Is the God of the Bible scary? Is it foolish to be an atheist?

Is the God of the bible scary? Should we fear him? Can you risk your eternal future by convincing yourself that God does not exist? These are questions of enormous significance! We at Seek the Truth Bible Media suggest that you would be very unwise to ignore them. Have a listen and let us know what you think. 

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Are you worried about expiry dates?

I watched a lady in a supermarket buying her groceries. She lifted a packet from the front of the display and examined it. She replaced it but then began moving other similar packets so that she had access to those at the back of the shelf. One of these was selected and similarly examined and then placed in her shopping trolley. Being inquisitive I went to that shelf and examined two packets, one from the front and the other from the rear of the shelf and I discovered what she was doing. She wanted a packet that had the longest retention period according to the expiry date. Those at the back of the shelf could be kept for a longer time than those at the front.

The expiry date printed on goods has become most important. In a former generation this was unheard of and people used their common sense to decide if a product was fit for consumption or not. It seems that today we need to have everything pointed out to us, even though much appears to be very obvious.

The most precious commodity that a person possesses is his or her eternal soul. This is the real person that dwells in the body of clay. That body may die and be buried but the soul goes on to eternity and exists in either heaven or hell for evermore. At the dawn of human history sin entered into the world and has affected everyone. "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" Romans 3.23. To have one’s soul saved from God’s judgment is the greatest blessing and comfort any person can know. King Hezekiah said of God, "Thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for Thou hast cast all my sins behind Thy back" Isaiah 38.17.

To permit God to forgive our sins and thus save our souls on a righteous basis, God Himself had to work. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved" John 3.16,17. The Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, suffered for sins upon the cross of Calvary and all who accept Him as Lord and Saviour will be saved and ready for His return. However, God has put an expiry date on this offer of salvation, a date that is known only to Himself, but we do know the offer will be withdrawn when the Lord Jesus comes again and takes every saved person to heaven. To ensure that we get salvation before the expiry date we need to take heed to the message and prepare for His coming. We do not know when that will take place but we do know that "now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation" 2Corinthians 6.2. Dear reader, do not delay and leave the salvation of your soul until it is too late, but "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved" Acts 16.31.

Reproduced with permission from the Editors of Assemble Testimony

'God is faithful' (1 Corinthians 1.9 -the Bible)

"TRUTH TO TRUST"

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Why do we have a sense of justice?

We now live in a society where the general opinion about whether things are right or wrong can at times be vague.

I believe that, in the Bible, God has given us clear information about what is right and what is wrong. There is a reality about things being just or unjust.

Here are some things to consider:

·      Why do children cry “that’s not fair” or “it’s not right”!

·      Is there is an inbuilt awareness of fairness in a child!

·      Why is it common for people to have a really well developed feeling for what is right and what is        wrong?

The Bible gives us the explanation. It teaches that God “has written His law in our hearts”. God gave us this inbuilt awareness of right and wrong. Holy scripture (the Bible) teaches that we have a conscience. It teaches that we have an inbuilt knowledge within ourselves and a knowledge about ourselves. We automatically can clarify the reality of the rightness or wrongness of the things that we say, feel and do.

For example, most of us feel impulsively that to tell blatant lies is wrong. We instinctively know that to remove property that belongs to someone else is wrong. The Bible teaches these principles but somehow we know them to be true! Is that significant or co-incidental?

The ‘ten commandments’ teach that you shouldn’t steal, you shouldn’t lie, and that you shouldn’t take somebody else’s wife and so on. The list defines prohibitions as well as teaching positive things that we should do. Things like loving God with all your heart and with all your soul and all your mind (and Jesus summarized the rest by saying “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” – Matthew 22:39).

You may say to yourself, “I’m not really sure why we all know those things?” Let me come back to what the Bible says - God has planted within us an awareness of right and wrong. Just look across society for a moment. People are very interested in equal rights and equal opportunities. We are very concerned that disabled people are cared for, that ethnic minorities aren’t disadvantaged, that there is religious freedom, freedom of thought and freedom of belief. We campaign for the rights of the unborn child plus we debate people’s rights for free speech. Public behavior is monitored ensuring that people do not overreach themselves and inflict damage on other people or their property. In all of this we try to balance the rights of a society to be free and yet free of criminal activities.

These things are right. I believe we are like this in society because God has implanted in us an awareness of things that are very important to Him - a consciousness of right and wrong and of the realities of living in a way that is fair and equitable. God describes Himself as a just, as well as righteous, doing right. He is a God of light; God is love, a God who is eternal and a God who is all-knowing!

We wouldn’t know these things if God hadn’t revealed them to us in the Bible. This is why the Bible is such a key book for us to read. In fact it is God’s message to humanity and it’s an amazing thing that we have it so freely available despite some societies today that still restrict access to the Word of God.

Let me leave you with a statement from the Bible, the Bible says this, “For Christ also has once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God”, 1 Peter 3:18. This verse is saying that if God was being just, if God was being fair He would punish is for our sin, He would penalize us, He would judge us for breaking His law because we are guilty. But the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came into the world and suffered for sins to bring us to God. He personally suffered the penalty for sin by dying for us. Three days later He was brought up back to life. His resurrection is sufficient evidence that the price for sin was fully paid. His resurrection establishes that you can take advantage of salvation. You do this by confessing your sin (to God, not a religious representative) and asking God to forgive you. You are effectively asking for God’s blessing upon your life.

I wonder if you would take advantage of a God’s offer of salvation today. Will you come to Him for forgiveness and rest upon Him for salvation? You can know what it is to be forgiven and saved.

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved – the Bible, Acts 16:31

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Les femmes d’Alger (version O)

Spanish artist, Pablo Picasso’s painting ‘Les femmes d’Alger (version O)’ was sold at Christies auction in New York, for a record $174 million dollars. This breath-taking amount of money was arrived at by bid increments of $500.000 dollars! Only a minute percentage of the world’s population could contemplate let alone participate in such a purchase. It was one of 24 lots of artwork sold that evening which brought in over $700 million dollars; the auction houses' 12.5% fees were rich pickings. The anonymous purchaser/s of this painting will have to adopt a fail-safe electronic security system to protect this investment for insurance purposes, whether it is on display or locked away in a vault. The majority of people can only imagine what it would mean to own such a valuable possession.

When I saw the painting displayed on television and some newspapers, the first thought I had was what was going through the artist’s mind when he put brush to canvas? If this painting carried the title ‘Breasts and Buttocks’ presented on a geometric design I could understand what he was imagining as he worked with the oils on this expensive form of cubist grafity. The scripture says in Proverbs ch.27 , “Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats: For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he”.

Baby Pablo was baptized a Catholic but later became an atheist. Wikipedia gives a historical view of the man and his work, one paragraph reads, ‘Picasso painted mostly from imagination or memory'. According to William Rubin, Picasso "could only make great art from subjects that truly involved him ... Unlike Matisse, Picasso had eschewed models virtually all his mature life, preferring to paint individuals whose lives had both impinged on, and had real significance for, his own." Arthur Danto said Picasso's work constitutes a "vast pictorial autobiography" that provides some basis for the popular conception that "Picasso invented a new style each time he fell in love with a new woman". The artist’s promiscuity probably occupied his mind while working on this canvas of multiple bare bosoms.

Good storytellers also have great imaginations as they paint pictures with words, creating vivid images in the hearers’ mind as they listen to the story. Jesus was brilliant with His parables, opening the minds of His hearers, using the parable like a window to let the light in. He said in Luke 12:22, “Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment. Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls? And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit? If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest? Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?” He asked his hearers to visualise in their mind’s eye the ravens and the common lilies of the field. The ravenous birds did not produce their food by sowing and reaping; God gave it to them. The lilies did not toil in labour or spin and yet they are clothed with more glory (creatoral beauty and fragrance) than Solomon.

When Paul wrote to the Romans he said, “Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.” When a person turns away from God their mind is open to receive all manner of corrupt things and what is dwelt upon in the mind soon becomes evident in their behaviour. Debauched imaginations soon become debauched behaviour, which God will judge.
King David said to Solomon his son in 1 Chronicles 28:9, “And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.”

Try to imagine what Heaven is like and try to imagine what an eternity in Hell will be like! God wants you to be saved and go to Heaven, you can be sure of this by asking God to forgive your sin and give you eternal life. God bless.

Written by a guest blogger for FTMP. 
For more information go to www.seekthetruth.co.uk. 

This book is priceless! The bible is timeless, full of wisdom and the final authority for life and eternity!

For more information visit www.seekthetruth.org.uk