"Songs of Praise"

I don’t watch the BBC programme “Songs of Praise” every Sunday! However, I do watch from time to time. This evening, the programme came from the Northumberland coast, and was presented by Aled Jones.

In one little harbour that he visited during the programme, I noticed a small fishing boat with the unusual name – Glad Tidings. I was waiting for some appropriate comment from Aled but, unless I missed it, there was no such comment forthcoming. What a missed opportunity!

The words “glad tidings” are words that were read all over the world just a few weeks ago (Yes, I know that it seems ages ago!). They are part of the message that the angel brought to the shepherds as he informed them of the birth of the Christ-child. “Behold, I bring you glad tidings of great joy.” (Lk.2:10) And that, of course, is the heart of the Gospel – the Good News. The glad tidings are that although you and I stand guilty before the great Judge of all the earth, He has become one of us in order to pay the penalty for your sin and mine.

As we were reminded at Liberty Community Church, this morning, “… He was wounded and crushed for our sins. He was beaten that we might have peace. He was whipped, and we were healed! All of us have strayed away like sheep. We have left God's paths to follow our own. Yet YHWH laid on Him the guilt and sins of us all. He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet He never said a word. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, He did not open His mouth. From prison and trial they led Him away to His death. But who among the people realized that He was dying for their sins – that He was suffering their punishment? He had done no wrong, and He never deceived anyone. But He was buried like a criminal; He was put in a rich man's grave.” (Is.53:5-9a)

Psychologists tell us that one of the major causes of mental problems is a lack of forgiveness! The glad tidings – the Good News – about Jesus, the Christ, is that forgiveness is available for all who are genuinely sorry for their sins, and who are willing, with His help, to live their lives in accordance with His will.

It was also interesting that the name was on a fishing boat. Because this is another aspect of the Gospel – that we are to be “fishers of people”. (Matt.4:19). This doesn’t mean trying to get a large hook into people’s mouths but, by living our own lives for Jesus, making Him so attractive to them that they want to follow Him themselves. That’s a real challenge for me – and perhaps for you as well?!

"On the buses"

Have you read about the so-called "atheist bus" campaign, currently running (no pun intended!) in London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and other major cities in Great Britain? The campaign is the brainchild of writer Ariane Sherine who was offended when she checked out the website that was highlighted in a Christian advert that she saw on a bus. There she discovered the amazing fact that the Bible teaches that those who reject God in this life are condemend (or, condemn themselves!) to eternity in hell.

With the support of the well-known atheist Richard Dawkins, and the British Humanist Association, she set up the campaign to place an "atheist" advert on busses, in an attempt to counter that Christian message. The slogan reads, “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.”

A couple of things need to be said:

1. To state that there is "probably" no God is not an atheist standpoint, but that of an agnostic;

2. As a committed Christian, I don't worry (see Matt.6:25ff, Lk.12:22ff), and I enjoy life to the full. Indeed, Jesus said that He came that I might have life "in all its fulness" (Jn.10:10);

3. This campaign could be a great way of instigating a conversation with a fellow bus passenger. There would be nothing pushy about asking the person beside you "What do you think of the slogan on the bus?" This could, by God's grace, lead to a very interesting conversation and, ultimately, to the salvation of one more person for whom Christ died;

4. There is no such thing as an "atheist bus" any more than a "Christian bus". The adverts may be thus labelled - the buses are totally neutral!

So, if you live in one of the targetted areas, don't be afraid to get on to a bus with a slogan that suggests that God doesn't exist. It may be a great opportunity to witness to the Living God Who is so real to so many of us.

Israel.

It’s been a busy week – and, for some reason, nothing has come to mind that seemed to be worth posting! (Yes, I know. There are probably those who are of the opinion that nothing I have ever posted has been worth posting!!)
One item on which I have wanted to post has been the current Israeli-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip. My problem has been that I am unable to totally condone the activity of either side and, of course, I totally condemn the level of civilian casualties.
So what can anyone, so far away from the conflict, and with no direct involvement in it, say about the situation? From the point of view of the Palestinian (Biblical Philistine) people, it is a traumatic, painful and, for too many, fatal experience. Our hearts go out to those who are suffering terribly from horrific injuries; those who have been bereaved as a result of the Israeli bombardment and incursion. But it must not be forgotten that Hamas militants have been bombarding Israel for years, and that they have an ultimate goal of the total destruction of the Israeli State.
On the other hand, Israel is seen, by some, as having over-reacted. We are told that their action is “disproportionate”. What seems to be forgotten is that war, by its very nature, tends to be disproportionate. I think of the numbers who died in Dresden, or at Hiroshima. Yet few objected to the defeat of Nazism, or of those deemed to be responsible for the atrocities of Japanese POW camps. The nation was classed as one with the individual perpetrators.
It is a sad fact of life that, until the return of the Prince of Peace, there is going to be war, and violence; death and injury. It’s all part of the fallen world in which we live. So what do we do? What practical action can we take? The Psalmist exhorts us to “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (Ps.122:6), and it is right and proper that we should do so. But let us remember that any interim “peace” to which Hamas, Iran, Syria, and/or Hezbollah might agree would only be a temporary, tactical truce to allow them to re-group, re-arm, and consolidate.
And let us keep our eyes focussed on Jesus “the Author and the Finisher of our faith” (Heb.12:2), looking forward to His Second Advent, when He will usher in His rule of perfect peace.

STOP PRESS!

As not too many people are yet familiar with my other "open" blog-site, I thought that I should mention that I have just added another audio message to it. The "hot link" (with gratitude to my friend, Bob Dixon, for his assistance in composing the code) is to your left (revcbross.blogspot.com)

Permanency, and dependability.

We're just back from our few days away in the caravan - bringing in the New Year with our farming hosts in the backwaters of rural Dumfries-shire.

While we were away, we paid our final Historic Scotland visits for 2008: to Sweetheart Abbey and Caerlaverock Castle, a couple of exceptionally well-preserved pieces of architecture. However, whilst visiting the town of Dumfries, we looked into a slightly more modern building - the local Woolworth's store. As most of my readers probably know, Woolworth's is closing down and, as I walked around a store with shelves almost empty, I was saddened at the thought of this once permanent feature of most British High Streets being no longer. I recalled my period as head chef in the cafe in the Belfast store - my first taste of "occupational authority"!; I recalled walking around the same store, as a boy, and managing to read a number of the literary classics - that my parents couldn't afford to buy - a chapter at a time.

I also remembered the words of the Lord Jesus: "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matt 28:18-20)

The other words that came to mind were written by the anonymous writer of the Letter to the early Hebrew Christians: "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." (Heb 13:8)

In a world in which there is so much flux and change, how good it is to be able to place our trust in the unchanging One, Who is always faithful and true. Henry Lyte knew something about it. In his well-known hymn, Abide with me, is the verse:

"Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim; its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me."

May you know that abiding presence throughout the whole of the coming year.