Were we Born Good? Are Children Good Enough to Enter Heaven?

At school,  children may be told that they are good or great, and self esteem, at least in The States, is considered more important than actual achievement. Kids are given trophies for participating in a sport, and sports and after school activities so often dominate life that it is hard to find time to actually teach our children that according to Jesus, they are not good enough. If we are parents, surely we are aware that our children were not born perfect and unless we give in to them at every turn they will remind us of their self centered rights.

Are Adults Good enough to Enter Heaven?

Adults may be better at disguising their imperfections, calling materialism “caring for the family” and manipulative office politics as “healthy ambition”, but we, like our children, fall far short of being good enough to enter Heaven. All of us desperately need a Savior, and His name is Jesus.

We all need Salvation from Eternal Death

Jesus means “the Lord is salvation”. That is what Jesus achieved on the first Good Friday: our salvation from eternal death.  He is the Lord God and He came to the earth as a human to grow up to be punished, receiving the punishment that we all deserve. In his letter to the Romans, Paul wrote: …”the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

Jesus offers us the Gift of Eternal Life

Only God can give us the gift of eternal life that He invites us to receive. Jesus willingly died on the cross in our place. He understood that our sin (being self centered rather than being focused on pleasing God and living for Him) would lead to fatal consequences. Paul explains Jesus’ s amazing sacrifice in Romans 5: 6 : “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

We will never deserve God’s love. Even if we are not materialistic and even though we may help old ladies cross the road etc, etc…we can never be good enough to go to Heaven and to live with Jesus forever. Compared to God we are bad and we all desperately need Him. Unless Jesus deals with our bad attitudes and behavior we cannot expect to go to Heaven. If some how we arrived in Heaven with our selfish motives intact, our sin would pollute Heaven. No, we can’t arrive in that perfect place unless God intervenes and dramatically changes us. We need a heart transplant.

How should we respond to Jesus?

If you are a Christian I would like to encourage you to thank Jesus for what He suffered on Good Friday to rescue you from Hell.

If you are not yet a follower of Jesus, I would like to encourage you to consider how much Jesus loves you. Look beyond the cultural lie that persuades us that every type of life style is good, even if it totally contradicts the teaching of Jesus. Take a reality check and realize that even though you try to be good you can never earn your way into Heaven and neither can I.

If you have given up trying: good. Admit that you need Jesus’s help. Tell Him that you are sorry that you have ignored Him for so long and ask Him to forgive you, wash you clean and fill you with His love and power: the Holy Spirit (Himself). Jesus can turn your life around right now, filling you with His love that will enable you to love God and others: giving you a new heart. Don’t miss the opportunity to receive the most important gift.

What will you do with the Gift that Jesus Offers?

Let’s not rely on our goodness to enter Heaven one day. Instead let’s admit that we are by nature bad and we desperately need to depend on the wonderful gift that Jesus secured for us when He demonstrated His goodness,  dying for us on the cross. We need to humbly receive that gift and not assume that we already have it, or to dismiss it as unnecessary. Without the intervention of Jesus, none of us will ever be good enough to go to Heaven. Only He is good enough. Aren’t we privileged to have Jesus as our Savior?

This is a post from: WomenRespond.com

Are we Good Enough to Enter Heaven?

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I have just been reading about Oswald. J Smith who became a Christian just over a hundred years ago in Canada. He was a sixteen year old who went on the train with his younger brother to hear a well known preacher. Times have changed. Today it would be likely that the local journalists might sneer at what was preached in the churches. In 1906, Dr Torrey’s (the preacher) words were published word for word every day in the newspaper. Oswald’s mother was very pleased that her son wanted to go to the evangelistic crusade. She did not tell her boys until later that she wrote to Torrey asking that he would pray that her sons might be converted. Today many people, especially the young, turn up at a Christian meeting without the encouragement or prayers of their parents.

The two boys, staying with their aunt, attended the final eight meetings of the crusade. The preacher taught about  Jesus dying on the cross for our sins.  Oswald remembered hearing Isaiah 53 emphasized: “But He was wounded for MY transgressions; He was bruised for MY iniquities(Sins), the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5-) This was an Old Testament prophecy about Jesus dying for us- wretched sinners. We are all separated from God through our sin that deserves to be punished. Jesus took our punishment on Himself as He died a painful death on the cross.

Oswald J. Smith was raised my a mother who so wanted her kids to become strong believers that she wrote a letter to the preacher to pray for them. No doubt they attended church regularly with their family, but the mother knew that church attendance was not enough. It was essential that they should have a conversion experience: recognizing their need for forgiveness, faithfully submitting to Jesus as Lord:  beginning a brand new life in Christ.

At the end of one of Torrey’s sermons, the brothers went up to express their desire to receive Christ, to become children of God. To start with Oswald felt like a “chunk of lead”. Later he recognized that this was the power of Satan pulling him back. Do we realize that we are in a spiritual battle and that the devil is happy for us to believe in Jesus but not for us to receive forgiveness and to be filled with the Holy Spirit? If you are in the habit of attending church, but you have not received forgiveness and the infilling of the Holy Spirit, do not continue to be satisfied with your condition. If you were needing help in the sea you would not merely look at the life boat, you would get in, if you had any sense. We need to understand our need for a savior and let Him save us as we step forward in repentance and faith, with a thankful heart, for we  can never be good enough for Him: we can never earn our salvation.

Oswald J.Smith describes His conversion: “Then suddenly, it happened. I cannot explain it even today. I just bowed my head, put my face between my hands and in a moment tears gushed through my fingers, and fell upon the chair, and there stole into my boyish heart a realization of the fact that the great change had taken place. Christ had entered and I was a new creature. I had been born again. There was no excitement, no unusual feeling, but I knew that something had happened, and that ever after all life would be different. That was January 28th, 1906, when I was 16 years of age, and it has lasted to this day. Yes, and it is going to last, praise God, throughout the countless ages of eternity.”

Your conversion may not look exactly like Oswald’s, but there must be a change of direction: from sin and death to holiness and life, through the power and mercy of Jesus. Oswald was no longer under the control of our enemy the devil, but instead he was under the loving and powerful control of Jesus, through the Holy Spirit. Who owns you? Who leads you and where is he taking you? Please don’t assume that Jesus is your Lord if you have not asked Him to forgive you, change you and deliver from the power of darkness.

Oswald J. Smith went on to live for a further 80 years. He became a brilliant pastor, hymn writer and author and he sent out hundreds of missionaries. His wonderful, Christian life, which is continuing into eternity, began with one faithful step of faith, as he responded to Christ’s call. Have you taken that step and if you have, are you praying for those who have not. Is your church teaching that we need more than a good attitude, we need to recognize that we need our Savior to set us free from the power of sin. As new people in Christ, we should expect to make a radical difference, being the “body” of Christ reaching out to bring hope, truth and healing to a generation who are not reading the latest sermon in their local newspaper. We must heed the message and share the truth that “..unless you turn from your sins and become as little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Jesus’ words in Matthew 18:3)

+ I have quoted from “The One Year Christian History-A daily glimpse into God’s powerful work”. This is written by E. Michael and Sharon Rusten and it is published by Tyndale. It is excellent. Do not read it instead of daily Bible reading, but if you have time add this to your daily prayer and Bible reading . It will  encourage you as you see how others  have put Jesus first.

This is a post from: WomenRespond.com

Conversion: a Brand New Life in Jesus

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Jesus’ family was poor and they could not have imagined the modern “essentials” that we give to one another at Christmas. There would have been no clutter to get in the way. The Roman census had forced the young couple to leave their families in Nazareth to travel to Bethlehem, adding their names to the list. They would have had very little with them.

There was no baby shower, no hospital help, no material comfort. We can be assured that God was there ensuring that His Son entered this world safely. He announced the birth with angels and a radiant star. He sent both shepherds and wise men to worship Jesus. We are also encouraged to worship Him. Our focus should be on the Savior and we should not remember Him briefly at Christmas and then forget.

The wise men gave Jesus valuable gifts: far more significant and costly than Mary and Joseph could have imagined. Do you realize that God wants to give you gifts way more valuable than those that your relatives can buy in the store? God is a “triune” God which means that He is one in three persons. At the first Christmas God the Father stayed in Heaven, as God the Son was born in Bethlehem. Once Jesus returned to Heaven after He died and rose from the dead (to secure the forgiveness and salvation for those who believe in Him) believers were filled with the third person of the Trinity: God the Holy Spirit. They were also given special gifts so that they could effectively help people on earth be blessed by God. These include  the “gifts” of communicating God’s message and the ability to help and to heal others.

Let’s push aside the clutter and the materialism and instead let’s worship Jesus. He alone can give us the gifts we need to be cleansed of our sins, filled with love and to have the capacity to love and to help our world as we share Jesus with them. In the movie “The Grinch who stole Christmas”, the Grinch’s heart trebled in size when he saw an unselfish response to Christmas and he became a good Grinch. When we receive the gift of Jesus’ presence (God the Holy Spirit) in us, our hearts will more than treble: they will burst with love for Jesus and for others.

John’s Gospel explains that Jesus came into the world that He created and most  people failed to recognize Him or to believe in Him. There are exceptions and some people responded and continue to respond to Jesus…”to all who believed Him and accepted him, He gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn – not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.” John 1: 12-13

If you are willing to walk away from your old sinful life and become a child of God, Jesus will give you a new, clean heart, capable of love that even the reformed Grinch was not capable of. You can be re-born as a child of God with the Holy Spirit(Jesus) in you.

Please receive the best Christmas present that you can receive. By now you may have grown tired (already) of your Christmas presents but Jesus is fulfilling forever.

This is a post from: WomenRespond.com

The Best Christmas Present

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Sian and Lee Strobel

I was very pleased to attend Lee Strobel’s seminar at the National Outreach Convention in San Diego recently. He was confident that apologetics was even more necessary in the postmodern world than before. In the old days, listening to Christian talks was almost acceptable but now people who are not Christians are more likely to turn up if there is a debate and if both sides are heard. He described a very well attended debate at his church, Willow Creek, in Chicago. An atheist and a Christian were locked in debate. Many journalists were excited about this opportunity and the debate was heard throughout the country by many people, both Christian and non Christian. Many became Christians as a result.

Lee Strobel was a journalist and he enjoys looking for evidence. He applies this skill brilliantly to investigate the Christian faith. His first experience of doing this resulted in a dramatic life change. His conclusions resulted in his becoming a Christian. He searched for facts and he was surprised that it took him two years to find out “who was Jesus?” He thought that he would be able to dismiss the claims of Jesus quickly but he was proved wrong.

When I gave my life to Christ when I was seventeen, I had attended church for most of my life. Although I had never heard a good sermon before I went to college, I had heard important verses in the Bible in the Anglican liturgy, in the traditional village church that I attended growing up in England. Although no one applied these important truths to my life, I was aware that I had sinned and that Jesus was the Savior. I knew that forgiveness was important and that God was much more important than me. When I went to a good church, It did not take me long to believe, as I was already half way there.

Today in America, most kids do not attend church. This is true of most people in Europe too. We can’t expect people to become Christians overnight. The danger is that we give them a short message about Jesus and encourage them to sign up. However if they have not had the opportunity to ask questions, and do not understand the problem of sin and the importance of the cross, as well as the need to repent, their faith may well be ill founded.

We must teach the Bible and we also need to answer people’s questions and discuss important issues with respect and integrity. I recommend Lee Strobel’s DVDs and books as they address issues that I do not have time to investigate. I can lend a book or refer to one to help answer others’ tough questions. I purchased Lee Strobel’s DVD “The Case For Christ” which is broken into six sessions to investigate the evidence for Jesus. There is opportunity for discussion and Bible study, but the DVD gets people started and addresses some important issues.

I want to help people find out about Jesus. My priority is to pray for their salvation. If some show an interest I want to be equipped to teach them the Bible, to address their questions and to be a consistent friend, showing them the love of Christ. Let’s expect our friends to ask questions and let’s know how to help them as they investigate Christianity.

This is a post from: WomenRespond.com

Lee Strobel at the National Outreach Convention

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Yesterday I taught the Bible to teenagers at the Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ club at my daughter, Alice’s, middle school. I wanted them to understand the differences between a child of God and a child of the devil. I drew two columns on the white board, one for each type of child. There is a tendency in this culture to either over or under emphasize the devil. The children are usually shocked when I mention him and they are also offended by “hell” considering it to be a bad swear word rather than a real place where many are heading.

The kids wanted me to create a third column for those people who were not Christians but did not intentionally get involved with devil worship or witchcraft. I explained that I could not as the Bible clearly teaches that unless we are rescued out of the kingdom of darkness by Jesus ( Colossians 1:13 ) we are under the power of the evil one and are children of the devil.

I taught from 1 John 3:7-10: “Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love his brother does not belong to God.”

This passage does not say that by behaving well we can earn our way into the family of God. Instead it explains that when we become part of God’s family, Jesus enters us and because we are now led by the Holy Spirit, we are changed and we cannot keep sinning routinely (although we will still make mistakes).

How do we become part of God’s family? The teenagers who prepared their testimonies believed that baptism was the clear proof that someone had become a child of God. The Bible explains that baptism is symbolic of a believer passing from death to new life and this is a powerful image. The reality is that some people get baptized and then settle down to a life of sin with the smug assumption that they have done what it takes to go to heaven one day. A baptism must be accompanied by a dramatic spiritual new birth, if it is to be more than a historic ritual. John 1 explains that ..”to all who believed Him and accepted Him, he gave the right to become children of God.” They are reborn-not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan but a birth that comes from God.” God re- creates us when we respond to Him, believing and receiving Him, accepting Him as Lord of our new life and repenting of the messy lives we used to live.

Once we are under the leadership of Christ, rather than (wittingly or unwittingly) under the devil’s authority, we will change, so long as we really are living under the authority of Christ with His Spirit.1 John 2:3 says that ..”we can be sure that we know Him if we obey His commandments.” If we refuse to obey Jesus we are not His children. Jesus commands us to love one another in a Christ like way. 1 John 4:17 challenges us to copy Jesus. He showed us real love by giving up His life for us. Similarly, “..we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?” This is made even more challenging by the following verse: “Dear children let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”

We are taught to be like Jesus: “Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.” If we are Christians we will obey Him and resemble Him, otherwise we are not His children. I John makes this very clear. A very important part of being a Christian is loving God and loving other Christians. Elsewhere we are also told to love our enemies: we are commanded to love everyone, but if Christians fail to love those who are members of the body of Christ, how can we effectively help people who are not part of the Christian family? We know that walking as Jesus did involved meeting all sorts of people, to heal them, to cast out demons, to teach them the truth and to invite them into a relationship with Him. Without Christ’s love we will fail to reach out to those who so desperately need His love.

If we are God’s children are we letting Him lead us, are we obedient, do we give up our lives to help others, are we asking Jesus to fill us with His Holy Spirit? Thankfully Jesus will forgive us and re-instate us as he did with Peter. We are told in 1 John that we will not continue to live a life of sin once we have been dramatically re-created as Christians, as Jesus is in charge of us. I John 1:8-10 encourages us that when we confess our sins Jesus will forgive us and purify us. Sin should be the exception rather than the routine. Let’s make sure that we are truly living as children of God: forgiven, transformed and radiating the love of Jesus in action. We can be full of good intentions but thankfully Jesus did not just profess His love for us but He demonstrated it on the cross. Let’s follow his lead and show others that we are truly God’s children expressing His love, extending His hand of mercy. If you are not yet a child of God, ask Him to rescue you from the kingdom of darkness and receive Him so that He will live in you, dramatically changing your life.

This is a post from: WomenRespond.com

A Child of God, or a Child of the Devil?

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In the Bible there is a story illustrating a rich man inviting guests to His banquet. Luke 14:18 describes all of the wealthy guests pulling out after they had already accepted the invitation, offering lame excuses. It appears that they had decided en masse to spoil the host’s plans and one can imagine the anger and sadness experienced by the host. The invitation in this parable or story told by Jesus is far more significant than rude guests and a frustrated host. It is referring to God, who is like the host, inviting people into the kingdom of Heaven which is the ultimate banquet. The response to such an invitation is rather more significant than whether guests attend a banquet or wedding party. The story illustrates how we should be careful how we respond to the invitation that God offers us.

It is no coincidence that Jesus is having dinner with opinionated religious leaders, the Pharisees, when He tells the story about the great banquet. Before telling the story Jesus reprimanded them for taking the places of honor at the dinner table as they considered themselves important. Jesus also tells them that when they invite dinner guests they should invite “the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame” rather than rich friends and relatives. The Pharisees are constantly planning to trip Jesus up but He confronts them regarding their social and religious pretensions.

It seems that one of Jesus’ purposes in telling the story is to challenge them further, smashing their expectations about Heaven. These leaders assume that they are on a fast track to Heaven but Jesus describes guests who are rich and rude like the Pharisees. They were disdainful of the host’s invitation and refused to attend the banquet. Consequently the master of the house ordered his servant (who represents Jesus) to fill his house with the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.” The host also adds that “not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.”

I love a just end to a story. Jesus says that the rich, rude men who are so like the Pharisees will not go to Heaven: “I tell you, not one of those men will get a taste of my banquet.” I am sure that Jesus is warning his listeners about their arrogant attitude and their disdain for Jesus. Most of the religious leaders had failed to believe that Jesus was God’s Son and that he is the only way, the only possible hope, for them (or us) to go to Heaven. The people most like the Pharisees are passed over and instead the master of the house, representing God, wants the servant to strongly persuade the poor and the weak to fill the places. The powerful Jewish leaders thought that they deserved to go to Heaven, in the same way that they thought that they deserved to sit at the best places at the dinner table, but they were wrong.

The story of the banquet reminds us that we must not assume that God invites just the rich, attractive, successful ones to have a relationship with Him. Certainly the Jewish leaders were invited but they had better things to do. They missed out on the ultimate banquet, potentially the most life changing invitation that represented entry to he kingdom of God. Instead the poor and the weak were invited who represent the less influential Jews and the Gentiles or non Jews.

Perhaps we are like the rich Pharisees. I know that I am in certain respects. I am inclined to think that it is my job to invite God to help me lead my life when I am ready and to do my own thing when I am not. Instead we need to humbly recognize that God is the one doing the inviting and compared to Him we are weak, poor and pathetic. What an honor it is to receive an invitation from God. I have had conversations with total strangers in trains, planes and in various cities, and I have encouraged them to respond to Jesus, humbly and thankfully. Many have given the impression that one day they might consider the invitation, but by then it might be too late.

This is a post from: WomenRespond.com

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People are inclined to forget that they are also vulnerable especially when they are behind the wheel of a strong looking car or sporting varsity football gear or a very impressive suit. There is a tendency to baby young kids, driving them everywhere and allowing them little freedom, until suddenly they are able to drive and their freedom apparently has few limits. As my two oldest kids are 18 and nearly 16, I am well aware of the potential hazards in and beyond the car. It seems that we need to train kids not only to drive well but to make good decisions. Once they can take passengers in the car, freedom is rather open ended. Arriving at a dance in a well cut suit or a beautiful dress at fifteen, must also be accompanied by a strong sense of right and wrong to ensure that the evening does not end in trouble. There are so many potential hazards.

Parents may spend many hours helping their kids learn to drive or investing money in various lessons to ensure that their children are accomplished in sports, music or ready to do well in the SAT test. However, I am not so sure that the same investment is always made to help them develop a good, responsible attitude. In my opinion, it cannot be assumed that either we or our kids can develop a godly response to life without help. According to the Bible, we are naturally inclined to make the wrong decisions. Ecclesiastes 7:20 illustrates this: “For there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin.”

If we are honest, we are all capable of thinking, saying and doing terrible things. Of course we need to protect girls and kids especially, from human predators but we also need to learn how to avoid foolish decisions that lead to awful consequences. This is particularly true for teenagers who are experiencing driving and dances for the first time, but it is also true for people of every age. We are generally careful to protect young, innocent children as we are more aware than animals that they are vulnerable. However, as they grow up do we train children to become aware of God’s wisdom that can help them make the right choices? As adults do we know and follow Biblical wisdom as we deal with life’s challenges? If we do not, how can we expect our kids or less mature people to take Jesus seriously?

We cannot be truly wise unless we submit our lives to Jesus, seek His mercy and forgiveness and study and follow Biblical truth. Proverbs 2:6 explains that “the Lord gives wisdom, and from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.” We are well advised to seek these great qualities and we can find out about them in God’s Word, the Bible. The book of Proverbs is filled with wise, godly advice. It is very clear that there are two paths: one is following God’s lead, obeying His commandments and willingly living life with His help. The other path is the alternative, turning our backs on God and living our lives with no reference to Him. God calls out to us to turn and follow Him. He does not want any of us to walk away from His love, His guidance and His forgiveness.

The words in Proverbs are insistent that we should “Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well for it is your life. Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evil men. Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn from it and go on your way.” (Proverbs 4: 13-15). The Bible teaches about temptation, good, evil and the amazing love of Jesus who can forgive us even when we have wandered down the wrong path. I hear people say that they have not got time to read the Bible, but I would argue that we do not have time to ignore God’s Word. Despite our age, our abilities or our wealth, without God we are defenseless. We must not only teach children the right way to go but we must also pay attention ourselves. We can only be changed from being hopelessly bad to become righteous when God takes hold of our lives, and these words express the beautiful potential of transformed lives: “The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.” The next sentence is a reminder that we should avoid the alternative path: “But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble.” (Proverbs 4:18-19)

In John chapter 8 verse 12 Jesus proclaims,”I am the light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the Light of life.” Are you following Jesus? If you feel that you are struggling in the darkness, call out to Him, seek Him and humbly follow Him. Without Jesus we are in great danger, but with Him we are in a very safe place. He is waiting for you, reaching out like a shepherd rescuing a small lamb lost in a dark cave. All of us are lost until we respond to Jesus. Reach out to Him and thank Him for His compassion and His mission to seek and to save the lost. He can transform your life.

God is calling Christian women to respond: Help others to seek God’s protection.

www.womenrespond.com

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The thought related to a more profound meaning of the word “homecoming”. When I was a child in England, I remember telling my friends that my best friend was Jesus. This was not true. I knew that he was important but I had no relationship with Him, beyond singing a few hymns and scripted prayers on Sunday. Another of my pet statements was that I was going to Heaven when I died. We all assumed that this was our right, a natural part of being a human being. My friends and I were not inspired to find out more about Jesus. It sufficed that He offered us the all important ticket to Heaven. I now realize that this “ticket” was not like a free ticket to the fair, rather it cost Jesus His life for Him to offer it to me, and unless I gave my life to Him I was not going to the heavenly destination. Heaven is way more important than the fair or even a refreshing rest. It is a true homecoming.

In my post about the homecoming parade at our local high school, I described the effort that some of the kids went to to stick scrunched up pieces of tissue on the float to make the float attractive. Originally homecoming was to welcome back alumni of the school. There is still some of that but the parade is watched mostly by the school and some parents. The kids shout and cheer and the occasion is fun. In the evening at the homecoming football match the four floats, made by the different year groups, were displayed and they were ranked first, second, third and fourth. The tissue scrunching kids go to all that effort to be applauded by their classmates, some parents, and alumni, with the possibility of winning a prize.

The process of those who added the tissue to the float is a bit like the typical person working hard to live a productive life. I am sure that those kids worked late to finish the job, there was so much to do. It is likely that they received some encouragement but if they did not win the prize the process may have seemed ultimately unfulfilling. Isn’t that like our lives. We wonder what the point is as we work late and struggle to do the equivalent of sticking yet more tissue on the float.

Our lives can be more than trying to receive the praise of others and winning a temporary prize. We may be popular at school or receive an academic scholarship or become the heroic saleswoman in the company or even the super mother, but deep inside we know that these are not enough. Jesus says that he will give us life to the full. As we receive His love and His Holy Spirit we will change. Our goals will change and we will stop doing things just to receive praise from other people but instead our focus will alter and we will focus on pleasing Jesus.

Christ knows that we cannot go to Heaven just as we are. However much we try, we are not good enough to join Him in Heaven. We are naturally self centered and our hard work sticking tissue or the equivalent is not ultimately going to cut it. Without Jesus’s intervention no one will win the best prize. We are too bad and we need Jesus’s forgiveness and his life giving Spirit. In John 4:14, Jesus says to a wretched woman who had had numerous failed relationships: “Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” The prize is everlasting life, starting now and culminating in Heaven, and it is a gift that only Jesus can give.

In John 14 Jesus talks about Jesus and God, in the form of the invisible Holy Spirit making their home with those who love Jesus and obey His Word (the Bible). To have eternal godly purpose we need God’s presence now. This relationship now will lead us to our forever home. Jesus rose from the dead and we too can spiritually bypass the finality of death if we are truly his children. In John 14 verse 1, Jesus says “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and also trust in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”

Only Jesus can secure our final homecoming because He is God. He came to earth in the form of a man; how else could he have died in our place? Only Jesus the perfect man could take the punishment that I deserve: death. That is why Jesus could say “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” I do hope that you will follow Jesus and discover a life that is fulfilling and will last forever, thanks to Him.

This is a post from: WomenRespond.com

A heavenly homecoming

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As a teenager I helped at a side show at the village horticultural show. My brother and I were in charge of “club the rat”. There was a long piece of pipe and we pushed the toy rat down the pipe and our customers paid to try and hit the rat. We were rather devious as we showed them the speed that it would travel and then for the real “go” pushed it much faster. Those who clubbed the rat won a prize but there were few winners! We knew many of the local people helping with the side shows and they were of all different ages and came from the local villages which are small and hundreds of years old. As a child I loved to enter paintings and animals made out of vegetables in the age appropriate contests, and the anticipation of arriving at the show and wondering whether I had won a prize was tremendous! The emphasis at the Monk Sherborne horticultural show was to display locally grown flowers and vegetables but I liked the other options for children. These occasions were wonderful community events when we all participated together. The horticultural show was held in a beautiful English country garden with large lawns with many different flowers and shrubs. Of course afternoon tea and cake were served and my mother, as well as many of the other mothers and grandmothers, made cakes for this event.

When our children, Tom, James and Alice, were young we went to the horticultural show as we lived in Kent, about an hour and a half’s drive from Monk Sherborne where my family home remained. They also appreciated the little competitions and watching their grandfather washing potatoes and later being awarded the first prize. For the kids, receiving rosettes was more rewarding than the small amount of prize money as the rosettes were very visible!

What was the significance of all of this? Certainly happy memories are valuable, but I think there was much value in working together, with family members but also with the wider community. We did not have to be excellent artists or gardeners to compete, but we were encouraged to try something different at least once a year. Although the competition was very limited we also learned to lose. This was much more humaine than at school when our exam results were read aloud for everyone to hear. This was a gentler part of British life.

Life now seems more compartmentalized, at least where we live in California. At middle school the kids have a limited choice of electives. If you choose band you cannot do art, drama, or learn a foreign language. My niece and nephew, at the middle school equivalent in England, have the opportunity to do drama, art, music, a foreign language or two and sewing; all at once. Of course they also study the core academic subjects. They are prepared to have a go at many different things, while our kids are expected to be specialists. My concern is that specialists do not have the mindset that they can try anything. They tend to focus totally on one activity once they get to high school: sport or band or drama….The standard is excellent but the danger is that some grow tired of the intensity. They also do not have time to integrate with the wider community. There is no time.

I want to add a spiritual perspective too. Are we so conditioned, at least in San Diego, to be specialists that we will not risk doing something beyond our comfort zone? Are our expectations so high that we make it difficult for others to volunteer? Is the music group at church just for the very best, or do the decorations at the vacation Bible School have to be done solely by the art experts? I think that there is a real danger of excluding those who desperately need to be involved. Are we unintentionally making it impossible for many to use the gifts that God has given them? I do not mean that everyone should preach or play music, but we need to train and encourage those who seem to be showing a specific interest or aptitude, to use their gifts. It really is essential that everyone in the church is involved and that they are not put off by perfectionists. They need to help out and have a go.

What if you are not a Christian? I hope that you are not so busy with either your kids’ activities or your own particular focus that you fail to question what this life is all about. Please do not avoid talking to Christians because you do not feel that you are a specialist. Instead dare to walk into something different and ask questions. Ask a question on this blog and understand that many others have the same thoughts. Let’s make time to be a multi-age community and to broaden our perspectives. In this all or nothing society many have had absolutely no exposure to Christianity and the Bible. In the multi subject curriculum that was offered when I was at school I at least learned something about Jesus. In the States there are the Christian schools that make Jesus a speciality and the public schools where mentioning his name is controversial. In my opinion we should smudge the line of division and at least enter the debate. Jesus in Matthew 7:7 encourages us to “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Start seeking the truth, have a look at God’s Word and ask questions. You will not be disappointed!

This is a post from: WomenRespond.com

A village community event

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Event invitation

Mike Salazar, the church’s youth pastor, spoke on 1 Samuel 3: 1-11: Young Samuel was living with Eli the priest in the “house of the Lord” in Shiloh. Samuel was lying down at night and God spoke audibly to him, calling his name. It is understandable that the boy assumed that Eli was calling him, rather than God. It was only after the third time of being called that Eli concluded that it was God who was calling Samuel and he advised Samuel to respond to God by answering, “Speak Lord for your servant is listening.”

Last night Mark challenged the kids to respond to God’s call. If they were not yet followers of Jesus he suggested that they should respond in repentance and faith. If they already believed, he encouraged them to surrender their lives to Him as Lord (rather than seeing him as some distant, rather irrelevant figure). Mark challenged those who were already committed to Jesus to be missionaries in their schools.

Many kids responded and I trust that this will push them to become wholehearted in their response and in their attitude to those around them, that they should truly offer love and speak truth to their friends at school.

The challenge also applies to the rest of us. How do we respond to the living God? Are we prepared to read the Word of God, the Bible, and really listen to Him and change? We may not hear him audibly but the Bible is Jesus’s voice and we are wise when we apply this to our lives. In the book of James chapter 1 verses 22-25, we are told: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it- he will be blessed in what he does.”

Young Samuel was being called by God to tell Eli a tough message. God had warned Eli that he needed to restrain his sons who were officially priests but were acting in a contemptible manner. Eli had ignored God in this respect and now God, through Samuel, was pronouncing the dire consequences of failing to respond to God’s warning (1 Samuel 1: 11-18). God is powerful, loving and merciful but also just. We need to pay attention to Him and respond humbly and obediently, believing that He will bless us if we listen to His voice and take necessary action.

This is a post from: WomenRespond.com

A call to commit

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