Standing, and falling!

 Writing to the early disciples of Jesus in that contemporary centre of immorality - the city of Corinth - the apostle Paul made this statement: "... let any one who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall." (I Cor. 10: 12). In context, he has been reminding the Corinthian believers of the history of the Jewish people, and exhorting them not to fall into certain practices of their fellow-Corinthians.

However, the advice is good for everyone, and at all times. I recently read about an Englishman named Bobby Leach. He was a stuntman who, in 1911, went over the world-famous Niagara Falls in a specially-designed steel drum - and lived to tell the tale! Although he suffered some minor injuries, and spent some six months in hospital, recovering, he survived because he recognised the tremendous dangers involved in his feat, and he had taken every possible precaution to protect himself from harm.

Fifteen years later, whilst on a publicity tour in New Zealand, he slipped on a discarded piece of orange peel, and broke his leg. He was taken to hospital, but complications set in; the leg turned gangrous; and it had to be amputated. Subsequent to that operation, his health deteriorated and he died shortly afterwards. 

So how was it that he received greater, and ultimately fatal, injuries while walking down the street, than he sustained while going over the Falls? It was simply because he was not prepared for danger in what he assumed (as would most of us!) was a safe environment.

There is, surely, a lesson there for the disciple of Jesus today. Some of the great temptations that roar around us like the rushing waters of the Niagara Falls, will leave us unharmed. Yet a small, seemingly insignificant incident may cause our downfall. Why should this be? Could it be that we simply become careless and fail to recognise the potential danger? We mistakenly think that we are secure!

Paul wrote to the believers in Ephesus, and exhorted them to "... be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the equipment of the gospel of peace; besides all these, taking the shield of faith, with which you can quench all the flaming darts of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints," (Eph 6:10-18).

We must always be on guard against temptation, remembering that the devil "... prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour." (I Peter 5:8). Someone has said: "Whenever we fall, it is usually at the point where we think that we are strong."!

A victorious disciple of Jesus is a disciple of Jesus who watches out for even those little pieces of orange peel!

Christchurch, New Zealand - some personal reflections.

During my time in the British Merchant Navy, I had the opportunity to visit New Zealand. Indeed, at that time in my life, my plan was to emigrate to Australia; get a job in a good hotel (I was an experienced chef); be married to a nice Australian Christian girl (there were a couple of distinct possibilities!); and eventually retire to New Zealand. None of that took place, but I have friends who live in New Zealand - including a couple in Christchurch. The news of the deaths, yesterday, caused me to reflect in a number of ways.

The random killing of any human being is to be abhorred. When nearly fifty are slaughtered, our minds reel. We pray that those who have been bereaved in the Christchurch massacre will be helped by those who are able to most effectively do so. It is never easy to bring help to the bereaved - I know that from both personal, and pastoral, experience. However, I also know that those who are able to turn to Jesus, receive help, and strength, that are not available from any other source.

Death, of course, is one of the certainties of life - at least until the Rapture of the Church! Yet it is something that we tend to assume won't happen to us - certainly not if we are under some arbitrarily-chosen age! Yet death is no respecter of persons. It touches all - infants; young children; teenagers; 20s and 30s; those heading towards, and in, "middle age"; the elderly. My point is that it is highly unlikely that any of the victims in Christchurch left their homes that day thinking that they would not return! 

That being the case, is it not wise for each of us to take time to consider our readiness to meet with physical death? Of course, there are different beliefs as to what happens when that event takes place. For some, there will just be 'nothingness'. Life is extinguished - and that is that! Others believe that we have another shot at life - in circumstances that are dictated by the life we are living this time around. 

However, for those of us who claim to be disciples of the Lord Jesus, the Christ, the outlook is much more positive. The anonymous writer of the Letter to the Hebrew disciples of Jesus makes it quite clear that there is no "second" (or subsequent) chance: "... it is appointed for men to die once, and after that comes judgment, ..." (Heb 9:27). And there is the assurance that, for those who have repented of their sins, and accepted, by faith, the gift of full salvation that Jesus gained for us at Calvary, we will live with Him eternally. Of course, for those who have rejected Him, or simply ignored Him, there is only eternity without Him. That is referred to as hell - and it is not something that any thinking person would wish to suffer!

Of course, Christians are regularly the victims of deadly attacks. In Nigeria, for example, it is the Muslim terrorists of Boko Haram, and the Muslim Fulani tribesmen who slaughter Christians - not in their tens, but in their hundreds and thousands. Indeed, some 90% of all Christians who died in 2018 as a result of terrorist activities (mostly at the hands of Muslims) were murdered in Nigeria! One single attack by Boko Haram, last year, left 106 dead; while one attack by Fulani militants resulted in the deaths of more than 200! However, such events do not receive the attention of the world's media in the same way as has the attack in Christchurch!

So what is a proper response for disciples for Jesus in this situation? May I offer three suggestions?

1. to pray for the bereaved, regardless of their religious, ethnic, national, or social background.

2. to remember that, if all of those who died in Christchurch were devout Muslims, then they died without the Christ - and so without hope - and to seek to do whatever we can to bring the Gospel message to the followers of Islam. It is reported by many that more Muslims are coming to saving faith in Jesus than ever before. We may not be able to physically go to a Muslim country - but we can support, prayerfully and financially, organisations such as SAT-7 (https://www.sat7uk.org/), FEBA (https://feba-radio.org/), and Arab World Media (http://www.awm.org/),who do work amongst these people.

3. to pray for our fellow disciples of Jesus who suffer for His Name's sake - often in ways that are beyond the understanding of most of us.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not condemned; he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does what is true comes to the light, that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been wrought in God." (John 3:16-21). 

It's February 13th!

Today has been a special day for me. It's that one that comes around, with unfailing regularity, every year on this date! Yes, today I have been celebrating my birthday. I have been blessed by good wishes from the UK (mostly Scotland!); from France; from Germany; from Canada; from New Zealand; and even from the United Arab Emirates.  Many of the greetings have been from former pupils at Lesmahagow High School - and many of them remembered that this is not my "birthday", but the anniversary thereof! It's always good to know that they remember something of what I taught them - even if it doesn't have anything, directly, to do with the regular lessons!

However, this is the second birthday anniversary that I have celebrated this year - the first one being just a few days ago. Today, I celebrate the anniversary of my physical birth; on February 9th, I celebrated the anniversary of my spiritual birth, when I was "born again" in the terms of the words of the Lord Jesus to a man named Nicodemus, as recorded in the New Testament Scriptures: "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew, he cannot see the Kingdom of God." (Jn.3:3).

My physical birth set me off on this journey that we call 'life'. It's a journey - as my former pupils may recall - that has lasted twenty-seven years ... ... ... and a few months (okay, it is now quite a few months!). It's been a varied life in which I have been wonderfully blessed in so many different ways. I was born to parents who loved me, cared for me, and often sacrificed their own comfort for mine. I received an excellent education so that I could read, write, count and, perhaps most importantly, think for myself! I was raised in a God-fearing environment; I was encouraged in all that I tried to do.

Then, I eventually "flew the nest" - but I saw a great deal of the world during my time in the British Merchant Navy. I moved on to tertiary education. I found the most wonderful girl in the world, and she agreed to become my wife. She gave me two beautiful daughters. She has been my faithful companion and friend for decades - encouraging me, caring for me, loving me; and she is still the most important human being in my life.

I have had three full-time careers - and dabbled in so much else from radio broadcasting to legal representation (and I never lost a case!!!).  Yes, my physical life has been varied, interesting, exciting - and has had its mixture of joy and sadness.

So what about my spiritual birth? Well, when I accepted that I am a sinner and unable, in my own strength, to do anything about it; when I accepted that the sacrificial death of Jesus, the Christ, cancelled all of my sin; when I came to Him, in repentance and faith; I became an adopted child of the Creator and Sustainer of all that is. I received that forgiveness that so many seek.

As an adopted child of the living God, I also have eternal life - that is, His own life in me, here and now! I have had a great life as a disciple of Jesus. Oh, I have often let Him down - but He has never let me down! However, the best is yet to come. When I "shuffle off this mortal coil" - either by my physical death, or by my being "... caught up in the clouds ... ... to meet the Lord in the air; ..." (I Thessalonians 4:17), I shall then spend eternity - which is not "endless time", but "timelessness" - in the presence of Almighty God, praising and glorifying "... the Lamb Who was slain from the foundation of the world." (Rev.13:8). And there shall be no "... mourning, nor crying, nor pain ..." (Rev.21:4).

I wonder how many birthday celebrations you have, each year? Each of us has one - but it's the second one that decides our eternal destiny. May you come to Him, "... the author and finisher 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." (Heb.12:2).