The most remarkable book in the world.

All photos used by courtesy of Unsplash 

The Bible is a remarkable book, we can even say totally unique.  It is divided into Old Testament, completed four hundred years before the birth of Jesus and the New Testament, completed by the end of the first century AD. The Old Testament has many strands of predictive prophecy and the most important of those predictions apply to the Lord Jesus.  It has been worked our that there are sixty prophecies focused  upon various aspects of Jesus including His birth, death, burial and resurrection. This is an amazing number and they came true in the minutest detail.

Sir James Simpson - Discovering meaning in life

All photographs courtesy of Unsplash

In  Bathgate, a town in Scotland, a boy was born in 1811.  His family were not wealthy, and his mother died when he was nine years old, but he went on to become one of the most famous doctors that has ever lived.  His name was James Simpson, and he was educated at the University of Edinburgh and trained as a doctor.

He attended the operating room soon after starting his medical training and the place was not as clean as it might be, and there were no gowns, masks or gloves worn by those doing the operation. The patient was terrified and had to be held down firmly on the table as the operation took place.  As the surgical knife was used, the screams of the patient echoed around the building as there were no anaesthetics in those days.  The sound of that distressed patient stayed with James Simpson, and he determined to see an end to such suffering and conscious surgery. 

He gained high qualifications in medicine and became a Professor at the University at the unusually young age of twenty-eight.  He had a thriving medical practice and was earning a lot of money, and as a lecturer, his ability was almost without equal.  He was just brilliant in all he did and used unique illustrations to interest students, and had a magnetic personality.  Students heard increasingly about his ability and crowded continually into his lecture rooms to hear him teach.  

Outwardly, everything was going so well, and he even seemed to be a Christian believer as he went to church.  Yet he knew he had no relationship with God, and his questions became very pointed when he saw his young daughter die of a serious illness, and he was helpless to save her life.  Yet he was more concerned with material and monetary aspects of daily living than the important spiritual concerns of the soul.  

In 1846, he heard of the anaesthetic called ether, which was discovered in America. It was tried in Scotland, but its dangers and disadvantages were so great that it was unsatisfactory.  James Simpson set about finding a viable alternative. After trying many, many drugs and recording their effects, he eventually hit upon chloroform.  To begin with, he did nothing with the sample he had obtained, but then he tried it out on himself and two colleagues, and it caused them to lose consciousness and collapse.  This was the discovery of the ‘better anaesthetic’ and was a great success.  It was first used on a mother in labour, and she was so excited by the less painful birth that she named her baby Anaesthesia.  James Simpson was now not only admired and rich but had national fame as the discoverer of chloroform as an anaesthetic.

Yet, for all his fame, fortune and celebrity status, he had not found peace of heart or a relationship with God. He saw his best friend, Dr. Reid, die in extreme pain but with a peacefulness which he envied and wanted to find for himself.  Eventually, it was an invalid woman, a firm Christian, whom he was treating, who showed him the way. She urged him to repent of sin and selfishness and seek Christ as the only Saviour of sinners.  It was on Christmas Day 1858 that James Simpson became a changed man, a new Christian, someone with a deep and real relationship with God.  

He used to say to his students, “In Christ, you will find a Saviour, a companion, a counsellor, a friend, a brother who loves you with a love greater than the human heart can conceive.”  He was later knighted and had royal approval for his discovery when Queen Victoria was attended by James Simpson and used chloroform during the birth of Prince Leopold.  Sir James Young Simpson died at the age of fifty-eight, and 2,000 people attended his funeral.  His final testimony was, “We can do nothing to wash away our guilt before God, but Christ has done all that is required.  Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.”  That can apply to us!

DAILY MESSAGES WITH MEANING (08/05/23)

Written by PAUL YOUNG 

Surviving on the Lusitania

 

In 1915, the Lusitania was the largest and fastest passenger in the world. It belonged to the Cunard Steamship Company and regularly sailed between Liverpool and New York, taking about a week each way.  

Edward (known as Teddy) Bond, then aged 40, was a cabin steward on the Lusitania, having worked on Cunard ships since he was a boy, and by then, he had worked his way up (via being a waiter) to the 1^st class cabin section, as had his father (also Edward) before him. Teddy had married his wife Mary in 1909, and the Bonds had, a few years before 1915, moved with their family into 29 Donaldson Street, a nice street with a Welsh chapel (now Crete Gospel Hall) at one end.

Jesus is alive - Fact or Fantasy?

In this article, I want to share with you five reasons I believe Jesus' resurrection actually took place. 

You can remember these five reasons with the acronym:

R.I.S.E.N.

The first reason I believe Jesus' resurrection is a fact of history is… 

1. The RISE of Christianity in Jerusalem

It is an accepted historical fact that the Christian faith (a religion built upon the preaching of the resurrection of its leader) originated in approximately A.D. 32 right in the very city of Jerusalem where Jesus had been publicly crucified and buried. This has been verified by historical sources outside the Bible. Now, this in itself is a good piece of evidence that the resurrection actually occurred. Why?

David & Goliath - Lucozade Advertising

Lucozade Energy goes back to biblical times by purporting to tell the sequel to the David and Goliath epic.

The campaign by Grey London puts the rift between the young shepherd and his adversary in a more modern context with a humorous film and hand-painted oil poster. In the ad, David wakes up feeling groggy and is reminded that he picked a fight with Goliath by calling him a giant. When Goliath comes to take his revenge, the shepherd boy takes a swig of Lucozade Energy before grabbing a sling and venturing out to conquer his colossal foe. The work was written by Jay Marlow and Rob Greaves, art directed by Henrik Ridderheim and Sam Daly, and directed by Harold Einstein through Outsider. 

17 scientists who believe in God (there are more)

All photos are courtesy of Unsplash 

Being a Christian is not necessarily an easy option. Believe it or not it takes backbone and courage to stick to what you believe when the majority of people disagree with you. It would often be easier to go with the flow and accept the status quo but to be truthful, that would be a betrayal of my conscience.

I often give public talks in Liverpool City Centre. Street preaching is not socially acceptable but it is legal as long as you don’t cause a breach of the peace or are inflammatory in the language that you use to express yourself. The downside is that you are exposing yourself to ridicule. If you take the liberty of expressing your views in public you have to be willing to listen to what other people have to say and be prepared to defend your viewpoint.

There is always a courteous way to present your point of view but it is important to be honest and above board so that people can trust what you say. In the holy scriptures, the apostle Paul was very keen to make it clear that he was never deceitful or crafty in the way he communicated the message of the gospel. This is what he says - ‘But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God,’ 2 Cor 4. 2.

He had made it his practice to be open and clear when he preached about Jesus. If the message of the Bible (and the gospel of Jesus Christ) is true (and I believe the facts points to this being the case) then it can be scrutinised and investigated honesty.

What do you do with your time

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It is nice to take time to relax, have a coffee and chat. It is important at times to sit down, catch up and do a bit of planning. We all do it from time to time but probably not often enough.

Relevant questions we should sit down and ask are: 

1. What have I been doing with my time? 
2. Could I have used it more effectively? 
3. What are my plans for the future? 
4. Am I achieving what I want to achieve?
5. If not what plans and actions do I need to take to change things effectively? 

Planning is so important in every area of life! 

As someone once said - if you don't know where you are going, you'll definitely arrive. Planning, organising, implementing and reviewing are all good organisational skills.

You might be very successful in work-life but I want to ask you how your personal life is? Sometimes we need to clean and tidy up certain parts of our lives. What about reviewing your life so far and planning for the future? Are you prepared to be as careful about the personal issues of your life and your soul as you are in work life? Some of you will be perfectionists when it comes to your business, your personal hygiene, your financial affairs but how is it with you soul and your spiritual state before God?

Be careful as you start this process. 

Remember that the Bible speaks the truth and warns of the following:

Jeremiah 17. 9 - 'the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it'.

Proverbs 16. 25 - 'there is a way that seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death'. 

These verses mean that you cannot trust your instincts, you must learn to trust, believe and obey what God says in His revelation of truth, i.e. the Bible.

The Bible often states the obvious because as humans we often choose to ignore the obvious:

Ecclesiastes 3. 1 & 2 - 'to everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die'.

Hebrews 9. 27 & 28 - 'and as it is appointed unto men (humans) once to die, but after this the judgement: so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many'. 

John 8.24 - (the Lord Jesus is speaking) 'I said therefore unto you, that you shall die in your sins: for if you believe not that I am he (the promised one/Son of God), you shall die in your sins'. 

My final quotation is simple yet direct advice from the Bible. 

It is based on the assumption that the hearer accepts that they are guilty of sin, in danger of God's judgment and aware of their inability to save themselves.

Acts 16. 31 - 'Believe on The Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved'. 

Plan for life and enjoy God's salvation now and the guarantee of a home in heaven on the other side of death

OR

Ignore the truth and face the eternal judgement of God in Hell and the Lake of Fire.

Please plan wisely.

To access podcasts and videos explaining the good news of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ visit www.seekthetruth.org.uk

This site will give you access to Bible Teaching Audio's and Video's as well.

All posts have the aim of pointing people to Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour or to aid Christian growth and development.

Are you satisfied?

All photos courtesy of Unsplash

Within the heart of every human being there is a strong desire for something that seems so elusive - true and lasting satisfaction. Satisfaction is rarely found because anything that we enjoy only lasts for a limited period of time. This covers almost all of the things we enjoy whether it is a delicious meal, a holiday away or good times with friends and family, there is a degree of truth in the saying, “all good things must come to an end.” 

 

The Bible seems to back this up, it tells of a man called Moses, a godly man who initially lived in Ancient Egypt who ultimately led the Children of Israel out of slavery. The New Testament records in Hebrews 11:25 that he “choose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.” The Bible says that the things that we enjoy on earth, whether they are good things or sinful things, they only last for a season. King Solomon, probably the richest man of his time understood this too, he said in Ecclesiastes 1:8: “The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear has its fill of hearing”. That is to say, we never have enough stimulus to keep our natural senses interested. The Lord Jesus said that it was a foolish thing to try and find satisfaction in the material things that are round about us, Luke 12:15 says, “A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of things the things which he possesses.” 

 

When we come to John 4 however, we read a fascinating conversation between the Lord Jesus and a woman of Samaria. The Lord Jesus reveals in v18 that this woman had tried to find satisfaction and purpose in earthly relationships, the evidence indicating that her efforts had failed by the fact she had had five husbands and she was now onto her sixth! The Lord Jesus then reveals why she wasn’t satisfied, she was not a true worshipper of God. She had tried to source her satisfaction and purpose in creation rather than in the Creator. The Lord Jesus says to the person who sources their purpose in God, “I am come that they might have life, and they might have it more abundantly”. There is no other source of true and lasting satisfaction than becoming a worshipper of the true God. Turn from those fleeting sins and place your faith in the Lord Jesus and become a worshipper of the one, true God today.

Who is Jesus?

❓❓❓❓❓❓❓❓❓❓❓❓❓❓❓❓❓❓❓❓❓❓❓❓❓❓❓❓❓❓❓

There are many questions that circle around the world today. Some are important, like, “How will the Russia-Ukraine war end?”; others are far less important, like, “Which team will win the World Cup?”. While all these questions have relative importance for time, questions about God and eternity are different. One of the most important questions we must all give an accurate answer to is this question, “Who is Jesus?”

Although many opinions have been traded to and fro about this question, the Bible is the only source that carries any weight of certainty. The Bible tells us very clearly who He was and is. It also tells us that correctly identifying Him is vital for us to have a right relationship with God (John 8:24). The Bible clearly teaches that Jesus is God and was always God from before time began. It says in John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” 

Yet, the verse below tells us that this mighty Being became a man and walked in His creation and among His own creatures. He was a real man, born in Bethlehem to a real woman, the Virgin Mary. He was raised in Nazareth, a town you can visit in modern-day Israel today. There is no doubt about the reality of this man, Jesus of Nazareth.

A question that, unfortunately, many fail to ask is this: “Why was He here?” Considering that an eternal Person walked in Israel 2,000 years ago is amazing. However, without a clear purpose for Him being here, His presence would have demonstrated nothing other than that we are hopelessly weak and sinful.

But praise God, He did have a purpose in coming down here! Jesus said: “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). The Lord Jesus came down to Earth to die on the cross for our sins. He took the punishment we deserved upon Himself so He could bring us to God. That is why is He came!

So today, take the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is both God and man as your own Lord and Saviour.

Written by a Guest Blogger

RHS Bridgewater

I visited RHS Bridgewater near Manchester on Monday this week. It was beautiful. Here are some (unedited) pictures. 

Have a good day,

Stephen 

An Artist's Picture of Peace

There once was a king who offered a prize to the artist who could paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried. The king looked at all the pictures, but there were only two he really liked and he had to choose between them. One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror of peaceful towering mountains which were all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. All who saw this picture thought that it was a perfect picture of peace.

Are you open-minded?

All photos courtesy of Unsplash

If you read my blog regularly, you will know that I write to help people look beyond their present circumstances and think about the big questions about human existence. My advice and thoughts are all from the Bible. You may think that this is narrow-minded and restrictive, but I have discovered that God’s word, the Bible, ‘is truth’, and in reality, it has opened my mind more than it has ever closed it.

But please, don’t just take my word for it. See for yourself whether it makes sense. I believe that the Bible is not a book of theory but that it changes lives through faith in the author, God. The sacred writings, the Bible, state that they 'are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus,’ 2 Tim. 3. 15. Sadly, many people are afraid to read it because they don’t know what it is about or are anxious about the demands it might make on their lifestyle.
 
Think about it like this. What if everything you need for living this life and the next is in the Bible. At the end of the day, the only reason you will miss out is that you never got round to reading it and receiving the gift of life that was offered. Many people have been brainwashed into thinking that the Bible is irrelevant and outdated. As a Christian, I don’t believe that this is true.

I believe that the Bible is God’s message to humans. It reveals things that we could not have discovered through experience or investigation. Having said that, we need to be careful not to assume that the Bible is just a book of legendary tales that have been passed from generation to generation. The truthfulness of the Bible can be verified in many ways. History, archaeology, science, meteorology, and many other disciplines have all demonstrated that the Bible is a factually accurate book. Bear in mind that it was written when most of these areas of expertise were either in their infancy or were undefined disciplines. How did the Bible writers know that there were paths in the oceans, Psalm 8:8, or that all that is needed to sustain life is transported and regulated through blood, Leviticus 17:11? These are only two examples - there are many more! 

The information in the Bible about history, geography, health, the natural world, science, and medicine has to date always been proven to be accurate. This gives me the confidence to believe what it says when it talks about the beginning of life, the cause of evil, suffering and death and the provision that God has made for our individual salvation. Let me leave you with two sample texts – 
 
‘Through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men,’ Romans 5:12.
 
‘But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us,’ Romans 5:8.
 
In light of my comments, please read the Bible with an open mind. It was written ‘that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you might have life through his name,’ John 20:31.