Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,

1 Tim 1:15-16

 ¹⁵ It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. ¹⁶ Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those ^[l]who would believe in Him for eternal life. 

Amazing Grace how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me wrote the former slave ship captain, a person we now recognise has the Anglican Vicar and Hymn Writer John Newton.

Some 2,000 years ago, a man was lead to his death by an occupying army to die a death that was both humiliating and agonising, both the political and religious authorities had conspired to end the live of this one man because they felt threated by his message and popularity his friends had run away from him and where now in hiding, one of his friends had betrayed him and one of his closest friends had denied him, he was beaten and bloodied, and was led to certain death by public execution, of all the tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands who shared his fate or will share his fate including some of his latter disciples, this one death out of thousands of similar deaths of those who had been crucified on a cross of wood, this one death was and is of eternal significance, this death bought God’s Gift of Salvation, the forgiveness of sins, The Redemption of Mankind.

When our Lord Jesus came, He had one mission in mind, he voluntary laid aside his divine attributes and was born by a woman, he lived a normal life in seeming obscurity, he launched his mission by these words The Spirit of the Lord is upon me see Luke 4:18-19, he had been tempted to sin by the deceiver and accuser Satan, yet had not sinned, indeed there was no sin found in Him, his mission then and now is to save sinners. John the Baptist said these words when Jesus came to him to be baptised in Water, Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, and see John 1:28-30.

What do we mean by the Word, sin?

Sin means missing the mark, failure, offense, taking the wrong course, sin, guilt, it’s also used in the New Testament in a generic sense of concrete wrongdoing, a principle and quality of action, and as a sinful deed this includes acts/desires/passions. Sin separates us from God the father because of sin we are unable to have a relationship with Him, Man has tried to find a way to have a relationship with God, and because of our sinful nature we have failed, yet God has provided us the way to Him , see John 14:6.

Let us look now, how Sin came into a perfect World, we all know that when Adam & Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, they were deceived by satan, see Romans 5:6-21 that because of the fall, sin entered a perfect world, we have inherited sin because we come from Adam & Eve and because of this we have a sinful nature and the desire and inclination to sin, see Romans 3:21-26.

Because no man is born without sin, and we have  sinful desires and inclinations, it is impossible for a man to die in our place for our sins,  God sent his Son Jesus, who voluntary died in our place for our sins, He died as our substitute he took the place we deserve, paid the price that we should really pay, he surrendered his life that we may live, he laid aside his relationship to his father, so that through him and his sacrifice we can enter into a relationship with His Father, and our Father see 2 Corinthians 5:14-21

Next for this reason I found Mercy

        

7 Habits of Effective Men

7 Habits of Effective Men

To boldly go, where no-one has gone before !

To boldly go, where no-one has gone before !

When I was growing up, my parents and grandparents would take me and my two sisters on holidays to Ifracombe on the North Devon Coast, and more often or not we would go by the MV Balmoral, which would sail between Swansea and Ilfracombe in the Summer months, and while there go for boat trips that would sail from Ilfracombe harbour, I have  many happy memories of going there as child and early teenager, because of these memories I enjoy spending time by the Coast and now live in a Seaside Resort, although I have not been on a boat trip for a while, I'm fascinated both by boats and the Sea.

I remember a few years ago, while on holidays in Porthleven, Cornwall, spending time in the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth and had an interesting and enjoyable time there, although one thing I noticed more than others that the boats on display, none of them were in their original context , it was fascinating looking at these boats and reading all about them, but all them weren't doing the job they were designed and build for, yes, being on the water. Porthleven is a lovely, fishing village situated near Helston, and has a very picturesque harbour and I noticed that all the boats were doing the purpose they were designed and build for. Like other seaside holiday destinations, Porthleven has several shops selling goods to tourists, some of these shops sell model ships, they look exactly like the originals, but they could never do, the same job as the original ! they were just for display

For centuries Great Britain has been a maritime nation, and many of our national heroes have been sailors, from the historic figures like Sir Francis Drake, Horatio Nelson, Captain James Cook, to the fictional heroes such as Horatio Hornblower, many of our wars and the battles that we fought have involved fighting on Sea, from fighting the Spanish Armada, The Battle from Trafalgar, The Battle Of Jutland, The Battle of the River Plate. Most of our imports and exports travel by sea, the sea has important part to play into our history, present and future as Great Britain. The sea routes used today both for business and pleasure had to be discovered, and the ships that travel those routes use sea-charts to show them where they are going and how to get there, from the smallest cabin cruiser to the mighty container ship. Yet someone had to go out and navigate the sea in order for these sea-charts to be produced. Many of these men, such as Sir Francis Drake and Captain James Cook, stand tall throughout our history.

We see in our Bibles, countless references to sailing and to sea, from Noah's Voyage, to Jonah and we know that the Lord's Disciples Peter, Andrew, James and John were fisherman on the Sea of Galilee, and many of the early missionaries such as Paul, Barnabas, Silas, Mark, Timothy and Luke often travelled by sea to spread the Good News of the Gospel of Salvation to the people of the known world. In Ephesians 4:12, one of the meanings of the Greek Word we translate as equip is prepare a ship for voyage (one of the other meanings, is to set a broken bone).

In the 19th and 20th centuries many people left these shores and other shores to travel the world, to spread the Good News of the Gospel of Salvation, following the example of men like William Carey, John Wesley and George Whitfield, I remember growing up in small Pentecostal Church in the South Wales Valley's, and hearing about many men and women who went forth as missionaries, and being inspired by the reports that came back from our missionaries in places like Nigeria and India, I had the privilege not only of having a retired missionary as one of my Sunday School Teachers, and having two former missionary couples as my Pastor and his wife , but also being related to one of the earliest Pentecostal Pioneers from the United Kingdom to Nigeria, who in his later years inspired me to seek and serve God. While a student in Bible School, several of my lecturers had been missionaries, and I know how much they inspired me and my fellow students.

In the early part of the 21st Century, many of us may not have the same opportunities to travel to other lands following in the footsteps of our brothers and sisters who went before us, there are still opportunities we can take, perhaps in short-term mission trips, we have advancements in technology they didn't have anything  like the Internet, I remember being in School in the 1980's and never thought then I could not talk to people in places like America and Australia via a computer and a phone-line but to count them as friends as well. On the other hand we don't have to travel to other lands to be a missionary, we can be missionaries in our villages, towns, suburbs, cities but most importantly in our communities. I know that in the coming days, the Lord will inspire many of us to become missionaries on other towns, cities and regions throughout our own lands but other lands as well.

In the last 12-18 months, I have been greatly inspired by the writings of people like Alan J Roxburgh, Alan Hirsch, Neil Cole, Martin Robinson and Floyd McClung, especially when it comes to being Missional and being challenged by the concept of mission dei or God's Mission. I may not have the opportunities to travel to other lands to spread the Good News of the Gospel of Salvation, but it doesn't mean that there are no opportunities here in the United Kingdom. I've just read something that David Cameron, the Prime Minister here in the UK, said about Broken Britain and Social Recession. (If you would like to read more about Missional, I strongly recommend (Introducing the Missional Church by Alan J Roxburgh). Both my prayer and desire is to see God raise up His People here in the UK and other lands to see the spiritual needs in our own lands, and be willing to follow His direction either to pray, support or go, hopefully to do all, some of us He will send to our neighbours, some of us He will send to our streets, some to our towns and cities, but all He asks are we willing to go to those He will send us ?

Some of us in coming days, He will ask to be Pioneers, and to go where no-one has gone before or for some time, to break into new territory or to go and re-claim territory. I'm now going to share some Scriptures with you, and my Prayer is that God will use these Scriptures to challenge you for the first time or to challenge for you for the thousandth time, and follow his direction, which will not only impact your own live, but impact the lives of others, those who is sending you to.

If you're wondering if my title sounds familiar, it's from Star Trek, the days ahead will be days of challenge, courage and grace but most importantly of opportunity, and I pray that we take the courage and the grace, to take the opportunities those challenges will present to us.

Isa 6:8-9a TNIv

8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"

       And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" 9 He said, "Go and tell this people

Matt 28:19-20 NIv

19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in [a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Romans 10:14015a NCV

 14 But before people can ask the Lord for help, they must believe in him; and before they can believe in him, they must hear about him; and for them to hear about the Lord, someone must tell them;15 and before someone can go and tell them, that person must be sent.

Yours by His Grace

Blair Humphreys 

I was wondering about being ready by Vicky Walker

Are you there yet? Completed the non-negotiable, God-breathed decree of all that must be achieved before you are Ready For Marriage™? Contents vary by individual but these spiritually-infallible checklists often include… Reaching a particular age, and a certain point in your education or career, probably earning a certain amount; undertaking travel / obscure mission trips while still responsibility-free; being ready to ‘settle down’ and become a parent at a designated future point (or NOW depending on biological clock); drawing up a list of stringent requirements for your future partner (because, y’know, desires of your heart and all that) and submitting said list to God while reminding him of it on a weekly / daily / hourly basis (no comment). All done? You, my friend, are the finished article, materially, spiritually and emotionally. You’re READY. Bring on Mr / Miss Godly Spouse. It’s time to crack open Song of Songs.

Small note of caution though. If you’re not RFM yet don’t really get to know someone. Date, maybe, but don’t get serious. Why bother? Hold back emotions and commitment until the readiness process is complete and can be verified by angels (yes, I've checked – that’s what happens). Except… what if that’s not how it unfolds? What if you don’t get the dream career or it pays buttons or takes up every waking minute? What if the idea of being – or needing – ‘the provider’ is unrealistic? What if the pieces don’t fit together? Or what if you get to that mystical point in the future when everything you’d planned is in place and you don’t feel ‘ready’ after all? I mean, what does ready even feel like?

We might start telling ourselves (and prospective partners) we’re terrible at relationships. We might say we don’t know how to be with someone or we just haven’t met the one yet and that’s why we can’t commit. We wait for a magical encounter when we’ll cross paths and just know. Years can roll by while we hold back, repeatedly exiting promising scenarios because the time isn't right and we’re not there yet, or avoid relationships altogether. There is, of course, genuinely ‘not ready’. A difficult past, hurt from broken relationships, emotional issues that can keep us from being good for anyone. That’s the kind of ‘not ready’ to spend time putting right so we don’t sabotage our futures, but it’s not a place to stay. God heals so we don’t have to live hurt and hurt others. What we need to watch out for is the not ready that keeps us making excuses, suppressing feelings, avoiding intimacy. That’s the ‘not ready’ with no time limit.

I suspect love’s great adventure doesn't start with conditions. I’m intrigued by couples who set out without the pieces in place. Who don’t rush in without thinking, but also don’t allow hypothetical standards to determine the future. Who allow themselves to feel and risk and be open to possibility and to seeing it through together. I wonder if they are the ones who are actually ready because they commit, mature as they go, grow into love, and become the husbands and wives God intended them to be, through vulnerability, trial and error, prayer and perseverance, falling down and getting up again.

When you ask yourself if you’re ready, don’t aim for some distant spot in the future when everything will be perfect. Instead ask yourself if you’re ready to make time and space while you’re still a work in progress. Because that’s as ready as we get to be.

Marriage – What Would Jesus Do?

A special message from Christian Concern

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Marriage – What Would Jesus Do? Watch this video message from Andrea (1m 52s). Play it in your church this Sunday to encourage people to pray! Download an A4 poster to take to church this Sunday > In just a few days time, the House of Commons will vote on what is certainly the most significant issue to come before it in this Parliamentary session. The Commons is on the verge of initiating a huge social re-engineering project and wrecking lasting damage on the vital institution of marriage.  MPs are threatening to move our nation away from God’s pattern for marriage as the union of one man and one woman for life. God gives that pattern not to oppress or restrict but because He loves us and delights to see humanity flourish. As our Creator, He knows and wants what is best for us individually and collectively. What would Jesus do? Built into creation and throughout the Scriptures, this is God’s pattern for marriage – a pattern that ultimately speaks of His own relationship and love for His people. And when Jesus Christ, the most compassionate person ever to have walked on earth, was asked about divorce, He went out of His way to uphold God’s pattern for marriage. We read in chapter 19 of Matthew’s gospel:  “Haven’t you read,” [Jesus] replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?" Jesus cared too much to have any place for the redefinition of marriage. He took people back to God’s original good pattern. He didn’t duck the issue. He spoke clearly – because He cared.  What will we do? The question for us in these critical days is whether we too will speak up for God’s good pattern for marriage, whatever the cost? Those pushing for this change want us to think it's inevitable. But now is not the time to lose confidence and seek compromise -  it's time to pray and speak! We need to see these proposed changes for what they are. ‘Redefinition’ is really erosion and destruction.  Eroding marriage in this way will bring greater hurt, pain and brokenness in our society and make it harder to address these issues. Eroding marriage will lead to greater exclusion of churches from public life and make it harder for people to hear the Gospel truth and experience Gospel love. Eroding marriage represents a rejection of God’s pattern and a further move away from Him, the giver of life and reconciliation. Eroding marriage will affect children and future generations even more than us, leading to even greater confusion about identity, purpose and meaning. As we face these critical days, we need to ask: “Do we care enough? Do we care as much as Jesus cares?”  If so, we must be prepared to speak. Yes, with compassion, gentleness and kindness. Yes, with awareness of the reality and struggle of same-sex attraction that some experience. But with confidence that God’s pattern for marriage is good and that its erosion will only bring damage and hurt.   We need to ask: “Are we ashamed of Jesus and His words? Are we ashamed of marriage?” Join us... May God give us grace and strength to stand together in these crucial days, crying out to Him in prayer and speaking of His gift of marriage to our society. We plan to do just that at the prayer gathering outside Parliament next Monday (20 May) and Tuesday (21 May) at 12-2pm and 5-7pm on both days. Please come along if you can. If you can't make it to London next week, why not organise a prayer gathering at your local church? Finally, thank you for all that you are doing to pray and stand for marriage.

Can a Christian Be Gay? (Part 1)

Can a Christian Be Gay? (Part 1)

Shavuot and the Christian significance of Jewish holidays

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