A NEW BLOG

I hope you enjoy this new blog.  It will contain ideas & beliefs, issues & problems, news & events, both current & historical, like a lot of other blogs.  But this one will be informed and shaped by personal faith in Jesus Christ and the Bible.

I know that we live at a time when most people in the West think the Bible is discredited and Christianity well past its sell-by-date. They  may think that is a very modern opinion, but actually it's rather old-fashioned.  People  have  been writting off the Church of Jesus Christ for centuries. 

A number of times people have said that the Church has gone to the dogs.  But, every time, it was the dogs that died.  

So, the critics come and go, but the Church is still here.  In fact, one of the great unreported stories of the past 100 years is the extraordinary growth of the Church in many parts of the world, such as Africa, Asia and Central & South America.  The number of Bible-believing Christians in the world has increased between 300-400%.  Today more people identify with Jesus Christ and His Church than any other faith on earth. 

The world is awash with all kinds of religious faith.  We don't always recognize that because that is not the case here in the West.  And the media in the West rarely report on faith, because even more than most people in the West, they have a secular outlook.  But, the true picture is that the West is a small secular island in a rather large religious ocean.

People who think that secularism is the future are mistaken.  Secularism, in the West, is more of a transitionary phase between the apparent abandonment of Christianity and the next faith.  Human beings are worshipping beings and they will not be content with a secular environment for very long.  What will that next faith be?  Islam, a neo-paganism, some modern version of Gnosticism or a return to real Christianity, or a mix of several?  Nobody really knows, but it won't be secularism.

It is sadly true that the Church in the West is at a low ebb.  But, it is also true that the ebb is always lowest just before the tide turns.  Isn't it ironic that at the time when Western leaders  in almost every field are looking more and more helpless in the face of seemingly insoluble problems, that is the time some people want to bury the Book that many in past generations have hailed as the most important source of wisdom the world has ever known.

I am convinced that there are solutions to the problems of life, Biblical solutions.   Of course, that is not the most important reason to believe in the Bible.  The most important reason is that it is true. 

Contrary to what Mr Dawkins, and others, say, there is a purpose for this universe and for every life in it, including yours and mine.  The possibility of finding that purpose and the tragedy of missing it makes life serious and makes every life of infinite value.

And that purpose is not found so much in an idea or a philosophy, not in a cause or an experience, not religion or self-fulfillment.  It is found in a person, Jesus Christ.  We are persons and we have been created by an infinite Person/Being and our great purpose is to come to know Him.  Relationships are the most important things in life and a relationship with the God who made us is the most important of all.

Augustine's prayer, centuries ago, still points to the heart of that purpose for us all.  

You have made us for Yourself, O God, and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in You.

 

There is Hope

Why do so many young people take their own lives?

First of all, every one of those young lives represents an almost unbearable sadness for families and loved ones, especially parents. And there is a unique story behind each one, of which we know nothing. And, sadly, suicide is nothing new.

But, there does seem, today, to be a noticeable increase in the level of hopelessness, meaninglessness and despair. Why?

Life is hard.

War, crime, terror, illness, hatred, loneliness, poverty, drugs, sexually transmitted diseases, no purpose, no hope, nobody, it seems, who tells it straight and no good reason to believe that it will ever get any better.

Death is harder

One day, maybe today, maybe tomorrow, but one day for sure we die, maybe a painful, tragic death, maybe not, but for sure we die. What then? Heaven, hell or nothing?

Any answer?

I conducted a funeral of a young man who apparently had taken his own life. The circumstances were horrific. The service was packed, with people standing. The family were sitting in front of me, weeping at times uncontrollably because of the pain and the loss. What can you say to people at such a time?
Some say we came from nothing and we are headed for nothing and so, apparently, nothing really matters. It is all absolutely meaningless. That is a philosophy of despair, a recipe for moral chaos, and part of the reason we are where we are.

A better answer

The Bible presents a totally different picture. Yes, life is hard, absolutely. Yes, death is harder. But, there is an answer. Life does have meaning. Yes, all those bad things exist, but there is something else. There is hope. There is a purpose for living. There is an answer.

That answer is the person of Jesus Christ, who the Bible says,
Died for our sins according to the Scriptures...was buried and...rose again the third day
Pain is inescapable in this world because we are not in a right relationship to our Creator. We have sinned, the Bible says. Christ’s life, death and resurrection have dealt with that sin for all who will turn to Him in faith and repentance.

There is hope, if you will only grasp the offer of hope in the Gospel. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, forgiven and have a hope that will not disappoint you.

The Christian can say with the Apostle Paul,
Death, where is your victory?

Death has no victory over the one who believes in Christ. He has peace and forgiveness now, and heaven when he dies. May God help you to trust Him.