sets the standard. Interestingly enough the Bible actually states that God has imprinted His law (standards of right and wrong) in our hearts (Romans.2.15). That is whatever the culture or the time period human beings are aware of right and wrong and have strong views about it. What is different is the fact that from time to time people harden their hearts and sear their conscience so that their sensitivity to right and wrong is reduced. But amazingly enough when are a person is confronted with their wrongdoing their conscience is reignited and they feel guilty.

All degrees of sin are wrong but the punishment is scaled according to the severity of the disobedience - Revelation.20.12. Sin first raised its ugly head in our world through a simple act of rebellion by the first man, Adam. God tested him and he failed (Romans.5.12).

The reason for my blog is share with you the good news that God is not finished with us. He is not currently in the business of condemning us (John.3.17) but he wants to rescue us and save us. The Bible states that, Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners (1.Timothy.1.15). Essentially the wrong that we have done by disobeying our creator and the punishment attached to it is greater than we can deal with. So God sent His Son, Jesus to this world. He alone (as everyone else had sinned and were personally guilty) was qualified to take our punishment and satisfy the legal demands of heaven. Jesus did this when he died on the cross. The Bible teaches 'Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures' (1.Corinthians.15.3,4) and as a believer I know this to be true. One day I turned from my sins, admitted to God I was guilty, confessed that he was right and I was wrong and accepted the gift of God which is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans.6.23).

You could do that today and I am praying that you will. If I can help further please e-mail at stepcar61@gmail.com or listen to my podcast at www.seekthetruth.org.uk.

May you allow God to bless you today, Stephen

Fire from heaven!

2011-09-15T10:10:00.002Z

It is reported that Hurricane Irene spawned as a tropical storm in the Caribbean, developed into a full blown hurricane as it travelled north through the Bahamas to the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, causing billions of dollars of damage.

In the early hours of Monday 22^ndAugust as the storm passed over Necker, lightening allegedly struck Richard Branson’s luxury home and the palm-roofed Grand House was burnt to the ground. Fire from Heaven completely destroyed the building but fortunately none of the twenty people in the house were hurt. It is said that ‘Lightening does not strike twice’ but I guess that the re-build house will have a non-flammable roof, and maybe a lightening conductor? One newspaper said that the only thing that survived the fire was a statue of Buddha. Interesting!

According to Wikipedia there are 16 million lightening storms in the world every year, each strike can travel around 140,000 mph.

My wife and I saw an amazing sight one night in Anguilla. Fork Lightening was playing across the sea as we looked out towards St.Bartholomew, producing a fantastic display of illuminating power. At times like that one realises one’s own frail humanity and wonders at the majesty of our great creator God.

The Bible records occasions when fire fell from Heaven. The first is in Genesis ch.19 when God poured out His wrath against the wicked people of Sodom and Gomorrah, verse 22 says, “Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar. Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven.” God saw the wickedness of man in those cities the same as He did in the days of Noah when it was a flood and not fire that brought judgement to the ungodly.

The flood was universal, the fire from Heaven was local but then it was upon the nation of Egypt. Exodus 9:23 reads, “And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt. So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.” Pharaoh’s bitter opposition against Israel and defiance against God brought retribution upon him and his nation. It says in scripture “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.” The corruption and perversion of National leaders can be the downfall of that nation.

King Ahab of Israel was a corrupt leader he had been corrupted by his wife Jezebel who was a Zidonian and worshipped the god Baal. God raised up a prophet named Elijah to speak and act against the prophets of Baal. There was a contest on Mount Carmel. Four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal agreed with Elijah that the deity that answered by fire to consume their sacrifice, that he would be God. The false prophets prepared their altar and sacrifice and called upon Baal, but there was no fire. 1Kings 18:36 says, And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God.

After Ahab’s death, his son Ahaziah reigned over Israel but he was just as evil as his Father. He had an accident and was sick. God told Elijah to send a message and tell Ahaziah that he would not recover. Ahaziah was angry with Elijah and sent fifty soldiers with their captain to capture Elijah. “And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.” He sent another fifty and fire fell from Heaven and consumed them. He sent another fifty but their captain fell on his knees and pleaded with Elijah that their lives might be spared. If the King did not believe the captain certainly did!

There are some people today who do not believe in God, and they would ridicule and mock anyone that does believe and have committed their trust to Him for salvation. Who is right?

The word ‘Fire’ appears twenty five times in the Book of Revelation, over half of them are in the section from ch. 8 to 19 that deals with the period called ‘The Great Tribulation’. Ch.8:5 to 8 says, “And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake. And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up. And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood.”

Chapter 19 tells us of Christ returning to earth as King of Kings and Lord of Lords to reign for a thousand years, but even after a Millennia of righteousness reigning, a final rebellion will take place led by the armies of Gog and Magog. Ch.20:9 reads, “And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” You have got to believe it, this is the truth. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ now and be saved. God bless.

Written by Stan Burditt

Rioting - should we be surprised

2011-08-13T11:54:00.004Z

I watched an interview on Sky news yesterday where four young men described what they had done, when out rioting and looting. Their body language seemed to show some sense of guilt but their attitude and conversation indicated no remorse or regret.   I was wondering if the current lack of teaching of morals in society has played a big part in this way of thinking. Should we be surprised that that the rioters do not think that they did anything wrong? I believe that everyone is responsible for their own actions but there is a sense in which we have set people up for this crazy way of thinking. We spend years teaching amoral principles in our schools, colleges and universities. Things such as - there is no absolute moral code, we are free agents to believe what we want and right and wrong depends on circumstances! Most people would defend our right to believe whatever we want i.e. we create our own framework which is flexible depending on our persuasions in life. But this approach does not work in business, on the street or in money matters to name just a few examples. We all know in our hearts that we need structures, rules and parameters to maintain a civilised society.  The outcome of the current philosophy is that everyone does what is right in their own eyes. This ends in anarchy, social disorder and chaos!  I know that a high percentage of society are decent people trying their best and they are disgusted at what they have seen recently. The truth is that most of the rioters are either young people or from a sector of society where behavioural boundaries are non existent or very weak.    We need to get back to recognising that at the very least the principles of the biblical moral code are good for our society. No other structure has been discovered that works.

 I believe that at an individual level the only hope we can give society is the change that comes through the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  The change to better our lives and improve society starts within individuals. Look at the effect of christianity on societies over the centuries; the results are seen in hospitals, healthcare provision, schools, social care and many more benefits to any given society. As stated already nothing else effectively and permanently changes people for their good and the good of society. Biblical christianity recognises the flawed nature of humanity and offers the death of Jesus Christ as the power of God for salvation (the Bible - Romans 1.16). The change is firstly internal but if it is real (and there have been many false claims in the name of Christianity) it must manifest itself in behaviours and activity in society.   I appeal with our civic leaders and the general public to consider this message as it is the only hope that we have to offer. External reforming of society, improved conditions and better economic conditions all have a part to play but these will never reform the moral state of society. If individuals do not come to know the reforming power of the gospel of Jesus Christ then there is no hope. In periods of economic depression and social upheaval (which we all know are unavoidable due to the cyclical nature of world affairs and the greed of the human heart) we will always end up with social disorder but things can be different. The choice lies in the hands of the individual. We have been warned once again by these recent events!

The Sky's the limit

2011-08-05T15:40:00.003Z

Wikipedia’s opening paragraph on ‘Sky’ says, ‘The sky is the part of the atmosphere or outer space visible from the surface of any astronomical object. It is difficult to define precisely for several reasons. During daylight, the sky of Earth has the appearance of a pale blue surface because the air scatters the sunlight.^[1][2][3][4] The sky is sometimes defined as the denser gaseous zone of a planet's atmosphere. At night the sky has the appearance of a black surface or region scattered with stars.’

Putting the word ‘Sky’ into Google’s search engine shows the first dozen or so sites belonging to the Sky media group that has been into the news recently. Rupert Murdoch’s News International wanted to take over BskyB corporation but with the alledged phone hacking by the News of the World and subsequent arrests brought about a Parliamentary inquiry. Murdoch with others were summoned to appear before a committee of M.P.’s and questioned about their involvement with that unlawful practice.

Channel 4 Television had a program called ‘Murdoch’ on the 27^th. July. It was a documentary investigating the involvement of News International and police officers in the London Metropolitan Police. One N.I. ex-journalist said he had handed £30,000 in two Sainsbury’s Supermarket bags, to a policeman for leads to a story. He inferred that although this was the largest sum that he had given, it was the practice to pay bribes to police officers for information.

The questions that the appointed judge Lord Justice Brian Leveson will present to all that appear before him over the next 12 months will reveal how and who are implicated in these accusations of unlawful conduct. C.E.O.’s from media companies, Police chiefs, and Government Officers will take the stand, we are told that no one will be excluded, and no one will be able to withhold evidence. As the old adage says, ‘The skies the limit’!

I am always interested when a word or a phrase appears seven times in the Bible, Yes, you have guessed, the word ‘Sky’ is one of those words, and there are many such sevens in scripture.

Sky is first mentioned in Deut.33:26, “There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in his excellency on the sky.” Jeshurun is an alternative name for Israel but the attention in the verse is on God, it is He that rides upon the Heavens and his excellency is seen in the sky. The majesty and glory of God is there for all to see. Psalm 19:1 concurs, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.” The second mention is Job 37:18 and reads, “Hast thou with him spread out the sky, which is strong, and as a molten looking glass?” The other five are in the New Testament, Matthew 16:2 He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.

Matthew 16:3 And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?

Luke 12:56 Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that you do not discern this time?

Hebrews 11:12 Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable. This final one describes the seed of Abraham as prolific, like the stars of the sky for number.

The other four recorded by Matthew and Luke gives us the teaching of Christ in relation to discerning the weather by the redness of the sky.

In 1965 Geoffrey Bull wrote a book called, ‘The Sky is Red’. Earlier he was a Missionary to China and Tibet and was imprisoned for three years in Tibet. At that time the Western World were cautiously watching the Russian brand of Communism whereas brother Bull was experiencing the Chinese brand first-hand. Was he before his time in reading the sign of the times?

The first mention of ‘sky’ in Matt.16:3 Jesus caused people of that day and us today to recognize a red sunset or a red sunrise. From our front room we often have seen some beautiful sunsets. A couple of evenings ago as the sun was setting it shone up to the clouds causing the sky to have a fluffy candy-floss pink appearance, we commented that the next day would be fine and sunny, and so it was. People all over the world can identify with those situations. The second mention is a challenge by the Son of God to his hearers that they had witnessed on two occasions His feeding five thousand and four thousand with a few loaves and fishes, yet they failed to recognize Him as their Saviour. Albeit on the first occasion they came to Him and wanted to take Him by force and make Him their king. Could they not read the sign of the times? The King and the kingdom was among them but they would receive neither but later hounded Him to the cross.

The scripture says in John 1:11, “He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

They did not read the signs of the times then and generally speaking people are not reading the signs of the times today. The Lord is coming soon to set up His Millennial Kingdom on earth. ‘Our Lord is now rejected, and by the world disowned; By the many still neglected, And by the few enthroned. But soon He'll come in glory; The hour is drawing nigh For the crowning-day that's coming by-and-by……The heavens shall glow with splendor; But brighter far than they The saints shall shine in glory, As Christ shall them array: The beauty of the Saviour Shall dazzle every eye, In the crowning-day that's coming by-and-by!!’

BskyB will not have the monopoly on that event, “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him,” God bless.

Written by Stan Burditt of Northampton

Norwegian Crisis - a killing Christian!

2011-07-28T17:43:00.004Z

What type of person claims to be a Christian and then completely violates the teaching of Christ. The killings in Utoya and Olso last week were not the actions of a man following Christ. Anders Breivik may make these claims but they do not stack up against the words of Jesus Christ.

The Lord Jesus taught the we should 'love your enemies, do good to them which hate you'. Loving your neighbour is another major tenant of the teaching of Christ. In the gospel of John chapter thirteen the Lord Jesus states 'greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends'. The greatest proof of love is self sacrifice. This can be seen in war, in families, in romance, in great periods of unrest and hardship.

The ultimate sacrifice was made by the man who spoke the words noted above. His sacrificial death was not for his friends but for those who count themselves as His enemies. That is, you and I. All of us are by nature in conflict with God and opposed to Him. We want our own way. God however, commends His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.

You can come into the benefit of the grace of God and the forgiveness of sins when you pray and confess your need of salvation and accept the gift of God which is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

May God bless you today.

In the gallery

2011-07-15T17:11:00.003Z

Last week I visited a delightful little art gallery in George Street in Perth, Scotland. The main artist was a man by the name of Ron Wilson, he owns the gallery. The pictures covered a broad spectrum, oils, watercolours, sketches and many other types. The scenes and subjects were varied some of which appealed to me, some did not.

As I left I had a brief chat with Ron. He was keen to know what I thought. My artistic talent is scarce so I do not feel qualified to comment too much. Having said that I can appreciate beauty and admire skill and talent. Ron's final comment to me as I left was 'remember to spread the gospel'. He obviously meant to encourage me to tell others about his gallery, seeing I had enjoyed it but I was a bit slow in my response. As any of you who regularly read my blog (or listen to my podcast www.seekthetruth.org.uk) know I am in the business of spreading the gospel. The good news that 'God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life' (John.3.16 - the Bible).

What about you? If someone said to you 'keep on spreading the gospel' what would you say? Do you have good news. I hope so! Remember there is 'joy and peace in believing' (Romans.15.13 - the Bible).

What a week!

2011-07-09T20:28:00.002Z

I have just finished a week of bible teaching and evangelism in Scotland. The Ayrshire Youth Camp kindly invited me for the third year running (no more now they say - we have had enough - very wise!). The aim of the camp is give young people a holiday and to introduce them to the message of the bible. We had a great week.

Weather - pretty bad most of the time but the leadership had great flexibility and foresight to use the facilities well. I never heard anyone complain that they didn't have a great time. I worked with an amazing group of young people who have given a week (and a lot more in terms of energy, planning, commitment and money) to serve the Lord Jesus and introduce people to him.

Food - I’d like to see what I weight I am when I get home. I lost a stone and a quarter in the last 18 months. I am just hoping that I haven’t put too much of that back on again. The food was good.

Friends - as at all of these events you renew old friendships and make new ones. This week was no different. It is the most amazing thing to be a Christian. The bond you have with those who are also Christians is amazing and cannot be replicated in any other sphere.

Spiritual - by this I mean things relating to the word of God (the Bible), salvation, joy and peace in believing the gospel and the joy of worshipping the true and living God. I have to be honest. Although I really enjoying speaking this week I thought that things were a little bit dead until Thursday. Don’t get me wrong. There were things to encourage. Some people felt that God was challenging them to live for him and give him their all - that in it’s self is a great outcome. But on Thursday we really experienced the Lord working. A number of people were convicted of their sins and recognized that salvation is only to be found in the Lord Jesus Christ. Seeing people get saved is a work of God and there is a joy in this that cannot be matched in any other way.

As you read this you may find it all very strange. If you have never heard the voice of God in your soul you will be unaware of what I am talking about. The fact that you are reading this may give some indication that you are searching. Please read some of my other blogs to find out your need of God’s salvation and how this is made available to you through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

You could also listen to my latest podcast on seekthetruth.org.uk.

Stephen

Where am I going?

2011-07-04T13:37:00.002Z

It's a good question and one that becomes all the more relevant when you are lost? The other important question is - where am I? Normally those two questions will get you back on the right road. If you don't know the way then you still have a problem.   Can I translate this into life terms i.e. the big questions. Are you going anywhere or is it all a pointless journey through life? What do you believe? Can you know the truth, are there absolute and objective truths to be known?  I believe you can know? God has communicated and validated His word, the Bible, so that you can know. God's Son, Jesus, came to earth and validated His claims to deity by His lifestyle, the fulfilment of biblical predictions, His supernatural miracles and His death and resurrection.   Read the Gospel of John in the bible. It's worth a read for any thinking person who is seeking the truth. God bless you. Stephen

Olympic Ticket Chaos Once Again

2011-06-24T13:58:00.003Z

This morning Sky News reported that "Sports fans all around the country were left frustrated today when they went online to buy tickets for next year's Olympics in the second round of sales. Thousands who logged on after the website opened at 6am received error messages.  Some were told to "try again later" even after submitting their payment details.  A statement on the London 2012 website said: "Demand is extremely high at the moment on the ticketing website but the system is still transacting.  "If you've clicked submit, don't hit refresh. Please wait and the system will process your order.  "If you receive the error 'sorry, we cannot process your payment details', your tickets will be saved in your basket. Please wait a few minutes and try again."

Failing to deliver is a major no no in any business transaction. In fact failing to deliver in any context is harmful and often very hurtful. Many a broken heart could have been avoided if empty promises had not been made. Financial ruin could have been averted if false claims about investments had not been. Further examples readily come to mind.

Let me remind you. God cannot lie. He does not break promises. He always delivers. He doesn't understate the case or exaggerate. His yes and no say exactly what they mean.  God says that he 'so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life'.

Do you believe what God says?

He loves us all!

He sent His Son, Jesus, into the world to die for our wrongdoing (sins)

Jesus came back to life on the third day!

We are in danger of facing eternal punishment for our sins!

If we take God at His word and trust him he will forgive us and save us!

The love and life of God is readily available to all who accept his invitation.

May God bless His word to you.

The cities of the nations fell - Revelation 16:19

2011-06-18T17:26:00.002Z

I have a friend who is moving to London to tell people about the gospel of Jesus Christ and the saving grace of God. It is a big thing to do both in terms of moving your family, giving up your business and sacrificing many things that people think are their personal rights. Why would he do such a thing?

The Bible tell us (and I know my friend believes it) that one day God will judge the world. His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, will be the Judge and all the world will face God. Ultimately people who have died will come back to life (Daniel 12/John 5) and they too will face the day of Judgment.

HOWEVER - the bible teaches that before that happens many world wide catastrophies will take place. One of these will be that cities will be destroyed by God (Rev.16.19). My friend is going to warn of coming judgement and of personal salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

Are you ready?

Which version of the bible should you read?

2011-06-10T18:04:00.002Z

A lady told me while I was running a street meeting this week that she did not read the Bible because she did not know which version to read. My advice was go and buy a bible and read it because they all will tell you the same message. As a Christian I want to read an accurate translation of the bible but did you know that which ever Bible you read you will learn the same basic facts about us, God, sin, judgement, salvation, repentance and faith in God.

If you don't have a bible go and buy one today. The Lord Jesus said 'he that hears my word and believes on Him that sent me, has everlasting life and shall not come into judgement but is passed from death unto life'. The book of Romans in the Bible says 'faith comes by hearing...the word of God'.

Get a bible today, read it - may God richly bless you.

Preventative Medicine

2011-06-05T19:02:00.003Z

I was amazed to read in the Daily Mail last week about a GP who is under investigation by the General Medical Counsel for giving spiritual advice to a patient which he felt was appropriate and helpful to the patients condition. In light of the fact that a health professional is taught to treat patients holistically and that part of the need could be spiritual it seems bizarre to me that giving advice about the spiritual needs of the patient in addition to general medical advice is out of order. In my view it could be highly appropriate. When did we ever decide that it was wrong to offer someone the one thing that would help them.

Christianity deals with evil, pain, suffering as to the reason, source and outcomes. Christ the founder stated profusely that he came 'to give us life'. He died to deal with the guilt and consequences of evil (in principle and personally). Those who accept His invitation enter into life as God intended it. Not a problem free life but life lived in the conscious knowledge of a great God who is in control. A God who is over all and arranges our circumstances for our ultimate development of character and for His glory.

Please could we leave people free to listen, think and decide for themselves rather than become a nanny state that decides what we are exposed to and tries to control what we believe.

Nothing lasts for ever - or does it?

2011-05-28T18:35:00.004Z

We all have come to understand that life is constantly changing and that nothing lasts for ever. In many ways this is a tough and sad reality. Most of us find it hard to accept that we will grow old, that loved ones will pass on, that children grow up and leave home. You know the types of things that I am talking about. Sad realities!

I have good news for you. The Bible teaches that God made us with an eternal soul, the real person, and though the body ends in physical death, the soul lives on. Many people don't believe this any more. Stephen Hawking, British Physicist and author dismisses the notion of an afterlife. To quote he said recently 'I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail. There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers. That is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark'. This argument sounds very feasible especially when proposed by such an intelligent man. It does however ignore the fact that we are not just biological computers. It ignores man's consciousness which the best of brains have grappled with but have to admit is beyond their explanation. Consciousness cannot be defined in purely physiological terms. Add to this the evidence for the supernatural and the spiritual and you have many questions which unaided we will struggle to answer.

Enter a book which has for generations provided answers that could not find their source solely in the mind of a human being - the Bible. It is easy to dismiss the Bible as the purely the writings of men but that would not be doing justice to the information it contains and the consistency of its message. The Bible has an inbuilt testing system of prediction and fulfilment which either stands or falls on the substantive evidence of archeology, science, history, geography and social development. There have no developments to date in any of these disciplines which have produced evidence which undermines the truthfulness and probity of the Bible.

If all of this is true may I suggest that we should pay more attention to what it teaches about life, death, the afterlife, God etc. One of the books of the Bible (John's gospel) specifically states that it was written 'that we might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that believing you might have life through his name'. My prayer is that this will be the outcome if you choose to read the Bible for yourself.

Ever been really loved?

2011-05-20T16:08:00.003Z

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life - the Bible - John 3.16.

Have you ever seen the words John 3 v16 held up at a sporting event (see pictures)? Did you ever wonder what it meant?

Have you ever longed to be loved unconditionally, sincerely and consistently? Well listen to this.

For God - the greatest being in the universe loves you.

So loved - His love is the greatest show the greatest degree of love - He gave His Son, Jesus, to die for our sins.

His love is to the widest audience ever - the world.

that He gave - this was the greatest act of love - when you consider that we were His enemies, disobedient to him and sinners.

His only begotten Son - this is the greatest gift possible. Consider the value and status of the Son of the living God. The creator, the supreme one given to the death of the cross to pay the price for sin.

That whosoever - the widest audience possible - no one is excluded. God is not willing that any should perish.

Believes in Him - the greatest simplicity, believe and receive.

Should not perish - the greatest guaranteed promise. No doubt, no maybe's salvation is secure.

But - the great differentiator, we all stand on one side or the other. Saved or lost, dead in sin or life in Christ.

Have - the greatest certainty

Everlasting life - the greatest possession. Nothing else comes near, everything else has an expiry date.

Read this verse until you understand all that God wants to bless you with.

Arrivals and Departures

2011-05-09T19:09:00.004Z

An Airport can be an exciting place, there are however times when for most of us it has been a depressing place. Saying 'goodbye' is not an enjoyable experience especially when you want to be with the person who is leaving and their absence leaves a void that you find hard to fill.

Maybe you are an upbeat type and all of this is a bit dismal. Pull yourself together you say! Everything will be all-right! It's not for long. I agree that it is good to be positive in your thinking and most of the time this attitude is the best way to deal with most situations in life. But let's be really frank and honest for a minute.

Life doesn't last for ever! Some things in life are not all-right! Some partings are for ever!

If you have read any of my blogs or listened to my podcasts you will understand when I say that I am now going to put my 'Christian' hat on. You see as a Christian I have the most amazing message to bring to you.

It is this: There is an eternal tomorrow, there is a place of no parting, no tears, no death, no sorrow, full justice etc.

Where is it you will be asking if you are taking me seriously. It is in the presence of the creator, the Almighty God. One of the writers of the Psalms in the Bible states that in God's presence there is 'fullness of joy', at His right hand there are 'pleasures for ever more'.

How can you discover if this is true. The only answer to that question is - Read the Bible, listen to God speak directly to you through His book. Start in the New Testament and keep reading. I am not going defend the Bible to you, read it for yourself. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God (the book of Romans.10.17). If you do not have a Bible e-mail me with your name and address to stepcar61@gmail.com. I will put one in the post for you, free of charge. (This offer is only open to individuals).

As I finish remember this - we will all face our final departure from this world sooner or later. Be aware - there will be an arrival for each of us in the next life (it's all in the Bible - check it out!). There are only two destinies - heaven or hell! One is an arrival marked by joy - you depart in peace from this life to enter in the presence of the one who died on the cross to save you. The other is an arrival marked by grief - you refused to hear the voice of God (in your conscience, through His Son, Jesus Christ, through His word, the Bible). You are unforgiven because you refused to believe in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

The simple solution is this. 'Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way and unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon' (Isaiah.55.6,7 - the Bible). You possibly don't feel wicked or unrighteous but believe me I am and we all are in God's eyes. May you know God's blessing today.

What excitement!

2011-05-01T21:01:00.002Z

You could hardly believe the excitement that the Royal Wedding produced, but it was immense. I am sure that many people really enjoyed the day and found it a happy diversion from the many other difficult issues they currently face.

But the world goes on.

British Boxing legend Sir Henry Cooper dies.

Col Gaddafi survives a very close call but it looks like members of his family die.

Firefighters struggle to contain fires on the mountains of Mourne in Northern Ireland.

Joy here, sadness there. Excitement in different places for different reasons - this is the world we live in.

You never know the moment you say. Life is uncertain, we don't know what a day will bring.

My simple message this week is - be prepared. Sounds like the Boy Scout Movement Motto. Generally we prepare for most things. Education, holidays, retirement etc etc.

Are we prepared for the next life, to meet our maker? The bible warns 'Prepare to meet God'.

It is possible to be prepared. God has made it simple for us. Listen to this verse from the Bible and rest on it for your eternal future.

'For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life' (John 3.16 - The Bible)

God has done all the preparing to save your soul and make you safe for ever. All you need to do is acknowledge your needy condition and trust Him to save you. Would you choose eternal life today. I pray that you will.

The ultimate guest list

2011-04-25T14:26:00.005Z

We all like to be invited to a wedding. When the invite drops on the doormat it is so exciting. A new outfit, meeting old friends, a relaxing day, sharing joy with the happy couple. One problem for the couple is - who to invite? If you have lots of friends the bigger problem is - who to leave out?

I have been looking at the guest list for the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. There are some people on the list who you would expect to be there. There are other guests who you've never heard of. Why will they be there? Simply because they are friends and have been invited.

It struck me that heaven will be like that. There are some people who you might expect to be there and others who you might be surprised to see there. Everyone who is there will have one thing in common. They were invited and they accepted the invitation. Incidentally we are all invited, there is room for all!

Jesus still says to everyone who will listen 'come unto me and I will give you rest'. The open invitation to come to God for forgiveness is still available. Listen to the offer 'he that hears my word, and believes on Him that sent me, has everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life'. Naturally we are all heading for separation from God but God offers an invitation to heaven.

By the way any invite to a wedding assumes that you do not pay to go (forget for a moment the cost of the new outfit etc). The wedding is paid for and you go free. It's not that the wedding is cheap it is that someone else is paying. Heaven is like that. It's not cheap to gain entry but it has been paid for by the death of the Lord Jesus Christ.

To ensure you can go to the wedding you have to accept the invitation. RSVP it says on the invite. You can't just turn up, you have to accept the invitation. It's just the same with heaven. The invitation has been made but you need to reply accepting or rejecting. As in wedding invites failure to reply implies you are not going. Failure to reply to God implies that you are not going to heaven either.

Will you accept the invitation and come to the greatest wedding and reception of all, in heaven.

If you have time please listen to my latest podcast. It is about memorable expressions we use in everyday life. I hope that you find it interesting and helpful.

God bless you today.

Stephen

Home Sweet Home

2011-04-15T20:08:00.002Z

I have just arrived home after a week of work in Northern Ireland. It was a busy week with lots of activity and I really enjoyed the time away. Despite meeting new and interesting people, seeing new places and having the opportunity to gain a little insight into how other people think it is always good to come home. Home for most of us has a special attraction.

It's where we feel most comfortable, we don't need to be on our best behaviour and we are loved unconditionally. At home you don't feel the urge to explain yourself or to watch what you say. Home is a wonderful place. I am aware that for many home can be a difficult place but God intended it to be a safe and secure environment where all of the above and much more is true.

While I was in Ireland I attended the funeral of an elderly gentleman. He was in his mid to late eighties. He was a Christian gentleman and was well known in the community. The funeral was a large affair with over 250 attending. One of the things that was said about the passing away of this man was that though he had died he was now 'at home with the Lord'. The truth is that he had only died physically but his soul is now in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ in heaven - the verse from the bible that was quoted was "absent from the body but present with the Lord'. A statement that is only true of those who have accepted the gift of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

This is the ultimate homecoming! It is great to come home on earth but the homecoming of the believer in Jesus Christ when the individual leaves earth and arrives in heaven is indescribable.

I wonder what your departure from earth will be like. Will it be an abundant entrance into the presence of the Lord Jesus or a fearful waiting in Hell for the judgment of God. It is possible to be saved and safe. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.

Listen to my latest podcast about the influence of Mothers and Grandparents in our lives on my podcast seekthetruth.org.uk.

God bless you this week, Stephen.

The Grand National

2011-04-08T14:32:00.003Z

This weekend is the Grand National at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool. I am reliably informed that there is standing room only, all the tickets have sold. Quite amazing really when you consider the financial state of our nation and the constant encouragement to tighten our belts financially speaking. Its a day out, a bit of fun, a chance to forget our worries and enjoy ourselves. I am sure that these are among the many reasons given for spending the money.

How do you cope with pressure? What is your escape value? We are all different and cope in differing ways. The bible points us ultimately to God and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. God says in Isaiah - 'Look unto me and be ye saved all you ends of the earth for I am God and there is none else'. God is offering rescue and deliverance from the ultimate danger - the second death, which means permanent separation from God, love, joy, hope and all that is good. God is saying He is the only means of salvation. God has made this available through the death and resurrection of his own Son, Jesus Christ.

'Neither is there salvation in any other for there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved'.

This is a grand and international, timeless message. may God bless you today.

Justification

2011-04-01T17:24:00.002Z

On Saturday 26^thMarch the TUC organised a march in London to demonstrate against the government’s spending cuts. An estimated 250,000 people attended what was initially a peaceful good- natured rally, but an anarchic element turned some areas into a riot situation. BBC News reported on their website, that Police Commander Bob Broadhurst said: "Unfortunately we have had a group of approximately 500 criminals committing some disorder including throwing paint at Topshop in Oxford Street and at the police, and scaring the public who are trying to shop."

BBC News UK affairs correspondent Tom Symonds reported, ‘There have been separate incidents involving a number of protesters, some with their faces covered by scarves, away from the main march:

A sit-in organised by the campaign group UK Uncut took place at Fortnum & Mason department store in Piccadilly. The group has previously mounted protests against tax avoidance measures by big businesses
A bonfire was lit by protesters at Oxford Circus, where earlier police said light bulbs containing ammonia were thrown at officers
Topshop on Oxford Street had its windows smashed and was doused with paint

Missiles were thrown at the Ritz Hotel, Piccadilly

Bank branches including the Royal Bank of Scotland were attacked with paint and had windows broken, while branches of HSBC and Santander were broken into.

Scotland Yard said there had been 202 arrests for public order offences, criminal damage, aggravated trespass and violent disorder.’

The questions raised here are ‘Were the organisers justified in arranging the demonstration with the potential of an unlawful element using the occasion to commit acts of violence?’ Answer - Perhaps?

‘Were the rioters justified in stepping over the law and order line to commit serious criminal acts?’ The answer to that is unquestionably, NO!’

The United Nations Security Council felt justified in passing Resolution 1973 of March 18^th, against Muammer Gaddafi. The following quote was reported by the Press Association in the Guardian newspaper, ‘The resolution expresses the UN's "grave concern at the deteriorating situation, the escalation of violence, and the heavy civilian casualties", condemns "the gross and systematic violation of human rights, including arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, torture and summary executions" and says the attacks against civilians "may amount to crimes against humanity" and pose a "threat to international peace and security".

• A no-fly zone is "an important element for the protection of civilians as well as the safety of the delivery of humanitarian assistance and a decisive step for the cessation of hostilities in Libya".

The Bible says in Luke 7:35 “Wisdom is justified of all her children.” Time will tell whether their resolution will work for the good of all the people of Libya, the Middle East and the rest of the world.

The Book of Job is one of the oldest books of the Bible, ch.4:17 asks. “Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker?” The answer is obviously NO!

Then in ch.9:2 the question is raised, “I know it is so of a truth: but how should man be just with God?” That is an excellent question because it leads a person on the path of getting right with God, of knowing all the past failings of one’s life to be dealt with, permanently.

The Epistle to the Romans is presented like a Courtroom scene and it is in that Book that we find the answer for our need in being made just with God. There are three essential fundamental facts for a person to be justified with God.

It is by GRACE. Ch.3:24 reads, “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” The source of justification is with God and not with man. His plan of redemption was determined before the world was made, and central in that plan is the Son of God Himself, the “Lamb slain before the foundation of the world.” Rev.13:8

It is by BLOOD. Ch.5:9 declares, “Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.” Redemption is by blood and by power; both were at work when God delivered Israel from Egypt, the blood of the Passover Lamb and dividing the Red Sea. The blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin; it is the basis upon which God can meet us with forgiveness and cleansing. Not by anything that we could do.

It is through FAITH. Ch.5:1 says, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Faith in Christ is our responsibility! We will never be justified with God other than by placing our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. To be justified with God it is all of HIS grace; HIS blood and YOUR faith. Got it? God bless

Written by Stan Burditt for Stephen Baker

Co. Cork - when Irish eyes are smiling

2011-03-25T19:15:00.004Z

I am just back from a visit to the Emerald Isle and it lived up to it's name, green and beautiful even on misty and foggy mornings. I was in Bandon and the surrounding area for a week of conference meetings starting on St. Patrick's Day. I arrived on a very sunny day and the views from the plane were stunning. Beautiful beaches and scenery. As I looked out of the window I wished that I was there on holiday but it was a business trip and there was work to be done.

My mother and wife are from the North of the country and there are a lot of similarities in the mindset of the people. The way they think and their attitude to life is quite similar especially those from rural communities. It was interesting to see the evidence of prosperity, every house I came across seemed to be bigger than the one before. It is however not the way things are at the moment. The country is struggling economically and I was told that there are developments of houses which have never been occupied and may even be knocked down. What a shame and a waste of money.

It all serves to reinforce that life is a constantly changing scene. You can never be certain of how things will go! Whether it is Japan with it's sudden calamity or Ireland and the Celtic Tiger fortunes can change and we never can be quite sure how things will turn out. All of this teaches me that the world will end one day and that only 'he that does the will of God will abide for ever'. The things that we see in this life are temporary but the unseen things of God are eternal and will still be around when time has run its course.

A question - what are you investing in? Things that will not be here at the end of life or eternal things. Jesus said 'Lay not up for yourself treasures upon earth, where moth and rust corrupts and where thieves break through and steal; but lay up for yourself treasures in heaven....(Matthew.6.19,20).

Invest in something of eternal value. To learn more about how read some of my other blogs or listen to my podcasts on www.seekthetruth.org.uk.

The Earth's Foundations

2011-03-05T18:51:00.002Z

Online, www.geology.com reported, ‘A magnitude 6.3 earthquake occurred near Christchurch, New Zealand on Tuesday, February 22 at 1:04 PM local time. The earthquake was at a depth of just 4.2 miles and was strongly felt at the surface.’ The 6.3 magnitude quake was not as big as the one on July 15^th. 2009 which was 7.8, or the one in September 3^rd.2010 that was 7.0 mag. The destruction and death suffered this time was far greater because of the time that it struck and the location of the epicentre, which was in the city centre. To date, 145 people have died and over 200 are missing. This area is on the sand-plane. Nearby places on the gravel-plane did not suffer as much damage or casualties. Some friends of ours live there and we have heard that they are safe, for which we praise the Lord.

We sometimes hear expressions such as ‘fault lines’ and ‘rift valleys’ but often that is where we let our interest stay, so I decided to look a bit closer. The tectonic plates that cover the earth form a jig-saw pattern and move either toward or away from their neighbour, sometimes one plate going underneath the other with tremendous force. On www.maps.com I counted eighteen named plates on their global map, the largest being the Pacific Plate and the smallest, the Arabian plate I will refer to this one later.

Wikipedia lists seven primary plates, seven secondary plates and about sixty tertiary plates. The plates are moving at a speed that has been estimated at 1 to 10 cm per year. Most of the Earth's seismic activity (volcanoes and earthquakes) occurs at the plate boundaries as they interact. Universities that follow evolution theories have their multi-billion year program of the formation and development of how these plates are today. Many of them present their theories like trustworthy facts; some of them are honest enough to say that they do not know how it all came about.

The Biblical record presents the truth of Creation as the following scriptures concur.

1. The Lord thundered from heaven, and the most High uttered his voice. And the channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were discovered. 2 Samuel 22:14, 16

2. Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. Job 38:4

3. Of old thou hast laid the foundations of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. Psalm 102:25

4. Bless the Lord, 0 my soul. 0 Lord my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty. Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever. Psalm 104:1, 5

5. Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? Isaiah 40:21

6. And forgettest the Lord thy maker, that hath stretched, forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; . . . that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, . . . Isaiah 51:13, 16

7. Thus saith the Lord; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, . . . Jeremiah: 31:37

8. And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning has laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thy hands: Hebrews 1:10

When God laid the foundations of the earth they were not fragmented, so when did this take place? It is quite apparent that when God brought the flood of waters upon the earth in Noah’s day that the earth suffered cataclysmic convulsions. Gen.7:11 says, “In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up,” Even so, God made a covenant with Noah that the earth would remain and He would maintain the seasons and uphold the planet according to His own will and purpose.

I like the fifth quotation above where Isaiah addresses the idolatrous nation of Israel, “To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him? The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains. He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved. Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain.” In His deity the Son of God could sit upon the circle of the earth, in His humanity, wearied with His journey, He sat upon the circle of a well (John 4:6) Well might He be known as “The great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13)

I said that I would comment upon the Arabian Plate, this one is interesting regarding future days. The fault line of this plate runs North/South down the Jordan valley and down the Red Sea. Zechariah 14:4 says, “And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.” The fault line runs North/South but the mountain is going to split East /West to provide a water course for the healing waters to flow from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea one way and the Mediterranean the other way. I have been to Engedi by the Dead Sea and floated in the water. There are no fish there, but there will be according to Ezekiel 47:10 “As the fish of the great sea, (Med.) exceeding many.” The Earth’s foundations are in good hands! God bless.

(check out my latest podcast on seekthetruth.org.uk)

Written by Stan Burditt for Stephen G Baker

Where will it all end?

2011-02-25T17:33:00.002Z

Another week and another amazing amount of goings on in the world! Gaddafi announces that he believes that Osama bin Laden is behind the uprising in his country. Our press feels that the present government has not reacted efficiently in getting British citizens out of Libya. An earthquake in New Zealand, the current death toll sitting at 113 with a further 200 missing. Another family decimated as a mother and her two children are found dead in their home. The UK economy shrinks more than we had expected (Gross Domestic Product slipped by 0.6% in the last three months of 2010 according to the Office for National Statistics). All in all you would be forgiven for thinking that the world is in quite a mess. Who can sort it? Politically, I think most would agree that there do not seem to be easy answers or statesmen around who have impressive ability to steer us back to better days.

If you read the bible carefully you would not be surprised. The bible predicts wide-ranging changes in the world some of which we could be witnessing at the present time. Many of the things that we are seeing are among the catalogue of changes that are defined in the bible: global changes, increased seismic activity, political upheaval and changes in the social and economic fabric of society.

What is the answer? The answer is found in a person – Jesus Christ. The word of God teaches that just as he came to Bethlehem 2010 years ago in fulfillment of ancient predictions so he will come again towards the end of this world’s history. Next time he comes the bible teaches he will come to Jerusalem (check the reference’s in Zechariah 14 and Matthew 24). His first purpose will be to deliver the nation of Israel who by that stage will be surrounded by the armies of the world. As has been the case for many years Israel’s very existence will be threatened. But Jesus the Messiah will come to deliver them and establish his worldwide empire, which will be administrated from Jerusalem. I think that we would all agree that the state of Israel has always been very vulnerable. If the west and in particular America turns against them and the nations of the Middle East have their way they would find it very hard to survive. Ultimately they will survive, as they are key to world history and the nation through which God intended to and still intends to bless the world – though His Son, Jesus Christ.

Before all this happens something else needs to take place. Jesus Christ promised before he died for sin on the cross that he would rise from the dead, go back to heaven and, one day, return to take the Christian church to heaven. If the bible is true and the words of Jesus can be trusted this must take place. You can read about this in the New Testament in John 14.

Think it through. The Bible and the claims of Christianity will ultimately be either proved true or demonstrated to be false. If they are right (and I suggest all the evidence points to this fact) then time is short and the issues we face as individuals are massive. We need to seek the Lord while he may be found. Tomorrow could be too late. Call it scaremongering if you like but I believe that the issues are real and the solution is fail proof if we come God’s way.

Listen to the latest podcast on seekthetruth.org.uk

A dignified old lady goes to heaven

2011-02-21T17:22:00.004Z

I have just attended a funeral today. The lady who had died was in her eighty fourth year. The service was well attended, a clear indication of the respect and love that people had for her. This lady was born in Brazil, the daughter of a missionary couple from Liverpool. She had trained as a nurse and a midwife and was famous for the care that she showed to all who came into contact with her. In her latter years she had become proficient in using a computer and was know in Liverpool for answering school children's questions on line about God and faith. All in all, a life well lived and worthwhile.

Is that it? Where is she now? Well her family are not sure for sadly they do not seem enjoy the faith that she had. They spoke of her dedication, love and strong principles but seem to have missed the point that without faith in Jesus Christ she would not have been the woman she was. They did not even mention her faith, just her strong principles and natural qualities.

Jesus said, what is the advantage in being successful and losing your soul. He also said that eternal life is to know the only true God and Jesus Christ. If it was your funeral what would they say? Where would you be now? I am glad that I know. I am glad that I have a sure and certain hope. You can be too. If you would like to know more give me a call or text me on 07747 101352, or e-mail me on stepcar61@gmail.com. If you would rather just ponder these things for yourself get a bible, start in the New Testament and ask God to open the eyes of your understanding. If you want to listen to some short talks try seekthetruth.org.uk God bless, Stephen

Prisoners Voting Rights

2011-02-11T22:28:00.004Z

The current debate about whether prisoners should be allowed to vote is very evocative one. It raises all sorts of issues about fairness and whether sentencing for crimes should be punitive or remedial. The question is, are we putting convicted persons in prison to reform them or to punish them? Depending on what their crime is there must be an element of both. As a regular visitor to prison (in a pastoral role!) I am very aware of how prison affects the individual.

Essentially they are in prison because they are guilty. Breaking the law has consequences and a withdrawal of privileges is part of that. Our society has chosen to restrict a person's liberties by taking them out of society and housing them in prison. Have we become so soft on reality that we cannot see that the rights of the individual were forfeited by them when they committed their crime? I am not suggesting for a moment that a person cannot be reformed or forgiven. I believe as a Christian very strongly in the doctrine of redemption. But I believe that to enjoy forgiveness the consequences of wrong must be faced and accounted for. Personally God has provided a basis for our forgiveness through the death of his Son, Jesus.

As a society we have responsibilities to both the general public and to the offenders. For the benefit of all we must ensure that the penalty for each crime is appropriate. We must ensure that when an individual has served their sentence that the result is that they have been educated to once again enjoy the liberties of life in the community. But in all of this we should not confuse fairness to the criminal with just punishment for crimes committed.

Feel free to download my latest podcast from seekthetruth.org.uk. Why me? is the latest talk. Why is life so hard for some and not for others? Is it fair? Have a listen, see what you think.

Flooding and decisions

2011-02-04T12:04:00.002Z

Louise Jones won Channel 4 News best young blogger competition, in November, when you read the following extracts from her article about Jordan Rice you will understand why.

‘I've lost count of the amount of times I've rambled on about teenagers being viewed negatively in the press, with stories of truancy, crime, killings, drugs, alcohol, pregnancies, Do you know who Jordan Rice is? I don't suspect you do. Jordan Rice is 13 years old and comes from Toowoomba, Australia. Jordan Rice lives with his mum, dad and 10 year old brother Blake and went to buy his school uniform earlier this week. At around 2pm on Monday Jordan, Blake and his mother are in the car on the way back from the shops.

The Australian floods have caused destruction this past week, with people dead and areas the size of France extinct under tonnes of water. Toowoomba clearly seemed unaffected and not at risk from this scene, until water started to rise around the Rice family's car. Usually when there's a small flood on a road, driving through it is AMAZING. The water sprays up in a wave against the car and you feel like Moses parting the Red Sea. But what if the water kept rising? Rising enough to cut your engine out? Stranded in a lake of dirty murderous water? It's not stopping. It's half way up your car door now. If you're not careful you won't be able to get out. Not so fun now is it? Your mum's panicking. She's called the emergency services who have told her to stay in the car. Stay in the car?! The water's rising faster now and it's coming into the car. You have no choice but to escape onto the roof.

No one tried to help this little family….. But one old man grabbed a rope, tied it around himself and jumped into the flood. If you think the situation couldn't get worse and seems to be getting better, think again. Jordan is petrified of water and can't swim. Jordan wants to get on dry land as fast as possible because this is his worse nightmare. Hope is swimming towards him though - the old man is going to save him, right? Jordan refused to be rescued until his little brother was safe. He was willing to risk death to save Blake. What's your relationship with your siblings like? Quarrel a lot? Fight? Compete for attention? At 13 these features of sibling rivalry are likely to be at its highest point. Now think about YOU being in this situation. You could be swept away in a torrent of violent floods at any moment, it's instinct to find a way of survival FAST. You don't think of anyone else but yourself. Selfish? Possibly. But it's your life and something inside tells you to do anything to live it. So if at 13 years old someone was there in front of you, willing to save you at that very moment and take you to safety, would you say no? Even if others close to you were there too? If your mother was saying "Go! Go with the nice man!" Or would you say no and save your little brother first?

The old man didn't have time to argue. The rope was fraying and water was still rising, so he tied the rope around Blake and took him to land. He swam back out to save the other two, there was time, he could do it. But the rope broke. It couldn't take the strain of the flood and the weight of the people. Jordan and his mother had no hope. They were gone. Taken by the churning torrent of brown water they were swept away, but managed to cling to a tree...before they loosened their grip and accepted their fate. Blake was left the only survivor… Reunited with his father to become a family of 2.’

The Promised Land

Louise likened the parting of the waters to that of Moses and the parting of the Red Sea, she could of course have quoted Joshua and the parting of the River Jordan when the children of Israel entered Canaan. Joshua ch’s 3 and 4 give the details of this event. “And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,) That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho. And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.” They were commanded to take twelve stones from the midst of Jordan and erect them as a memorial to this act of deliverance.

Taken to Heaven

The waters of Jordan parted again when Elijah and Elisha went t over on dry ground, “And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground…… And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces. He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan; And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.

In 2Kings ch.5 Elisha sent the leper Naaman to Jordan to dip seven times. He believed and obeyed, and was healed.

Voice from Heaven

Many years later the feet of Jesus stood in the Jordan when John baptized him. It was not the waters that were opened that day but Heaven itself “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” From that time Christ’s public ministry began, culminating at Calvary, dying for sinners such as us. Remember Christ’s love and sacrifice and Jordan’s too! God bless.

Written by Stan Burditt for Stephen G Baker

PS another talk is just about to go on seekthetruth.org.uk Take time to listen. It will do you good.

We need more than food to survive!

2011-01-28T16:57:00.006Z

It can be tempting to just see life as purely a physical thing and to ignore the other dimensions that we know in our heart exist. There are some people who would say that unless they can see something they do not believe it exists. This is quite a short sighted argument even on a basic level. I have never been to Australia but I know it exists because people whose judgement I trust have been there and described it to me.

I believe in God and I believe in a literal heaven (and hell to be honest). Now I have never seen God or been in heaven but I am persuaded that there must be a greater power, a designer and originator by the evidence I see in the physical world. However I would be totally in the dark as to what God and heaven are like if I did not have the record of the Bible and the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Any thinking person will be need to be convinced that the Bible is a trustworthy document and that Jesus Christ was and is genuine in his character and claims before they will believe what they have to say. If you are reading this and are interested to discover the truth then have a look at the following websites josh.org or rzim.org (these are not wacky extremist websites but rational and logical explanations of the truth). Don't look at them if you have already decided what you believe and have a closed mind, they are only for people who really are prepared to face up to the truth.

May God bless you this week.

Stephen

If you would like to listen to my podcast at seekthetruth.org.uk I think you would find it interesting.

Global Warning

2011-01-12T14:48:00.001Z

In 2008 the warning lights were flashing regarding a global economic meltdown. Big players in the financial market such as Lehman’s felt the full impact of the crash, filing the biggest bankruptcy in American History. People like Bernard Madoff and his Ponzi scheme were ruined as Stock Markets fell exposing the greatest fraud in American history. Wikipedia quotes ‘On December 10, 2008, he suggested to his sons, Mark and Andrew, that the firm pay out over 170 million dollars in bonuses two months ahead of schedule, from $200 million in assets that the firm still had.^[12] According to the complaint, Mark and Andrew, reportedly unaware of the firm's pending insolvency, confronted their father, asking him how the firm could pay bonuses to employees if it could not pay investors. Madoff then admitted that he was "finished", and that the asset management arm of the firm was in fact a Ponzi scheme. Mark and Andrew then reported him to the authorities.’ The authorities found him guilty and sent him to prison for 150 years and to pay $170 billion in restitution money. Warnings were ignored in the Banking world resulting in major Banks failing and national ecconomies floundering, calling for large bailout funds from the IMF. This mis-management has resulted in higher taxation and unemployment for many people.

Global Warming is another con to extract more money from the world’s populace, to service hairbrain schemes of politicians and scientists to control the enviroment. When will these folk acknowledge that the future well being of planet earth is in God’s hands and not mans’. Hebrews 1:3 says of Christ, “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.”

Evolutionists are mainly atheists so do not believe that God is in control. We have just celebrated Christmas, but many people do not believe in the virgin birth of Jesus, or the fact that God became incarnate when Christ was born at Bethlehem. All of us are free to believe whatever we choose and as the choice is not a complicated multi-choice option but a straight forward either/or choice. I have long since realised that the choice to believe in the ‘Big Bang’ theory is not an intellectual choice but a moral choice. How anyone can believe that order came out of chaos by random selection (or chance), they need to get back to the drawing board to examine the blueprint again. Darwin used the expression, ‘the simple cell ’, which was a gross underestimation of the complexity of the building block of life. Our DNA chain is such a wonderful mechanism to maintain our bodies, with self repair functions built in and personal physical identifyable features, exclusively ours, yet carried from generation to generation. People do not want to acknowledge God as creator because it places them accountable to Him, so in the words of Romans 1:20, “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.”

Before the Saviour went to the cross He was in the Temple at Jerusalem with His disciples, and they were marveling at the magnificent structure. He said to them, “See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” He warned them of what would happen in AD70 when Titus destroyed the Temple and raised it to the ground. They then proceeded to the Mount of Olives and Christ answered their questions, “When shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?”

The Olivet Discourse is an outline of coming events that point to the return of the Lord to earth to establish His thousand-year reign, commonly known as the Millennial Kingdom. He told them warnings that are global in affect, things that affect the universe, the atmospheric heavens, the earth and its nations, earthquakes and famines etc. These are not going to be brought about by global warming, but are global warnings, the preludes of coming judgement culminating in the Great Tribulation, Matt.24:21 reads, “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” Noah’s flood is mentioned in the chapter, reminding them of social conditions of that day, which will be present, prior to, and through that seven-year period. Three verses warn of individuals opposed to God, v.5 says, “For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.” Then in v.11 “And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many,” and v.15 “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)” These quotes point to the arising of a person who is described under different names. He is the ‘man of sin’ of 2Thess. 2:3, the ‘beast out of the sea’ in Revelation 13. This person will take control of the world’s finances, pointing to a world bank where no one can buy or sell without his mark upon their person. He also will propagate the lie that the natural disasters taking place, prophesied in Revelation ch’s 6 to 19 are the consequences of global warming, and not the foretold judgements of God.

The gospel message can produce global warming of a different kind. “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.” Believing and receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as one’s Saviour brings warmth that cannot be equaled, the Love of God resident in one’s life. Contrasted to that is the ultimate in global warnings, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” To refuse Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour is the greatest folly, because that soul will spend eternity in Hell. A final warning from the Mount of Olives for you to heed, “Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.”

Written by Stan Burditt for Stephen Baker

Joy & Sorrow

2010-12-22T20:49:00.001Z

Joy and sorrow are opposite emotional experiences that probably all of us know throughout our lifetime. Life is like a tapestry of bright and dark colours and often the bright parts shine the brighter when set against a dark background.

I am reminded of Benjamin Malachi Franklin’s poem ‘Just a Weaver’,

(1) My life is but a weaving, between my God and me,

I do not choose the colors, He worketh steadily.

(2) Ofttimes he weaveth sorrow, and I in foolish pride

Forget He sees the upper, and I the underside.

(3) Not till the loom is silent, and the shuttles cease to fly,

Will God unroll the canvas, and explain the reasons why

(4) The dark threads are as needful in the skillful weaver's hand

As threads of gold and silver in the pattern He has planned.

The recent mining accidents in Chile and New Zealand illustrate both extremes. For the families of the thirty-three miners rescued from their mine in Chile, it was a time of great joy, but for the thirty-three families of the Pike River, New Zealand South Island miners, only two could rejoice and twenty nine were plunged into the sorrow of grief. Further explosions ripped through the mine causing the authorities to pronounce the twenty- nine miners dead and the Prime Minister to say “We are a nation in mourning.”

A video of an interview with one of the survivors revealed that he had been thrown off his machine by the blast and knocked unconscious, the other survivor picked him up and they went 300 metres to the entrance of the mine and staggered out, battered but alive.

The circumstances at each mine were different, geologically, physically and possibly spiritually. The Chile men were gold mining, the New Zealanders were coal mining with the greater danger of methane exploding from leaks in the fault line hundreds of feet below the coal seem. It was not exploding gas that endangered the miners in Chile; it was a huge rock fall that trapped them for over two months. Jose Henriquez, trapped with his colleagues is an evangelical preacher and kept their spirits up by reading the Bible every morning to them. Every man had a small bible sent down the borehole for them to read and many of them committed their lives to the Lord Jesus Christ. Above ground the Presidents Pastor held prayer times with the President and the nation prayed for the recovery of the men. What joy it was when all of them were brought up one by one in a 27-inch capsule inside a new borehole that went down to the chamber where they were trapped. Many of the men wore T-shirts expressing that Jesus Christ is Lord.

We rejoice with those that rejoice, we weep with those that weep, and therefore feel and pray for the Pike River miner’s families.

As one travels five miles south from Jerusalem on the Hebron Road, there is a left hand fork that takes you down to Bethlehem. At that fork in the road is Rachel’s tomb, the place where Jacob’s wife died in child bearing and was buried. “And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin.” Benoni means ‘Son of my sorrow’ whereas Benjamin means, ‘Son of the right hand’. Both names are an apt description of the Son of God who became the man of sorrows and acquainted with grief at Calvary, but then became the Son of the right hand when exalted in Heaven. Looking from that tomb the short distance to Bethlehem one can see the beyond the city the Shepherds fields and beyond them the mountains of Moab.

Ruth traveled with Naomi from Moab and came to those fields that belonged to Boaz. He became Ruth’s redeemer and married her and they had a son named Obed, the grandfather of King David. Ruth is one of four women named is in the genealogy of the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew ch.1. Mary is the fifth!

When Mary and Joseph were required by Caesar Augustus’s edict to go to Bethlehem, they could have gone to a Bethlehem which was only five miles west of Nazareth, but that was the wrong Bethlehem, it was the city of David in Judah that they had to go to. Micah 5:2 reads, “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”

They left Nazareth and made the arduous 70 to 80 mile journey to Bethlehem. Did they travel down the valley of Jezreel or the Jordan valley? We do not know but either way would have been exhausting, especially for Mary, heavy with child. Passing Jerusalem they would arrive at the fork where Rachel’s tomb is. What thoughts would pass through Mary’s mind when she recalled Rachel’s death delivering her baby? Mary had been told concerning the baby she would deliver, “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”

Regarding the joy of the birth of Christ the shepherds in the fields heard “The angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” When the wise men were seeking the place where Jesus was born, Matthew 2:10 says, “When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.” When they saw the babe they worshipped Him.

It was joy for them but sorrow for the mothers that had their children murdered by Herod, “In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.” Mary’s sorrow came later at Calvary when she saw Jesus crucified but “Joy cometh in the morning” and on the first day of the week Christ arose from the dead and is alive today, able to save to the uttermost all that come to Him. You too!

Praying that you have much joy this Christmas and the coming year and that sorrows stay away from your door. God bless.

Stan Burditt

No room in the Inn - would you exclude the Lord Jesus

2010-12-14T13:50:00.005Z

I wonder if you have ever thought about how popular Jesus was in his day. The impression we get at times is that he was loved by everyone right up until his rejection by the Jewish authorities, his prosecution by the Roman authorities and his ultimate death of crucifixion.

From the early days of his time on earth the Lord Jesus was excluded and rejected. There is quite a considerable period (from age 12-30) where we have very little information about the behaviour and activities of the Lord Jesus but we do have the commentary of God, the Father, when he publicly spoke from heaven (which was a very unusual thing to do) and said the he was delighted with His Son. This indicated that though there is scant information about these eighteen years there is nothing in that period (or any other period for that matter) that displeased His Father, God.

Let me discuss with you his exclusions - some specific examples relate to Bethlehem, Nazareth, Gadara and Jerusalem.

Bethlehem - even before the Lord Jesus was born he was excluded. Mary and Joseph had travelled ninety miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem. The scriptures record that Mary's pregnancy came to full term, she brought forth her firstborn son, she wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger.....because their was no room for them in the inn. Why - no room? Was it just too busy? Was it something about Mary and her pregnant condition? We are not told but we know that there was no room. Excluded!

Nazareth - you should read story for yourself; this is found in Luke 4.16-30. Jesus returns to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. To live all of your life in one place is getting more unusual in the modern world but it was very normal for many years. They would have known Jesus well in Nazareth. I sometimes wonder if they had many unanswered questions about him for he was unique and special in so many ways. He had always gone to the Synagogue and so going on this particular Sabbath day was not unusual. He rises to read, his reading grips the attention of the congregation and they sit spellbound hanging on to his every word. What we know now is that this was the author giving a reading of his book at a private sitting, no wonder they listened so well. When the reading is completed he makes a statement 'today is this scripture fulfilled in your ears'. What is he saying? He is claiming that the bible was written about him and that he is fulfilling it before their eyes. They can't get their heads round it. Is not this Joseph's son we hear them reply. I will not recount the rest of the incident but the end of the story is this. The people are angry with Jesus, they rise as one man and expel him from Nazareth with the intention of either killing him or physically hurting him. Excluded!

Gadara - The rejection and exclusion of the Lord Jesus this time is not because of what he claimed but because of what he did. Read about in Mark 5. The Lord arrives in the region of Gadara. He meets a man who can only be described as out of his mind. He is demon possessed, naked, lives in a graveyard, excluded from society and a danger to his community. To keep the story short - he is healed by the Lord Jesus. When the people from the local town come out to see what is going on they find the previously wild man - sitting, clothed and in His right mind. You would think that they would love the Lord Jesus. They can sleep easy again, things can get back to normal...but. They discover that 2000 pigs had been destroyed in the process of healing the man. They had lost money over this man's healing and they were not happy so they beg the Lord Jesus to leave their region. Excluded!

Jerusalem - It was in this city where he should have been enthroned as King of Israel that he was finally rejected. The current leadership deemed him a threat to their power and position and they could not risk the consequences of ignoring him. If you read John 11.50 they make it sound quite a prudent move when they state that 'one man should die for the people...that the whole nation perish not'. This statement was truer than they ever imagined. The Lord Jesus would not only die to save a nation but to save a world of men and women in need of his rescue plan of salvation. The plans of the rulers all came together when the general public were persuaded to reject the Lord Jesus and demand his execution (John.19.15). He was condemned to the death of the cross. Excluded!

So how about you and I? Will we continue to exclude Him. If we do he will be forced to exclude us on the day of judgement (Matt.25.41) and consign us to eternal punishment for not only breaking God's law but refusing his great salvation (Heb.2.3). When he comes in judgement on the world there will be no place to hide, no room for us (Rev.6.14-17).

The good news is He still saves those who call out for salvation (Romans.10.13). An acknowledgement of our sin and resting on the Lord Jesus for salvation is all that is required for you to know the blessing of God's forgiveness and salvation.

Have you stopped to thank God for today

2010-11-26T17:41:00.002Z

Think about today. Your health, your family, your clothes...basically everything. Who makes sure that life is the way it is. Me you say! Really! The sun in the sky, the cycle of life. you manage all that? I don't think so.

The psalmist in the Bible says. 'Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation, Selah'. (Psalm 68.19)

Selah means - stop, take a breath, think about it. Why not take a minute to think it through. You might even face reality and realise you need your creator to be your saviour. I pray that you will.

Tragedy and Disaster

2010-11-20T16:26:00.003Z

Once again we have become aware of another mining disaster. After the Chilean trapped miners were released we all breathed a sigh of relief. Thirty three men successfully brought to safety!What a glorious day it was for all involved and how we as fellow human beings were relieved to see a potentially sad story become a happy one. We trust that this will be the case for the twenty nine miners trapped in the Pike River Coal Mine in Atarau, New Zealand.

It is the desire of our creator, the Almighty God, that the sad story of human life and death be turned into a happy one. The miners in Chile soon learned the need for God and His presence when confined under ground. Among the scarce necessities that were delivered to them while in isolation was a personal copy of the bible. When faced with death, God and His truth is the only answer.

As I close listen to the truth that God brings to us in His word.

God commends his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.

God is not willing that any should perish (as in eternal damnation) but that all should come to repentance (a change of mind regarding sin and God accepting his offer of forgiveness).

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.

My advice would be to take advantage of the offer of salvation today.

2010-11-04T17:06:00.002Z

Today's blog comes to you from Stan Burditt in Orlando, Florida, where he is enjoying a sunshine holiday with some of his family.

Driving past Disney’s Theme Park entrance a few days ago, I saw alongside the models of Mickey and Minnie Mouse their slogan, ‘Where dreams come true’ and it got me thinking! Obviously the statement carries a double meaning, firstly it is a location where lots of children dream of going to see all the Disney characters and interact with them. For many children throughout the world that dream is never realised but for those that are able to visit, the WOW look on their faces is a joy to behold. However if we live in a world of fantasy of our own make-believe, a world of fluffy cuddly people, we are not seeing the truth of the real world, it is just an escape.

Mickey himself has a ‘fantasmic’ dream where all his animated and wonder world friends appear in imagination bubbles but then the dream becomes a nightmare of evil characters threatening his comfort zone. Then good prevails and ultimately all the good characters appear on a sail-by showboat leaving the audience with a feel-good finale. It is only make-believe isn’t it?

Some young girls dream of their Prince Charming to come along and marry them. Young men might dream of a good qualification that will secure a well paid job, a nice comfortable home, a lovely wife and children and maybe a particular car in the garage. Sometimes those dreams do come true, but in the real world responsibility and commitment are fundamental requirements for a ‘happy-ever-after’ life, and in this generation, fewer and fewer are subscribing to these.

If what has been reported in UK national newspapers is true then the ‘Theatre of Dreams’, Old Trafford football stadium has had nightmarish features since one of their players has been doing a bit of showboating himself, causing the manager selection problems. Who would know what decided the contractual turn around? Could it have been money??

Martin Luther King in his memorable speech ‘I have a dream!’ was pioneering a program of civil rights for the black population of the United States. He dreamed of a day when there would be equality for all people black and white, where social, education, medical and employment rights exist for everyone and not the privileged few. For him was it just a dream or was he a visionary? Looking for a better future for those oppressed by bigotry and racism.

There are eleven people recorded in the Old Testament and two in the NT that have dreams. In the NT the word dream occurs seven times, six in Matthew’s gospel and once in the Acts. In Matthew, four concern Joseph the husband of Mary, one, the wise men and the other is Pilate’s wife. With Joseph it is in relation to the birth of Christ, with Pilate’s wife it was His death.

Joseph in the Old Testament and Joseph in the New saw their dreams come true. Both Joseph’s had a father named Jacob, but it was Abraham’s grandson Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel who was the father of Joseph. This Joseph had two dreams. He interpreted the two dreams of Pharaoh, and his Butler and Baker. Genesis 37:6 reads, “Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf. And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words. And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.” Because of these dreams his brothers hated him and said, “Behold, this dreamer cometh” and wanted to kill him, but then they sold him as a slave into Egypt.

It became a nightmare for him in Potiphar’s house; he was wrongly accused of rape and put into prison. While in prison he interpreted the dreams of the Butler and the Baker, both dreams came true, one was restored, the other hanged.

Pharaoh had two dreams, which Joseph interpreted as being seven years of plenty and seven years of famine, which also became true. Pharaoh rewarded Joseph by putting him in charge of storing the corn in the plentiful years and administrating the distribution of the food during the years of famine. He made him second in command in all the land, it was then that his brothers came to Egypt seeking corn and bowed before Joseph. Joseph’s name means ‘adding’ and he was responsible for adding prosperity for his own people and the Egyptians. Pharaoh called him ‘The Saviour of the world’.

Joseph, the husband of Mary had a dream, assuring him that Mary had not committed fornication but was the chosen virgin to bring Jesus Christ into the world, “Behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost” His second dream was a warning that Herod was seeking to destroy the baby and he was told to take Mary and Jesus into Egypt. The third dream was in Egypt telling him that Herod was dead and that they could return to their own land. The final dream directed them back to Nazareth where Christ lived up to the age of thirty. All Joseph’s dreams came true and by them he was able to fulfill his responsibility in caring for his wife and his unique son.

Psalm 126 begins, “When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them. The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.”

Salvation is where dreams come true. God bless.

The forecast is not good

2010-10-26T18:15:00.002Z

No one likes to hear that the forecast is not good. Whether it is a business forecast, a weather forecast or a forecast of the outcome of treatment when faced with illness. It is news we do not want to hear.

Can I point to you to the words of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is recorded in Matthew.11.28 that He says to you 'Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest'. The scriptures explain that He (the Lord Jesus) came 'to preach the gospel to the poor' (more than financially poor), that he was sent to 'heal the broken hearted', to' preach deliverance to the captives', and 'recovering of sight to the blind' and to 'set at liberty them that are bruised'.

If you fit any of these categories the Lord Jesus came to help you. If you are spiritually poor, broken hearted, spiritually blind and bruised He can help you.

How is it possible. It's all because of His death on the cross. He suffered the just for the unjust to bring us to God. Will you admit your need, confess your sin, acknowledge His authority and come to Him. He alone can give rest. He conquered death and rose from the dead and those who trust Him alone pass from death to life.

May God bless you, Stephen

Is Jesus the Son of God?

2010-10-12T16:25:00.004Z

You might think that this is an irrelevant question or the most important question in the world. I happen to believe that it is the latter as your opinion of Jesus Christ will determine your eternal destiny. Why not listen to my new podcast at www.seekthetruth.org.uk to discover what convinces me that Jesus is the Son of God and to discover why it is such an important issue. Let me know what you think. Stephen

Why does evil exist?

2010-09-23T17:25:00.004Z

The fact of evil in the world is a very disturbing thing and causes many people heartache and problems. It is quite right to question why evil exists, how things came to be the way they are and if there are any solutions to these big issues.

The Bible clearly teaches that God created good as well as evil. This is a puzzle to many and rightly so because we wonder how a God of holiness could create something called evil. As we read the Bible we discover this 'God is light and in him is no darkness at all'. We also discover that God is kind, compassionate, caring and loving. This is all summarised in the statement 'God is Love'. So there is no indication that God acts in an evil way despite the fact that at times we do not understand why he allows certain circumstances in our lives.

There are other very clear statements in the Bible which indicate that God expects people to obey his holy commandments and principles for their blessing and well being. But the Bible does state that God will judge all men according to his standard of righteousness on the day of judgement and our only hope of salvation is found in His Son, Jesus Christ.

We know that God created all things. He gave human beings the ability to think, act and choose certain courses of action. God established a principle in the universe of sowing and reaping. There are consequences to actions and outcomes to behaviours and the choices that we make. Bad choices end in bad outcomes and so evil is perpetuated as a result of wrong choices. To say that God wants us to make bad choices and reap evil consequences would not fit with what you read in the Bible. From the very beginning God told us what was good and what was bad. He told the first couple (Adam and Eve) that the day they disobeyed Him they would die. He warned them that breaking His law put them at a distance from him. And so it did. Since the day Adam sinned we live life without God. We hurt and suffer because of the existence of evil activity in our world. And if we end this life without seeking forgiveness and reconciliation to God we seal our fate and face eternal separation from God (bear in mind this includes all that God provides: love, joy peace, safety etc).

It can be so different. God sent his Son (Jesus) into the world not to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved. God has taken the initiative and in the death of His Son paid the debt of sin. He offers to all will take it the gift of eternal life.

The only condition is acceptance of our condition as guilty before God and acceptance of Jesus Christ as the exclusive means of salvation. If we turn from our sin and depend on Christ for salvation we will immediately come into the good of God's great offer of salvation.

I am praying that you will.

Stephen

Famous Songs

2010-09-14T13:38:00.002Z

Ask the average Liverpool fan what the club’s most famous song is and I have no doubt the answer would be 'You'll never walk alone'. Many supporters find that singing the song creates a feeling of passion in their heart and memories of many great games.

Songs are very emotive and help us store memories. Try stopping someone in the street and ask what song from church they remember. It could be ‘Amazing Grace’, ‘All things bright and beautiful’ or ‘the old rugged cross’. Lots of people will say Psalm 23. That’s because it’s one song that is repeatedly sung at weddings and funerals. It could be the best known hymn in the United Kingdom, but you are probably thinking ‘I’ve never heard of it’. That’s a shame as it has very inspiring words. Actually the sentiment of 'You'll never walk alone' is not so different.

Verse four of the psalm says 'though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for you are with me'. It reminds me that we all face the 'valley of the shadow of death' one day. Our path through life is tough at times and it is certain that we all face death at the end of life. The reason we all die is explained in the bible by the statement 'the wages of sin is death'.

The bible makes it clear that physical death is the means of moving from this life to the next. At the end of the psalm the writer states 'I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever'. The writer is sure that there is life after death. Other writers in the Bible make it clear that God has revealed that there are two places of destiny. One called Heaven and the other called Hell. You may wonder why the writer of Psalm 23 is so sure that he will be in heaven. I think the answer lies in the fact that he can say 'the Lord is my shepherd'.

The bible records that the Lord Jesus Christ 'came into the world to save sinners'. He said one day 'I am the good shepherd the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep'. The bible describes human beings as wandering sheep when it states that 'all we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way'. But it also explains that 'the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all’. This means that Jesus took the punishment for our guilt so that we can be forgiven. He rose from the dead on the third day and returned to heaven forty days later; where he is now.

Sadly there are times in life when we do walk alone. But it doesn’t need to be like that. You could know the God of peace in your life today. It is an amazing thing to know God personally and to have His peace in your heart and soul.

How is it possible? There are two parts to this – ‘Repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ’. A change of attitude is required. The way you think about yourself and God will change when you realize that he is right and we are wrong. When you get to that point you will be ready to trust Jesus Christ as the only one who can forgive sins and eternally bless you.

Trapped

2010-09-02T13:53:00.002Z

The plight of 33 Chilean miners has caught the attention of the media worldwide. The men were trapped 700mtrs below ground in the San Jose gold and copper mine in Copiapo, 450 miles north of Capitol Santiago after the main shaft collapsed blocking their escape out of the mine. One of the men named Urzua, 54, described the collapse, "It was frightening. We felt like the mountain was coming down on us, without knowing what happened. Thanks to God, we still hadn't gathered together to go out to have lunch. ... At 20 minutes before 2 (their usual lunch hour), the mountain came down on top of us." "For about four or five hours, we couldn't see a thing. After that we saw that we were trapped by an enormous rock that filled the entire passage of the tunnel." (Yahoo News)

Fortunately, there was a side chamber, an area of about 100 square metres that the men took refuge in and after seventeen days of despair in isolation an 8cm drill cut a borehole and penetrated the chamber. The miners tapped noises on the drill head and tied a message to it telling those on the surface that all 33 men were alive and safe in their refuge. Another similar hole has been bored alongside the original one to enable supplies of water, food, medication, and communication facilities to get to and from the men.

Although the mining company fears that it will go bankrupt and not be able to pay the cost of drilling a new 33 inch hole to effect an escape for the men, the Chilean Government has undertaken this £million-plus project and set it in motion. This bore hole will take about 120 days to complete, so the men will not be out of their predicament until Christmas, God willing. The nation of Chile has really grasped the situation with patriotic fervour of singing and flag waiving, the miners themselves singing the national anthem. A disaster of this magnitude unites people and activates them to help in whatever way they can. The miners families have set up a tented camp at the mine that they call Camp Hope and have pledged to stay there as long as it takes to get their loved ones out. A real sense of dependence upon the Lord for total rescue of the people trapped below, and by their families above ground, and the nation as a whole as it waits and watches and prays for a successful deliverance.

There are other hellish like experiences of lives being trapped. Some children are sold for prostitution in the Far East and Africa, and become slaves to their master’s evil practices. Some through their own folly get trapped in vices such as alcohol or illegal drugs, with no light at the end of the tunnel for them; of themselves they are helpless, unable to break out from the awful grip of addiction. Some either foolishly or through no fault of their own becomes trapped in a financial contract, perhaps involving property and spiralling debt occurs. A man or woman can find himself or herself trapped in a loveless marriage, and they need help to get them out of their pit of despair. I have met people who feel trapped in an occupation that they are not happy in and cannot see a way out, or change of career. In all these situations God is able to deliver and rescue that person, whatever!

When Israel were in slavery in Egypt God said to Moses in Exodus 6:5, “I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant. Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments: And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. God brought a series of plagues upon the Egyptians culminating with the death of their firstborn on Passover night when Israel fled Egypt. God saved them on the basis of the blood of the Passover lamb being applied to doorposts and lintel of their dwellings. However on their journey out of Egypt they came to the Red Sea, the sea before them and the Egyptian army pursuing, they were trapped. God in His power parted the Sea and about two million souls crossed over on dry land, the Egyptians following were drowned in the Sea. Redemption is by blood of the Lamb and the Power of God.

Jonah’s disobedience took him to unexpected depths where despair could have gripped his soul. Jonah 1:3 says, “But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD…..Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone downinto the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep. In verse six of the next chapter Jonah related his continuous downfall, “I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God.” From within the belly of the whale, in his hopeless and helpless situation Jonah discovered and cried, “Salvation is of the LORD.” (v.9) The rest is history; the whale altered its course, headed for land and vomited Jonah up onto dry land. Jonah’s name means ‘Dove’ and the dove is the symbol of peace. Isn’t that just what God does? When people put their faith in Him he delivers them from being trapped in whatever, and wherever they are He brings them into peace. Colossians 1:20 reads, “Having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled.” God bless.

Written by Stan Burditt

Why does suffering exist?

2010-08-27T10:58:00.003Z

I was just thinking and praying for the miners in Chile. What a predicament to be in! Or the poor folks in Pakistan; we wonder why we have problems and difficulties but it's nothing compared to what millions are facing today in that country.

Most of us will question why these things to happen? Some will conclude that if there is a God then he would stop bad things? Others might feel that evil exists because of the behaviour of humans. President Obama recently said that we are now in the age where natural disasters often exist as a result of human action and bad management of the planet.

What do you think I would be interested to hear? I will post what I feel the bible teaches about this in a couple of days.

Have a good weekend

Back to work

2010-08-25T10:16:00.005Z

Most people find going back to work a bit of a drag. Getting away on holiday seems to take an awesome amount of energy. By the time you have arranged where to go, washed, packed your cases, packed the car (you would think that I did all of this; I have a wonderful wife who does most of it but I do play my part!) and then travelled to your destination most of us are quite exhausted. The next part is actually getting relaxed enough to enjoy the break. Years ago I was told that busy people should take a three week break (the advice was from a health professional). One week to wind down and two weeks to relax. For most of us that would be great but then we have three weeks of e-mails to come back to or maybe not if we are naughty and are permanently tied to a blackberry or similar type of phone.

Suddenly its all over and we are back to the grindstone. The holiday is somewhere in the dim and distant past.

I am glad to be back as I have the most fantastic job in the world. My work is to tell people that there is a happy future. That they can have peace in their heart. That life is about more than what you acquire. The only downside of my job is I must warn of a Day of Judgement, of accountability for our words, beliefs and actions. That God cannot accept our sin.

BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS.....God's Son, Jesus came into the world to save us. He died to pay what we owe. Sins can be forgiven because of Jesus' death on the cross.

Why am I so sure?

No 1 - Jesus rose from the dead three days after he died. God accepted His sacrifice as payment in full for sin. As the Lord Jesus said himself - 'it is finished'. The debt was paid in full. No more to pay! You have to accept 'the free gift of God' which 'is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord'. You can accept it when you pray to God, confessing your need and your personal guilt and trust Him alone for salvation.

Royal Professor of Law at Harvard University, Dr Simon Greenleaf, was one of the greatest legal minds that ever lived. He believed the Resurrection of Jesus Christ was a hoax and he determined, once and for all, to expose the "myth" of the Resurrection. After thoroughly examining the evidence for the resurrection he wrote a book entitled, An Examination of the Testimony of the Four Evangelists by the Rules of Evidence Administered in the Courts of Justice. In which he emphatically stated …“It was impossible that the apostles could have persisted in affirming the truths they had narrated, had not Jesus Christ actually risen from the dead. According to the laws of legal evidence used in courts of law, there is more evidence for the historical fact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ than for just about any other event in history”

No 2 - I have experienced the blessing of forgiveness and salvation myself.

No 3 - I have seen many others blessed and their lives changed. These people are from all walks of life - professionals, business people, drug addicts, criminals and lots of ordinary folk.

May God bless you and may you receive His Son as Lord and Saviour today.

Ways and Means

2010-08-20T20:43:00.002Z

I do not profess to be an authority or historian regarding the Kings and Queens of England or the growth of the UK Parliamentary system, or the government of the USA , or Canada. There is a common thread connecting each of those realms, inasmuch they have all had or do have a committee of Ways and Means as a legislative arm of government.

Thankful for information gleaned from UK and USA government websites I can set before you a potted version of events of how and for what purpose Ways and Means came into being and what one can gather from the Bible of its message on Ways and Means.

In 1066 William the Conqueror invaded England at Normans Bay near Hastings in Sussex and defeated King Harold. He subjected the realm to a new form of government by dividing the land into areas that his nobles controlled. Further changes came when King John in 1215 signed the Magna Carta introducing new liberties accepting that no freeman could be punished except through the law of the land, a right which is still in existence today, and that the King himself was subject to law.

Magna Carta influenced later institutional documents such as the United States Constitution. So a Parliamentary system was developing, tweaked here and there along the way until the reign of Charles 1^st. Charles was not popular because of his close connection with the Church of Rome and raising taxes for himself and the Church. In 1628 Parliament pressured the King to sign a Petition of Right, which denied the King to raise taxes without the consent of Parliament. The following year he dissolved Parliament and began an eleven-year autocratic rule known as ‘The Eleven Years of Tyranny’, in which Puritans were persecuted. They were imprisoned, whipped, ears cut off, noses slit, cheeks branded with a red-hot iron (‘Oliver Cromwell: Freedoms Friend or Foe’ Peter Richards). This led to a civil war between the Roundheads led by Oliver Cromwell and the Cavaliers being the Kings army. Charles lost and was executed in 1649. Cromwell abolished the Monarchy and established a Republic called the Commonwealth of England, which lasted about ten years and reverted to Monarchy in 1660 with Charles the second returning from exile in France to reign.

Wikipedia says, The Committee of Ways and Means, in effect between 1641 and 1967, was the body responsible for proposing changes in taxation to Government. Any Minister could make proposals to the committee. The Chairman of Ways and Means, which was an appointed role, presided over the Committee.

The Committee of Ways and Means was abolished in 1967 and the responsibility for all fiscal matters, including taxation, now rests with the Chancellor of the Exchequer. However, the position of Chairman of Ways and Means still exists since the Chairman may take the place of the Speaker in that individual's absence. Traditionally, the title of Chairman of Ways and Means is conferred on the Deputy Speaker of the House. It is an appointed position resulting from a motion tabled at the beginning of each Parliament by the Leader of the House. The Chairman of Ways and Means has two deputies: the 1st and 2nd Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means. Thus there are three Deputy Speakers who may take the place of the Speaker.

The USA still has a Ways and Means committee that determines how and for what purpose revenue is raised. I have sought to set out some historical facts relating to human government in the matter of raising taxes, whether for King or Country, some of which were despotic and cruel. Space forbids me to comment upon the future despot named ‘The Beast’ who will have total control of the world’s finances, to the point that no person will be able to buy or sell without his mark on their person.

God has His ways and means that differ greatly from man’s ways. Isaiah 55:8 reads, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Men place money as their greatest need whereas God says that salvation from the penalty of sin is their greatest need and He has provided ways and means for this to take place. Sometimes He uses Creation to speak to people to make them aware that the Eternal God of Heaven and Earth exists and that we are accountable to Him. Other occasions He speaks directly through His Word, the Bible, and folk discover how to be saved. The Holy Spirit works in the World convicting men and women about their sin and brings them to Christ. All these ways lead to one way, the only way of salvation, which is Jesus Christ. He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me”.

The means that God uses to reconcile sinners back to Himself is by the sacrifice of His own Son on the cross, Romans 8:32 says, “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” If we come God’s way, through Christ, and believe that His death is sufficient to deal with all the guilt of our lives then at that moment we belong to a new realm, we become the children of God and enter the Kingdom of God.

God’s ways and means are impeccable; they bring sinners who are far off from Him into a close, personal and eternal relationship with Himself. Never to be succeeded, or need to be changed, because they are perfect.

2Sam.14:14 says, “For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him.” God bless.

Written by Stan Burditt, Northampton

Wow, July has flown!

2010-07-30T12:29:00.002Z

The month of July has been a very enjoyable yet busy month for me. I started the month by heading up to Scotland by train to speak at a Christian Youth Camp that is arranged every year by people in Ayrshire. The camp was based in Faskally House in Pitlochry. It was great to be with a crowd of enthusiastic people who were keen to have a good time and yet willing to devote some of their holidays to thinking about the big issues of life, the existence of evil, death etc. It is a great thrill to be able to share with people the message of hope in the Lord Jesus Christ. His death is sufficient to provide salvation to all who confess their need and come to him for ‘rest’. I was then back home in Liverpool for a week. After that it was back to the same place this time for the Tayside Christian Youth Camp – more of the same. I am currently ending the month with the Anchor Christian Camp. This is made up of people from Barrow, Jarrow and Workington and the venue is Quinta in Shropshire. Don’t ask how Jarrow, Barrow and Workington got together but it is good to be with them. I hope that you have a good summer and come to know God’s richest blessing in your life ‘through faith in Christ Jesus’.

Preaching on the streets

2010-07-16T19:46:00.004Z

We have had a lot of abuse this week for preaching on the streets of Liverpool. I must be honest I find it quite strange that people get so excited about something that they say they do not believe in. If God is a figment of my imagination and the message is a relic founded in superstition then why not let the fools who preach get on with it. Harmless nutters at the best, time wasters at the worst.

I would love someone to tell what it basically wrong with Christianity? Ok it defines wrong and upholds a moral framework. It states that there is a moral law and a therefore a lawgiver. It defines life as having meaning and maintains that there is an existence after death. In this life it states that goodness, kindness, pureness, honesty, truth, care, courage, accountability, law abiding activity be the practice in an individual's life. In addition it admits that we are flawed and provides a redeemer/Saviour who accounts for our wrong and takes on the debt offering forgiveness and freedom to all who choose to admit their need and accept the offer.

I can't think of a better type of life and a more comprehensive offer anywhere else.

Maybe the problem is the honesty of the message strikes a cord with the reality of our lives. What do you think, write and let me know.