tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9763324305219345852024-02-21T06:06:42.413+00:00To the CrossNeil is an evangelist with a passion for the 'least, the last and the lost'. Prior to this calling, he spent 5 years working for St George's Crypt - a Christian outreach for homeless, drug addicts and alcoholics.Question of Identityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15651248714592936545noreply@blogger.comBlogger139125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-976332430521934585.post-34136028796690042582023-08-22T14:15:00.001+01:002023-08-22T14:15:07.335+01:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg84siR7-3oAGkNtSA6C9XFWQdsvGH6PyCsJzhLE4OOLyR9P6Mn0yd0gi8RSpylov_EGqJBr4B_G1OrcK0AyMt4BelsZJkuKCdndvD7SJUvC_dj8VUBjA9JYg8Jwz0Patbk857LUN1XCs_yTSM2XaNo2-ZmNM55NhMkEK8GrVL2rRUNpFt0xJmrzJdzHMy1/s522/Screenshot%202023-08-22%20at%2013.58.03.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="502" data-original-width="522" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg84siR7-3oAGkNtSA6C9XFWQdsvGH6PyCsJzhLE4OOLyR9P6Mn0yd0gi8RSpylov_EGqJBr4B_G1OrcK0AyMt4BelsZJkuKCdndvD7SJUvC_dj8VUBjA9JYg8Jwz0Patbk857LUN1XCs_yTSM2XaNo2-ZmNM55NhMkEK8GrVL2rRUNpFt0xJmrzJdzHMy1/s320/Screenshot%202023-08-22%20at%2013.58.03.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div align="center"><br /><br /></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Evil or Simply an Accidental Clash of Molecules?</span></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"><span face="ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #141414; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;"><b>"Our minds are so traumatised "</b></span></div><div align="center"><span face="ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #141414; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;"><br /></span></div><div align="center"><i class="ssrcss-xbdn93-ItalicText e5tfeyi2" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #141414; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;"><b class="ssrcss-hmf8ql-BoldText e5tfeyi3" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"I was desperate to feel her, smell her, cuddle her."</b></i></div><div align="center"><i class="ssrcss-xbdn93-ItalicText e5tfeyi2" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #141414; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;"><b class="ssrcss-hmf8ql-BoldText e5tfeyi3" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></b></i></div><div align="center"><i class="ssrcss-xbdn93-ItalicText e5tfeyi2" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #141414; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;"><b class="ssrcss-hmf8ql-BoldText e5tfeyi3" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"Our worlds were shattered when we encountered evil disguised as a caring nurse."</b></i></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"><i class="ssrcss-xbdn93-ItalicText e5tfeyi2" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #141414; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;"><b class="ssrcss-hmf8ql-BoldText e5tfeyi3" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"A part of us died with her."</b></i></div><div align="center"><i class="ssrcss-xbdn93-ItalicText e5tfeyi2" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #141414; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;"><b class="ssrcss-hmf8ql-BoldText e5tfeyi3" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></b></i></div><div align="center"><i class="ssrcss-xbdn93-ItalicText e5tfeyi2" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #141414; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;"><b class="ssrcss-hmf8ql-BoldText e5tfeyi3" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"It has destroyed me as a man and as a father."</b></i></div><div align="center"><i class="ssrcss-xbdn93-ItalicText e5tfeyi2" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #141414; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;"><b class="ssrcss-hmf8ql-BoldText e5tfeyi3" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></b></i></div><div align="center"><i class="ssrcss-xbdn93-ItalicText e5tfeyi2" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #141414; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;"><b class="ssrcss-hmf8ql-BoldText e5tfeyi3" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"You thought it was your right to play God with our children's lives."</b></i></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center">Today our nation is mourning the great loss of babies whose lives have been taken away by the gratuitous actions of the nurse Lucy Letby. We can't imagine the pain and hurt that mums and dads have gone through as they sat listening to how the lives of their beloved children have been taken away in this way. Our hearts very much go out to them and we wouldn't be human if we didn't feel some of that pain too!</div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center">It has been particularly interesting to me that people who would describe themselves as atheists have so liberally described Lucy as evil. On this I absolutely agree, I can not think of anything more evil than one who has a desire to take control of and play God with a baby's life. It is so right that justice has been done and Lucy will stay in prison for the rest of her life. After that justice will also take place when she meets her maker. The Bible is clear that an unrepentant person who commits evil will be permanently separated from God and go to that place the Bible calls hell. We shouldn't be smug about this though, not least because all the wrongful things we do, all our evil actions permanently separate us from God and outside trusting in the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we are all heading in the same direction.</div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center" style="text-align: left;">But that word 'evil' is almost being used universally at this time to describe her actions. I stress once again, I think they are right, there simply are no other word to describe such atrocities. <span style="text-align: left;">I can't help thinking for the atheist who uses these words is having their cake and eating it. Atheists believe we are nothing but the result of an accidental clash of molecules: this applies to the babies as well as to Lucy. If that is all that Lucy is then, there are no grounds on which we can call her or anyone evil - she is simply a clash of molecules doing what a clash of molecules do. Evil is a nonsense to the atheist, it simply shouldn't be in their vocabulary. </span></div><div align="center" style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div align="center" style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: left;">Similarly the word love is nonsensical to the atheist. Both love and evil are only possible if there is someone who has the authority to show us what love and evil are. The only one with such authority is our loving God. </span></div><div align="center" style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div align="center" style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: left;">The good news and the only hope for those who are suffering so much today, as a result of what was an evil act, is the hope which is made certain through our Lord and Savour Jesus Christ. Jesus alone can bring the peace and the hope they need at this time. Jesus who died on the cross and rose again to bring the sure and certain hope of the resurrection for those who trust and believe in him, promises to bring his children home. Hope too is found in the promise of Jesus' return where He will judge all evil and provide that place where evil is no more, a place where their is no more suffering, no more tears, for the old order of things has passed away.</span></div><div align="center" style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div align="center" style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: left;">My prayer is that parents, family and friends of these so very much loved babies, as well as those non believers who identified the evil in Lucy and even Lucy herself will turn to Jesus - the One who can bring peace.</span></div><div align="center" style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div align="center" style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: left;">Jesus says 'come to me all you who are weary and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.' That word rest denotes a wholeness and peace that passes all understanding. May you truly know that peace today.</span></div>Question of Identityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15651248714592936545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-976332430521934585.post-60839920236872465562023-02-11T23:10:00.002+00:002023-02-11T23:16:30.217+00:00Trusting in God's every Word<div align="center"><a href="http://www.beautyblogtalk.com/DermaWand.html">
<img alt="Derma Wand" src="http://www.freehitscounter.org/counter.php?id=32151&t=3" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10px;"><a href="http://www.beautyblogtalk.com/DermaWand.html">Derma Wand</a></span></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">relaunching my blog today. I am thinking about the words in Genesis: 'God said' and how we might have faith in God's Word. If God said it - it will happen. If God said it it is true. If God said it we can trust in its truth. In the single cell amoeba there is the equivalent ordered information of 1,000 Encyclopedia Britannica. This never ceases to amaze me. It takes a great leap of faith to believe that such a wonderful and complex design in something that is invisible to the human eye, can have arrived in our world by accident. Nothing so complex could have come to be without a designer. That designer is no other than our creator God! When God said 'let there be light' there was light. God's Word is powerful and so very creative. We can trust in His every word and we can trust in His every action. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiPJgkYutZws5AIQKB2URxubbp0hXjY6VGUvup3nXXTv3zhiTHVj25GQUYUIiBE6hk8IE3A5NYTGNSBnQB3QyLBWcuKr5gurBjuL6v66JCZndS7uZkX9Qh6IdhBhWJakX6sXctqzyym5sV19aRb5DSRhNyXseCqDtlMY0xHkZGLEY2vl2H7V67y3b9eQ/s2454/Screenshot%202023-02-11%20at%2021.11.07.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1392" data-original-width="2454" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiPJgkYutZws5AIQKB2URxubbp0hXjY6VGUvup3nXXTv3zhiTHVj25GQUYUIiBE6hk8IE3A5NYTGNSBnQB3QyLBWcuKr5gurBjuL6v66JCZndS7uZkX9Qh6IdhBhWJakX6sXctqzyym5sV19aRb5DSRhNyXseCqDtlMY0xHkZGLEY2vl2H7V67y3b9eQ/s320/Screenshot%202023-02-11%20at%2021.11.07.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div>Question of Identityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15651248714592936545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-976332430521934585.post-53293680468169565302014-06-28T22:10:00.001+01:002014-06-28T22:14:33.146+01:00Blind Faith and Evolution<div align="left">
Professors of Science fail to answer the simplest of questions on evolution!</div>
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Question of Identityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15651248714592936545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-976332430521934585.post-40562244026092535672014-06-04T21:35:00.001+01:002014-06-04T21:40:00.701+01:00Masculine Blessing!<div style="text-align: left;">
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</a><span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">"Listen to men when they talk warmly of their fathers and you'll hear the same. "My father taught me to fix tractors ... to throw curveball ... to hunt quail." And despite the details what is mostly passed along is the masculine blessing." (Wild at Heart: John Eldredge)</span></div>
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<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><br />Encouragement from a father to his son is so very important! (Feeling sad for those boys who are growing up without a consistant encouraging father in their lives).</span></div>
Question of Identityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15651248714592936545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-976332430521934585.post-80151954466061812592014-05-29T21:08:00.000+01:002014-05-29T21:08:52.291+01:00Masquerading as an angel of light<div style="text-align: left;">
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Question of Identityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15651248714592936545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-976332430521934585.post-55233836584354782882014-03-08T19:14:00.001+00:002014-03-12T18:53:26.362+00:00Government Changing Your Identity<div align="left">
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">Latest mumbo jumbo legislation changing your identity. No longer are you mother or father but a male or female parent, no longer are you husband or wife but spouse. No longer a widow but a 'woman whose deceased spouse was a man'. Interestingly a man who marries the king can not be known as queen. Whilst it may remain high treason to have sexual relations with the wife of a future King, this will not be the case where adultery is committed with a that of same-sex ‘spouse’ (same sex equality apparently only goes so far!)</span></span></div>
Question of Identityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15651248714592936545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-976332430521934585.post-14272593592890136942014-02-22T22:13:00.001+00:002014-02-22T22:13:31.461+00:00Much gospel preaching today ...<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">"Much gospel preaching today contains no mention of the cross, no doctrine of suffering, no reproof, no repentance, no hatred for sin, no demand for separation or purity, no call for unconditional surrender to the Lordship of Christ, no daily death to self, no crucifixion of the fleshly lusts, no self-denial, no rejection of the self-life, no warnings of coming persecution and imminent judgment. And, most tragic of all, many Christians now prefer to hear about their rights in Christ-and ignore His claims on us!" (David Wilkerson) </span></div>
Question of Identityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15651248714592936545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-976332430521934585.post-4108770908903664872014-01-01T21:50:00.000+00:002014-01-01T21:50:14.095+00:00Harmony in the Cosmos<div style="text-align: left;">
Albert Einstein: "In view of such harmony in the cosmos which I, with my limited human mind am able to recognise, there are yet people who say there is no God. But what really makes me angry is that they quote me for the support of such views."</div>
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Einstein was not a Christian but here acknowledges his disbelief at those who can't see God's signature in creation.</div>
Question of Identityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15651248714592936545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-976332430521934585.post-52858306164617568042013-12-21T23:48:00.001+00:002013-12-21T23:48:38.820+00:00From Despair to Hope<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/VxyqBoVLWlo" width="459"></iframe><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">What happens if God does not exist? Ultimately we would have to find the answer for a moral law. Who defines good and evil? </span></span></div>
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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.’</span></span></div>
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Question of Identityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15651248714592936545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-976332430521934585.post-75858060950174420232013-10-14T22:57:00.000+01:002013-10-14T22:57:46.390+01:00Restoration of that Which Was Never Good?<div style="text-align: left;">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">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:</span></div>
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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? </span>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">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. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Whilst
Genesis declares that it was the fall of man that brought about
wholesale corruption and death, macro evolution declares that they
were there from the very beginning, indeed that battle, conflict, war
was evolution’s main propeller.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">For those who believe that the two are compatible, I feel it is more than problematic:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If
God did use such an evolutionary process to bring about mankind,
then presumably there was a day when He came to the conclusion that
mankind had evolved sufficiently to work out the difference between
good and evil (a very different scenario from that of Genesis!). We would have a (ridiculous?) situation that one
second (due to lack of evolvement) it was impossible for man to sin, the
very next second the (evolved!) potential for sin consciousness is in place … enter the
'metaphoric serpent'. The serpent's task would simply be to persuade man to carry on doing those things that a moment ago he had no responsibility for, indeed moments ago was a natural part of being. What was God designed a moment ago is now against God's laws.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Some
Christian 'evolutionists' would never the less go as far as talking
about a God who will restore the world into its original ‘goodness’
or perfection. They would quote Revelation and believe in a new
heaven and new earth, where there is no more corruption, no more
tears, no more pain (a place that presumably doesn’t allow for the
cruelty of Darwinian evolution). </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I
can’t help thinking that there is inconsistency in such a
theology. How could God restore that which was never perfect in the
first place?</span><br />
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Question of Identityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15651248714592936545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-976332430521934585.post-48172638794959320892013-08-16T23:05:00.003+01:002013-08-16T23:05:21.593+01:00Praying for divine appointments<div style="text-align: left;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHA-uZOz9HIkDkGrwy3PNJmELZ4t4O1o4lkXyNJi3ci1-fiqmlDKe9hyphenhyphenLI-LVNr5CaoCiH9q8sq3e7ksvbRGwE9F5qu3yQSiDJn68DpD3iQJjiAiIOXllEbHulw-sJeHmGrKaWDEPQ0_vq/s1600/philp+and+the+ethiopian.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHA-uZOz9HIkDkGrwy3PNJmELZ4t4O1o4lkXyNJi3ci1-fiqmlDKe9hyphenhyphenLI-LVNr5CaoCiH9q8sq3e7ksvbRGwE9F5qu3yQSiDJn68DpD3iQJjiAiIOXllEbHulw-sJeHmGrKaWDEPQ0_vq/s1600/philp+and+the+ethiopian.jpg" /></a></div>
<strong><span style="color: red;"><span class="text Acts-8-26"><sup class="versenum">26 </sup>Now an angel<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-27203A" title="See cross-reference A">A</a>)"></sup> of the Lord said to Philip,<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-27203B" title="See cross-reference B">B</a>)"></sup> “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.”</span> <span class="text Acts-8-27" id="en-NIV-27204"><sup class="versenum">27 </sup>So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian<sup class="footnote" value="[<a href="#fen-NIV-27204a" title="See footnote a">a</a>]">[<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+8%3A26-40&version=NIV#fen-NIV-27204a" title="See footnote a">a</a>]</sup><sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-27204C" title="See cross-reference C">C</a>)"></sup> eunuch,<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-27204D" title="See cross-reference D">D</a>)"></sup> 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,<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-27204E" title="See cross-reference E">E</a>)"></sup></span> <span class="text Acts-8-28" id="en-NIV-27205"><sup class="versenum">28 </sup>and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet.</span> <span class="text Acts-8-29" id="en-NIV-27206"><sup class="versenum">29 </sup>The Spirit told<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-27206F" title="See cross-reference F">F</a>)"></sup> Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”</span></span></strong><br />
<span class="text Acts-8-30" id="en-NIV-27207"><strong><span style="color: red;"><sup class="versenum">30 </sup>Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.</span></strong></span><br />
<span class="text Acts-8-31" id="en-NIV-27208"><strong><span style="color: red;"><sup class="versenum">31 </sup>“How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.</span></strong></span><br />
<span class="text Acts-8-32" id="en-NIV-27209"><strong><span style="color: red;"><sup class="versenum">32 </sup>This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading:</span></strong></span><br />
<div class="poetry top-05">
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<strong><span style="color: red;"><span class="text Acts-8-32">“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,</span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text Acts-8-32">and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,</span></span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text Acts-8-32">so he did not open his mouth.</span></span><br /><span class="text Acts-8-33" id="en-NIV-27210"><sup class="versenum">33 </sup>In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.</span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text Acts-8-33">Who can speak of his descendants?</span></span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text Acts-8-33">For his life was taken from the earth.”<sup class="footnote" value="[<a href="#fen-NIV-27210b" title="See footnote b">b</a>]">[<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+8%3A26-40&version=NIV#fen-NIV-27210b" title="See footnote b">b</a>]</sup><sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-27210G" title="See cross-reference G">G</a>)"></sup></span></span></span></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="color: red;"><span class="text Acts-8-34" id="en-NIV-27211"><sup class="versenum">34 </sup>The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?”</span> <span class="text Acts-8-35" id="en-NIV-27212"><sup class="versenum">35 </sup>Then Philip began<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-27212H" title="See cross-reference H">H</a>)"></sup> with that very passage of Scripture<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-27212I" title="See cross-reference I">I</a>)"></sup> and told him the good news<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-27212J" title="See cross-reference J">J</a>)"></sup> about Jesus.</span></span></strong></div>
<strong><span style="color: red;"><span class="text Acts-8-36" id="en-NIV-27213"><sup class="versenum">36 </sup>As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?”<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-27213K" title="See cross-reference K">K</a>)"></sup></span> <span class="text Acts-8-37" id="en-NIV-27214"><sup class="versenum">[37] </sup><sup class="footnote" value="[<a href="#fen-NIV-27214c" title="See footnote c">c</a>]">[<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+8%3A26-40&version=NIV#fen-NIV-27214c" title="See footnote c">c</a>]</sup></span> <span class="text Acts-8-38" id="en-NIV-27215"><sup class="versenum">38 </sup>And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.</span> <span class="text Acts-8-39" id="en-NIV-27216"><sup class="versenum">39 </sup>When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away,<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-27216L" title="See cross-reference L">L</a>)"></sup> and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.</span> <span class="text Acts-8-40" id="en-NIV-27217"><sup class="versenum">40 </sup>Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-27217M" title="See cross-reference M">M</a>)"></sup> until he reached Caesarea.</span></span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="color: red;"><span class="text Acts-8-40"></span></span></strong><br />
<span class="text Acts-8-40"><span style="color: black;">I love this passage from Acts. Love too Philip's passion for the gospel! He has really taken to heart and is living out Jesus' command to GO and make disciples of all nations. Philip is prepared to 'Go' where ever the Holy Spirit will send him. But look just where he has been sent!</span></span><br />
<span class="text Acts-8-40"><strong><span style="color: red;">“Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.”</span></strong></span><br />
<span class="text Acts-8-40"><span style="color: black;">He has been sent to the desert road. You might have excused Philip if he had said:</span></span><br />
<span class="text Acts-8-40">"Surely that's not right... what's the point of going to the desert road Lord?" After all the desert road leads to the desert place! The desert place is fruitless, it is desolate, it is hot and it's no place for an evangelist!</span><br />
<span class="text Acts-8-40"></span><br />
<span class="text Acts-8-40">But God knows that just around the corner is a God seeker, someone trying to make sense out of life, someone in need of salvation. And anyway that is not Philip's attitude. Philip obeys the Lord's instruction but how!</span><br />
<span class="text Acts-8-40"><strong><span style="color: red;">Then Philip ran up to the chariot </span></strong></span><br />
<span class="text Acts-8-40"><span style="color: black;">Did you get that? He RAN! You see Philip knows God is on the case. I believe that Philip prayed that morning for divine appointments, prayed for opportunity to share the good news of Jesus (a dangerous prayer - a prayer that Jesus will always answer!) and Philip knows that this is his answer to prayer, so Philip is excited, he is hungry, he is up for it - so he runs!</span></span><br />
<span class="text Acts-8-40">Paul says: <span style="color: red;">'make the most of every opportunity'</span> and here is Philip making the most of every opportunity! Paul also says <strong><span style="color: red;">'I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes'</span></strong> and here is Philip showing that he is no ashamed of the gospel, recognising its power to save. <span style="color: red;"><strong> ' my food'</strong> <span style="color: black;">says Jesus</span><strong> ' is to do the will of him who sent me'</strong></span> and here is Philip doing the will of Jesus who sent him.</span><br />
<span class="text Acts-8-40"></span><br />
<span class="text Acts-8-40">All this leaves us with challenging questions:</span><br />
<span class="text Acts-8-40">Are we prepared to pray daily for divine appointments, opportunity to share the good news of Jesus?</span><br />
<span class="text Acts-8-40">Are we prepared to make the most of every opportunity when it comes along?</span><br />
<span class="text Acts-8-40">Are we prepared to show that we are not ashamed of the gospel?</span><br />
<span class="text Acts-8-40"></span><br />
<span class="text Acts-8-40">I was at Elim Festival a couple of weeks ago, where we were asked if over the years ours sense of salvation has been self devalued somewhat. 'If not' said Mark Greenwood, 'why then have we stopped talking to our friends about Jesus?'</span><br />
<span class="text Acts-8-40"></span><br />
<span class="text Acts-8-40"></span>Question of Identityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15651248714592936545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-976332430521934585.post-57380146357281335942013-07-26T23:23:00.001+01:002013-07-26T23:23:31.956+01:00Christians who have forgiven much<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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“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<span class="text_exposed_show">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.”<br /><br />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.</span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show"></span>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.</div>
Question of Identityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15651248714592936545noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-976332430521934585.post-88375245061543041922013-07-13T00:00:00.002+01:002013-07-13T00:10:29.586+01:00I hurt!<div align="left">
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Love is my first and foremost motive for telling the Gospel. I deeply love Jesus and deeply love my neighbours. </div>
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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.' </div>
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I am not talking about statistics here, I am talking about individuals whom I know and love. </div>
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And I am in no place to judge - I have fallen short of God's best on much of the above. </div>
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Perhaps that is why I hurt for the lost.</div>
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That is my sole motivation for facing ridicule for offering something better. I know that the only way these beautiful(!) people will receive the healing they need is through a transforming relationship with Jesus first as Lord then as Saviour.</div>
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Jesus said:</div>
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<span style="color: red;">The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,</span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">because he has anointed me </span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">to preach the good news to the poor.</span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">He has sent me to proclaim freedom</span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">for the prisoners</span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">and recovery of the slight for the blind,</span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">to release the oppressed</span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour.</span> Luke 4: 18 -19</div>
Question of Identityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15651248714592936545noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-976332430521934585.post-66010504268591699312013-07-10T20:26:00.002+01:002013-07-16T00:40:25.794+01:00Male 'wives' and female 'husbands' I personally believe this simply can't be right!<div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My <span style="color: red;">personal view</span> on this is that the Government is making an horrendous mess! In a strange way the Government's intervention on marriage <span style="color: red;">feels to me</span> like a matter from George Orwell's 1984 - only with an illiberal liberal agenda . <span style="color: red;">I personally feel sure that </span><span style="color: #444444;">th</span>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! </div>
Question of Identityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15651248714592936545noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-976332430521934585.post-40134905712508803572013-06-13T21:18:00.004+01:002013-06-13T21:26:08.298+01:00Marriage Great for Kids!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Question of Identityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15651248714592936545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-976332430521934585.post-44167959520497724852013-05-30T23:45:00.001+01:002013-05-30T23:59:35.669+01:00Community Cafe to bring hope for a Flax harvest<div align="left">
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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. </div>
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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. </div>
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But back to the point of the Flax harvest. The Road on which our café is situated is no other than: Flaxley Road! </div>
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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 here!) and turn to Christ as Lord and Saviour.</div>
Question of Identityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15651248714592936545noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-976332430521934585.post-67345851526714195652013-02-24T22:21:00.002+00:002013-02-24T22:25:04.668+00:00Forgiveness!<div align="center">
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<span style="font-size: large; font-weight: bold;">'I was determined to turn aside from hatred, vengeance, unforgiveness and retaliation towards those who had killed him'</span></div>
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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.</h4>
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Question of Identityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15651248714592936545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-976332430521934585.post-87286894003998782982012-08-21T22:14:00.003+01:002012-08-21T22:19:37.319+01:00Prophetic!<div align="left">
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Question of Identityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15651248714592936545noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-976332430521934585.post-54625002893411993422012-08-01T12:00:00.000+01:002012-08-03T22:02:29.063+01:00Intelligent Design!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I can't believe that anyone can watch this amazing machine fitted within a cell and come to a conclusion other than it has been thought about, designed and made. The designer? No other than the creator of the universe: Our Father God! </div>
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"I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made, your works are wonderful, I know that full well!" (Psalm 139)</div>Question of Identityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15651248714592936545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-976332430521934585.post-45510170510518003472012-06-09T15:48:00.003+01:002012-06-09T15:49:35.055+01:00Bishop of London: In the Spirit of Jubilee<div style="text-align: left;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRCfBwNqV3tK9-DP1gqdnVrKu3hykjIBbG-o-v6gz_rYLzEK1eoqzV9cTWb6n3zPLWuwD7ixjSRazd3bZ-GqsGdPrV7ebmZ5vE0EErNkiwn6JX54BRP1p1j-5qa3sHR3TnZ49ySsZQXl12/s1600/Rt+Rev+Richard+Chartres.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRCfBwNqV3tK9-DP1gqdnVrKu3hykjIBbG-o-v6gz_rYLzEK1eoqzV9cTWb6n3zPLWuwD7ixjSRazd3bZ-GqsGdPrV7ebmZ5vE0EErNkiwn6JX54BRP1p1j-5qa3sHR3TnZ49ySsZQXl12/s1600/Rt+Rev+Richard+Chartres.jpg" /></a>“As we celebrate the Jubilee of our justly popular monarch, we have an opportunity to ask some wider questions in the spirit of Jubilee, to pause, look back and ask where we are as a nation, and where we are going.<br />
“Promiscuity, separation and divorce have reached epidemic proportions in our society. Perhaps, then, we shouldn’t be surprised that depression and the prescription of anti-depressants has reached a similarly epidemic level.<br />
“Literally millions of children grow up without knowing a stable, loving, secure family life - and that is not to count the hundreds of thousands more who don’t even make it out of the womb each year."</blockquote>
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Bishop Richard Chartre June 2012Question of Identityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15651248714592936545noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-976332430521934585.post-56121876965674273022012-05-30T13:17:00.002+01:002012-05-30T13:20:13.706+01:00Survival Of The Fittest<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</a>When the Darwin sign with a fish that was growing legs came out I thought it was quite humorous. This 'evolved' sign to me beats the original hands down! Hope my Darwinist Friends are not too offended! LOL</div>Question of Identityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15651248714592936545noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-976332430521934585.post-52624378773193263872012-05-29T12:59:00.000+01:002012-05-29T13:15:45.162+01:00Are You Willing to Die for a Lie? Another Piece of Jesus' Resurrection Jigsaw<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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"The only conclusion one can make is that this by no means can be considered as legend. Indeed this creed is an <strong>eyewitness account of the death and resurrection of Jesus. </strong><strong>This eye witness creed dates back to with a couple of years of Jesus' resurrection!"</strong></div>
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The above is how I concluded my last post. Having shown beyond reasonable doubt that Jesus' Apostles clearly taught that Jesus had died on the cross and risen from the dead, the only lingering doubt is whether they were telling the truth.<br />
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Clearly the Apostles knew the truth about whether Jesus did in fact die and rise again - they should have known - they were there!<br />
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The Apostles were teaching about the resurrection of Jesus only a few days after he had died. All of a sudden Peter (who was so frightened of the authorities that he three times denied he knew Jesus) was preaching with authority (and indeed <em>to</em> the authorities!) that he was risen!<br />
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But what if he was lying? Well the same authorities that put Jesus to death were still very much around to try to do the same to Peter. Indeed history records that both Peter and James (Jesus' brother) and many others who knew the truth about Jesus' resurrection did pay the ultimate price of death for their belief in a resurrected Jesus:<br />
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"Ananus who took the High Priesthood ... assembled the Sanhedren of judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus (who was called the Christ), whose name was James, and some of his companions; and when he had formed an accusation against them, he delivered them to be stoned" (The <em>Jewish</em> Historian Josephus: Antiquities of the Jews 20.9.1)</blockquote>
As I have already stated the likes of Peter and James (who are shown in my last post to be the most likely authors of the earliest creed about Jesus' death and resurrection) KNEW THE TRUTH! They KNEW if Jesus was dead they KNEW if Jesus had risen! If the latter is true, then they died for the truth. If the former is true then they had died for a blatant lie.<br />
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This leaves us with a fundamental question:<br />
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It is true to say that many people will die for something they<em> believe</em> to be true. But I have not met any sane person who would die for what they <em><strong>know to be a lie.</strong></em><br />
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DO YOU KNOW ANYONE WHO WOULD DIE FOR A LIE?<br />
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WOULD YOU DIE FOR A LIE? <br />
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It seems to me that the witnesses of Jesus' death were also witnesses of His resurrection! Yet another piece of my 1,000 + piece jigsaw in place!Question of Identityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15651248714592936545noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-976332430521934585.post-2280463130938881912012-05-20T22:55:00.002+01:002012-05-20T23:04:03.785+01:00The Resurrection of Jesus: Truth or Legend?<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsDjJF6BMrThBnq6cbR8kdITtBLxytSAOAnEyL8ljtmWV-CYEIpjUowJF3rIhfSbBI-o9kJ1XpklxtQdthiecQug5aglNFRlSOx7voQwMhJnB22bSwi3dbFzMEoheMMSqCyifPhSkBRlyH/s1600/jigsaw.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsDjJF6BMrThBnq6cbR8kdITtBLxytSAOAnEyL8ljtmWV-CYEIpjUowJF3rIhfSbBI-o9kJ1XpklxtQdthiecQug5aglNFRlSOx7voQwMhJnB22bSwi3dbFzMEoheMMSqCyifPhSkBRlyH/s320/jigsaw.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="http://www.beautyblogtalk.com/DermaWand.html">
</a>I have often referred to a jigsaw that builds a picture of the truth of who Jesus really is. My jigsaw has at least a 1,000 pieces. One piece of jigsaw in its own right could be very powerful in its revelation but will never be as powerful as the bigger picture. Here is one of those powerfully revealing pieces of jigsaw:</div>
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<span style="color: black;">"Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you have received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.</span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance</span><em><span style="color: black;">:</span> <strong>that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the twelve. After that he appeared to more than 500 of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles</strong></em><strong>,</strong><em> </em></span><span style="color: black;">and last of all he appeared to me." 1 Corinthians 15: 1 - 7</span></blockquote>
Why is this an important piece of the jigsaw? Well because a number of my friends believe that Jesus' resurrection is a legend, that it was made up many years after Jesus died, in the same way of the legendary activity of say Robin Hood or King Arthur. A Muslim friend and some of my blog readers believe this to be so.<br />
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Here lies the unbeliever's problem:<br />
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<li>The first is <em><strong>the media</strong></em> used in this document: Paul is writing a letter to his friends in Corinth. Not primarily to boast about the Cross and Resurrection but to tick off his friends for their ungodly conduct and to show people how to conduct themselves in church. Now I don't know about you, but I am not in the habit of (a) lying to my friends ('last of all he appeared to me') or (b) including legendary material as if it is real ... when I write to my friends.</li>
<li>Reputable neutral (non Christian!) <strong>scholars</strong> believe that this letter was indeed <strong>written by Paul</strong></li>
<li>Neutral (non Christian!) <strong>scholars</strong> date the letter around AD 55 only <strong>20 years after Jesus' death</strong>. This is in itself by definition doesn't leave sufficient time for 'legend' to be formed.</li>
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But the unbeliever's problem goes deeper! :<br />
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<span style="color: red;">"For what I received I passed onto you as of first importance."</span></blockquote>
You see Paul wrote this letter 20 years after Jesus' death - but he quite clearly <span style="color: red;">received</span> those words in red in in the first quote even earlier - most certainly a number of years earlier!<br />
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See what Paul wrote in Galations:<br />
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<span style="color: red;">Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem, to get aquainted with Peter and stayed with him fifteen days. I saw no other Apostles - only James the Lord brother. </span><span style="color: black;">Galations 1:18 - 19</span></blockquote>
It is most interesting that Peter and James are mentioned together as witnesses to the death and resurrrection and in the above letter to the Galations. Equally interesting is the Greek word 'historio' used in the Galations passage. <br />
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"This word ... shows this was an investigative inquiry. Paul was playing the role of an examiner, someone who was carefully checking this out." (The Case for Christ: Lee Strobel)</blockquote>
Almost certainly the words in red in the first quote is an early creed given by Peter and James themselves. <br />
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The only conclusion one can make is that this by no means can be considered as legend. Indeed this creed is an <strong>eyewitness account of the death and resurrection of Jesus.</strong> <strong>This eye witness creed dates back to with a couple of years of Jesus' resurrection!</strong><br />
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"If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9</div>
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What does it mean to confess that Jesus is Lord?<br />
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Surely in declaring Jesus as your Lord you are submitting your life into His hands. You are saying that you will do anything that Jesus asks. You are asking Jesus to rule, to reign over EVERY aspect of your life. It means that you have decided to follow Jesus in ALL of his ways . Such a confession means that you repent of (turn away from) all the stuff that you have been doing that God's Word declares you shouldn't do. It means that you have chosen to be 'Holy' - set apart from all worldy acts and values and desires.<br />
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When we confess 'Jesus is Lord' we are acknowledgeing our wrong doing before Him and asking Him by the power of the Holy Spirit to change us. Some of that change takes a life time (that is sanctification) but the desire to change is instant and therefore some changes are instant.<br />
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Quite often when I speak to people who are near to confessing that Jesus is Lord, there is one thing stopping them. It is the one thing that they are holding on to and desperate not to let go. Hearts have been convicted in the sense they know that one thing is wrong, they know or at least believe that the Bible says it is wrong, but they can't yet trust God to give it up. If this is you - at least you are counting the cost. Failure to count the cost will not end up in new birth but still birth.<br />
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If this is you, I urge you to submit to Jesus as Lord. He can not be your saviour until he is first your Lord. Whatever Jesus is asking you to forsake is for your own good and he will exchange the stuff that is not of God for blessings.<br />
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"Choose Life ... for the Lord is your life." Deuteronomy 30: 19, 20</blockquote>
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"I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family. But a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." John8: 34 - 36</blockquote>
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