I would like to introduce you to the 37th member of Brimpton Baptist Church, Charles. Charles is not a new member who recently joined, in fact, his membership seems to have ended sometime before 1875. He joined the church by baptism, which means he mostly likely heard the Gospel from the founding minister of this … Read more
Over the years I have been privileged to meet many Christian workers from around the world. I am always glad to see individuals and families following the call that God puts on their hearts, whether to go and share the Gospel or remain where they are and share the Gospel. I am especially glad when … Read more
God desires fellowship with His creation. The Bible, God’s revelation of Himself and His plan, is the basis for our relationship with God. Before we look more at what the Bible is I want to lay a bit more of a foundation. How important is the Bible? Job 23:12 – I have esteemed the words of … Read more
Disciples of Christ could prevent many problems in their lives by spending quality time in God’s Word. On Sunday mornings I am currently preaching a three week series on “Walking in the Word”. Spending time with God in His Word should be a daily habit for believers. Yet I find all too often that this … Read more
This afternoon as my family and I drove into a car park we laughed at a situation unfolding between a dog and its owner. They had just returned from a walk, and the medium sized dog had in its mouth a stick about 6ft long. I got out of the van and before walking away … Read more
In Joshua 4 the nation of Israel face the opportunity to end their wilderness wanderings, enforced because of the faithlessness of a previous generation, and they prepare to enter the land which God has promised to them. Standing between the promised new life and the trials of the old life, flowed the mighty river Jordan. … Read more
March 1st. March 19th. April 29th. May 30th. Those are the dates of my last 4 blog updates. It is not exactly a regular and consistent use of a blog. So I am faced with a choice. Do I abandon the blog all together? Or on the day that every one else is setting soon-to-be-abandoned … Read more
The just estimate of our gifts which Paul enjoins is needful in order that we may ascertain what God has meant us to be and do, and may neither waste our strength in trying to be some one else, nor hide our talent in the napkin of ignorance or false humility. There is quite as much harm done to Christian character and Christian service by our failure to recognise what is in our power, as by ambitious or ostentatious attempts at what is above our power. We have to be ourselves as God has made us in our natural faculties, and as the new life of Christ operating on these has made us new creatures in Him not by changing
– Alexander MacLaren on Romans 12:1-3
I have no sympathy with people who tell us today that these are the darkest days the world has ever seen. The days in which we live are appalling, but they do not compare with conditions in the world when Jesus came into it. Historians talk of the Pax Romana and make much of the fact that there was peace everywhere, the Roman peace. Do not forget that the Roman peace was the result of the fact that the world had been bludgeoned brutally into submission to one central power.…
Notwithstanding the prevailing conditions, the dominant note of these Letters, revealing the experience of the Church, is a note of triumph. The dire and dread facts and conditions are never lost sight of—indeed, they are there all the way through. The people are seen going out and facing these facts—and suffering because of these facts—but we never see them depressed and cast down, we never see them suffering from pessimistic fever. They are always triumphant. That is the glory of Christianity.
If ever I am tempted to think that religion is almost dead today, it is when I listen to the wailing of some Christian people: “Everything is wrong,” or “Everything is going wrong.” Oh, be quiet! Think again, look again, judge not by the circumstances of the passing hour but by the infinite things of our Gospel and our God. And that is exactly what these people did.
– G. Campbell Morgan
HT – http://www.epm.org/blog/2013/Apr/29/historys-darkest-hour?utm_source=feedly