Is There a Solution to Our Biggest Problem?

“Let yourself have fun and let yourself fail. Who cares? We’re all going to die. Just have a go.”               A heavily edited excerpt from an interview my cousin, Connor Swindells, recently gave to a national newspaper. At 26 and on the edge of stardom, you might think that death would be the last thing on his mind, but it isn’t.

In fact, no human being has ever had an answer to the problem of death. It hovers over us like a dark cloud throughout our lives rearing its ugly head from time to time when we lose someone close to us.

So, we do one of several things; ignore it, refuse to think about it and bury our heads in the sand choosing instead to live for the moment, or we become obsessed with health and safety to ensure we live as long as possible, or even, in extreme cases, we arrange for some kind of preservation of the body, just in case the scientists find a way to restore life in the future. If you are hoping for the latter, by the way, it will never happen!

We can’t beat or cheat death and, at the risk of stating the obvious, it gets us all in the end.

I often meet people who are upset about a particularly serious accident or tragedy where lots of people have died. The terrible incident at Aberfan, where a rubbish tip on hills above the village merged with springs of water causing a catastrophic collapse of slurry that killed many children at the village school and some adults, have been mentioned a few times this year even though it was decades ago.

People ask how God can be loving yet not have intervened as these, and other tragedies, unfolded. One man told me that if he had been God, he would have moved the trajectory slightly as the slurry descended the hill, so it avoided the school at Aberfan. I had no answer to this particular observation, and I’m not sure the man was expecting one, it was more like he was thinking out loud.

Reflecting, I wondered whether the man would still have been upset if he had been able to change the course and a group of different people had been killed instead of all the children. What if one of the new victims had been a relative of his, or the parents of one of the children that had survived and was now an orphan?

We can easily fall into the trap of thinking like this man. Perhaps we think the saddest aspect is because most were children that had barely started life. But is there ever an age that makes it easier to lose a loved one?

Some of the angriest people I meet in the street are still holding a grudge against God for allowing one of their grandparents to die decades earlier. Often, they had lived to their 70’s or 80’s but the person still believes God was unfair in allowing it to happen.

They are asking, “Why Me?”

Leaving aside the issue of us being unable to assess the fairness of God due to our comparatively minuscule minds and the fact that we cannot see the bigger picture.

The reality is that if God intervened to prevent your relative or friend dying in an accident or from an illness, others with people who love them are dying in similar circumstances all around the world every second of every hour, of every day. These people might well ask why your loved one was saved and theirs was not. 

If fairness is what we are concerned about, would that be fair?

Taking this to its logical conclusion, the result would be that God would be forced, or expected, to intervene in every situation where someone’s life was at risk, otherwise He would be showing partiality, or favouritism, to one person over another.

Then, we would all live forever!

Maybe at this point you are thinking that this sounds like a good idea and wondering why God didn’t set things up in this way in the first place.

Actually, He did…. but we messed it up. 

Our first parents rebelled against God and rejected His rule over them. So, God gave them over to their own ideas and, because of their sin, He cursed the Earth with suffering, sickness and…. wait for it…. death.

The Bible makes it clear that we ultimately die because of our sin, “the wages of sin is death…” and that we all are guilty of sin, “for all have sinned”.

God can’t just overlook sin, or He wouldn’t be just and fair. He can’t just intervene every time someone is in danger or there would be no penalty, or consequence, for sin which also wouldn’t be just and fair.

This would be a pretty diabolical position for us all to be in, and this post would be seriously depressing, if it weren’t for one important fact.

God loved us so much that He had a rescue plan. A plan to defeat the curse of sin, suffering, sickness and death that He had placed on the Earth due to our rebellion. A plan to send His Son Jesus to live a perfect life on our behalf. A plan for Jesus to die on a cross, taking the punishment you and I deserve, and to be buried in a tomb. A plan for Jesus to defeat the curse of death by coming back to life.

I said earlier that no human being has an answer to the problem of death. This is true, but thankfully God does.

Jesus was able to stand in our place, pay for our sin and reverse the curse of death because He was sinless. If we repent (turn away from our sinful lives), ask for forgiveness, and trust that Jesus died for us on the cross, we are promised eternal life in Heaven as a free gift.

Effectively, we can receive the benefit of Jesus defeating death and live forever with Him.

The alternative, which I don't recommend, is to stand before God on Judgment Day carrying all of our unforgiven sin. God has to punish us at this point, or He is not just. The punishment is eternal in a place called Hell.

Either way, death doesn’t have the last word, God does. 

Will you face Him joyfully having been forgiven through Jesus or will you suffer His righteous anger for all eternity?

 “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

(1 Corinthians 15 vs 55-57)

10 Reasons I Am a Christian and You Should Be Too!

Maybe when you see a title like this you feel irritated, annoyed or even angry. Who am I to be telling you what you should believe? What gives me the right to suggest that every person needs to become a Christian? What about other religions? Or a combination of these and other questions.

The truth is, I have no right (apart from God's command), and my plea for you to consider Jesus has nothing to do with my believing that I’m in any way better than anyone reading this. We are all the same. We have all sinned and fallen short of God’s perfect standards. We are all in need of a remedy for that broken relationship with God.

The good news of the Bible, that Jesus died on the cross for our sin making a way for us to receive forgiveness, peace with God, and a permanent home in Heaven, is available to ANYONE who will repent of their sin and trust Him. Repentance is a complete change of mind and direction from living for ourselves and what we want to do, to following Jesus as Saviour and Lord.

This message is urgent as we are not guaranteed tomorrow. The loving thing for me to do is to tell you so that you too might be saved.

It is with this in mind that I ask you to consider these reasons:

1. I believe Christianity is exclusively true. Jesus said, “I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through Me.” This statement should silence those who believe all religions lead to God, or that you can pick and choose bits of one and then another. It’s either a true statement or it’s false. My believing it doesn’t make it true, but there is plenty of evidence that it is.

Rather than being a faith I have just accepted because of my cultural roots, my parents, or a label I have had since birth. I became a Christian in my early twenties having wandered far from God for many years.

2. I don’t want to end up in Hell. I have listed this before speaking about Heaven because personally it was a greater motivation for me in coming to faith.

Many Bible characters, including Jesus, warned about Hell being eternal, conscious torment, facing the wrath and justice of an angry God towards unrepentant sinners. A place where people will want to die but won’t be able to. We are told to flee from the wrath to come.

Thankfully, Jesus has made a way for us to do this and, believing the warnings, I took it.

3. I want to go to Heaven. In the Bible, Heaven is described as a place with no sin, suffering, sickness, pain or death. We are told that no one can imagine the amazing things that God has prepared for those who love Him. Christians will be there forever with God.

Heaven is not a worldly place full of carnal lusts like the Muslim’s paradise. It does not celebrate sinful vices as we tend to do on Earth. Nor is it a boring place with people sitting on clouds playing harps as some seem to imagine. Finally, it is not too crowded as someone else surmised.

Heaven will be perfect like the world was meant to be in the beginning before humans rebelled against God.

4. The meaninglessness of life/purposelessness of life as a non-Christian. I’m not a Christian purely because I was lacking purpose and meaning in my life. However, being a Christian has given me both.

Prior to my conversion, I was seeking satisfaction and happiness, perhaps fulfilment, in worldly things; vices, relationships, career, material things, money. I ended up realising these things were empty and meaningless by themselves which led to hopelessness. It was also a very selfish way to be living and I was troubled by guilt because of my sin.

5. Receiving forgiveness of my sin- past, present and future, and peace with God. On becoming a Christian, I clearly remember that my biggest emotion was a sense of relief. Relief that I was no longer at war with God, no longer running from God, no longer at risk of Hell. I felt an immediate sense of peace knowing that all of my sin had been forgiven and that I couldn’t lose my salvation which had been secured by Jesus on the cross.

Then, I wanted to live a life that pleased God out of gratitude to Him for rescuing me.

6. Jesus changed my life. I’ve spoken briefly about vices but some of these were deeply ingrained. I had tried hard to deal with them myself and was unable to. It was only when I recognised that they were sins against God which had become idols in my life, and asked for God’s help, that I was able to be rid of lifestyle sins that had plagued me for years.

In time, I found that I no longer wanted to do these things and, whilst I have to be careful with some things, others are no longer a temptation for me. I have seen others trapped in these vices and been able to help them because Jesus helped me.

7. Creation makes sense of the evidence. I’ve never believed in the Big Bang or the theory of Evolution. It just doesn’t make any sense to me. I’m a logical thinker. I’m often astonished when talking to people far more intelligent than I am, who seem to have swallowed the evolutionary nonsense, hook, line and sinker, despite all of the flaws in the theory, and the much more plausible alternative.

How do people explain the conscience, the soul, our wills, feelings and emotions? Also, the irreducible complexity of things created which have obviously been intelligently designed? The Bible tells us that people are without excuse for rejecting God because His Hand can be clearly seen in Creation.

8. The Bible is factually reliable. There is a lot that could be said here. I’ve never had an issue with accepting the supernatural in the Bible because if God created everything then He can do whatever He wants.

A few of the main evidences are that there are hundreds of specific prophecies in the Old Testament that came true thousands of years later in the New Testament. There were many witnesses to Jesus' life, death and even His resurrection. The tomb was empty. The disciples went from being timid and afraid to associate with Jesus when He was arrested and killed, to boldly proclaiming that He had risen from the dead. Most of them lost their lives for their stance.

Additionally, there are plenty of facts from sources outside the Bible that confirm its reliability. Facts about the Geography of the area, the language used at the time, the names of people etc.

We know that the Bible hasn’t been changed as we have the Dead Sea Scrolls and eyewitness testimonies from the time.

9. God answers specific prayer. I know of people who have had supernatural experiences including someone who asked God to switch a TV off if He was really there. Imagine the terror when it actually happened!

Though I haven’t personally experienced anything supernatural, I have seen answers to prayer that cannot be explained away. When I was first saved, I prayed for an opportunity to speak to a group of lads that were smoking drugs on my train. I was so stunned when it happened, and was initiated by the lads, who were being chased by train security at the time, that I was almost lost for words!

10. God orders circumstances. We need to be careful about reading things into our circumstances especially when seeking guidance. But there have been several times in my life where circumstances have miraculously come together to give me the confidence to move forward in faith.

A major example was when I was seeking God about heading to the mission field, but I had a mortgage. God used my lodgers, who weren’t Christians at the time, to provide for me for the next seven years. Even my lodgers said that it felt as if things were being taken out of their hands and they later became Christians. This type of intervention gives me confidence in my faith knowing that God works things for good for those who love Him.

I could add a section dealing with the fact that Christianity works but experiences are subjective and can often be explained away. If you do want to look into this aspect, there is a good series on this YouTube page every Saturday night called Real Lives that tells individual stories of lives changed through becoming Christians. There are millions more around the world with similar stories from the mundane to the miraculous. Jesus does change lives, but this doesn’t mean that all of your problems will disappear, or that Christianity will make your life easier. My life got a lot harder when I became a Christian.  

I’m not going to mention that the Bible is the world’s best-selling book, or that Christianity is the largest world religion. Muslims often ask why, if Christianity is true, Islam is the fastest growing religion. These facts are largely irrelevant as many people who think they are Christians are just born in a “Christian” country but have no faith to speak of. Likewise, anyone born in a Muslim majority country is automatically classed as a Muslim even if they convert to another religion. A lady I know who converted to Christianity from Islam is still repeatedly told that she is Muslim by her neighbours because her father was a Muslim despite her being a member of a Christian church!

The Bible says that "narrow is the way that leads to life, and few will find it and that broad is the road that leads to destruction with many on it." This immediately makes a nonsense of any statistics regarding religious adherence. We all know also that people can be sincerely wrong, and that the majority are not always right.

These are some of the reasons I am a Christian. I’m praying that if you really think about these things, you’ll realise that you too should become a Christian for “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

The Danger of a Wrong Diagnosis

Many of us have had the frustrating experience of being repeatedly told that the result of a medical investigation is that there is nothing wrong, or to put it in simpler terms “the blood tests are normal.” Our plea which seems to fall on deaf ears, “But Doctor, I just don’t feel right!”

The weekend before last, I went walking with some friends. A few steps (literally) up the first hill and I was gasping for breath, wheezing, and with serious chest pain. Berating myself for being unfit which seemed to be the only possible explanation, I forced myself to continue at a slower pace and finished the walk in the pouring rain several hours later. Seemingly, no harm done, apart from my wounded pride.

At church the following day, a friend suggested that this was not normal, even for an unfit person, I had already been walking regularly so was not that unfit, she then told me of someone that had had a heart attack in similar circumstances at 40. I felt afraid, but not very afraid.

The following day, I woke up with slight chest pain and, my friend's words ringing in my ears, decided to go to A and E. To their credit, they took the situation more seriously than I had been taking it up to this point and arranged all manner of tests. After several false alarms, a few days later I was diagnosed with severe iron deficiency anaemia and told not to do any further exercise, until I could have the first of several iron infusions.

Suddenly, a lot of symptoms I’d been struggling with on and off for years made sense. Why had this not been picked up earlier, you might be wondering?

Basically, because I have an under-active thyroid which involves similar symptoms, every-time I tried to get to the root of the problem, I would end up in a circular conversation like the one above. I’d grown so tired of fighting a losing battle with medical professionals that I’d given up and convinced myself that it was my thyroid issues that were the problem.

What’s my point? I think that sometimes we do the same thing in evangelism.

We might meet someone in the street and be so determined to communicate our message, or reach as many people as possible, that we don’t really listen to the person in front of us. We provide a solution without really hearing the problem. The person is left feeling like a number in a doctor’s waiting room, or worse, telling us that they still don’t feel right (understand the Gospel) by which point we’ve already finished our script, given them a book that doesn’t answer their questions, and moved on to the next person.

We can also make assumptions about what someone believes and end up in long discussions that don't deal with their real problem. I covered this last time in the difference between red herrings and real hindrances. But we can also do it when we assume that because someone is a Muslim, they won't believe that Jesus died on the cross, or because someone is a Catholic, they are relying on good deeds to get to Heaven. Sometimes, this happens because we sub-consciously like to show off our knowledge, or conversely it may happen because we are ignorant about something the person has mentioned, and we don't want to admit this. I've even ended up in a long discussion about Creation vs Evolution with someone who also believed in Creation because I wasn't listening properly to what he had said. Whatever the case, we haven't gathered the correct information which will inevitably lead to a wrong diagnosis.

Perhaps, more worryingly, we can make assumptions about what people need without reference to the Bible, or God. We might decide that they need food, a place to stay, help getting a job, a reference, a loan, friends, a social life, a holiday, time off etc. Yet, when someone is sick, they need a doctor not a well-intentioned stranger to make a diagnosis. We can be impulsive and jump in with a wrong diagnosis. The sin-doctor is Jesus, and we must refer to Him first if we are to really help anyone.

Another tendency is to determine that we can save the person either through our exhaustive efforts, or through money, or practical help. We give 24/7 to a person for weeks, months, years. We have everyone praying for them. We raise their plight at every opportunity. We create dependence, then resentment. We are left broken when the person isn’t saved and finally walks away from God for good. We can’t redeem or pay a ransom for someone else (Psalm 49). This is another form of wrong diagnosis as we have wrongly, (and usually subconsciously), determined that the person needs us rather than God.

I’m sure we can all see the danger of giving someone false assurance of salvation, yet we do it often. John MacArthur said once that if someone came to his office with doubts as to whether or not they were saved. He would say to them, “You’re probably not saved”, and explain again the way of salvation, rather than offer false assurance. Each time a member of another religion tries to tell us that we are all on the same path, or a cult member says that they are a Christian, or someone says that they were born a Christian, or that they are sure they are going to Heaven because of good works, and we fail to challenge it…we are potentially giving the person false assurance that they are saved. In this case, if we don’t pluck up the courage to tell the person we don’t agree with their statements, we may be contributing to their own wrong self-diagnosis!

A less likely issue in street evangelism, but something that is occasionally possible would be making a real Christian doubt their salvation. We might wrongly decide that the person isn't a Christian based on something they say or do, or we might be, usually unintentionally, adding church culture or our traditions as necessary for salvation. We have again made a wrong diagnosis which could be extremely damaging.

How can we make sure we are not causing, or contributing to people being wrongly diagnosed?

It’s true that the Bible holds the solution to our greatest need, forgiveness of sin and peace with God. But people are individuals and can’t be treated en masse with the same medicine delivered in the same way.

We need to really listen to a person’s heart when we are speaking one to one with them and not be rushing to solutions or looking around for our next contact.

We all know that there’s nothing more annoying than someone coming up to you at church and asking how you are. Then, as you begin to reply, you notice that the person has gone, or turned their back on you to talk to someone else, or interrupts with an “I’m fine too”, before you can say anything! Or the person who is looking over your shoulder for someone more interesting to talk to, or who seems easily distracted by anything and everything going on around them whilst you are pouring out your heart. It’s just another way of looking at a watch which we would all say is extremely rude!

People are in different circumstances and often we have no idea what they are going through when we talk to them. We need to be sensitive to God’s leading and aware of issues that may crop up in discussions.

It’s obvious, with hindsight, that a wrong medical diagnosis could have led to my collapse halfway up a mountain. Yet, a wrong spiritual diagnosis could have a far more deadly consequence.

Let’s make sure we are not getting in the way of what God is doing by offering people a wrong diagnosis without reference to Him.

Is it a Red Herring or a Real Hindrance?

Often when having conversations about faith with people in the street, there will come a time during the discussion when they will raise objections to what is being said. So far, so obvious.

We were speaking to a lady today at the book table in Rochdale for a long time. During the conversation she spoke about karma and reincarnation as something that she loosely believed. Later, when we spoke in depth about Jesus, she suddenly responded sharply with words to the effect of, “Wait a minute, so in order to be a Christian, you have to believe that Jesus was punished for your sin. I don’t believe that. I’d rather pay for my own sin.” It was as if a switch had been flicked, she understood what was being said and didn’t like it. The discussion continued for quite some time afterwards and she ended up taking a Gospel of John from one of our team.

Reflecting on this afterwards, I realised this was a prime example of someone with both a red herring and a real hindrance (not my phrases, but useful here.) The red herring was the lady’s loosely held new age beliefs as they didn’t stand up to scrutiny, and we were relatively easily able to redirect the hearer back to the important matters. The real hindrance was the idea that she could somehow atone for her sin herself. This conviction was more deeply held in her heart, and concerned key elements of the Gospel, so it was necessary to try and remove the hurdle before continuing.

Perhaps you have spoken to people like this and wondered whether to redirect the hearer, effectively ignoring the red herring, or to attempt to remove the hurdle of the real hindrance which is likely to be an ongoing barrier to the person seeking to understand.

It’s an interesting dilemma for Christians and not always as obvious as the example I have given. Furthermore, what may be a red herring for one person, may be a real hindrance for another!

Consider how you would deal with these:

-I believe in Science

-What may be true for you may not be true for me

-I’ve lived a pretty good life

-Sometimes, I think my mum is looking down on me from Heaven.

-I’m a Muslim/Buddhist/Hindu/Catholic

-I can’t change religion at my stage of life

-I would like to believe it but I just can’t

-Christians have never helped me when I’ve needed it

-Do you believe in Noah’s ark then?

-Why didn’t God stop Aberfan?

-Aren’t Catholic and Christian the same thing?

-The cross is cosmic child abuse

-So, you think you’re better than me

-The God of the Old Testament is vengeful and slaughtered loads of innocent people

-It’s not justice for Jesus to be punished in my place

-God seems arrogant, demanding worship for Himself

-I can’t come to church as I’m socially anxious

-Why did God create evil?

-We’re all going to end up in Heaven anyway

-Religion has caused loads of wars. What about the crusades?

-I only trust myself

-I’m a drug addict, God can’t help me as I’ve tried asking Him before

-I want to do things my way

-How can God have a Son?

-We believe in Jesus too. We belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints.

-I don’t believe in God, so He can’t judge me.

-Will I have to give all my money to the church?

-Is being gay a sin?

-Why did God create the world if He knew what would happen?

-Nobody has come back to tell us. I can’t believe unless I see.

-Churches are full of hypocrites.

-Is there any sin that can’t be forgiven?

-So, your God died on a cross, couldn’t He have stopped that happening?

-The Bible was written 2000 years ago.

-When you’re dead, you’re dead.

-What are you collecting for?

A lot of the time, the tone of the conversation will tell you whether the person is really struggling with something, or whether they are just mocking the Christian, or attempting to show off to their friends. They might even be deflecting you with a red herring to avoid getting into anything serious.

It’s worth knowing the biblical answers to these questions and statements, to help those who are sincerely seeking God. It’s also good to make sure you know what you believe, (the key elements of the Gospel), so that you can redirect and refocus someone who has thrown you a red herring.

There will also be times when someone asks something that you haven’t thought about before. Don’t be afraid to admit this, and then either ask someone else, or get back to them with an answer.

Nobody has all the answers, and there are some things we just don’t know because God has left them unanswered.

Prayer is key as God is in control and He promises to honour us if we honour Him. He wants us to seek to share the Gospel with others, so even when we think we haven’t done well in a discussion or when we have engaged with a red herring, or failed to address a real hindrance, God can still use our weak efforts for His glory.

Do Not Worry About Tomorrow

I haven’t written for a while so was trying to think of a title that sums up the last few years. I settled on this as being apt.

Non-believers reading this may initially agree as phrases like “live for the moment”, “your best life now”, “only one life, live it”, “there’s probably no god so stop worrying and enjoy life”, or even “eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die”, come to mind. 

But is this what the Bible means?

The pandemic highlighted our collective mortality in a way that hasn’t happened in my lifetime and that probably hasn’t happened in the UK since the end of the Second World War. To a greater or lesser degree our movements were suddenly restricted, and our perspective forcibly changed. The reminder that despite our “progress” as a society, we aren’t really in control of anything.

Personally, I struggled with something akin to burn-out during this period as suddenly all the outreach dried up and I was forced into lengthy spells of isolation with nothing constructive to do. I understand that everyone was in the same boat, but it definitely impacted individuals in different ways. I also appreciate that for some not having work was a relief, even a blessing, but I found that my zeal for evangelism died a sudden and dramatic death.

Perhaps, the exhaustion of enthusiasm with no outlet was the problem, or maybe the seeming endlessness of the situation with multiple lockdowns, and cycles of hope then disappointment. Or maybe it was the frustration that Christians seemed to be panicking as much as non-Christians. Or the horror of so many deaths of non-believers to a lost eternity.

I really don’t know, but I do know that when the outreach restarted, I didn’t want to do it. I didn’t want to go to church or see other people. So, I definitely didn’t want to put on a fake smile and attempt to share the Good News with others.

So, I jumped ship. I took a few months out with family before relocating and attempting to return to secular work for the first time in a decade.

It wasn’t long though before the summer missions started at which point my energy inexplicably returned, and I was forced to admit that my heart wasn’t in my new job.

Changing course once again, I booked a summer of missions which has now almost come to an end.

It’s been a great summer, full of opportunity and Gospel conversations. Probably, the best I’ve experienced. People seem so much more open than a few years ago, but only God truly knows where their hearts are.

So, looking back, what have I learned?

Apart from the obvious, that nothing is wasted in God’s economy, even a time of confusion, discouragement or burn out.

I learned to take one day at a time.

People often ask me whether I get tired doing so many missions. They ask how it’s sustainable. A few years ago, I would have said something about living all out for Christ because He died for me or something similarly bold and lacking humility. Whilst the fact is true, the thinly veiled slight is that others should be doing the same and are not, which is really nothing to do with me.

Yet, Paul and others who worked tirelessly for the Kingdom always attributed their energies to God and His grace towards them rather than their own efforts or zeal. It’s also possible to be zealous with the wrong purpose or for the wrong things, or to be inconsistent or insincere.

If, at the start of the summer, I looked ahead at the many weeks of mission yet to be completed, I would probably faint under the weight of expectation or feign illness so I could pack up and go home.

If, instead, I take each day as it comes and try to make the most of the opportunities on that day alone, the burden is lighter, and the work even becomes enjoyable for the most part. 

If I am tired, I will rest so that I’m better prepared for the following day. More experienced leaders on mission teams often remark that we’re not involved in some kind of test of endurance when choosing to pack up early in the rain. 

We have different characters and temperaments which are in play here as some are naturally enthusiastic or all or nothing type people, whilst others may be more measured or have more of an inner passion. But we are all also influenced by sin including pride and self-sufficiency on the one hand and false guilt, irresponsibility and laziness on the other.

Balance and sustainability are important. If we go all out for a season and then are forced to spend time recovering from burnout, what more have we achieved than someone who has steadily and consistently persevered, perhaps at a slower pace or with less outward enthusiasm. We may even have caused damage by being unreliable or letting people down.

When the Bible speaks of not worrying about tomorrow, it isn’t telling us to “live it up”, it’s reminding us that there is no point in worrying about the future because we don’t have any control over it. Our lives are as vapour, here today and then gone tomorrow.

Instead, we should focus on the day in front of us and make the most of that day as we may not be blessed with another one.

God gives us the energy, strength and grace for one day at a time.

Top 10 Christian Books Read in 2020

 

It’s time for my Christian book recommendations for 2020. My Goodreads Challenge lists 140 books. I read a lot more secular books than usual especially during the second part of the year largely due to finding them free locally and being at home a lot due to Covid-19.

For those that missed them, you can also see my 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 selections.

You can read my Goodreads reviews by clicking on the title link. 

1. Living Stones of the Himalayas- The third in the trilogy by an American missionary surgeon in Nepal. These are funny and real.

2. 12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You- I remember this giving me a shock earlier in the year but then I promptly forgot its warnings and carried on as before....It seems to be virtually impossible to separate ourselves from the technology that we have become reliant on.

3. The Victor- Much loved children's author Patricia St John shines in this lesser known tale of forgiveness.

4. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe- A classic and well worth a re-read. Surely everyone has now heard about the Chronicles of Narnia, if only people thought about the spiritual side of things too.

5. Tony- Little known auto-biography by a man who came to faith from a background of drink but was then lured by false promises of healing when he was diagnosed with a terminal illness.

6. John Newton: From Disgrace to Amazing Grace- Well researched biography about this slave trader turned Christian minister.

7. Lady Jane Grey: Nine Day Queen of England- I don't always get on that well with Faith Cook's writing style, but this is well written and an eye opener for the Ecumenical movement.

8. Born Again- Every Christian will know this story about the dramatic fall from grace of prominent politician Charles Colson and how he found faith in the midst of his trial.

9. No Compromise: The Life Story of Keith Green- This has to feature as it had such a big impact on me as a young Christian. The tragic story of Keith Green who lost his life at 29 told through the eyes of his wife.

10. Singing Through the Night- Eye opening stories about the persecuted church.

So, that's my list for 2020. Hopefully, you find something on it worth looking at for 2021. Happy reading!

Why a Christian Can't Just Leave Their Faith at Home

There’s been a lot of discussion in the media recently about Donald Trump’s expected appointment of Amy Coney Barrett to the US Supreme Court. The comments in the secular press, certainly in Britain, have been overwhelmingly negative due to Ms Barrett’s views on abortion influenced by her Catholic faith.

A similar thing happened in the UK a few years ago when MP Jacob Rees-Mogg was questioned about his views on abortion and homosexuality. Just prior to this he had been the up and coming posh but trendy MP who appealed to a wide demographic. His Catholic views, however, suddenly made him unpalatable. People seemed to assume that he needed educating or that he would apologise and back down realising his mistake. Instead, he suggested that a new form of bigotry was emerging against Christians. It was suggested to him that he would never be able to hold high office in Britain with his views as they were unacceptable to a vast swathe of the population.

Most people are surprised to hear that Christians up and down the country are facing intolerance and discrimination on a daily basis. They reject the idea that Christians are becoming a side-lined minority because they still think we live in a Christian country. A lot of people with no faith to speak of still class themselves as Christians and still ask what group/denomination you are part of if you express anything beyond mere intellectual assent to a vague belief in God. They class such people as extreme or suggest that they take their religion too seriously.

When pointing out that Christians are now regularly silenced and sacked, and occasionally prosecuted for their biblical beliefs, people initially may be sympathetic. However, when gay marriage or homosexuality, abortion or creation are mentioned, they change their tune and either fall silent indicating passive disapproval or denounce such views openly. They advise that things have moved on, society has progressed and that science has proven that people don’t have a choice about some of these things.

Others tell Christians that it’s okay to hold these views privately but that they should never bring them to work. They are told that they must not allow their Christian views to influence decisions in the workplace. They are told that they cannot express religious opinions. They are banned from purchasing stalls at public markets if they are intending to sell or distribute Christian books.

Just last week a friend of mine who had been told he was making a positive contribution to an open public market with his potter’s wheel display, was suddenly banned because he was giving away Christian books. He was told he couldn’t even share his own story of conversion as he showed people how to make pots. In essence, he was gagged and rejected. The authorities wanted the feel good factor of people being able to learn a new skill, but not the real message of hope in Jesus that can permanently transform broken lives. How tragic.

The expectation that Christians can somehow divorce themselves from what they believe and then continue as if they were atheists whilst at work is evidence of a fundamental misunderstanding of what a Christian is.

A Christian is a new creation, they have been rescued from their sin and born again to a new life with a new Master. They are living for a new life, beyond this one, in Heaven with Jesus. They won’t conform to the world or embrace secular values. They cannot adopt views that are acceptable to the masses if they go against what is clearly stated in the Bible which is God’s Word. They won’t change what they believe or soften their stance on controversial issues. If they do and are ashamed of Jesus, He says that He will be ashamed of them when He returns.

A true Christian cannot and will not leave their faith at home because it is who they are. They likely believe they have been placed by God in their workplace to influence those around them by their words and behaviour. How can they do this if they are no different to their peers, if they don’t stand up for what they believe when the opportunity arises?

Would you ask someone to cut off an arm or leg or to wear a gag or blindfold in order to go to work? Of course not. Yet, the expectation that a Christian can leave their faith at home is no different to this ridiculous suggestion. This is why Christians would rather lose their jobs, their homes and everything else than deny their Lord.

Many stories of Christians being discriminated against quietly slip from public attention but are regularly highlighted by organisations like the Christian Institute and Christian Legal Centre who are working tirelessly to defend them.

Are we really a tolerant, democratic country or do we just support freedom of expression and conscience when it suits our purposes?