To the Cross

 

What happens if God does not exist? Ultimately we would have to find the answer for a moral law. Who defines good and evil?   J L Mackie (a prominent Australian atheist) struggles with this dilemma when he says:  ‘The whole nature of moral reasoning has such an immense configuration to it, that it is impossible to actually arrive a rational defence of it apart from invoking a moral personal first cause.’ 

Below I have attempted to articulate my struggles with those who see macro evolution as being compatible with Christianity. It does not mean to offend and I am aware that a lot of people whom I love would disagree with me:   Those who believe that macro evolution and Christianity is compatable tend to agree with those of a creationist view that one of the main points of Genesis’ creation story is that God’s creation was ‘Very Good’. The context of ‘very good’ surely describes perfection, after all why should an omnipotent God create anything other than that which was perfect? My atheist friends, on the other hand, who also believe in macro evolution are quick to point out that any would be god who designed evolution, rather than being a god of love, would be a cruel god, indeed a god who designed and created pain and suffering. They surely could have a point if a god used Darwinian evolution to create the world of living things. Whilst Genesis declares that it was

26  Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27  So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian [ a ] eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28  and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. 29  The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” 30  Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. 31  “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32  This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,      and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,      so he did not open his mouth. 33  In his humiliation he was deprive

“Alan was a man who was driven by love and compassion and he would not want any of us to hold on to feelings of hate and unforgiveness. So in honour of Alan and in honour of the God we both love, my pr ayer is that this story doesn't end today. My prayer is that Jonathan Bowling and Ashley Foster will come to understand and experience the love and kindness of the God who made them in His own image and that God's great mercy will inspire both of them to true repentance.” Maureen Greaves is an amazing beautiful Holy Spirit filled gracious lady and a fearless Evangelist. Alan indeed a most generous and loving man - now with the Lord.   Maureen Greaves is here following the example of Jesus, Stephen, Corrie ten boom, Nelson Mandella, Kim Phuc, Gordon Wilson and many more Spirit filled Christians, as she forgives her husband's murderers and prays for their salvation.

  Love is my first and foremost motive for telling the Gospel. I deeply love Jesus and deeply love my neighbours.   I live in a community of hurting people and I hurt for those who are hurting. I hurt for those who seek some kind of hope through yet another inappropriate relationship, I hurt for those who have had yet another child removed from their care, (I hurt for that child!) I hurt for those who get into huge debt because they feel that possessions will bring some sense of satisfaction to their lives, I hurt for those suffering from addiction of alcohol and other drugs. I hurt when children are suffering from family breakdown, when they are growing up without any sense of hope, when they are made out (often by people who should know better!) to be nobodies, when they are labelled as 'compulsive liars' or 'compulsive thieves.'     I am not talking about statistics here, I am talking about individuals whom I know and love.   And I am in no place to

  My personal view on this is that the Government is making an horrendous mess!  In a strange way the Government's intervention on marriage feels to me  like a matter  from George Orwell's 1984 - only with an illiberal liberal agenda . I personally feel sure that th e 'Thought Police' will be hunting out those who disapprove to all this all too soon, dismissing school teachers and Christian Registrars who conscientiously can not in any way promote same sex marriage. I am not sure that even the Church will be safe from civil law when European courts are asked to intervene! 

     For 18 months we have been praying for a hub for our outreach on the local estate.  During a prayer session in December last year, we believed that God was saying that we would have breakthrough in the Hebrew month of Nisan.  But when is Nisan? A book that we later found revealed Nisan to be between March and April.   Interestingly it also stated that Nisan is the month of the Flax harvest. From December onwards we carried pushing doors - one with some force - but they remained firmly shut. In April we pushed a door that flew open and so we now have a (trial) Community Café and can share all what Jesus has done for us over cake and coffee.   But back to the point of the Flax harvest. The Road on which our café is situated is no other than: Flaxley Road!   We are now praying that God will make our new ground fertile for a Flax harvest: a place where people of Flaxley Road will turn away from the stuff that is causing them so much pain (there is lots of pain he

'I was determined to turn aside from hatred, vengeance, unforgiveness and retaliation towards those who had killed him'   Maureen Greaves is a lovely lady and a passionate evangelist working in Sheffield. Her murdered husband Alan a most beautiful and generous man.   I praise God for her strength to remain true to Christ in the most horendous of circumstances. If ever there was evidence of the Holy Spirit at work it is in the way Maureen has reacted towards her husbands death.Maureen's gracious words are nothing short of a miracle.