There's no time like the present!

Have you ever put off making a decision - and, later regretted having done so? I suspect that I am not alone in being able to look back over my life, and have some regrets. In Dr Luke's record of the acts of apostolic men, he tells of one particular man - a Roman governor named Felix.

"... Felix, having a rather accurate knowledge of the Way, put them off, saying, “When Lysias the tribune comes down, I will decide your case.” Then he gave orders to the centurion that he should be kept in custody but should have some liberty, and that none of his friends should be prevented from attending to his needs. After some days Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jewess; and he sent for Paul and heard him speak upon faith in Christ Jesus. And as he argued about justice and self-control and future judgment, Felix was alarmed and said, “Go away for the present; when I have an opportunity I will summon you.” At the same time he hoped that money would be given him by Paul. So he sent for him often and conversed with him. But when two years had elapsed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus; and desiring to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison." (Acts 24:22-27).

This man, by all accounts, was notoriously ruthless in suppressing opposition. He was also avaricious, and was prepared to curry favour to gain cheap popularity. The historian, Tacitus, writes: "He exercised the power of king with the mind of a slave." Drusilla was his third wife - and she was already an adulteress before she grew out of her teens. It is quite likely that it was this renegade Jewess who prompted Felix to send for Paul. As Calvin comments: "apostates of that sort are tickled by a certain curiosity, rather than moved by a s sincere desire to learn." 

However, neither Felix nor Drusilla had bargained for the kind of talk that Paul gave in their presence. What the apostle knew they most need to hear was not at all welcomed by them, but filled Felix with alarm. Sadly, like so many who come under conviction of sin, by God the Holy Spirit, he postponed any action. "Go away for the present; when I have an opportunity I will summon you." As far as we know, that further opportunity never presented itself! This kind of delay is something against which God warns us in His written Word: "Today, when you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts ..." (Heb.3:15).

That decision is one that no individual can afford to postpone. 

We may also see, from Paul's words, that he preached a full Gospel! There is a contemporary danger of cheapening the Gospel message by painting only a part of the picture. Paul spoke, not only of faith in the Lord Jesus, the Christ; but also of justice (God's standard for mankind), self-control, and future judgement. He knew that it is only against this backcloth that the splendour of God's amazing grace may be seen in its true light.

In my personal devotions, I  am still reading in the Book of the Revelation of Jesus, given by Father God, to John. In what we know as chapter 6, we read these words of warning: "... I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale; the sky vanished like a scroll that is rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the generals and the rich and the strong, and every one, slave and free, hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand before it?” " (vs.12-17).

Don't find yourself in that situation - come to the Son now, and know forgiveness of sin, and new life in Him. It's the most important decision that you will ever make!

Marriage Mistakes #3

The final point from Phil Moore.  I trust that others found his article as helpful as I did.
                                                                                                                                                     "Mistake #3: Opposition to Same-Sex Marriage is a Religious Issue.
In the U.K., David Cameron and Nick Clegg have tried to frame the issue of same-sex marriage as a battle between free-thinking reformers and religious reactionaries.

They have shouted down opposition to their bill by promising that churches and mosques will be protected from being forced to conduct same-sex marriages on their premises, and the Church of England has been flattered into playing along in exchange for a seat at the discussion table. Even if we believe Cameron and Clegg (and let’s face it, it’s hard to do so when Cameron has just warned the church on another issue to “get with the programme” or face the consequences), it is missing the point entirely.   It isn’t just Christians, Jews and Muslims who want to have a say in this issue. Marriages make families and families make society. How we define marriage affects all of us. To deny this is ridiculous.
 
I received a letter from David Cameron a few weeks ago when I corresponded with him about same-sex marriage. He told me that he thinks marriage is so important that he wants to open it up to same-sex couples as well, which is about as logical as me saying that I like Italian food so much that I want to declare that every cuisine in the world be Italian. It isn’t just an issue for religious people when our governments start redefining marriage with political double-speak which wouldn’t be out of place in George Orwell’s Animal Farm.

Even in decadent Rome, when Emperor Nero briefly legalized same-sex marriage, his pagan Roman subjects opposed his law. The historian, Tacitus, complained that Nero “went through a formal wedding ceremony with one of the perverts named Pythagorus,” and implies that this added to the general public disgust with Nero which eventually led to his forced suicide (Annals 15.37). If the most anti-Christian city in the world opposed gay marriage (remember, these were the people who threw Christians to the lions), then let’s not pretend that opposition to same-sex marriage is a religious issue.

Besides, when Barack Obama refers six times in his inauguration speech to God and four times to the Creator or to Creation, it reminds us that religious people have always had an important role in shaping public policy for good. Not least among them were Abraham Lincoln (a devout Christian) and Martin Luther King Jr. (a Christian pastor). Politicians can’t have it both ways: either they want to associate themselves with God and with the great religious thinkers of the past, or they should come clean and say that they don’t want to.
 
The reason Barack Obama referred so much to God and to the great religious thinkers of the past is that every U.S. President knows he needs to stand on the shoulders of the founding fathers — who were religious thinkers — thus, to dismiss religious thinkers as nothing more than a group of political lobbyists is an act of insanity. They are those who have routinely submitted their own generation’s thinking to the scrutiny of the wise men and women of old, and who have learned to speak up for what they have learned.
 
The true political lobbyists are the pro-gay activists who have filled the staff roles in 10 Downing Street and in the West Wing. It is this small, but powerful, clique that has so influenced the politicians that they can’t see the three big mistakes which they are making. Same-sex marriage isn’t a religious issue any more than it is a civil rights issue. It is the coveted ambition of a group of powerful lobbyists who want to stifle debate by claiming the debate is already over.

We mustn’t let them succeed in rushing through this piece of hasty legislation."