Al Kol Eleh

After having recently published a number of posts that had to do with death, it is good to be able to publish one that is full of life! 

However much false reporting there is in the MSM with regard to the State of Israel, and the Children of Israel (I would contend that the two descriptions are not synonymous!), no-one could deny the pride and enthusiasm that the ordinary Israeli has for his/her country.

The video below involves12,000 Israelis who have come together to sing "Al Kol Eleh" (Over all of these) in an inspirational celebration of Israel's 70th anniversary. Look at those faces!

President Rivlin joined the special production in singing “Al Kol Eleh” (“Over all of these”) by Neomi Shemer, along with guest artist Shlomi Shabat, and accompanied by the Jerusalem Street Orchestra. Enjoy!

Another Bush has died.

Spring has finally appeared in the Dordogne. This means that work on the inside of the house will wind down, and work in the garden will have to increase (where are people like my cousin-in-law name-sake, when I need them?)!! Lack of water will, of course, ensure the death of any bush, or any other plant - although I have also discovered that over-watering brings its own problems!

However, the Bush in the heading was not a plant, but a human being - Barbara Bush, wife of one President of the USA and mother of another. She has been described as "the no-nonsense first lady who ran the family that ran the country." (Newsweek), and the current POTUS and FLOTUS noted that "she will be long remembered for her strong devotion to country and family."

During the illness that resulted in her death, the Washington Post published an insightful story about Barbara Bush and her family that may help to explain her remarkable character. The daughter of a New York publishing executive, she met her future husband in 1941 at a country club dance in Greenwich, Connecticut. She was sixteen years old. They became engaged in the summer of 1943 and were married in 1945. Their first son, George Walker Bush, was born on July 6, 1946, as his father was completing his studies at Yale. Two years later, they moved to Odessa, a town in West Texas. They were transferred briefly to California before moving to Midland, where their family settled into the oil business. 

In 1953, their three-year-old daughter, Robin, fell ill with leukemia. Eight months later, she died. Barbara Bush was twenty-eight. The tragedy turned her hair white and has marked her family for the rest of their lives. She later explained what sustained her through the worst pain a mother can know: “We believed in God and that made an enormous difference in our lives then and now.” She also said, “Because of Robin, George and I love every living human more.”

Her life priorities – faith, family, service – have inspired millions since. But she is dead!

Earlier, on my Facebook page, a nursing friend had posted a video of a gentleman named Tom who, we learn, "... has his own internal defibrillator, which thankfully saves his life." The gentleman had experienced a heart attack, but this ingenious implant ensured that he lives to see another day. One day, however, the internal defibrillator will not be sufficient. One day, sadly, Tom also will die!

Two people - one known to millions; the other known to few. But, as people used to say, "Death is no respecter of persons"! Rich, or poor; tall, or short; black, or white; male, or female; IQ of 150, or IQ of 50; whoever you are, whatever you are; you cannot escape physical death. It is an incontrovertible statistic - 100% of people die!

Death seems to be frequent topic on this blog at this time. Perhaps it is as my own days advance, and I am acutely conscious that I have much less time on this earth. At the end, I am assured that there is a judgment! "... it is appointed for men to die once, and after that comes judgment, ..." (Heb.9:27). The verdict will not be based on my own (few!) 'good works', but solely, and fully, on my relationship with Jesus, the Christ, and my acceptance of His sacrificial death at Calvary. If I am in Him, and He is in me, then I am already acquitted. If not, then my eternal destiny is equally fixed - but it is not in His presence!

How do you feel about your certain death? It is, of course, in our contemporary, 'progressive', sexually permissive, politically 'correct', culture, something about which we tend not to speak. But that is what may be termed the "ostrich syndrome". "If I don't see you, you aren't there"! That, is a dangerous, as well as a foolish attitude to take!

I pray for the Bush family in their bereavement. I trust that Tom will have a few more years to enjoy life. But I also pray that many of those who read this blog will ensure that, when their own time comes, they are ready! Further information in some of the links below, or by contacting me at the e-mail address above. It is not my primary e-mail address, so I don't check it every day. However, be assured that, as soon as I read your e-mail, you will receive a response.

Friggatriskaidekaphobia!

This morning, I just wanted to stay in bed. I was afraid to get up, and get washed and dressed. The water would probably be too warm, and I would be scalded; my clothes would disintegrate on my body. If I went into Bergerac, I would probably be involved in a traffic accident; my wallet would be stolen. It is, after all, Friday the 13th - and we all know what that means! Indeed, the heading is the word that describes the irrational fear of this day when it occurs.

Let me state, first of all, that I did get up this morning; washed and dressed; went into Bergerac without any accident; and my wallet is here in my study! Indeed, I have done a great deal during the day without any inexplicable mishap. Of course I am, I would claim, one of the most non-superstitious people around!

However, here in France, I have discovered, many see Friday 13th as a "lucky day". It is claimed that twice as many Loto or Euromillions tickets are purchased on Friday 13th than on a Friday with any other date. Some 10 million superstitous French people will be at the tobacconists to make their purchases.

So what is the origin of the superstition? Believe it, or not, it comes from the Last Supper that the Lord Jesus shared with His disciples, prior to His crucifixion. There were, of course, 13 men present - the Lord and His 'inner band' of 12 including the traitor, Judas Iscariot. In ancient times, 12 was considered to be synonymous with perfection, while 13 was a symbol of imbalance. As a result, many people will avoid having a total of 13 people at a dinner party; in aeroplanes, the rows often go straight from 12 to 14; the majority of hotels miss out a 13th Floor - and even a Room 13 (113, 213, etc). A phobia is, of course, that "irrational fear" that I mentioned above - not "hatred of", in spite of all the silly words such as "homophobia", "Islamophobia", "transphobia", etc.).

What saddens me most about this superstition is that so many are willing to go along with it - in spite of there being no statistical support for Friday 13th being either cursed, or blessed! Yet so few follow up the origin to discover that Jesus of Nazareth went to an excruciating death on a Roman cross, and did so for them! "He paid a debt He did not owe, because I owed a debt I could not pay". My sin (and yours) separates me (and you) from Almighty God, the Creator of all that exists. There is absolutely nothing that I (or you) can do about that, in our own strength, or by our own merit. So, in love, the incarnate God the Son took my place (and yours); paid the penalty for my sin (and yours); and enables me (and you) to have a relationship with the Father, through Him, that is otherwise impossible.

That, in essence, is the Gospel message. It is beautifully encapsulated in those familar words of John 3:16: "God loved the world so much that, in the Persona of the Son, he gave Himself to death even death on a cross, that anyone who places their trust in Him should not perish but have, here and now, His life within them." Okay, those aren't quite the 'familar' words - but they are simply expanding, and paraphrasing what John wrote down. The BIG question is - "What have you done about them?"

At the beginning of the last century, Albert B. Simpson wrote a song. The words are:

1. 'Jesus is standing in Pilate’s hall,
   Friendless, forsaken, betrayed by all;
   Hearken! what meaneth the sudden call?
   What will you do with Jesus?
   • Refrain:
     What will you do with Jesus?
     Neutral you cannot be;
     Someday your heart will be asking,
     “What will He do with me?” (emphasis added).
2. Jesus is standing on trial still,
   You can be false to Him if you will,
   You can be faithful through good or ill:
   What will you do with Jesus?
3. Will you evade Him as Pilate tried?
   Or will you choose Him, whate’er betide?
   Vainly you struggle from Him to hide:
   What will you do with Jesus?
4. Will you, like Peter, your Lord deny?
   Or will you scorn from His foes to fly,
   Daring for Jesus to live or die?
   What will you do with Jesus?
5. “Jesus, I give Thee my heart today!
   Jesus, I’ll follow Thee all the way,
   Gladly obeying Thee!” will you say:
   “This I will do with Jesus!”'

Are the words of that final verse words that you have said? If not, are they words that you are willing to say, right now? Read, again, the words of the chorus - and ensure that this Friday 13th becomes a day of great blessing for you, as you enter into that new, saving relationship with Almighty God, through the Son, and live in the power of the Spirit. It's the only life worth living!

Pallywood!!

The camera doesn’t lie?   Well watch this ....See how video “evidence” is faked...  in every skirmish the Palestinian film industry gets busy producing these staged incidents.

I recall seeing “corpses” come alive, moving under the sheets covering them.

In another unedited sequence a corpse being carried on a stretcher, covered by a sheet, fell from the stretcher and, picking himself off the ground, resumed his role as the “dead” victim of a fatal shooting!

However, judge for yourself as you watch some footage. The one clip that does not 'play' may be accessed by clicking on the YouTube link.

https://israelunwired.com/behind-the-scenes-of-the-gaza-march-victims-welcome-to-pallywood/

Contrôle Technique

For those who do not understand the heading, it is the French equivalent of the UK Ministry of Transport test (MOT) and, I am delighted to report that, when I submitted our car, last week, it passed! Part of the reason for that was my having just replaced all four tyres - two because they had reached the limit of the legal tread depth; and two because, although they had plenty of tread depth, they were not the same brand of tyre on a single axle - a French requirement that is not a UK one!

Of course, while I was aware of the tyre situation, there were many other issues on which the car could have been failed - issues of which I would have been totally unaware! I am thinking, for example, of the exhaust emissions. I had no idea as to whether, or not, they would be within the acceptable range!

It occurred to me, afterwards, that this is a bit like sin in my life! There are some sins of which, like my unsatisfactory tyres, I am all too well aware. These are the sins to which. I believe, the anonymous writer of the Letter to Hebrew disciples of Jesus was referring when he wrote: "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, ..." (12:1; emphasis added). There are areas in my life in which the enemy knows that I am most vulnerable - and he takes every opportunity to attack me there! Left to my own devices, I would always fail and, sadly, I often do. However, that quotation for Hebrews continues: "... looking to Jesus the Pioneer and Perfecter of our faith Who, for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against Himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood." (vs. 2-4; emphasis added). That's the answer - "... looking to Jesus ..."!

The important thing is to deal with these sins, as I dealt with my tyres - and to do so in the Name of the Lord Jesus, and with the assistance of God the Holy Spirit.

Of course, there may be other sins of which I have not yet become fully aware, or which I simply don't recognise as 'sin'! These are the equivalent of the exhaust emissions, or of a crack in a spring, in my car. This is where I have to ask for discernment, that I may recognise those "unconscious" sins for what they are. It may even be that I have to ask someone else - someone whom I trust! - to point them out to me, just as the Contrôle Technique examiner (or the MOT test examiner) would point out the problem with emissions, springs, brake discs, etc. Of course, when they have been identified, those sins, too, need to be dealt with!

Amost exactly five years ago, I published a post on "A spiritual MOT test!" You may be able to use the link to read the whole post, but let me repost a check-list (not my original!) that I shared then:

• am I clean in word, thought, and deed?
• is Christ, as far as I can make Him, the Head of my home?
• do they know that I am a disciple of Jesus where I work?
• are other people likely to be drawn to better things for knowing me?
• do I guard time, each day, for reading my Bible, and for prayer?
• do I regularly attend worship services, and attend at the Lord's Table?
• do other people find it easy to work with me in Christian service?
• am I generous, as far as I am honestly able, to Christian work?
• am I growing in Christ?

That list stands. It is a useful set of checks for self-examination. However, I think that I would wish to add to it! For example:

• what are the web-sites that I have marked as 'Favourites'? Are there any that would cause me embarrasment if my pastor were to see them? I recall some years ago, on a visit, asking my host if I might have access to the internet to check some e-mails. The access was readily given and, as I logged on, the 'Favourites' list was displayed. I noticed one site that I thought was that of a newspaper, but with a typing error in the name. I clicked on the link - and discovered, to my shock, that there was no typing error, as I was taken to a site that was obviously intended for those with an interest in homosexuality! To say that I was shocked would be something of an understatement!
• am I in control of my temper? Or is it that, even in print, I constantly resort to the use of upper-case letters - the literary equivalent, I am told, of angry verbal shouting?
• how am I treating those most close to me? I recall my own minister, spiritual mentor, and personal friend, the late Rev. George B Duncan, often commenting that if we really wanted to know what sort of person he was, we should ask his wife! We only saw him as "the minister"; she lived with him! We saw him at his best; she saw him at his worst! What would my own wife have to say about me?!! Perhaps I should ask her before anyone else does!

You see, all of the above applies as much to me as it does to anyone who might read this post - and maybe more than it does to some! The life of a disciple of Jesus is not a life of sinless perfection, but of sanctification as, through the indwelling of Holy Spirit, Father God makes me more like Jesus. A little home-made plaque on my study wall has these words: "In this life I shall never be sinless but, by God's grace, I may sin less!" (emphasis added). I think that the words are original! They are certainly true! 

My car is now, officially, considered to be roadworthy for another two years. But what about me? Am I still worthy to be a disciple of Jesus? If I am, and I trust that I am, it is all due to His grace, and mercy, and love. All of that is available to you, too.  Have you availed yourself of it? If not, why not? 

Weather forecast.

It's been an unusually 'harsh' winter here in S.W.France. 'Harsh', of course, is a relative word and, compared to what Scotland, and other parts of the UK have been experiencing, we have had it very easy! 

Today, however, has been probably the most interesting one this year. It was a beautiful day until about 1730 (that's 5.30 p.m. for those who don't use the "24 hour clock"!) and we were preparing to leave to do some shopping on our way to the rehearsal for the church worship group. Just as we were getting ready, there was a series of peals of thunder, one rolling straight into the next. Then came the first few big splats of rain. I suggested to my wife that it might be wise to take coats but, in just the minute or so that we needed to get them, those splats of rain had become hailstones - falling more thickly and heavily than I can ever recall having experienced before. The hail shower was so heavy that we waited until it had calmed down before heading out to the car.

Then, about four miles closer to Bergerac, even the rain stopped; the clouds cleared; the sun shone brilliantly; and there was a magnificent, and full, rainbow arching across the sky - a blaze of colour that was quite magnificent.

Just a couple of hours later, on our way back home, we were treated to an amazing display of lightning - both sheet and forked - that made the night sky appear like noontide. then came that rain and, by the time we had reached our home, it was falling so heavily that we decided to leave the shopping in the car, and just get into the house as quickly as possible. Yet, some twenty minutes' later, I was out clearing the car of our purchases.

That was about ninety minutes ago, and already, there are renewed flashes of lightning, and peals of thunder. The day isn't yet over!

I suppose that that is the weather for you! Forever changing. I found myself thinking of the words of the anonymous writer of the Letter to Hebrew disciples of Jesus: "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever." (13:8). He is the One on Whom I may depend in every situation, and every circumstance. This is something that is experienced, on a daily basis, by those in what we refer to as 'the persecuted church'.For example, more than 100 disciples of Jesus have been killed in Egypt, alone, in the past year. Bombs have been detonated in church buildings; a bus travelling to a mionastery was attacked and, in the north, Daesh (IS) terrorists stormed into homes, and shot disciples of Jesus on the spot. 

Sat7 (www.sat7uk.org) tells of one woman named Nahla. Both of her daughters were killed when Daesh bombed their church building. She was recently interviewed by the TV station. Wearing a locket containing photographs of her daughters, she said: "Of course there's pain and sadness and aching. That won't go away for the rest of my life. But God will strengthen you. Take refuge in the Lord."

Nahla can only have that confidence, even in her personal tragedy, because of the unchanging nature of Almighty God, revealed most fully in the Son, Jesus.

I wonder on what, or in whom, you are placing your confidence as you read this post! Everything else will let you down. Possessions can be lost; relationships can break down; health is not guaranteed. Even if we could hold on to all of these, they only last for a time. I don't know who first made the comment that 100% of people die but, until the rapture of the church, it is unarguably true. We may postpone death; some may go to great expense having their dead bodies frozen (cryogenics) so that they may be 'unfrozen' whenever a cure for the illness/disease that killed them is found - somehow failing to understand that such a cure will be of no use to them as thay are already dead!

Jesus, is for time - and for eternity. He is the only One Who can travel with me through that experience of physical death. He is the only One Who can assure me of life that is not just 'everlasting', but that is of a quality that I cannot even begin to imagine in this life, because it is the life of Almighty God Himself.

I have walked with Him for more years, now, than I care to remember - and He has never let me down (although, sadly, I cannot say that I have never let Him down.). He is my Saviour, my Lord, my King, and my Friend. 

I commend Him to you.

Jésus est ressuscité! Alleluia!

The words in the heading are those with which I greeted my friends at our Fellowship in Bergerac, this morning.Of course, if I had been in an English-language speaking country (with the appropriate tradition!) I would have said "The Lord is risen!", and the response would have been "He is risen indeeed!".

Language fascinates me. The difference in the words that languages use for the same concept is always interesting. I prefer the French word for today. It is "Pâques" which is very closely associated with the French word for "Passover" (Pâque). This, it seems to me, is a better description of this day on which we especially remember the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, as it happened at Passover (Hebrew: Pesach) time. What I do not like is the word "Easter" that is derived from the name of a pagan fertility cult goddess - hence the "easter bunny" (the natural symbol of fertility! Have you heard the one about the pair of rabbits being chased by hounds? One turned to the other and asked, "Shall we try to outrun them - or stop for five minutes and outnumber them?"!!); the chocolate egg - or the decorated hen's egg; the daffodils and tulips. 

The UK newspapers were reporting, over the past few weeks, that a number of chocolate egg manufacturers had dropped the word "easter" from their packaging. There was outrage from some (predictable?!) quarters! Personally, I was perfectly content, and not simply because I am currently not resident in the UK. One of the problems for the Body of the Christ, the Church, is that it has lost much of its distinctiveness. As I recently wrote for an English-language e-zine here in France, "Surely the church is intended to be a prophetic voice to the nation – not a subservient reflection of the social norms that, sadly, are so much at odds with the Gospel of our Lord Jesus, the Christ! Is it not the case that the established churches that are seeking to emulate society ..., are slowly dying as they forsake the Word on which they should be founding their message to mankind?" I went on, in that article, to quote the late Very Rev Prof Tom Torrance, MBE, D.Litt., D.D., D.Sc., Dr.Theol., Dr.Teol., F.B.A., F.R.S.E.: “The world likes a complacent, reasonable religion, and so is always ready to revere some pale Galilean image of Jesus, some meagre anaemic Messiah, and to give Him a moderate rational homage. . . . The truth is that we have often committed adultery with alien ideologies, confounded the Gospel with the religions of nature, and imbibed the wine of pagan doctrines and false principles and deceitful practices. We have sought to bend the will of God to serve the ends of man, to alter the Gospel and shape the Church to conform to the fashions of the times. We have yielded to pride and to the lust for power. We have been intimidated by the might of the beast through society, or the crowd, or the state, and betrayed, again and again, the cause of our Saviour.” (The Apocalypse Today; James Clarke & Co Ltd; 1961; p.155).

A very dear Jewish friend asked me, recently, why the resurrected Jesus did not perform other miracles during His post-resurrection appearances. My simple answer was that the resrrection, itself, was the greatest miracle that He could have performed!

In a society in which the Gospel message has been diluted, denigrated, distorted, denied, and even - as if it were possible! - attempted to be destroyed, we need the message of the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus more than ever.

His resurrection was, of course, the fulfilment of a promise. After it, He made another - that He would return to this earth. That promise is, I believe, very close to being fulfilled. It is certainly closer than it was at this time last year! My wife is currently preparing for a brief visit to Scotland, later this week. How much more important, that each one of us prepare for the return of the Lord Jesus. He will come again, not as a helpless Babe, laid in a cattle-stall, but as the victorious, triumphant, King of kings, and Lord of lords. Have you prepared? If not, then I urge you to do so now - before it is too late, and you spend eternity cut off from His presence.