Tag Archives: substance abuse

Half Truths Can be Dangerous

Half truths can be dangerous. They can be just as dangerous as an out and out lie, maybe even more so. The half truth is often one that casts doubt on God, or in some way waters down the message of the gospel, or the image of the God of the bible making Him into more human image. The half truth talks about God as being a God of love and while that’s certainly true, it’s not the whole truth. He is also a God of judgment. The half truth insists a God of love would never consign people to … Continue reading →

Practical Help for Christian Living

The book of Romans is one of the helpful and practical letters in the New Testament. Just look at some of the gems from Romans 8. Romans 8:1 assures believers of their standing before God. There is ‘no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.’ Paul goes on to tell us that those who believe in Jesus have been ‘set free, from the law of sin and death,’ verse 2. The reason we are set free is not because of anything we have done or because of keeping rules but because of what Jesus has done for us through … Continue reading →

Three Things Needed for a Triumphant Christian Life

When we read Mark’s gospel we see that there were three things, which made it possible for Jesus to triumphantly enter Jerusalem. Those three things were 1. Obedience, 2. Sacrifice 3. Worship Jesus was obedient to the Father’s will. He knew what awaited him in Jerusalem but he willingly went forward to Jerusalem as the sacrifice for our sinsMark 10:45, Philippians 2:6-8.. His whole life was one of obedience and worship of His Heavenly Father, It is because of what Jesus has done in giving his life for us that we are able to enter into a relationship with the … Continue reading →

Be a Blessing

Do you ever stop to think about blessings? Too often we don’t stop and thank God for the blessings we receive each day from His hand. There are some that struck me on this Easter Monday morning. 1. The blessing of Easter, when Jesus died in God’s rescue plan so we can be friends with God and not be separated from Him by our sin. 2.The blessing of being able to freely go to church and worship Him with like minded people. 3.The blessing of family and friends who love and care for us. 4. The blessing of the beauty … Continue reading →

‘Just in Case’ at Easter ?

Easter is a time for gifts of Easter eggs and chocolates. It is also the time to remember the greatest gift that was given – the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for your sins and mine. In a recent episode of Eli Stone when he was struggling with his gift of visions and querying why it had been given to him when sometimes it caused him nothing but trouble. he was told, ‘A gift is something that is given. You don’t own it. The world does.’ That’s basically the message of Easter. The gift Jesus gave at that first … Continue reading →

Where is Your Confidence?

Everyday people place their confidence in things. For example when we cross a bridge we have confidence it will hold up and not fall down. Everyday we put confidence in people. Children place their confidence in their parents. As they get older they might place confidence in their peers or in pop stars or sports stars. And young people are often told they need to have confidence in themselves. But the truth is that many of these things and people we place our confidence in let us down. So what can we rely on? The only safe place for our … Continue reading →

Police Find Ancient Bible in Raid

If you have ever watched “Antiques Roadshow,” you may know that family Bibles from the 18th and 19th century, while beautiful and priceless to the family to which it belongs, aren’t going to be a big payday. The experts on the show say that unless a Bible predates 1550, it isn’t worth much monetarily. However, the police in Cyprus may have found a Bible that would make the “Antique Roadshow” experts quake in their boots. The police in northern Cyprus raided the hideout of suspected antiquity smugglers and found a Bible that has excerpts written in gold lettering on vellum. … Continue reading →

Why We Don’t Need Signs and Wonders

Why don’t we need signs and wonders to prove where we stand with God? Won’t they make us more spiritual or a better class of Christian? No. Because God has given us all we need for the Christian life Colossians tells us. What has he given us exactly? If we have accepted Jesus God has ‘qualified us’ just as he did the Colossian Christians ‘to share in the inheritance of the saints of light,’ Colossians 1:12. God had ‘delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,’ Colossians 1:13. It is through … Continue reading →

What is Christmas?

For many people Christmas is all about spending time with family. For others it is about presents and shopping and the hype that goes along with Santa and presents. For those estranged from family or with no loved one nearby Christmas is the loneliest time. It is no surprise that the suicide rate goes up at Christmas. Christmas is the time when we celebrate the fact of God’s love sending His Own Son into the world as a human baby. As Michael Card puts it ‘Christmas is the celebration of the keeping of a promise… the promise that he would … Continue reading →

Christmas Lights?

Last week at church the minister talked of why Christmas and Christmas lights always go together. I’d heard other reasons as to how they were connected but they often seemed rather tenuous. But I liked the way he linked them. It made the most sense to me. Right from the beginning Christmas has always been linked with light. He used as his reference the prophecy of Isaiah 60:1-3 and the light coming into the darkness. John 1:1-5 and John 1:9-18 also pick up on this theme, identifying Jesus as the fulfillment of that Isaiah prophecy and the light come into … Continue reading →