My week

Having a great week so far. We are running a Holiday Bible Club in Huyton, Liverpool. 25 plus children in, in total. The most is 20 in any one day. The Lord Jesus said "suffer the little children to come unto me". He still invites them to come not just for fun but also for forgiveness. Jesus also said "Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven". What about it - could you trust Him as a child trusts a parent? He is trustworthy.




For more posts and info visit www.seekthetruth.org.uk

Location:Queens Drive Walton,Liverpool,United Kingdom

Finding your life

Doctor Luke always tells it as it is! In fact the truth is, that's the way Jesus taught and Luke is just being an honest reporter. In this talk we are confronted with the fact that our lives are fast running away from us. Death faces us all. The only solution is the gift of God which is eternal life through Jesus Christ. Not easy listening but I pray that it will be for your good.

https://soundcloud.com/seekthetruthpodcast/dr-lukes-diaries-luke-17-part-2-the-saving-plan




For more posts and info visit www.seekthetruth.org.uk

Location:Liverpool

Get on your bike!

A couple of weeks ago I decided to be energetic and go out for a ride on my push bike. This is quite something as I have not been on the bike for years despite constantly promising myself that I will get around to it. There is a lesson there about procrastination but I'll not go there!

I really enjoyed the ride. The first part was a bit scary! To be honest getting on the bike wasn't. Cycling on the road was! Cars swished past and buses put me under pressure by slowing down and revving their engines until it was safe to pass. That tells you how long it has been since I rode a bike on a main road! I am glad that my wife wasn't there to watch as she would have been panicking and shouting instructions. "Keep in", "slow down", you're wobbling", "why don't you get off and walk" would no doubt have been in cacophony of comments.

To be honest my intention was to go off the main roads and cycle through Croxteth Country Park. This is a lovely country estate near to where I live. It is literally on my doorstep which is why, as is customary, I only visit it once in a while. Isn't strange how we do not take advantage of facilities on our doorsteps but when we are on holiday we seek out all these lovely places and say 'we should do this type of thing more often". I feel another speech coming on about 'time management" and "making time for leisure" but again I'll restrain myself as it could be deemed hypocritical.

The route through the Country Park must be a couple of miles long. No problem to an experienced cyclist like myself, says he panting and wheezing. I actually really enjoyed myself and wasn't out of breath too often. As I approached the main entrance to the Park in West Derby Village I stopped for a breather. Now as you will know we miss a lot of interesting things when we are speeding (not literally I hope) from place to place. Life is lived at far too fast a pace and we often don't take time to look around us never mind to think about what we see.

I spotted this memorial on the wall.   "1939 - 1945, To the memory of the men, women and children of West Derby who gave their lives for their country in the World War". In a sentence we have covered the living and premature dying of many souls. They died to give us freedom and as a result they lost theirs. We really should be more grateful!

At risk of you thinking that I am wandering off the subject can I close by reminding you of another sacrifice that was made to give us freedom. Don't click close yet, this is majorly important. I am asking you to think of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

He gave His life, voluntarily so that we could be:

1. free from the power of sin in our lives today;
2. be in heaven on the other side of death and be free from the presence of sin;
3. free from the penalty and punishment for sin when we stand before God.

Put simply the Bible states that "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" (the Bible, 1 Timothy 1:15)

The old hymn says "He died that we might be forgiven, He died to make us good, that we might go one day to heaven saved by His precious blood"

I took a long time to get on my bike, how long will you take to face the truth.

Thanks for reading this, Stephen

This blog was posted by Seek the Truth Bible Media. For more information or to contact us please visit www.seekthetruth.org.uk.

21st Century Ocular Disease

This is a transcript of a podcast (Seek The Truth Bible Media Podcast Transcript 19/6/14), which can be listened to through www.seekthetruth.org.uk. Seek the Truth is a Bible Media site bringing to our audience “Truth u can Trust” exclusively from the Bible. Our aim is to not only to explain the Bible but more specifically to introduce people to the person of Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. You may find this hard to get your head around but the Lord Jesus can be known personally in your life, but more of that will be explained as we go along.

One of the items we are currently working on is a series called ‘Dr Luke’s Diaries’. Dr Luke was a Physician who recorded stories about the life of Jesus. Ernest Renan (1823-92), the French Philosopher, historian and scholar of religion is recorded as saying about the gospel of Luke “Le plus beau livre qu’il ait”. My French is not too good but the English translation of this phrase is “the most beautiful book that exists”.

Historians tell us that Dr Luke is great historian, Today we are looking at Chapter 18 which describes an incident about the healing of a blind man.

Luke ch 18 v35-43 “ A blind Man Receives his sight”

“As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord, I want to see,” he replied.  Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.”

This is a fantastic and yet in one way you could say an unbelievable passage. If I were to come to you today and say “I made a blind man see” you would be quite right to tell me that I was out of order, it doesn’t happen.... It’s IMPOSSIBLE.

But if I was to tell you about a man who, through various means and ways had clearly established that he was God visiting this world you might well say then ‘That’s PLAUSIBLE’

A Christian believes, very strongly, that the evidence for this is on the surface of scripture, the Bible. In terms of history there are many predictions (Prophecy’s) that were made hundreds of years before Jesus fulfilled them. Evidence of the authenticity of the Bible records has been proven by science, archaeology, geography and many more disciplines. All of this stacks up to convince Christians that Jesus is the Son of God and the Bible is the word of God.

Our passage from Luke’s gospel is a lovely incident and a true account where a man who was blind called on Jesus and Jesus gave him his sight back. We understand this firstly as a literal story; it actually happened and is part of the portfolio of evidence that Jesus is the Son of God.

These incidents are not just written to teach us that Jesus can heal the physical body but also to demonstrate that if He has miraculous power to deal with physical matters then we will be more likely to believe when He claims that He can deal with a person’s soul in matters relating to sin and God. Sin has put blindness in our hearts, a darkness in our souls and put us at a distance from God.

The lesson is that if Jesus can heal the outside he can heal the inside too. He deals with the physical as well as the spiritual.

We are all spiritually blind and needy but the Lord Jesus Christ is available to us, the Bible says His words are close to us if we would call out to Him. “Call upon the name of the Lord and you shall be saved”, Romans 10:13.

Christ died for our sins; He bore God’s punishment so that we might be forgiven. If we recognise that Jesus is the Son of God, confess to God that we are sinful and need His cleansing and forgiveness and cry out to Him then He will save us.

Then it could be said of you:

“ Your faith has made thee whole”

We trust that the Lord will richly bless you. Please check out seekthetruth.org.uk for more podcasts blogs and videos. Thank you for reading this.

Disappearance

The news media frequently reports stories of people and things that have disappeared or gone missing. Often these stories run for a while as explanations are sought or the lost is found. We can think of children who have inexplicably disappeared; in Northern Ireland some, who seemingly have been abducted by terrorists, are termed ‘the disappeared’; recently an aircraft left Malaysia to go to China and it mysteriously disappeared. Some of these stories, while unexplainable, hold a certain fascination as we try to understand the whys and wherefores.

For a Christian believer the greatest disappearance of all is that of sins. The Word of God, the Holy Bible, states, “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” John 1.29. Undoubtedly, the greatest problem the world ever faced was that of sin. All other problems, whether family, financial, physical, may affect some people, but sin affects us all. Every other difficulty is the result of sin and none can escape its consequences. This is what the Bible declares, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” Romans 5.12. Notice the word ‘all’ is mentioned twice. We cannot escape this truth.

It may be reasoned that if we are all in the same situation, why worry? That kind of reasoning would hardly have been a comfort to those who were on the aircraft that disappeared! It would not have helped those who were drowned when the famous ship ‘Titanic’ went below the icy waters!

The reason why you need to worry is this: “Because He [God] hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead” Acts 17.31. If we are to escape the judgment of God against our sins, then our sins have to disappear. This can only happen on one basis: “… the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin” 1John 1.7. It was wonderful of God to send His own Son into this world to die on the cross of Calvary for sinners: “But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” Romans 5.8. When we accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Saviour, God has promised, “… their sins and iniquities will I remember no more” Hebrews 10.17.

For all whose sins have been banished, there is another disappearance that to them is delightful. The Saviour has promised, “… I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” John 14.3. The apostle Paul records in his letter to the young church in Thessalonica, “For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” 1Thessalonians 4.16,17.

National and international events, natural and physical calamities, increasing immorality and vice, cruelty and violence all point to the fact that Jesus Christ is coming again. We do not know when, but we believe it will be soon and then all those whose sins have been cleansed, will be snatched away to heaven to be forever with the Lord. What a glorious prospect! Unfortunately, it is not shared by all. Those whose sins are not forgiven will be left for the judicial dealings of God. Little wonder we are instructed, “Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh” Matthew 24.44.

This blog was written by a Guest Blogger. For more blogs, podcasts or videos explaining "Truth u Can Trust" or to get in touch visit Seek the Truth Bible Media at www.seekthetruth.org.uk

Achievers

‘Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm’ (Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays, Circles)

Plenty of enthusiasm has been displayed by footballers at the #World Cup in #Brazil and some have over achieved and others under achieved. National teams from England, Italy, Spain and Portugal all under achieved and returned home early and disappointed in not progressing to the final. Some teams in the last eight have over achieved, such as Colombia, who have surprised the pundits with their attacking style of football.

The tennis grand slam at #Wimbledon has highlighted the talent of a young Australian player, named #Nick Kyrgios. He turned professional in 2013 winning the Australian Junior title and other tournaments before being wild-carded to Wimbledon. Ranked 144. The greatest achievement that this teenager has accomplished to date is defeating World No.1 Raphael Nadal to reach the quarterfinals of the competition, immediately improving his ranking to below 100. His aim is to be the World’s No.1, which would be a great achievement.

Wilbur and Orville Wright progressed from designing, building and selling bicycles, to designing and building the first powered aeroplane that flew in 1903 in Kitty Hawk U.S.A. Some of their design work is still used in modern aircraft. Little did they realise over one hundred years ago, what their achievement would develop into, a multi-billion dollar aircraft industry and billions of worldwide air-travellers every year.

Pioneering by other remarkable people in exploration and mountaineering, or, in the sphere of medicine and surgery, in science and technology could occupy reams of print. Wikipedia reports on the discovery of the World Wide Web, ‘Tim Berners-Lee, a British computer scientist and former CERN employee, is considered the inventor of the Web. On March 12, 1989, he wrote a proposal for what would eventually become the World Wide Web’. That comparatively recent achievement opened up an instant communication system available to any person living anywhere in the world. We know that some have achieved wealth by developing computer systems, such as Bill Gates, and have used some of that wealth to fund a philanthropic foundation which was set up to meet the needs of disadvantaged people throughout the world. 

There is one thing that man has never achieved and this is the all important matter of bringing a person back from the dead. To be honest one man did, Jesus Christ,  but we shouldn't be surprised that he did as he is the Son of God. When He was living on the earth he said concerning his life, “No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again”, John 10:18

Christ was talking about the cross and voluntarily laying down His life, and then on the third day coming out of death and vacating the tomb, showing Himself alive to many witnesses.

King Solomon said in Eccl. 8:8, “There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it.” Everyone of us knows that we are going to die, But When? We shall all enter eternity, But Where? We shall all stand before God, But How? I wonder if you have asked yourself these questions? If not, then you should, because the outcome is the most important thing that you will face. Heaven or Hell?

When Paul wrote to the Christians at Philippi he said, “Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,  And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus”, Philippians 3:8-14.  

He expressed enthusiasm in what he wanted to achieve, he wanted to show himself approved unto God by serving the Lord more acceptably than he had done before. When he came to the end of his life he wrote to Timothy, “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing”, 2 Tim 4:6-8. 

Tradition tells us that Paul’s life ended in Rome with his head on the executioner’s block. Some might ask what he achieved in his life? A short answer to that question would be he pioneered the gospel in Asia and Europe and wrote fourteen Books of the twenty seven in the New Testament. His life and work has impacted upon millions of lives who have believed, and many more yet through the World Wide Web, reading his writings will be saved. Paul’s ultimate achievement will be realised at the Jugement Seat of Christ where he will receive the rewards for serving the best of Masters, the Lord Jesus Christ. Did you notice what he said, “and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”  Yes, he means you! You may not have believed yet but you can today and start on the achievers’ pathway to Heaven and home.  How enthusiastic are you about this?  God bless.

Prepared by a Guest Blogger

Email me with any questions to stepcar61@gmail.com or visit Seek The Truth Bible Media web page for more 'Truth u Can Trust'.

Street Names in Liverpool - Water Street originally called Bonk Street

Water Street was originally called - Bonk Street (it ran up the "bonk" in Lancashire dialect, the bonk of the river i.e. the bank), eventually became Bank Street and then Water Street. It’s one of Liverpool’s oldest streets and it was the main approach from the river, at the foot of which travellers landed on the sandy seashore of the town, from the monks’ ferry at Birkenhead, or from Ireland. Later, the Talbot, a coaching in, crowned the top of the slope where the Bank of Liverpool was later to replace it. On either sides, little lanes and alleys, forerunners of the town’s notorious courts, ran between wretched houses alongside butchers’ shambles. At the foot of the street, guarding the place of embarkation, lay the strong thick walls of the tower, built initially as the residence of the powerful Stanley family but converted after 1413 into a place of strength. During the Royalist seige of Liverpool by Prince Rupert, the tower was used as the parliamentary headquarters and later as a prison for French captives during the Napoleonic wars, by which time it was "so ill suited and disorganised that debtors mixed with criminals in the grossest and most wretched conditions, and gaol fever was rarely absent". It was finally demolished in l820 and a set of new offices - the Tower Buildings - erected in its place. This information can be found on the BBC website http://www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool/localhistory/journey/scouse/city/waterst.shtml.

It is interesting to learn about where we get our street names from. History can fascinating especially when we discover the reason why a certain place gained it's name. The purpose for building a tower is to protect a place or a group of people. The first tower in the Bible was built by people trying to get to God (Genesis 11); it was an attempt at religion on man's terms and it failed. 

The Bible often uses the idea of a 'tower' as a place of safety and protection. God is described by King David in 2 Samuel 22:3 as a "my high tower, and my refuge, saviour". Repeatedly in the Bible we have references to God as a protector and a Saviour. 

How do you find it? Is God your protector? Is He your Saviour? Isaiah the prophet communicated the message of God to his generation. "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is none else", Isaiah 45:22. He offers to be this protection and salvation to you through His Son, Jesus Christ. 

For more information please e-mail me at stepcar61@gmail.com or visit my main Seek the Truth Bible Media page for "Truth u Can Trust" at www.seekthetruth.org.uk 

Did Jesus really believe in hell?

Dr Luke continues to tell us some of things that Jesus taught. This one is about hell. Is there really such a place? Well who better to let us know than Jesus, the Son of God. Creator of heaven and earth. Have a listen. I'm praying that God will speak to you through this.

https://soundcloud.com/seekthetruthpodcast/did-jesus-really-believe-in-hell?

Location:Liverpool