Who really is the villain?!

According to a report in The Telegraph newspaper, Amnesty International have accused Syrian forces loyal to President Bashar Assad of having committed war crimes by deliberately starving civilian inhabitants of a Palestinian refugee camp during the bloody three-year civil war.   The human rights group also accuses security forces of targeting doctors and medics while, at the same, it charges rebel groups of looting vital medical equipment in the sprawling Yarmouk camp, in the south-side of Damascus, the Syrian capital.

At the same time, BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) is an almost ten-years-old global campaign which uses economic and political pressure on Israel to comply with the stated goals of the movement: The end of Israeli 'occupation' and colonization of Arab land; full equality for Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel; and respect for the right of return of Palestinian refugees.

So, what is the connection?  The BDS movement came to the attention of many only recently when the actress, Scarlett Johansson broke ties with Oxfam because of “fundamental differences” between her and the NGO (non-governmental organisation) on the issue of Israel boycotts.  The full story is too long for a blog post, but the gist of it is that the actress supported SodaStream - whose factory is built on 'disputed' land; while Oxfam supports the aims of the BDS. 

Of course, the truth of the matter is that the Palestinian  employees of SodaStream have equal rights with the Israeli employees, and are better paid, and have better working conditions, than their fellow-Palestinians who work within Palestine.

It is also an incontrovertible fact that Israeli Defence Force soldiers are treating wounded Syrians, and provide emergency treatment to injured, and ill, Palestinians; and that Israeli hospitals are open to Palestinians who require some of the finest medical treatment in the world.

As one person has tweeted: "Syrians starve Palestinians but Israelis save Syrian and Palestinians lives. Who do we boycott?"

The end-times.

It never fails to amaze me that I can read a Biblical passage for the umpteenth time - and see something that I have never noticed (or, at least, never fully taken in) before.

Part of my personal devotions this morning involved reading I Thessalonians 5:1-11.  I was struck, as never before, by what the apostle wrote in (what we know as) v.3: "When people say, 'There is peace and security,' then sudden destruction will come upon them as travail comes upon a woman with child, and there will be no escape."

As we look at a world in turmoil, I hear many suggest that this is a sign of the end-times - the Rapture, the tribulation, and the Second Advent.  However, this morning, I started to wonder if the opposite is true - if, in fact, the events that we witness on our television screens, night after night, new-bulletin after news-bulletin, indicate that it is not yet God's time for those tumultuous events to take place!

Could it be that it is when the events of Revelation 13, [inter al], take place, and when there is a true "one-world" government under the authority of the "man of lawlessness" (I Thess.2:3), that there will be the superficial peace to which the apostle refers?  If so, then that will be the time at which the saints of God will "... be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air;" (I Thess.4:17; see also I Cor.15:52).

Of course, the important thing is to be ready for that glorious event whenever it may take place.  The true disciple of Jesus is already prepared, although even we must be ever watchful! (cf. Matt.24:42, inter al).

Robert Murray McCheyne was a most godly minister of the Gospel.  He was settled to the pastorate of St. Peter's Church, Dundee, where he ministered for about seven years, until his death at the tender age of 30.  I cannot vouch for the absolute veracity of the story - although it has what J.B.Phillips would call 'the ring of truth' - but it is recounted that, one evening, while entertaining a group of men in his home, the topic of conversation turned to the return of the Christ.  Well, they didn't have such exciting things to discuss as Eastenders, Britain's got Talent, or I'm a celebrity - get me out of here!  Anyway, Mr. McCheyne asked each of his friends if they thought that the Lord might return that evening.  To a man, and in the manner of the period, they replied "I think not."

Mr. McCheyne then quoted, from the Authorised Version (this was the middle of the 19th century!), the words of the Lord Jesus: "Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh." (Matt 24:44).

Are you ready?  We can never know the precise time!  Regardless of what I thought this morning, it could be tonight!

Anagram answers!

Not as much excitement over this particular teaser as there was with the last one!  Perhaps this was just too simple for the erudite readers of this blog!  Anyway, for any who did take on the little challenge, here are the correct answers:

1.Damascus; 2. Salamis; 3. Lystra; 4. Derbe; 5. Antioch; 6. Troas; 7. Philippi; 8. Thessalonica; 9. Athens; 10. Corinth; 11. Ephesus; 12. Miletus; 13. Syracuse; 14. Tarsus; 15. Rome.

So, did you manage to identify all of them correctly?  :-)

Following Jesus.

As those who know me well are aware, I believe that the term 'Christian' has been so badly devalued - at least in the 'developed' west - that it has become close to meaningless.  Nowadays, I usually refer to 'disciples of Jesus' instead.

However, in the earliest days of the church, those people were often known simply as 'followers of the Way'.  In the Greek language of the New Testament, there are a number of words for 'following' each of which has a slightly different meaning from the rest.  Three of them are: 'akoloutheo', 'epakoloutheo', and 'parakoloutheo' (you can see the common root!).  So what are the differences?

'akoloutheo' suggests following - but at a distance.  This, sadly, is the way in which many, today, follow Jesus.  They are not very close to Him; indeed, they may be a long way off.  Have you ever watched a film in which the police are 'tailing' the car of a suspect?  The first thing they must be certain of is that the suspect doesn't become suspicious.  However, equally important is that they don't allow themselves to get too far behind, as then they may lose sight of their target!  If we follow Jesus at too great a distance, we run the danger of doing the same thing - of losing sight of Him!  It is possible for so many things to come between Him and us.  We may be taken up by so many things that are not bad in themselves, but that gradually destroy the passion of our first love for the Lord.  His Lordship in our lives becomes secondary.   He is a distant figure Whom we are following, but with Whom we have lost any real relationship.

The second word, 'epakoloutheo', is more intimate.  It means 'to follow close to a person'.  It has the idea of being so close as to be walking in the person's footsteps.   I know that we are officially into spring-time (at least in the northern hemisphere!), but I find myself thinking of the Christmas song, 'Good King Wenceslas'.  Remember that verse that tells us that the king encouraged his servant to walk in his footsteps so that he would not be as cold?  That's the sort of picture that 'epakoloutheo' paints for us.

Then there is 'parakoloutheo'.  This is the most intimate word of all.  It means to be following someone so closely that one is walking alongside the other person.  It suggests companionship, rather than servanthood.  In John 15:15, we read these recorded words of the Lord Jesus to His closest disciples: "No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends , for all that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you."

I wonder, is this what the Lord is saying to many of us today?  "Don't walk at a distance; don't even walk closely behind me; walk beside me. Be My companion on the way; share the road with Me; allow Me to share more and more of Myself with you!"  I love the Old Testament saint, Enoch, of whom it is recorded: "Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him." (Gen 5:24).  Enoch walked so closely with the Lord that, when his time on earth was over, he just walked through the veil into eternity. (see my book, Great Words of the Faith).

Where are you walking, today, in relation to Jesus?   Are you merely following Him at a distance, sometimes losing sight of Him completely?  Or perhaps you are walking just a little behind Him, but still missing some of what He would say to you!   Why don't you come alongside Him, and enjoy His presence day by day?  It will be for your own good, and will bring glory to His Name.

The coming King!

One of my personal Bible readings for March 1st (today, until I go to bed!) was from the book of the prophet Isaiah.  It is found at ch.32:1-20.  The first verses of that passage read:

"Look, a righteous King is coming! And honest princes will rule under Him. Each one will be like a shelter from the windand a refuge from the storm,like streams of water in the desert and the shadow of a great rock in a parched land.

Then everyone who has eyes will be able to see the truth,and everyone who has ears will be able to hear it. Even the hotheads will be full of sense and understanding.Those who stammer will speak out plainly. In that day ungodly fools will not be heroes.Scoundrels will not be respected. For fools speak foolishness and make evil plans.They practice ungodliness and spread false teachings about the Lord.They deprive the hungry of food and give no water to the thirsty. The smooth tricks of scoundrels are evil.They plot crooked schemes.They lie to convict the poor,even when the cause of the poor is just. But generous people plan to do what is generous,and they stand firm in their generosity." (vs.1-8; NLT).

Having suffered much injustice from evil rulers, many in Judah were hungry for a strong king who would rule with justice. Many, today, will quickly see how relevant those words are to our own age.  We live in a culture of 'celebrity' in which some with nothing more than the ability to kick a football; use a microphone; or, in certain situations, commit murder; are classed as 'heroes' - in spite of their ungodly beliefs and lifestyles.  How many of us desire to see strong men and women, of integrity and righteousness, walk the corridors of temporal power.

This desire will be fulfilled when the Christ reigns. Evil will be banished, and the King will reign in righteousness and rule with justice. In the immediate future, Judah would be destroyed and taken into captivity. But one day, God's Son, the King unlike any other king, will reign in righteousness.

When the righteous King comes, people's motives will become transparent. Fools will not be regarded as noble. Those who have opposed God's standards of living will be unable to maintain their deception. In the blazing light of the holy Saviour, sin cannot disguise itself and appear good. Christ's revealing light shines into the darkest corners of our hearts, showing sin clearly for what it is. When King Jesus reigns in your heart, there is no place for sin, no matter how well hidden you may think it is.  

The future rule of the righteous King is a reminder to us to consider our values, and priorities, even now!  What do you value most?  How do your priorities relate to the Kingdom of God?  You see, what you value demonstrates to others the priority of your faith in the God Who is Saviour, and Lord, and King.

And now, the best (in my opinion!) Gaither Vocal Band - David Phelps, Guy Penrod, Mark Lowry, and Bill Gaither - sing of the coming of the King of kings, and Lord of lords, together with others of the Gaither Homecoming Friends.  Maranatha - "Come, Lord Jesus!"