Judgment Is Coming.

Writing to the believers in the "eternal city" of Rome, Paul makes this statement: "So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God." (14:12).

Centuries later, American statesman Benjamin Franklin wrote: "Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." However, there is only one thing that is absolutely certain, and it is neither death, nor taxes. It is that every single one of us will have to face Almighty God for an accounting of our individual lives!

 

So, we would be wise to take heed of the warning given to the Children of Israel, by the prophet Amos, some 500 years before Paul: "Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel" (4:12); and the words of the anonymous wrote of the Letter to Hebrew disciples of Jesus: "It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." (9:27).

Of course, the disciple of Jesus has no need to fear, for "There is therefore now no condemnation (judgment) for those who are in Christ Jesus." (Rom.8:1). How can this be? It is so because the Lord Jesus has paid for our sins and purchased our redemption with His shed blood. He "was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification" (Rom.4:25).

Nevertheless, even as His disciples, we still "must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ" (II Cor. 5:10), where "the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire." (I Cor. 3:13-15). In other words, we need have no fear when we appear before the Father, because the Son will be beside us saying "This one, Father, is mine"! However, we will then appear before the Saviour, Who will judge all that we did "in the body" (II Cor. 5:10). Now that could refer to our fleshly, mortal, bodies. However, the same Greek word is used to refer to the church, as the body of the Christ, and so I believe that this is how Paul is using it here. It is our Christian life that will be judged by the Lord Jesus, because all that went before our conversion was dealt with at our conversion.

Those who die in unbelief, however, not having trusted Christ as their Saviour, will face a different meeting with God. The apostle John describes the awesome scene as he saw it in the Revelation he was given of the Lord Jesus. "And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Also another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, by what they had done." (Rev. 20:12). But no one can ever be saved by his works (Eph. 2:9). Therefore, "if any one’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire." (Rev. 20:15). 

I commented, at the beginning of this post, that not even death is certain! That may have raised a few eyebrows. However, God's Word teaches that there will be a rapture - a snatching up - of true disciples of Jesus before the final time of tribulation. Paul writes: "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first; then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we shall always be with the Lord." (I Thess.4:16-17).

So, those who are "raptured" will include both believers who have already tasted physical death, and those who are still physically alive at that moment. They are those who will never die! 

I am one of many who are utterly convinced that we are in the very last days, leading up to that rapture. Are you ready for it? If not, then I urge you to act, and to do so quickly. If I may be of any further help, please feel free to contact me using the e-mail address at the top of the blog.

Free at last!

Yes, after a 30-day ban on Facebook, this exile has been allowed to come in from the cold! During such a lengthy spell, I missed being able to send greetings to many who celebrated their birthday anniversaries; I missed being able to congratulate a few friends on wedding anniversaries; I was unable to immediately congratulate on the occasions of a couple of births; and I was unable to send condolences in the cases of a couple of deaths. To all concerned, please accept my apology, and my belated greetings/condolences. 

So, what can I say on this first post in a full month? Well, I could comment on the Old (or First) Testament book of the prophet Amos. It's a book that has provided us with a number of well-known, and memorable, phrases: "Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?" (3:3). (Facebook certainly doesn't seem to think so!). "Prepare to meet your God." (4:12). (And He is 'your God' whether, or not, you acknowledge Him!). "Let justice run down like water." (5:24). (But there is no apparent sense of justice within the fiefdom of Facebook!).

However, the phrase in the prophecy of Amos that is most often repeated, occurs five times in just one chapter - chapter 4. Time after time, YHWH speaks of all that He has done to discipline His wayward, self-indulgent, people and draw them back to Himself. In every case, He states, the result is the same: "You have not returned to Me." (4: 6, 8-11).

We may read of, and marvel at, the hardness of heart of those contemporary Children of Israel - but surely we must ask if we are any different! If we have sensed that the Lord has been trying to 'get our attention', how have we responded to Him?

Amos, in his prophetic book, shares warnings of judgement; of captivity; of destruction. However, there are also calls for repentance, and promises of restoration. "Seek good, and not evil, that you may live; so YHWH Elohim Sabaoth will be with you." (5:14). The book has many memorable phrases - but we should never forget the invitation of Father God to all who have wandered away from Him: "Return to Me". 

Facebook sends those with whose perspectives it disagrees, into "exile". Jesus, the Christ, issues the invitation: "Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden , and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light." (Matt 11:28-30). 

Turn, or return. Just ensure that you are in the right relationship with Almighty God, through faith in the Lord Jesus, and be filled with new life in God the Holy Spirit. You will never regret it if you do!

Womb - or tomb? (Part 1)

The current controversy, in the United States of America, regarding "late-term abortion" - i.e. legalising abortion right up until the infant is actually in the birth canal, in the process of being born - and what is, in fact, infanticide - allowing a fully delivered baby to die, or be put to death (a euphemism for 'murdered'!), has led me to do what I have never done before in the more than eleven years during which I have been 'blogging'. I am re-sharing four consecutive posts from August 2014 on the subject of abortion. As then, I am not wishing to enter into any discussion on the subject. I am merely highlighting the procedures that are followed when a child is deliberately killed in its mother's womb.

This is the first of the series, exactly as written at the time (so please excuse 'time-specific' references!).

"In a speech yesterday - that is in no way connected to the forthcoming General Election!! - Mr David Cameron set out new measures to help families, and made a fresh commitment to put family life at the heart of Conservative policy. Among other things, he said: "For me, nothing matters more than family. It's at the centre of my life and the heart of my politics. It's family that brings up children, teaches values, passes on knowledge, instils in us all the responsibility to be good citizens and to live in harmony with others."

I liked that bit about "It's family that brings up children" because, of course, the children must be there to bring up.  Unfortunately, too many don't make it that far - and the government could do something about it!

Earlier today, I was reading about Moloch - a god of the ancient Canaanites or Phoenicians - mentioned by the Old Testament prophet, Amos (5:26).  As part of the 'worship' of this pagan deity, that was represented by a large bronze statue with a cavernous mouth that contained a furnace, mothers would throw their own live children into that mouth, where they were devoured by the flames.  In such a way, tens of thousands of innocent victims were used to placate this 'god'.  Drums were even beaten loudly in order to drown the screams of these little children.

I cannot imagine any normal human being, including Mr Cameron - our new champion of the family! -  not being appalled at such atrocities.  However, if we look at the society and culture in which we live in this 21st century, we discover that we are no better!

The modern equivalent of Moloch is, I would argue, much more implacable than the Canaanite 'god'.  Indeed, if we compare the tens of millions of victims today, then those human sacrifices of antiquity pale into numerical insignificance. 

Today, and for many decades, we do not throw these children into a fire. Rather, their lives are snatched away in the cold, sterile, silence of the abortionist's operating room.  Not even given the opportunity to breathe, these little human beings are sacrificed on the altar of the 'personal convenience' of the mother.  In the womb - where they should be most protected - their little lives are snuffed out, and their little bodies are discarded.  The human sacrifices becomes, until it is emptied, a tomb!  Such is the wonder of 'modern civilisation'!

Now, in order to pre-empt some anticipated comments, let me say that there are some - very rare - situations in which abortion is the least worst thing to do.  But these are, indeed, very rare.

I expect to continue this theme for a couple of posts, so do ensure that you return to the blog!"

Heavenly harmony

It was while I was a student at the Bible Training Institute, in Glasgow, that the youngest son of the Principal introduced me to the amazing Danish pianist and comedian, the late Victor Borge. One of my favourite short clips of his versatility is this:

Watching it reminded me of another pianist - Merrill Dunlop, the American Christian composer who died at the beginning of this century at the ripe old age of 97.  He once pointed out that it is possible to play a piece of music on the piano in any one of the many major or minor scales. However, it is extremely important that the hands of the pianist be in agreement! In other words, they must both be playing in the same key! Failing to do this will result in nothing but a cacophonous conglomeration of discordant sounds! He demonstrated this by rendering several lines of the well-known hymn "What a friend we have in Jesus" - with his left hand playing in the key of F major, while his right hand played in F#! The clashing chords that emanated understandably made his whole audience cringe! The musician had performed beautifully (and cleverly!) in the separate keys that he had chosen, but beautiful harmony could only result when there was complete accord between the two hands.

The same principle applies to those of us who claim to be disciples of the Lord Jesus. The Hebrew prophet, Amos, brought this to our attention when, many centuries ago, he asked the question: "Can two people walk together without agreeing on the direction?" (3:3). If a believer tries to please the Saviour while, at the same time, going his/her own way, then God the Holy Spirit is grieved (see Eph.4:30); full fellowship with the Lord is broken; and the clarity of the believer's witness is lost in the discord that ensues. 

How important it is that we be in complete harmony with Father God! Do you claim to be a disciple of Jesus? Is your entire life "keyed" to His will?!

Womb - or tomb?

In a speech yesterday - that is in no way connected to the forthcoming General Election!! - Mr David Cameron set out new measures to help families, and made a fresh commitment to put family life at the heart of Conservative policy. Among other things, he said: "For me, nothing matters more than family. It's at the centre of my life and the heart of my politics. It's family that brings up children, teaches values, passes on knowledge, instils in us all the responsibility to be good citizens and to live in harmony with others."

I liked that bit about "It's family that brings up children" because, of course, the children must be there to bring up.  Unfortunately, too many don't make it that far - and the government could do something about it!

Earlier today, I was reading about Moloch - a god of the ancient Canaanites or Phoenicians - mentioned by the Old Testament prophet, Amos (5:26).  As part of the 'worship' of this pagan deity, that was represented by a large bronze statue with a cavernous mouth that contained a furnace, mothers would throw their own live children into that mouth, where they were devoured by the flames.  In such a way, tens of thousands of innocent victims were used to placate this 'god'.  Drums were even beaten loudly in order to drown the screams of these little children.

I cannot imagine any normal human being, including Mr Cameron - our new champion of the family! -  not being appalled at such atrocities.  However, if we look at the society and culture in which we live in this 21st century, we discover that we are no better!

The modern equivalent of Moloch is, I would argue, much more implacable than the Canaanite 'god'.  Indeed, if we compare the tens of millions of victims today, then those human sacrifices of antiquity pale into numerical insignificance.

Today, and for many decades, we do not throw these children into a fire. Rather, their lives are snatched away in the cold, sterile, silence of the abortionist's operating room.  Not even given the opportunity to breathe, these little human beings are sacrificed on the altar of the 'personal convenience' of the mother.  In the womb - where they should be most protected - their little lives are snuffed out, and their little bodies are discarded.  The human sacrifices becomes, until it is emptied, a tomb!  Such is the wonder of 'modern civilisation'!

Now, in order to pre-empt some anticipated comments, let me say that there are some - very rare - situations in which abortion is the least worst thing to do.  But these are, indeed, very rare.

I expect to continue this theme for a couple of posts, so do ensure that you return to the blog!