About this Blog Seek the LORD your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.
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By Anushka, on 22nd May 2011 So why didn’t the world end yesterday? Where was Jesus? No doubt you read the many newspaper and internet stories about a gentleman named Harold Camping, and the many people who believed in his prediction that 21 May 2011 was the day of the rapture when Jesus would come to save his true believers and the rest of the world would perish in earthquake and fire.
It didn’t happen.
Here we all are, a day later, and nothing has changed.
And yet despite the craziness surrounding this non event I find a small amount of sympathy for the people who truly believed this was going to happen. As a Christian I know what it is to long for the second coming of Jesus. I believe that the Bible teaches the return of Christ, the resurrection of believers, the judgment, and then the setting up of God’s kingdom on earth which will be a cleansing of our poor abused planet. I can’t wait for that day, and I know many other Christians who feel the same way.
Unlike Mr Camping though I also believe that “about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Matthew 24 vs 36) and I’m afraid that anyone who therefore says they know the exact date of the return of Christ must have been misled.
What we have been given is some signs, so that we can look at the world, and see that the time of the return of Jesus is drawing ever near. It is however impossible to be dogmatic about it. So what should we be looking out for:
- The Jews returning to their land – which quickly progressed with the creation of the state of Israel in 1948.
- Unrest and warfare in the Middle East centered around Israel.
- An increase in natural disasters.
- Men’s hearts “failing them for fear”.
- Troubled times among world leaders.
- A decline in the moral standards of society.
All of the above are signs given to us in the Bible that the time of the return of Christ is near – and all of the above have happened to a greater or lesser degree over the past fifty to one hundred years. How much worse will things get before we see the coming of the Son of Man with power and great glory?
We don’t know the answer, but we must all continue to watch and be ready, so that when the day finally comes we will be welcomed with the words, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” (Matthew 25 vs 21)
By Anushka, on 24th April 2011 All over the country today Christians are remembering the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Many would say that Easter Sunday is the most important day in the Christian calendar – although equally there are those who would say that they choose to remember Jesus’ death on a weekly basis when they take Communion. Whatever your personal opinion there is no denying that the resurrection of Jesus is the crux of our faith, and that we should think about it regularly.
Why exactly is the resurrection so important? Jesus sacrificed himself and died for our sins. He was buried, and he was restored to life again. Because of him, we can ask God for forgiveness for our sins, and Jesus acts as a covering for those sins to bring us closer to God.
The apostle Paul sums it up very neatly:
“If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.” (1 Corinthians 15:17)
Not only that but we have the promise of being resurrected ourselves when Jesus returns to the earth:
“For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:22-23)
Resurrection for me means the hope of eternal life at Jesus’ second coming. Those who have followed Jesus and God during their lifetimes will then be awoken to eternal life in the kingdom that will be set up on the earth.
Have you ever considered what eternal life means? I know that someone at work said to me once that they wouldn’t want to live for ever. But that’s because they are thinking of life in a frail, human body, and life full of human problems, emotional stresses, physical failings, and the problems of those around us. I can quite understand why such an eternal life would not be appealing.
Life in God’s kingdom will not be like that though. He has promised us a fantastic life in the kingdom:
“Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.” (Isaiah 35:5-6)
Everyone will be healthy and happy, with no human problems to plague them. We will have the time and energy to give ourselves fully to God.
What will we be doing for all eternity? We are not told all the details in the Bible. The Book of Revelation teaches us about the Millennium age, where for 1,000 years we will be helping to rebuild the earth the way God wants it, but it’s quite vague about what happens for the rest of eternity!
All we know is that God will be “all in all.” He will be in everything, and everything will be for him. We will serve him for ever and ever and we will love to do it! So this says to me that our life now is about learning to love God, learning to serve God, and learning to love doing those things, so that when the kingdom comes it will be a great joy to do those things for evermore.
So if today you have taken bread and wine in remembrance of Jesus sacrifice, and thought about forgiveness of sins, and the hope of immortality through resurrection, let us also consider as we go about our daily lives how we can learn to serve and love God to the best of our ability, and strive to do everything we can to bring about His Glory on earth.
Wishing you all a very Happy and Blessed Easter.
By Anushka, on 20th October 2010 After preparing the Bitesize Study on the Book of Exodus I was thinking about the things in that book, and in particular the Law of Moses, which is first given during the time the Israelites wandered in the wilderness. Of course the Law is an important part of the history of the Jews, but we are not just reading the Bible as a history book, we want to get something out if it that’s relevant to our lives today.
Looking at the Bible as a whole we know that Jesus was the only person who ever managed to fulfil the Law. He never sinned, and he never went against God’s rules. His death was the perfect sacrifice for us because he was a “lamb without blemish”, and he took our sins on himself so that we have a way back to God.
It goes without saying that Jesus knew the Law inside out. Reading the Gospels shows this, as we can see Jesus’ constant references to passages from the Old Testament.
The Law of Moses was full of outward duties and rules and regulations. It told people how they should live their daily lives. When Jesus came, he made it clear that what was inside a person, and his attitude towards life was much more important than any outward show.
Far from doing away with the Law however, in many cases he expanded on it. One little example involves one of the Ten Commandments.
You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. – Matthew 5:21-22
So Jesus says that not only should we not kill anyone – which I’m sure most of us wouldn’t ever contemplate – but that we should also address the root cause of murder, hatred. We shouldn’t stand before God when we are angry with someone. How difficult it us to never feel angry or wronged! I know myself it’s easy to feel angry at the slightest provocation, or the slightest violation of what we consider to be our rights.
Just with thus one little sentence Jesus makes doing God’s will an almost impossible task. We should be thankful that we are no longer under the Law, but under grace, and so what is impossible with man is possible with God. He knows we all sin and cannot live up to His high standards, but as long as we make the effort, there is forgiveness when we do wrong.
The Law was also a shadow of things to come, and because we know that under the Law sins had to covered by the death of an animal, we can understand that when Jesus completed the Law and died sinless, he covered our sins once and for all. Many Old Testament people, deeds and events are echoes of the life of Jesus, or the life of a Christian, and reading these things can help to remind us of what Jesus has done for us.
So the answer has to be yes, the Law is relevant to us today, and as we continue to explore this history in Bitesize Bible Study, let’s try and take it a step further, and apply the facts we’ve learned to our lives today and discover why those things were written down for us.
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. – 2 Timothy 3:16
By Anushka, on 28th August 2010 We’ve had a lot of rain here in the southwest of the UK over the last couple of weeks. There have been a few days where the rain has started in the morning and not stopped until the evening. The worst that’s happened to me though is some very wet shoes, a few large puddles in the road and an overall feeling of dampness.
I’m extremely grateful that we haven’t been subject to the awful flooding that has devastated Pakistan recently, and that the weather here in the UK rarely causes such tragedy. It has seemed of late that there is one ecological disaster after another. This year we have also seen the destructive earthquakes in Chile and Haiti which have again prompted worldwide concern and relief efforts.
As well as ecological disasters, over the last couple of years the world has been experiencing what is probably the first GLOBAL financial economic crisis. There have of course been recessions and downturns many times before, along with periods of unemployment and failing businesses, but never before have the world’s banks been linked in such a global fashion. What happens in the USA affects the finances in Europe, and in Asia, and has a knock on effect all over the world.
People debate as to whether such disasters are indeed more common than they used to be, or if the effects of global communication and increased population simply make us more aware of these events. Brief research on this subject to be honest is inconclusive. Ecological disaster is such a wide subject with so many variables, and over the years there have been many improvements in science which render comparisons over the years difficult.
However the events taking place make me think of those verses in the Bible that talk about how we will know when the return of Jesus draws near:
Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. – Luke 21:10/11, 25/26
Does this passage describe the world today? Remember that in the Bible “sun, moon and stars” often represents the leaders of the people. Whether or not we are close to the times of the end, or whether what we see around us is only the beginning, and I do believe that we are somewhere on that timeline due to the scale of all the wars, environmental problems, economic problems and inability of world leaders to sort things out, there is no doubt that we must sit up and watch and listen.
Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. – Luke 21:28
So what can we do? Should we give to charities, for example, the Disasters Emergency Committee? Should we reduce our carbon footprint? Should we watch the news to keep an eye out for the signs of the times? Yes, these are all things we can do, but most importantly, let’s pray for the soon return of Jesus Christ, the only person who can sort out all these problems.
He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! – Revelation 22:20
By Anushka, on 10th August 2010 It can be very easy to distance ourselves from those long ago events in the Bible that shaped history. We easily forget that Bible characters were people just like us with same fears and emotions, and the same split personalities wrestling between doing the right thing and the wrong thing.
We can feel that it was easy for them to do what God wanted and can overlook the internal struggles many Bible characters went through, and feel that decisions are so much harder for us.
To refocus our minds it can be helpful to reread the story elements of the Bible and try to put ourselves in the shoes of these characters to understand their thought processes. It helps to imagine the scenario, the geography, the political atmosphere of the time, and the social habits.
Take Moses – from prince of Egypt to an outcast and a killer hiding in the wilderness. Is it any wonder he was scared and felt unable to speak on behalf of a people he barely knew? Yet he brought the Israelites out of Egypt to the Promised Land.
O my Lord, I am slow of speech … please send by the hand of whomever else You may send – Exodus 4:10/13
Take Paul – zealous persecutor of Christians to zealous Christian missionary. Is it any wonder he felt a conflict between his past life and his future work, doubting his worthiness? Yet he almost single handedly commenced the spread of the gospel to the Gentile world.
When I came to you, I did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom … I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. – 1 Corinthians 2:1/3
Take Peter – impetuous and spontaneous in his love for Jesus, recognising the truth of the Messiah, and yet denying him three times when trouble struck. Is it any wonder he wept bitterly? Yet his strength in the early church is shown in his inspiring epistle.
Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” – Matthew 26:75
Take Jesus – perfect son of God, but even he would have not gone through with his death if there had been any other way. Is it any wonder his sweat was like great drops of blood? Yet he gave his life for us, bringing salvation to all mankind.
O my Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will. – Matthew 26:39
Sometimes all it takes to get us back on track is to realise that we face the same sort of conflicts that believers have faced for centuries. And how do we make our decisions? How do we make our righteous mind win over our worldly mind?
The same way that Jesus did – we need to pray. So let’s remember the words of Jesus’ prayer to bring us comfort and reassurance:
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. – John 14:27
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