Month: July 2017

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The Lord God omnipotent reigns!

Following their latest test of an intercontinental ballistic missile, there is growing concern around the world about North Korea. Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, claims that the entire US is now within striking range of his missiles. The North Koreans are also working on a project to miniaturise a nuclear warhead to fit on their long-range missiles. The leaders of South Korea, Japan and the USA are not sure how to respond. China is a key player in influencing Kim Jong-un, but is reluctant to act.

Throughout history there have been leaders who have been ambitious to extend and display their power. The Bible tells the story of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon that was the world super-power of that day. One night Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that deeply disturbed him. He saw a large tree in the middle of the earth that reached high into the heavens for all the world to see. Then a messenger shouted, “Cut down the tree and lop off its branches! But leave the stump and the roots in the ground, bound with a band of iron and bronze. Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him live with the wild animals among the plants of the field. Let him have the mind of a wild animal instead of the mind of a man.”

King Nebuchadnezzar asked Daniel to interpret his dream. He told Nebuchadnezzar that the tree represented him. Nebuchadnezzar had grown strong and great; his rule reached up to heaven and to the ends of the earth. Through the dream, God was telling Nebuchadnezzar that he would be driven from human society and would live in the fields with the wild animals until he learned “that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world and gives them to anyone he chooses.” Nebuchadnezzar would receive his kingdom back when he learned that heaven rules. Then Daniel gave the King some advice, “Stop sinning and do what is right. Break from your wicked past and be merciful to the poor.”

The dream God gave Nebuchadnezzar came to pass. After his sanity returned he praised and worshipped God and said, “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and glorify and honour the King of heaven. All his acts are just and true, and he is able to humble the proud.” Today the leaders of the nations, and those who aspire to great power, should humbly remember that heaven rules. All of us can also find great comfort in knowing that the Lord God omnipotent reigns!

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God is wonderfully kind

Last week the BBC reluctantly revealed the salaries received by its presenters, actors, pundits and contributors who earn more than £150,000 a year. The general response was that the salaries were high, with many whose roles appear to be straightforward receiving higher salaries than the Prime Minister. People struggling to pay their mandatory licence fee out of the benefits they receive to support them and their families must have seen the salaries as very generous indeed.

The biggest debate, however, has been the obvious inequality between the salaries paid to men and women who fulfil the same kind of roles, in some cases, presenting the same programme. More than 40 high-profile women have written a letter to the BBC director-general urging him to act now to close the gender gap and to “do the right thing.” In their letter they acknowledge, “Compared to many women and men, we are very well compensated and fortunate.” It is not clear, however, whether they think the BBC should increase their, already generous, salaries or reduce the salaries paid to some men.

Jesus told a parable about a landowner who, early one morning, hired workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay them the normal daily labourer’s wage. At 9 o’clock, noon, 3 o’clock, and even 5’oclock, he saw people who had no work to do and hired them, telling them he would pay them whatever was right. At the end of the day he paid all the people a full day’s wage. Those who had worked all day complained that he had been unfair. The landowner replied that he had paid them the full day’s wage he had promised and said, “Should you be jealous because I am kind to others?” Then Jesus added, “So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last.”

Jesus was teaching that God is wonderfully generous and kind. He doesn’t discriminate between rich and poor people or give preference to those who have had the privilege of knowing Christian teaching all their lives. At whatever time in our lives we come to God, he receives us and promises us forgiveness and eternal life. In Jesus, there is true equality that transcends all the great divisions between people in this world. The apostle Paul told the early Christians, “You are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

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I am with you always

Many people in the UK today live on their own. In 2016, there were 7.7 million one person households; 54% of whom were women and 46 % were men. Between 1996 and 2016 the number of one person households increased by 15% for those aged over 65 and by 51% for those aged 45-64. In contrast, during that period the number of one person households fell by 12% amongst those aged 25-44. Some younger people are living with their parents longer than in previous generations and others are sharing accommodation with friends. In wealthy societies increasing numbers of people are choosing to live alone. In Scandinavia, for example, nearly 50% of the adult population live alone.

Not everyone who lives on their own is lonely, but many are. Those who have experienced the pain of marriage breakdown and those who have been bereaved feel it acutely. For them, living alone, eating alone and returning to an empty house at the end of each day is something they never really get used to. Communicating with “friends” through social media may help, but is not the same as human companionship and sharing the ups and downs of daily life with someone we love. It is good to have to consider someone else’s needs as well as our own. An elderly widow who lived next door to us told us that living on her own meant she could be tempted to be very selfish.

Jesus experienced profound loneliness when he died on the cross. On the night before he died he told his disciples, who had been his close companions over the past 3 years, “The time is coming – indeed it’s here now – when you will be scattered, each one going his own way, leaving me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me.” Yet, the next day, as he suffered on the cross, he experienced total aloneness as he paid the price of our sins. Out of the darkness he cried, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me.” Later, as he prepared to die, he knew the Father’s presence again. His last words were, “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands.”

One of the great promises Jesus made to his disciples, as he sent them out into a hostile world to proclaim the good news of the Gospel, was “I am with you always.” Knowing Jesus as Saviour and Lord means we are never alone because, through the Holy Spirit, he really is with us.

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A mother’s love

Little Charlie Gard is unaware of the international media attention surrounding him and his parents. Connie and Chris are fighting to get permission to take Charlie to the USA to undergo experimental treatment that might possibly save his life. Charlie was born on 4 August 2016 and suffers from a rare genetic condition known as mitochondrial DNA depletion. The excellent medical team at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children have provided wonderful treatment and care for Charlie, but can do no more. They believe the time has come to withdraw treatment from Charlie and provide palliative care only. Connie and Chris have challenged this decision in the highest courts in Britain and Europe which, so far, have all supported the hospital’s view.

A parent’s love is a powerful thing. It nurtures, guides, protects, forgives. It is unconditional and can sometimes save your life. This love is seen in the passionate commitment of Connie and Chris to pursue any course of action that gives Charlie a chance to live. Connie has said, “He’s our son, he’s our flesh and blood. There is nothing to lose, he deserves a chance. If he is still fighting, we are still fighting. We’re not doing this for us. He’s our son. We want what’s best for him.”

In 2014, Ashya King’s parents provoked an international manhunt when they took their 5-year-old son from hospital in Southampton without the doctor’s consent. They wanted to take him to Prague to receive proton beam therapy which was unproven but, they believed, might save his life. Ashya was eventually treated in Prague and three years later he is well, happy and back in school. He has regular check-ups to monitor his health.

J. C Ryle, the first Anglican Bishop of Liverpool, wrote, “The nurse in the hospital may do her work properly and well, may give the sick patient his medicine at the right time, may feed him, care for him and attend to all his needs. But there is a difference between that nurse and a mother watching over a dying child. The one acts from a sense of duty; the other from affection and love. The one does her duty because she is paid for it; the other is what she is because of her heart.” The passionate love of a mother for her child reminds us of the even more amazing love of God who “so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

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The Lord omnipotent is King!

There is a power vacuum in Britain today because the general election gave no political party an overall majority. There is a spirit of anarchy in the air. Anarchy is a state of disorder due to the absence or non-recognition of authority. When there is no effective government individuals claim absolute freedom to do what they want. The consequences for society are potentially very serious. In the Bible there was a time when Israel had no king and “all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.”

This raises important questions for the future of our society and the wellbeing of every individual in it. How do we know what is right? Are we free to do anything we want? To whom are we accountable? The Ten Commandments provide a clear and coherent basis for a stable society in which every individual can flourish. The commandments begin with God. He must be recognized as God and be given a unique place. So, the first commandment is, “You must not have any other god but me.” God is supreme. He is the One who created us and to whom we are accountable for the way in which we live. We must love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our strength.

The commandments also teach how we must relate to each other. Our neighbour’s life, wife, possessions and reputation are to be safeguarded and respected. We must not to be covetous about our neighbour’s possessions; a very relevant commandment in our materialistic society. In summary, we must love our neighbour as we love ourselves. These commandments are not advice, but are given by God’s authority and are to be obeyed.

When we recognize the absolute authority of God and seek to live according to his commands we are faced with the fact that we all fail to obey his commands. We are all lawbreakers and sinners. We need to find forgiveness and experience God’s grace. The wonderful message of the Christian Gospel is that God, the Lawgiver, is also the One who sent his Son to save those who have broken his laws. Isaiah wrote, “He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.”