“The fool has said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that does good.” Psalm 14:1

60% of 18-24 year olds have ‘no religion’ compared to 42% of the Great British public.  With each new generation, people are less and less religious, confirmed a February 2015 survey by YouGov. When YouGov asked the 42% that were non-religious ‘Would you describe yourself as…’, 45% said they were best described as Atheists, 17% as Agnostics and 8% as Humanists.

Today more people don’t believe in a God or a greater spiritual power than do believe: 33% (29% in 2012) don’t believe in God or any greater spiritual power whilst 32% (37% in 2012) do believe in God.

So if you are a Christian you are part of the 32%. It doesn’t seem a lot does it, considering as around the turn of the last century Britain was regarded as a Christian country. Not so anymore.

So should we be worried? Well the bible in Psalm 14:1 says

“The fool has said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that does good.”

But if that doesn’t effect me then as long as I keep on keeping on doing my Christian best that should be ok, right? Well I blogged earlier on the year about the rise in humanistic and atheists meetings (I struggle to call them churches as that would be an oxymoron). Even in my home town there is a thriving meeting. During my research the most surprising fact I discovered was that both Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband have publically stated that they are atheists. Perhaps surprisingly, these statements make voters view them more positively (10-11%) rather than more negatively (6%).

This tells me that as a Christian community we need to be doing more to reach people who are obviously searching. Whilst this research is age group related and may not apply to you the reader, 32% of Christians is a small number compared to 42% who claim to be atheists. But remember God worked with a group of 12 to change the world and as a result we are disciples today.

Today tell someone about Jesus, it could change his or her life.

(Source)

^“The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.” Exodus 14:14

Just in case you missed it or slept through it (like I did) yesterday witnessed the biggest grossing boxing fight in history.

The fight billed as ‘the fight of the century’ was between Floyd ‘money’ Mayweather, 5 time world champion undefeated in 48 fights and six time world champion Manny ‘pac man’ Pacquiao. For those who paid their money and watched via pay per view, the fight went the distance of 12 rounds and was won, as predicted, by Mayweather on points rather than a stoppage or a knockout.

Now I do not claim to understand the first thing about betting odds but I do understand one word – undefeated. Not surprisingly Mayweather was installed right from the beginning as the favourite seeing as he has never lost a professional fight. So why, if you were a betting person, would you put your money on Pacquiao to beat him? It didn’t happen. Apparently it never even came close to happening. In a post match interview Mayweather said,

“I was at least 10 steps in front of him all the way through. My experience told me that whatever he threw at me I was going to get through it and win.”

Isn’t that the same with the Christian walk. Jesus is a born winner. He has never lost a case. He even defeated death at the grave when he rose again after the third day just as had been predicted. Given we know this why don’t we serve him with our whole heart?

If you have never given Jesus a real chance try it today. He will always be in your corner and fight and win your battles for you.

MAY 1-2 – A Sabbath Prayer

“I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.  All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled” - John 17:6-12

Our Father, who art in heaven,.

We come to you Lord, as our Father, but You are also our Creator God – our Saviour and Redeemer – our friend and brother. Remind us today that You live and reign....not in heaven only, but all around us and in our hearts. Make us aware of Your active presence, and keep us humble Lord in all our undertakings, and with the people we meet. We see You Lord in the beauty of nature, and the vast expanse of the heavens You made....may we always give glory to You.

Hallowed be Thy name,

How can we not respect and reverence you Lord, when we see a scan of a baby in the womb....the splendour of nature....the wonderful mix of people we meet....and the still small voice that calls us to be more like You? May we 'hallow' what You give, and what lies before us, by consciously referring it to You. May we ever honour Your perfection, Your holiness, by seeking to become more like You.

Your kingdom come,

Yes, soon Lord, and allow us to become agents of that kingdom by bringing peace to the anxious, grace to the needy, and Your love to all. The world is groaning and dying Lord under it's weight of sin. . May people believe in Your soon coming and reign of Goodness because of how we live, and work for You, today. May they reach out and grasp Your promise of eternal life.

Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven,

We see that will most clearly in Jesus, who healed the sick and comforted the grieving, who lifted up the downtrodden, who stood always for life and not death....for hope and not despair....for freedom and not bondage. He lived out heaven's will on earth, even to His death at Calvary – death, that we might live. Help us to be like Jesus. May our hearts and arms be open wide as His were on the cross, to receive and comfort Your hurting people.

Give us today our daily bread,

We have no guarantee beyond this moment. May we trust You for what we need today. Nourishment for both body and soul. I pray we thirst ever for the Living Water of Life, and not worry about future needs and wants. May we also be ever responsive to those who lack food, and care, and shelter. Please bring them today their daily bread.

Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors,

Remind us of our true state Lord – debtors who can never buy our way into Your favour, or earn our salvation. Thanks be to God we do not have to. Forgive us Father where we have failed You, and for the times we have failed to have compassion on others. Grant us the same attitude of forgiving grace toward those who have hurt us....wronged us....let us show them the same forgiveness You give us.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

Let us not slide mindlessly into sin today. Make us alert to it's temptations, and strong to resist it, with neither fear nor regret. Give us the power of Your Spirit to withstand the wiles of the devil. To see the pleasures he dangles before our eyes for what they are. Dear God, preserve our souls.

For Thine, and Thine only Father, is the kingdom and the power and the glory. For ever and ever, AMEN.

Our music? “I'll Pray for You” - (LIVE). Click on the picture of Christ glorified to listen.

APRIL 30 – “Right is Might”

!I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD:  I will make mention of Thy righteousness, even of Thine only" - Psalm 71:6

“Thus will shine the dawn”....so said Churchill. Sir Winston Churchill was famous for many things. A man of many interests and abilities, he embraced politics, history, writing, art, and even brick-laying! He was known to be a law unto himself. But what about other dimensions of his life?

Nobody has ever written an article or book, on Churchill's faith. He had faith in the successful outcome of World Wars One and Two. He had faith in the future of Great Britain, in the British people and in himself as Prime Minister. He didn't clutter up his mind with a head-full of facts – he left that to his experts. What he provided was the personal dynamic, and the faith that, after sweat and tears, would rise the broad sunlit uplands.

What he conveyed during these anxious years didn't come from behind any doctrinal strait-jacket, but from a caring heart capable of kindling the spark of hope in the breasts of millions of despairing men and women.

True, this great man may not have enjoyed heights of divine revelation, but he stood four-square, stubborn in his belief that right was might, and, in the over-ruling providence of the Almighty – many times he paid tribute to this.

Around the world right now, there are thousands of Christians who are suffering for the cause – martyrs for their faith, and their loyalty to God. Many millions of people more remain who are yet to accept Jesus as their Saviour. Do we have the Churchill spirit? Can we put hope in the hearts of millions of despairing men and women – a spark of hope? Do we have the strength? Are we four-square stubborn in our beliefs?

In one desperate hour Sir Winston Churchill reminded the country that God would give them strength. He once said, “Goodnight then. Sleep to gather strength for the morning, for morning will come. Brightly will it shine on the brave and true, kindly on those that suffer for the cause....thus will shine the dawn.”

Larnelle Harris and Sandy Patty present “Then Came The Morning” for our music today.

Show Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand,
O You who save those who trust in You
From those who rise up against them.
⁸ Keep me as the apple of Your eye;
Hide me under the shadow of Your wings,
⁹ From the wicked who oppress me,
From my deadly enemies who surround me. Psalm 17:7-9

Have you ever made a last minute decision that turned out to be the wrong one? Hindsight is a wonderful thing and also an opportunity for us to correct our mistakes, making sure that we don’t repeat them.

Driving home from work the other week I was waiting at a junction waiting for some kind fellow driver to let me out when a sizable space appeared. I did my checks of looking both ways, looking for a motorbike or cycle in my blind spot and proceeded to move out. I had plenty of time, or so I thought.

In a flash the high performance car that was some distance away put his pedal to the floor and tried to close down the obvious space, almost crashing into me in the process. He didn’t beep his horn, just revved his engine in an annoying fashion behind me. I immediately began to question my last minute decision. Was I in the wrong? Should I have waited? No, I had done everything by the book.

As my racing heart slowed back to normal after the grinning driver skidded around the corner in another direction, it struck me. Near misses, ‘almost’ accidents, evasive reaction driving isn’t a matter of skill or quick reaction but rather your guardian angel. Like the stone kicked up by the car in front of you that smashes your window but doesn’t come through. The plate that smashes on to the kitchen floor but doesn’t splinter. The split second you were so tired you closed your eyes at the wheel and avoided a disaster.

Never underestimate Gods care and love that he has for each and every one of you. Like he was for Job, he is always looking out for us.

April 27

‘Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, ⁷ casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.’ 1 Peter 5:6-7

Have you ever played the game ‘Jenga’ before? It is a strategy game where players take it in turn to remove one wooden block at a time, the winner being the one who doesn’t make the structure fall. It is fun especially when played with good friends. Sometimes what seems like the most robust looking structure is easily floored by the removal of the wrong piece.

Has your life ever felt like that, the one holding piece pulled out being the final straw that breaks the proverbial camels back? Well we don’t have to face our problems alone. Verse 7 of our key text is the one that is preached, written, spoken about the most. There is the visual metaphor of ‘casting all your care’, not carefully in an orderly manner placing them, but casting, throwing even discarding your issues, problems, burdens on Jesus because guess what? He can handle them.

But this promise IS conditional, which is where we sometimes fall down. We need to first realise that we cannot handle our problems on our own ‘therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God’. Could pride be the stumbling block in our healing?

If you need the help of a mighty, strong, willing and powerful Saviour, just ask him and in due time ’He may exalt you.’

APRIL 24-25 – LO, He Comes!

"...and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places” - Rev. 6:13-14

"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....” – 1 Thessalonians 4:16

Astronomers have disclosed there is a gigantic “empty” space in the Northern sky, in the nebula of Orion – endorsing the words of Job - “He stretcheth out the North over the empty place” - Job 26:70.

Above is a picture of the Orion cavern taken from the Hubble telescope. Using powerful lenses, and the latest technology, scientists peer for endless hours into the depths of interstellar space, and have gained a glimpse of the vastness of infinity itself.

Modern astronomers all agree that there is a huge opening in Orion which is more than 16,740,000,000,000 miles in diameter, and widening by the year. Compare this to the diameter around the earth's orbit – a mere 186,000,000 and we discover that Orion is 90,000 times as wide! In other words, 30,000 solar systems like our own, each with a sun in the middle, could be placed across the entrance of Orion.

If you think that is mind blowing, take on board this description of Orion given by Prof. Larkin of the Mount Lowe Observatory:

“Negatives (photographs) reveal the opening and interior of a cavern so stupendous that our entire solar system would be lost....the central region is the mouth of a colossal cave. Human speech is impotent. Pen of writer and brush of artist alike are lifeless and inert in any attempt to describe this interior.

In the depths of the Orion nebula, are torn, twisted, and riven masses of shining glass, irregular pillars, columns of stalactite in glittering splendour, and stalagmites from the mighty floor. The appearance is like that of light, shining and glowing behind Herculean walls of Ivory and Pearl and studded with millions of Diamond Shining Stars.

There must be some reason why all this grandeur is lavished on this one spot in the heavens; why the coloured hue is peculiar to Orion and studded around the opening so that they appear as a pavement of starry sand.”

Thomas.

What an incredible picture Prof. Larkin paints. If this is just the courtyard entrance, imagine the splendour inside, and how it reflects the Bible's description of heaven in Revelation 21:21-25 - “And the twelve gates [were] twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city [was] pure gold, as it were transparent glass”.

This week TV news, in an interview with a space scientist from Loughborough University, announced that new pictures and information from Hubble are about to be released. They were described as “phenomenal,” “incredible.”

Amazing!! What an honour to be allowed a glimpse, just a glimpse of eternity. Jesus is coming again. “BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen. 8"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty" – Revelation 1:7-8

Today we have Wintley Phipps singing of the wonderful promise - “Coming Again.”

APRIL 23 – New Day by Day

“The LORD says, "I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you” - Psalm 32:8

You know, it's a wonderful thing that no matter who we are, where we are, or what our circumstances, each day is a new beginning and an opportunity to be better and to do better. Life never stands still; there is constant change, and an opportunity to reach for the stars.

Our thoughts, feelings and attitudes have a great deal to do with whether those changes will bring us new and exiting experiences, or carry us backward into old negative patterns. We sometimes need a new way of thinking, a new perspective, a letting-go of resistance to people and things that have frustrated us.

Physical ability and age are not an hindrance. We don't have to wait to be wiser, to be better educated or to know more about life. All we need is a decision to replace our old negative ways of thinking with new positive ones. It can be just as simple as giving our attention to what we want instead of to the things that make us happy. There is much that is good in the Universe, and we can practice inviting that good into experience.

Let us resolve to reach for the stars, and let the love that flows through our days, support and sustain us. Today is good and tomorrow can be even better.

Acknowledgements to Pearl Monroe.

If you look at the world with the eyes of a child,

There is joy in the simplest thing,

From the green of a leaf on the earliest tree

To the curve of a bird on the wing.

Author unknown

“It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed” - Deuteronomy 31:8

Bryn has chosen the music today, a good choice - “A Living Prayer” sung by Alison Krauss.

'Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.' Romans 8:34

In the local shopping area, near to where I live, there is a certain shop that always seems to have a new owner every few months. Probably you know the kind of premises. One day it is a pet shop, a couple months later it is a bargain basement shop – the type where you have to check the expiry dates before purchase. Anyhow, one of the incarnations of this particular shop, which for the month stands empty, was a tattoo and body-piercing parlor.

I have to admit that I was a little surprised when I found his out because as I didn’t think that the area had enough foot fall traffic i.e. enough of the right kind of people walking by to keep it in business.

For many reasons, mainly my conservative Christian bringing and not seeing tattoos or piercings in my house, this ‘type of thing’ has never appealed to me. So I was somewhat puzzled on the way to work the other morning when I saw a newspaper type banner next to a church, which read,

‘Breaking news. Body-piercing saved my life!’

That was until I saw the picture of Christ with his outstretched hands on the cross underneath it.

It grabbed my attention all right and got me thinking about body piercing in a whole different way. Ok, yes it is a clever play on words, as body piercing today is not in any way religious, more for fashion or self gratification. But now I can’t seem get the picture of Jesus on the cross out of my mind when I see a body piercing. By the way, this is not a blog condemning what people do or have done to their bodies. I stand to be corrected but as far as I know the bible only speaks indirectly on the subject in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

‘Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? ²⁰ For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.’

Whilst it doesn’t mention tattoos or body piercing, the text does imply that once we come to God, we give Him our all, including our bodies. However many of us come with visible body markings from days before we knew the Lord and they all mean something. But also many of us carry around scars in our hearts and minds, which although cannot be seen, nevertheless are there. God loves us just as we are. And remember like doubting Thomas, we will know him by the nail prints in his hands.

So next time you see a tattoo or a body piercing remember the breaking news ‘body piercing saved MY life’. I will.

The song today is 'Remember me' by Wintley Phipps. Click on the picture to listen.

‘Then the Lord called yet again, “Samuel!”’ I Samuel 3:6 (first part.)

 With my arms full of shopping I was surprised to hear a strangers voice before calling my name as I alighted from car.

“It is (insert your own name,) isn’t it?”

What would you have done? My brain immediately went into overdrive.

Who was this man and how did he know my name? What was he doing here? How did he get my address?

I looked up greeting him with a puzzled look. He must have sensed that I was confused.

“My name is Geoff and I am your local Labour counsellor, will you be voting this year?” He smiled.

I returned his smile. My defences down since I realised that he was one of the local counsellors who, to give him his due, had done his homework on the occupants, before approaching the house, we conversed briefly before he went onto the next house.

What would you do if God called you name?

There are examples of him calling peoples names in the bible like Samuel and Moses. On both occasions however they initially did not know how to react. Now I realise that their stories were different and are recorded that way in the bible for a purpose but my question for us to ponder today is would we know Gods voice if he spoke to us, and if yes, how?

Enjoy your day today and remember to take God into every situation.

The song today is by Lynda Randle and is called ‘One day.’ Click on the picture to listen.