Saturday Sights - Harrogate

Up @ 0730

Showered, shaved, hair cut, ironed my shirt and headed to Harrogate for a day studying the bible with a group of young people, plus some older ones as well. 

Arrived 1100

Coffee and Cake. It's amazing to see forty or so young people who gave up a day to study the bible. Some had driven 200 miles to come. Their enthusiasm and keenness is exemplary. 

First Session - 1130 to 1300

We looked at what the bible has to say about the Lord Jesus Christ in his pre-incarnate state. That is, we addressed the question - Did Jesus exist before Bethlehem, what was he doing, is it significant to Christians? We discovered that Jesus claimed prior existence (John 6, 8 & 13). That he (Jesus) is the Creator (John 1:1-3, Col 1:15, Hebrews 1:1-3), he sustains the universe and all life and that he appeared physically to people at certain stages in history prior to becoming a man in AD 4 (see Genesis 18:1-33, Genesis 32:24-32, Joshua 5:13-15, Judges 13:2-21 & Daniel 3:25). 

Lunch - 1300 to 1430

A lovely lunch was provided. Hot food and very healthy puddings!!

Second Session - 1430 to 1540

In this session we discussed the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ. We looked at things such as what did the Lord Jesus do on earth, what was he like, why did he come?

We discovered that the Bible claims that he was the Son of God and yet he was a very real man.

Here are some of the main points of our discussion:

1. Jesus revealed God in the flesh - 1 Timothy 3:16, Colossians 2:9. 

2. Jesus display the glory and honour that is seen in perfect humanity – Hebrews 2:9.

3. Jesus learned obedience in life and came to the goal of perfection by his experiences in life. We discovered that it was not that he was ever imperfect but there are some experiences that he could never have had in heaven. So in life in underwent experiences which he had to have so that he could understand the plight of humanity - Hebrews 2:10 & 5:7-9.

5. He fulfilled the prophecy of the Old Testament Scriptures - Matthew 1:22, 27:35.

6. He displayed the love and kindness of God – Titus 3:4.

7. He demonstrated the power of God by his miracles thus supporting his claims to be God - Acts 10:38, Acts 2:22, Matthew 17:5.

8. He proved by his life that he was without sin, perfect and therefore the right and only one to qualify to be the Saviour of the world – Isaiah 42:1, Hebrews 7:26.

9. By his sacrifice on the cross, at Calvary, he purchased redemption and provided salvation - Colossians 1:22, Titus 2:13.

10. Jesus, by his death, destroyed Satan and rendered him ultimately powerless - Hebrews 2:14.

11. Jesus delivered those, who were in personal slavery through fear of death, by his death on the cross – Hebrews 2:15.

12. The Lord Jesus Christ upheld and maintained God's holiness – Romans 3:26.

13. The end result of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ is to bring many sons to glory i.e. Heaven  – Hebrews 2:10.

We then with very briefly looked at some sample verses which illustrated the fact that the Lord Jesus was a very real man. The Bible says in John 4:6 that he was weary with his journey, it says in Matthew 8:24 that he was asleep on the boat, it states in John 19: 28 that he was thirsty and in Matthew 4:2 it details the fact that he was hungry. All these things illustrate the fact that though Jesus was the Son of God he was also a very real man.

Coffee Break - 1540 to 1600

Final Session - 1600 to 1700

This final section was all about what Jesus is doing today. The Bible teaches that he died on the cross. He then rose from the dead three days later. 40 days after this he returned to heaven.

We looked at what he did immediately upon returning to heaven.......

If you are interested and wish the details of this part of the talk please contact me at stepcar61@gmail.com and I will send them to you.

This is a very interesting part of the talk because it explains what the Lord Jesus is doing today for Christians in heaven. This should really interest you if you are a Christian. I would be more than happy to send you the details.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Stephen 

Meet & Greet - Eve meets the Devil

A bible message from Seek the Truth Bible Media. Meet & Greet - Eve meets the Devil. http://youtu.be/baUFp-eWBbo

Deception

The German automobile manufacturer Volkswagen has sunk into its most serious criminal charge of ‘aggravated deception’. Lawsuits are being raised in a number of countries such as America, Canada, Italy and France for the mal-practice of tinkering with their cars and vans computer. Computers in certain makes and models were adapted to cheat an exhaust emission test reading when being tested on a rolling road. When the vehicle returned to normal road use the computer flicked a component that permitted nitrogen oxide to pollute the atmosphere up to 40 times above the legal limit. This was done to give higher fuel economy and alleged cleaner emissions to enhance car popularity and increase sales. 11 Million cars worldwide are affected.

Repercussions from these revelations have caused the company boardroom to be shaken up and their CEO Martin Winterkorn to resign, and German Prosecutors have opened an investigation against him.

BBC News reported that German chancellor Mrs Merkel said on Sunday that the carmaker now needed to provide the "necessary transparency". "It is of course a dramatic event which is not good….But I think the reputation of German industry... is not so shaken that we are no longer considered a good place to do business."

VW’s stock value has dropped 40% in the past week and bankruptcy is a real threat. This would send shock waves through the German economy and World Stock markets.

The polluting of the atmosphere has more serious consequences than loss of money, it causes loss of life!  ‘To lose one’s wealth is much! To lose one’s health is more! To lose one’s soul in Hell is something no one can restore!’

The Detroit News in their Business Section wrote ‘Volkswagen’s pollution-control chicanery has not just been victimless tinkering, killing between five and 20 people in the United States annually in recent years, according to an Associated Press statistical and computer analysis.’    

BBC News reported on Sept. 29^th. ‘Olaf Lies, a Volkswagen board member and economy minister of Lower Saxony has told Newsnight some staff acted criminally over emission cheat tests.

He said the people who allowed the deception to happen or who installed the software that allowed certain models to give false emissions readings must take personal responsibility.

He also said the board only found out about the problems at the last meeting.

About 11 million diesel engine cars are affected by the problem.

Mr Lies told the BBC: "Those people who allowed this to happen, or who made the decision to install this software - they acted criminally. They must take personal responsibility."

He said: "We only found out about the problems in the last board meeting, shortly before the media did. I want to be quite open. So we need to find out why the board wasn't informed earlier about the problems when they were known about over a year ago in the United States."

This VW Board member has an unfortunate surname in attempting to exonerate the Board and implicate others.

I learn from Matthew’s Gospel (ch.28:12 to 15) that large money can produce large lies, “And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers, Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept. And if this come to the governor’s ears, we will persuade him, and secure you. So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.”

The Jews who crucified Christ did not want the truth to come out that He had risen from the dead and was no longer in the tomb.

The Devil (Diabolus: – Deceiver, slanderer) was busy in the Garden of Eden. 1Tim.2:13 reads, “For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.”  Eve was duped by the devil to disobey God, which Adam did also and sin came into the world. “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.” (Rom.5:12)

There are numerous recordings in the Bible of people deceiving others and those who were deceived. Jacob is a prime example of a person who practised deception. He deceived his father Isaac to obtain the firstborn’s blessing. Thousands since have deceived their parents, they have lied to them to achieve their own will without thought of the consequences. Jacob’s deception affected his brother Esau who swore that he would kill Jacob and their mother Rebecca was implicated in sending Jacob away to her family in Syria. While in Haran in Syria, he married Laban’s daughters. He served Laban for Seven years in order to marry Rachel but when the time came for her to be given to him, Laban decived him and gave him Leah. He served Laban another seven years for Rachel. Laban deceived Jacob, Jacob deceived Laban, Rachel deceived her father. What a web of deception that family wove and the issues are stll running between Arab and Jew. Thankfully God changed Jacob’s character at Jabok when he beame ‘Israel’, not only a name change but his life changed for the better and the future blessing of that nation in a coming day.

Galatians 6:7 is a timely warning, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” We might think that we can deceive others and possibly deceive ourselves but we cannot deceive God, the concequences of our sin we shal answer to God for, and where shall we stand in that day?

When a person trusts Jesus Christ to be their Saviour all the guilt of past sin is dealt with through the death of Christ on the cross. 1John1:7 says, “The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”  Are you a believer or are you deceived? 

God bless.

Written by a guest blogger

#National Poetry Day

#National Poetry Day - A Christian poem of great note. 

http://bible.com/1/1ti.3.16.kjv

OLD TESTAMENT POETRY

GENESIS 49 - Jacob - one of the Fathers of the Nation of Israel - on his deathbed

EXODUS 15 - The Song of Israel post Egypt

NUMBERS 24:16-19 - Balaams prediction in poem

THE POETRY SECTION OF SCRIPTURE

Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Solomon, Ecclesiasties

Job 14

“"Man, who is born of woman, Is short-lived and full of turmoil. "Like a flower he comes forth and withers. He also flees like a shadow and does not remain. "You also open Your eyes on him And bring him into judgment with Yourself. "Who can make the clean out of the unclean? No one! "Since his days are determined, The number of his months is with You; And his limits You have set so that he cannot pass. "Turn Your gaze from him that he may rest, Until he fulfills his day like a hired man. "For there is hope for a tree, When it is cut down, that it will sprout again, And its shoots will not fail. "Though its roots grow old in the ground And its stump dies in the dry soil, At the scent of water it will flourish And put forth sprigs like a plant. "But man dies and lies prostrate. Man expires, and where is he? " As water evaporates from the sea, And a river becomes parched and dried up, So man lies down and does not rise. Until the heavens are no longer, He will not awake nor be aroused out of his sleep. "Oh that You would hide me in Sheol, That You would conceal me until Your wrath returns to You, That You would set a limit for me and remember me! "If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my struggle I will wait Until my change comes. "You will call, and I will answer You; You will long for the work of Your hands. "For now You number my steps, You do not observe my sin. "My transgression is sealed up in a bag, And You wrap up my iniquity.”

Job 14:1-17 NASB

http://bible.com/100/job.14.1-17.nasb

NEW TESTAMENT POETRY

LUKE 1:46-55 The Magnificat - A Poem by Mary, the mother of Jesus

1 TIMOTHY 3:16

An early church poem summarising their belief about Jesus. 

To get in touch or for more information visit www.seekthetruth.org.uk

Are you being fooled?

People love being fooled! Illusionists like Harry Houdini was a star a century ago, and even today his successors such as David Copperfield, David Blaine, Steven Frayne, etc., fascinate millions. People know that they are being deceived by these entertainers, but they adore it!

When I was a teenager, we had a neighbour called Mr. Tolly, a retired electrician. He was originally a Londoner, who as a young man worked in the very theatre in London where Harry Houdini performed. Mr. Tolly took a keen interest in how Houdini constructed and prepared his props, with all their secret compartments and hidden escape devices. Then, years later, he entertained our village by doing his own escapes from locked boxes; escaping from handcuffs, etc., at the local miners’ galas.

Harry ‘Handcuffs’ Houdini was a Hungarian-American illusionist and stunt performer, who had originally come to fame for his escapes from police handcuffs. Actually the illusionist had studied locks all his life and had an encyclopedic knowledge of handcuffs. When challenged he looked at the cuffs and knew exactly what kind of key he needed to open them. His assistant then got the necessary key from Houdini’s huge collection and passed it to Houdini who hid it on his person, usually in his mouth. Having distracted the onlookers, he got the key out and opened the handcuffs – simple! As time went on he extended his repertoire to include chains; ropes slung from skyscrapers; straitjackets under water, and having to escape from and hold his breath inside a sealed milk churn.

One of Houdini’s famous deceptions was ‘The Hanging Straitjacket Escape’. Houdini usually performed this out on the street in front of the venue where he was performing, suspended from a crane above the gathered crowd. He had previously been tightly strapped into a straitjacket in front of the crowd and also had his ankles bound. A crane lifted him up so that the audience could see what he did, re-enforcing the impression that there was no trick to the feat and he escaped by magic. Houdini himself revealed how he escaped from such straitjackets in his 1910 book called Handcuff Escapes. The secret was creating plenty of slack in the jacket as it was strapped on. As the jacket was brought around the back, Houdini moved his arms outwards to loosen material around his chest. Houdini then held on to this slackened material, and as the jacket was buckled at the back, Houdini took a huge breath to expand his chest. Once the jacket was in place, Houdini had plenty of wiggle room. He trained and trained at this trick until he became so proficient that he reduced his escape time from half an hour to three minutes.

All his other tricks had similar explanations, even the one where he appeared to move through a solid brick wall. What he himself called ‘the best escape that I have ever invented’ was getting out of a padlocked milk churn filled with water. Of course the churn was tampered with on the inside, so that he could easily escape! Read more at http://listverse.com/2014/11/02/10-secrets-to-harry-houdinis-greatest-illusions/.

Of all the deceivers there have ever been, or ever will be, the devil is the greatest. Do you realize that today, as far as the gospel is concerned, the devil has ‘blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ’, 2 Corinthians 4. 4. People think that they make up their own minds about the good news of Christ. However, the Bible also says that, before they were saved, even Christians ‘walked according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience’, Eph. 2. 2. The devil is busy in today’s world deceiving people. From the beginning of time until the end of time, the devil has and will do this, Rev. 12. 9; 13. 14; until one day he will be locked away and will ‘deceive the nations no more’, Revelation 20. 3. In the meantime is he deceiving you as to the reality of sin, righteousness and judgment?

Why not trust Christ as your Saviour today and stop being taken in by the devil’s lies?

For more information visit www.seekthetruth.org.uk