TWO BLOGS FOR ADVENT

 

THE SIGNS OF HIS COMING - 1

A few days before he was crucified Jesus spoke prophetically and at some length about the course of history and the “signs of his coming and the end of the age”*.  Some parts of his prophecy are not easy to grasp, but there are some statements which are very clear, very relevant, and need to be taken to heart, especially by our own generation. These statements are not just for prophetic “geeks”, but demand a practical response from the 21^st century church.

Perhaps the most compelling of these statements is Matt 24:14, “This gospel will be preached in all the world and then the end will come”. For a despised Galilean rabbi who was about to be executed as a criminal this would seem the most absurd of statements, bordering on the fanatical. Humanly there was zero hope of fulfilment. In 2012, however, we should be looking around the world in sheer wonder and amazement at the overwhelming evidence of its increasing fulfilment. There is scarcely single country in which the gospel has not been preached and in which there are no Christians. In the last century tens of millions of people have become Christians, and every day large numbers are being converted in the most difficult of countries and circumstances

Two things reinforce the importance of this prophecy of Jesus for our own times. The first is that Jesus added to his words about the gospel being preached in all the world the phrase, “and then the end will come”. People speak quite loosely and often misguidedly about “end times signs”, but there is nothing loose about this word of Jesus; nothing could be more clear or definite. “The end”, of course, means his return, the culmination of the current historical process. Jesus said, “When you see these things come to pass look up”, and the preaching of the gospel in all the world is precisely ‘one of these things’. It’s time to look up!

The second thing which reinforces the importance of this prophecy is that the speed with which the gospel is spreading worldwide is escalating rapidly. It is only since the 18^th century that the evangelical gospel has really begun to go worldwide, and the 20^th century probably saw more converts than all the previous centuries put together. All nations have been reached; it remains now to reach all tribes and peoples. This should certainly make us “look up”. Furthermore it should hugely encourage the church to put as much effort as possible into the task bringing about the fulfilment of the prophetic word of Jesus. I cannot imagine anything other than real excitement in the heavenly places about what is happening with the gospel in the world. May it grip our hearts too. 

THE SIGNS OF HIS COMING – 2

Jesus was very clear about the fact that the gospel would be preached in all the world before the end came (see previous blog on The Signs). He strengthened that prediction and added a further dimension to it with the words, “You will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me” (Matt. 24:9). “By all nations” confirms the global reach of the gospel, and the first part of the statement makes clear that it would be accompanied by widespread persecution wherever the gospel went. History abundantly confirms the extraordinary accuracy of both of these prophetic predictions.

Persecution by all nations! Hated by all nations? This might seem contrary to reason. Why should the proclamation of such a powerful ethical creed invite such opposition? Its fruit is so obviously good for humanity; why not embrace it? Jesus knew only too well from experience, however, that it would expose the pride, arrogance and lust of world rulers (whether secular or religious) and produce a bitter hatred. He was also aware that his name was the centre piece of a worldwide conflict with supernatural powers of darkness and would inspire equal hatred. His followers would therefore receive particular hatred from other religions. The opposition would not only be among world leaders but, as Luke tells us, there would be intense strife even between ordinary families.

From the very inception of the gospel the prophecy proved only too true. Its founder, Jesus, was crucified. The early church grew up under persecution; Stephen and James were quickly martyred as were, it seems, Peter and Paul. People lost their homes and possessions and became refugees. For some three centuries the pattern persisted under bitter Roman persecution, and the eventual “conversion” of Rome only led to many centuries of persecution by a politically institutionalised church (Jesus knew all about that too!), especially at the Reformation. In striking fulfilment of his prophecy it has been, however, the 20^th century which has witnessed the most widespread persecution of the church. For something like two decades the hatred of a communistic regime sought to destroy the church in China and thousands of Christians perished; it still goes on in N. Korea. Militant Islam, born in the latter half of the 20^th century burns with a hatred of Christians throughout the wider Middle East,  The “Persecution Map” published by Open Doors shows how widespread persecution is across the world and indicates its intensity.

Thus this prophecy of Jesus points us to a major “front line” of the church’s battle in our generation. It is not a prophecy for discussion or speculation, but for engagement and action. It is certainly so for us in our relatively comfortable surroundings. Thank God for “Open Doors”, “Barnabas Fund”, Solidarity World Wide” and the many other agencies called out of God to respond to the needs of persecuted Christians.

One final and crucial thought; persecution has never overcome the spread of the gospel. How true that has been in China! In fact it has been again and again the “seed of the church”. It both purifies and grows the church, and will continue to do so. But it is very painful, and we are called to assuage each other’s pain.

 

 

Bob

U.S.A. FLOODS


 Hello, everyone. I'm sorry it's been such a long time since I've been able to blog, but I simply had to respond to the present sight of the hurricane and floods on the American East coast, and especially in New York. This is probably going to be a "one off" blog


At the end of July Billy Graham, now 93, published an open letter to America calling for repentance in the face of threatening judgement. In his letter, “My heart aches for America” Billy Graham said he recalled how his late wife, Ruth, once expressed concerns about the “nation’s terrible downward spiral” – exclaiming, “If God doesn’t punish America, He’ll have to apologise to Sodom and Gomorrah”. He went on to say that he wondered what Ruth would think of the country today where “self-centred indulgence, pride, and lack of shame over sin are now emblems of the American lifestyle”.

Charisma magazine, which widely publicised the letter said, “Graham’s letter calling America to repentance comes as a growing number of respected Christian leaders have issued similar warnings in recent months, noting that the nation is on a downward spiral of economic decline, immorality, corruption, growing secular humanism and attacks on religious liberty”. Jack Hayford says Graham’s letter comes as the nation is in “a very grim hour as we approach the election this year.  We are at the point that desperate action is needed and Billy’s voice can give rise to that”. Rabbi Cahn, the senior pastor at the America’s largest Messianic (Jewish Christian) congregation said in his book, The Harbinger, “The same progression of judgement that occurred in the last days of ancient Israel is now occurring in America. The call is ultimately for salvation for those who don’t know the Lord and repentance and revival for those who do”.

All this caused a stir and produced large prayer gatherings throughout October and which continue. We need to thank God for this.

It is in this context that the flooding of New York and its surrounding states needs to be weighed and taken very seriously to heart. If ever there was to be a divine affirmation of the relevance and accuracy of Billy Graham’s warning, this flooding has to be it. It is a remarkable fact that for several months before and up to the 9/11 disaster, David Wilkerson’s church in Times Square, very close to Ground Zero, was impelled to prayer and fasting sensing that some grave danger threatened the U.S. Billy Graham’s warning seems to have been a similar kind of spiritual forewarning.

We need to be very thankful for such forewarnings and prayer. One feels very much that such prayer must have brought a mitigation of what might have been worse destruction. However, the stark fact remains that such prayer did not prevent the disaster occurring. This is the fact that we have to ponder very seriously: the flood still came.

The present disaster, the flooding in New York and New Jersey in particular, was huge as we have all seen. The storm with its diameter of 1,000 miles was huge, the 13ft surge which swept across Manhattan was unparalleled, and millions were left without water and power. The cost of the damage will be in billions of dollars at a time when the U.S. economy can least afford such draconian demands on its already debt-laden public purse. It is one more disaster in a train of disasters suffered by the U.S. since the turn of the millennium.

It has to come into the category of a “judgement” in its own right, though. like 9/11 it seems very clear that it is also a pointer and a warning against worse that is to come. Billy Graham was right to talk of judgement in the American context. It was another warning, another wake-up call, another call to repentance and a return to God. But will it be seen in that light? That is the critical question. 9/11 certainly wasn’t seen in that light except by very few Christians. The nation didn’t see 9/11 that way, but proudly talked of a rebuild and a crusade against an “axis of evil”. The American church in general didn’t see it that way and preached against such talk of judgement.  What of this latest disaster? I sense that the timing of Billy Graham’s letter was such that there will now be a few more ears open to and ready to accept that the idea of judgement is not one to be trifled with. We should be thankful for that, though many evangelical Christians will still find difficulty in coming to terms with the concept and challenge of a God who brings such judgement.

The secular, “enlightened” world will not see it this way (unless there is a miracle on the scale of Nineveh’s repentance after Jonah’s preaching). Their intent is to get Wall St. (part of the essential problem!) back into operation as quickly as possible and they will take pride in such human restoration. The religious and denominational leaders will be rightly urging help and aid for the victims but none the less will cling to the humanistic concept that to talk of judgement is abhorrent, immoral and non-Christian.

What grounds have we for insisting on such a judgment dimension? There are two; First, biblical, and second, experiential.

The biblical case for understanding God as a God who judges nations is overwhelming. Likewise the biblical case for those judgements taking the shape of war and natural disasters is equally overwhelming. There are 3 Major Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel) and there are 12 “minor” prophets. In every single one, judgement and judgement by natural disasters is foundational. This is their fundamental message. Likewise they are foundational doctrines in the historical books, and in books of the Law. Natural disaster as judgement is epitomised in Amos 4 where Amos catalogues the disasters which Israel has suffered over a number of years, disasters which the Israelites chose to ignore. The question is never whether these concepts of judgement are biblical; the question is whether we receive them as the word of God and active for our own generation. The humanistic strain in religion has rejected that possibility (and with vehemence!) and looked for a more up to date ethic. But to a Christian who sees God speaking and enunciating principles in scripture that is not an option; they have to come to terms with what they are reading.

The second reason, experiential, relates to what we can see happening around us in our experience. Briefly, for example, if we put together the moral state of the U.S. as a nation and the severe buffeting that has been happening to it on many fronts in the last ten years then we are forced to see the power of the biblical paradigm of judgement that the prophets give to us: it is there in front of our eyes. God judges nations, even America! Billy Graham is an American, he is not out to “bash” America, but he sees very clearly the utter corruption of corporate America, its appalling sexual license, self-indulgence and pride. As a spiritual man it sickens him and he knows there have to be consequences. He knows, and we know, that these things cannot go on without some divine rebuke. That is the simple truth we have to wake up to.

Postscript. 9/11 brought severe destruction to the Twin Towers which epitomised corporate America, and also some destruction to the Pentagon, the military HQ of the nation. In the ten years that followed both corporate America and the military have taken a severe drubbing and been deeply shaken. The White House, representing the Presidency, was significantly spared in the 9/11 attack. One wonders whether the timing of the flooding just prior to the Presidential election has significance. These judgements are prophetic pointers which it is wise just to keep in mind as we look to the future.

Our prayer must continue to be that of Habakkuk, “Lord, in wrath remember mercy”.


Bob

Reluctantly I am needing to take a rest from computer work for week or two. In the meantime every blessing to everyone!

Bob

AN OPEN LETTER

Most of you will know that we are in the middle of a national consultation on the way same-sex relationships might be brought into the category of marriage. The consultation finishes in a month’s time and it is critical that the Christian voice is heard on this issue along with all others
who find this disturbing. Three ways of speaking out are to sign the petition organized by C4M, write to your MP, and respond to the questions being asked in the government’s consultation paper. If possible we need to do all three. Already nearly 500,000 people have signed the petition, and there cannot be too many. Government ministers tend to live in denial unless “blown” out it!

I thought it might be of encouragement if I made my own letter to my MP an open letter in this column, and so I do. It has been a difficult to know how to write this letter. I can’t say that I am fully satisfied with it since it is quite impossible to say all that ought to be said or to know how it should be said. My only consolation is that at least I’ve said something, and along with others who might just say something we trust it may have an effect. You might find it helpful; you might want to make a comment on it; you might want to disagree. I simply offer it:-

Dear (MP),

I hope you will not mind me writing to you in connection with the government’s consultation on equal marriage. Though that consultation makes provision for the expression of individual viewpoints, I none the less value the opportunity of writing to you personally as my MP since you would be involved in any consequent legislation in the Commons, and I do not feel satisfied by the unavoidable faceless and impersonal process with which the consultation responses are to be considered.

I simply want to say that I am deeply disturbed by the proposal to redefine marriage to include
same-sex relationships. I believe it to be retrogressive, not progressive, since it will inevitably undermine the most important of our social institutions, the nuclear family of a man and a woman and their children. It will lead to a sea change in terminology and in attitudes which will confuse a new generation and lead them away from that nuclear family, seriously distorting and damaging our society.



I am equally disturbed by the fact that the Minister for Equality, Ms. Lynne Featherstone, should have publically dismissed the sort of viewpoint I have just expressed as being “homophobic”, making the assumption that all right thinking people should see things through her own “liberal progressive” eyes. That clearly betrays intolerance; an intolerance that is also very evident in the curt, draconian manner in which the consultation has proscribed any discussion on whether such change should or should not be made, and confined it to the “how” only. As many have pointed out this is scarcely a democratic way of proceeding since no party manifesto spoke of this. Changes to foundational, time honoured institutions cannot be brought in by the back door.

May I enumerate three further considerations?
1. There is no legal necessity for this proposal; all legal requirements for same-sex relationships are in place in civil partnerships.
2. There is no national mandate for these proposals. Quite the contrary. Numerous social surveys show that when people are aware of what civil partnerships already provide there is a very clear majority desire to retain marriage as it is. It is interesting that all the states of USA which have held a referendum on the issue have rejected same-sex marriage though upholding civil partnerships.
3. The "safeguards” to protect the continuance of heterosexual marriage only in religious organisations look very much to be unfounded reassurances. They are ignoring a statement from the European Court of Human Rights to the effect that if the British law is changed making same-sex marriage legal they will ensure that it also applies to those wishing to be married in churches in this country. All ministers of religion need cast iron assurance that there can be no legal proceeding against them if they decline to marry same sex couples in church. This is a crucial right of conscience, and it will undoubtedly be under threat.

I apologize for the length of this letter but thank you in advance for whatever time you are able to give to it. I know you will have your own personal views n the issue, but have the confidence to believe you will take the viewpoint I have expressed seriously and seek some safeguard.

With continued good wishes to you in all the good work you do for the constituency, which is appreciated by many.

Yours sincerely, etc



May the Lord guide all of us, whether in prayer or
action.

N.B. C4M stands for "Coalition for Marriage" and its website can be found by entering C4M in "Search". The Consulatation Document can be found on the Home Office website.

Bob

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I'm so sorry that no column has appeard this week. Commitment to family solidarity in the wider family has had to take precedence.
I look forward to being back with you next week.


Bob

ETERNITY

One of the saddest aspects of city life is that we rarely think to look up at the sky. For one thing the city is always well lit up at night and we have no need of stars or moon. Indeed the cities of earth are all more visible from space than space is from them! We miss an awful lot, both by day and especially by night. Moreover the city is very busy; it’s the place of pavements, roads, buildings, noise, movement, speed and the place where a thousand and one things clamour for our attention. Our focus is below, not above; the sky is obliterated.

This is a parable of the age in which we live. We are caught up in the things of the moment, life here and now, life down below. The wonder and eternal nature of the sky at night with the brilliance and multitude of its stars are of little concern. It's the same with the beauty of the clouds and the colours of the day or sunset. We do not have time or inclination to think on the eternal. Deeper meanings in life have seemingly little attraction for us. Life now and its
immediate pleasures are the main concern. We are looking down, not up.

This is the way of the world, but the world is always trying to invade the church of God with its ways and attitudes, and I wonder how much of this “earth bound” spirit pushes its way into the church, and even its preaching? The gospel has a great deal to say and to teach, of course, about how we should live in this world and make the best of our lives. That is fundamental material for the preacher and is incredibly relevant to everyday living. But the crowning glory of the gospel always has been and remains the offer of eternal life and with it the great promise of a new creation, resurrected bodies and an eternity lived in the fuller presence of the unspeakable glory of God. The gospel is a call to look up to the great horizons of everlasting life. What I want to say is that we seem to be an age in which the grandeur and majesty of this theme has been somehow overlooked or neglected.

Perhaps this failure also has something to do with the fact that life expectancy is much greater now, health provision more certain, risks more easily off loaded and death with its profound challenge carefully side-lined. But the Christian is a person for whom God takes the risks and for whom death is a going home and is “far better”. The Christian should be deeply conscious of this, however, and not just dimly aware of this eternal dimension. The hope of eternal life should be bright and real, shining a strong, healing light into the darkest moments of pain and trial in this present world. It will not shine with that sort of brightness, however, if it is not preached, taught and expounded confidently and regularly; and that is my concern. In our Western culture everything conspires to make us think almost exclusively of the present. We are not hearing enough about eternity. Only with persecuted brothers and sisters in other parts, where the pressure is on to think of what lies beyond this world does something of the reality of that glory register.

Life does have dark and painful moments, both for ourselves and for those we love or are concerned for. Such moments can be very prolonged, very painful and severely testing. Jesus himself warned of this when he said, “In the world you will have tribulation”. It is so important to be able to put such moments into the perspective of the glory of the coming eternal life. It is so important to be able to see them as moments when we can actually discover the comfort of God and to know they will give way to the unspeakable glory of a new creation.

But it is not just for dark moments that we need to be thinking of eternal issues. It’s also for those glorious moments when we look up into the sky and see the wonder and majesty of our Creator and revel in what he is and what he has promised. It 's for those moments when we meditate on the cross and realise afresh that what he did there for us stretches on and on into eternity. We need to be able to stand with Paul and say, “If only for this life we have hope in Christ we are to be pitied more than all men” (1 Cor.15:19). It is the future eternal prospect that is the truly awesome vista!

Let’s be prepared to talk about eternity. Don’t let the cynicism and scoffing of the “clever” muzzle this astonishing truth.



Bob


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"THE ONE PERSON"

At the moment I am taking a bit of a break from “engaging” with the world in which we are living, so that though all sorts of things (important things) are happening in the world I am not making comments in that direction. I am offering you instead a few lines from one of my notebooks …….

“The “one person” is so important. The world with its billions of people and its infinity of need, often desperate need, creates the grave danger of us thinking that help for one person is insignificant. But we need to invest in “the one” here and “the one there” with all the compassion and commitment that we can muster. This does not mean we cannot seek to be part of something that brings relief to thousands. That is a very important thing to do. But we cannot hang around looking just for the big thing. Furthermore the big thing cannot always provide the personal loving touch which the personal "one to one" encounter can.

The love of God is not given to humanity “in general”, but to each human being individually. As the smallest, most neglected flower glorifies God, so the unseen act of genuine compassion and help for the one person also glorifies God. Most of us, most of our lives are by the smallness of our humanity obliged to produce unseen, minute acts of love, but we need to do them in the knowledge that each is wonderfully glorifying and pleasing to God.”

Why do I offer that snippet? Because it puts a focus on one of the most important things in our Christian life and witness – simple day to day acts of kindness where ever and whenever we have the opportunity to do them. The world will always have its major problems and, sure, we need to keep an eye on them and pray. We need to be aware of a big picture, but, come what may in the world, the one thing we cannot and must not neglect is the act of simple love. If the world does not see it and if it is done to the most seemingly insignificant person this is what glorifies God and constitutes our calling.

If that has been your life, your reward is sure.



Bob


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THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS

I hope you won’t mind if I share a personal testimony with you on this occasion.

I began the Easter period this year with a prayer that I might have a deeper grasp of the reality of the resurrection of Jesus. In the prevailing sceptical climate I felt the need for it. It has always seemed to me that a warm, fresh, revelatory (rather than mental) grasp of that great truth is a paramount need of Christians. After all, it was the grasp of that reality that brought back life and joy to the disciples after Good Friday and gave them their new strength and momentum. It was the resurrected Jesus was the starting point for their preaching and witness.

For the disciples the reality of Jesus resurrection was only too evident; he actually moved frequently among them, ate with them and taught them. What an amazing and privileged experience! Even Paul the apostle did not experience that, but he did have a most amazing visitation from Jesus in which he
heard his voice and in which he was blinded by the revelation of his glory.
There was no going back after such a revelation. In our own times (especially in the Moslem world at the moment) many people have had visions of Jesus or seen him in dreams and heard him speak. The reality of those experiences has,as with Paul, sent them out on a life journey of witness with persecution and rejection and given them sufficient impulsion to sustain them through such trials. Such testimonies are thoroughly biblical in nature and remind me immediately of the revelation that John had of the ascended Jesus, which he
describes in Rev. 2.

But, what of me? What of my prayer? The answer did not come as vision or dream or visible reality of that sort. But it came very quickly, and it came in a manner in which I have been refreshed in the fact of the resurrection many times before. On the very same morning as the I had prayed I was having a
“catch-up” coffee with a friend. It was a good time, though I was struggling with stress headaches from too much computer work and from trying to marry an old printer to a new machine and print an important hand-out for a meeting.Toward the end of the coffee time my friend suddenly produced a cheque book and
said, “I would like to buy you something you need”. I was taken aback and blurted out the struggles I was having with the computer. Immediately my friend said, “You need a new printer – I’ll buy you one!”, and promptly wrote out a very generous cheque saying, “Get a good one, not a cheap one!”

The fact was I did not need the money for a new printer. I could have got one myself really. What I could not do at that moment, with all the struggling, was to pull myself together enough make the decision as to whether it was right to spend money on a new printer, and if had been able to make such a decision I would certainly have bought a cheap one. But here was something being offered in abundance and in genuine love which somehow immediately gave me the strength to go on from the coffee shop and buy a new printer and then complete the
all-important hand out. It was a direct gift from God.

What has this rather self-centred story got to do with the resurrection of Jesus? Well, it was one of those moments I have come to call a “catch of fish” moment. You will remember that after the resurrection, Peter, John and others (in an anxious and difficult time) went fishing one night and caught nothing. In the early morning an unknown figure on the shore told them to throw their nets on the other side of the boat. When they did so, they promptly caught an enormous number of fish. The critical point in the story, however, comes with John’s comment to Peter, “It is the Lord” (meaning “it is Jesus”), referring to the figure on the bank. Contemplating an overflowing catch of fish, larger it would seem than was needed, and in unusual circumstances gave him a revelation that the hand of the risen Lord was in this. This was not really a catch of fish; this was a meeting with the risen Jesus.

When the cheque book appeared on the table after coffee and the
overabundant offer was made of a printer, I was standing exactly where John stood and saying exactly what he said, “It is the Lord!” It as a moment of revelation, and the presence of Jesus was palpable (at least to me!). The generous (almost overgenerous) cheque fell into the background as I am sure the
158 fish (an overgenerous catch!) fell into the background in the sheer exuberance that the real thing had been a personal meeting with the Lord. My friend gave me something not merely of immediate physical or emotional need, but of profound spiritual need, namely a chance to glimpse the reality of Jesus
in our midst.

So my prayer brought no visions, no dreams, but nonetheless a profoundly biblical and God-given moment with the resurrected Jesus in an ordinary life situation. I suspect that is where and how the risen Jesus wants to meet most of us and assure us that he is constantly with us. I have been aware of other and different ways in which the risen Lord manifests himself to us now in our times, but this Easter, for me, this was the way it happened. Actually, it was one of at least three similar “catch of fish” incidents during the last week.

May God give us all the eyes and heart of John, to see and recognise the hand of the Master, and then, having seen, to testify. Had it not been for John's comment, even Peter might have missed the wonder of the Lord’s hand.

Hallelujah! He is risen indeed!



Bob


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EASTER MEDITATION



Easter is an extremely rich time spiritually, bringing into focus the death and resurrection of Jesus. But the rush and pleasure of the world tends to obliterate the need to spend time quietly and in sustained reflection on those two all important events. Quietness and meditation are not prime features of the pressurised modern age, especially at holiday time! But they are crucial for real spiritual growth. They are crucial to really grasp the Easter story. Finding time for such a focus is the challenge of Easter.

When it comes to thinking more deeply about the death of Jesus, I always find the prophecy in Isaiah about the “Suffering Servant” one of the most challenging and instructive places to begin (Is.52:13-15 and 53). The reason for that is simply that it is a prophecy of the crucifixion given to Isaiah some 700 years before the event. The attraction is that it is not an obscure prophecy; at least not now the crucifixion has taken place, but an unbelievably accurate account of the event. That is what compels me to it and makes it so rewarding. It is part of the purpose of prophecy to bring wonder and faith when we see its fulfilment. This prophecy certainly brings both of those things to me each time I ponder it.

It does not of course speak of crucifixion as such. But the content is absolutely in tune with the appalling nature of crucifixion. A phrase like “his appearance was disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond that of any man” along with other words such as “smitten”, “afflicted”, “crushed”, “wounded”, “cut off (implying sudden death) from the land of the living” are all so appropriate to crucifixion. Other words are even more appropriate in the case of the crucifixion of Jesus. The word “pierced” bring us directly to the spear thrust of the Roman soldier, the expression “he was assigned a grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death” brings us immediately to the two thieves dying on either side of him and his burial in the tomb of Joseph of Aramathea. Moreover, Isaiah describes his death as being by “oppression and judgement”, implying a miscarriage of justice. So the pain and the agony is all there, and somehow the language of Isaiah seems to bring it home in a profound and real manner. It fills out emotionally, so to speak, the bear narrative of the gospels. The same can be said of one or two of the messianic psalms.

However, startling and accurate though the physical descriptions are, for me what is even more startling is the sheer clarity with which the prophecy explains why the “servant” died in such a manner. The explanation is as clear and simple as anything given in the New Testament on this subject. It leaves me wondering how it is that so much argument has arisen over the why and the how of the cross.

Isaiah states simply “The LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (53:6). In other words this Servant bore our sins. In order that there should be no misunderstanding about this, Isaiah goes on the say, “The LORD makes his life a guilt offering” (53:10), the guilt offering being akin to the sin offering. His death, in other words was a sacrifice for the sins of others, for those who would avail themselves of the offering. But this does not finish his explanations. Again he enlarges this same reason in the expression, “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him and by his wounds we are healed” (53:5). If words mean anything, he was clearly our substitute, a willing substitute who has taken away our sin and paid the punishment due to us. There is no obfuscation or cloudiness here, no peddling of jargon – just simple straightforward statements which found illustration every day in the sacrifices that took place in the Temple.

The disciples did not see the connection between the prophetic scriptures and the crucifixion until Jesus himself expounded it to them after his resurrection (Lk.24:13-47). Since we are told Jesus expounded all the scriptures concerning himself on the Emmaus road we have every right to presume that Isaiah 53 was included. Seeing the connection their hearts burned within them – that burning was a work of the Holy Spirit.

It is really this work of causing our hearts to burn that is the purpose of an Easter meditation. Meditations do not look simply at information, nor are they there simply to gain information. We should not be satisfied simply with information. They are there so that truth might enter the inner part of our spiritual awareness and release the fire of faith. That is why they need quietness and focused time along with the word and the presence of the Spirit.

May God give you a deeper revelation as you ponder the cross and may it kindle a fire of renewed and purer love of Jesus.



Bob

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THE WORLD POWER STRUGGLE

Last week I was at a three day world prayer conference with a powerful input from Open Doors on persecuted Christians. These occasions are always enlightening and challenging. The world is getting “smaller” in the sense that increased information enables us to get a sort of “world feel”. I think that is crucial for Christians’, particularly as we learn of thousands of people across the world finding faith in Jesus every day that passes. “A light for the Gentiles” is Isaiah’s great prophetic word concerning Jesus, and this is being remarkably fulfilled in our times.

However, during those three days and for some time prior to that, my mind was also thinking about the governments and ruling powers of this world. I am realising more and more how deeply penetrated they are by the Prince of this world. One of the three temptations that Jesus faced in the wilderness was the offer from Satan of the governmental rule of the world. We are told, “The devil showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of this world”, and he then offered Jesus their authority and splendour, saying, “I can give it to anyone I want to”. Jesus refused the offer of becoming such a world ruler, but did not refute the validity of the devil’s claim to be able to give it. Indeed his very use of the term “The prince of this world” in Gethsemane was something of an endorsement. Paul used a very similar expression of Satan, “the ruler of the kingdom of the air” (Eph 2:2). The fact is he has penetrated the governmental high places of the earth because his lust is for power and because humanity has opened the way. Consequently he
has control in those areas.

The evidence of this penetration is everywhere, and its effect is deeply saddening. For instance
we continue to watch the Syrian authorities massacring its citizens simply to retain “power” and “authority”. The cruelty, disdain of human life, callous attitude to children and the brutality all speak of the essentially dark spiritual source of this governmental action. We see an unresolved “power struggle” in Egypt, with oppressive militancy hovering in the wings. We see a lot of such hard line dictatorships in every continent of this world. Corruption, greed, deceit and oppression are the hallmarks of such rule. People suffer, and the poor are very poor. The mark of darkness is on them all.


It is not simply among dictatorships, however, that such marks are to be found. The so-called democracies betray the same corruption in their high places and institutions. Wealth, corruption and ambition dominate the U.S. political scene, not to mention European politics. Russia is unbelievably corrupt – commonly agreed to be ruled by kleptomaniacs. The language of deceit continues to inform international relationships, as indeed it always has. History is in fact one long consistent lesson in the way that “darkness” has penetrated and ruled the kingdoms of this world. The men who have been labelled “great” have frequently been the perpetrators of the worst violence.

It is no surprise, therefore, that the power structures of this world have invariably opposed genuine Christian witness; the insensate hatred and fear that the power thirsty dictators have toward Christian witness even in our own times is very evident. They recognise that a true Christian outlook is utterly contrary to and undermining of oppressive power. So, when Christian pastors speak out against drugs and corruption in Colombo they get shot. This is why Jesus warned his followers about persecution from councils and rulers. He knew the nature of the spiritual struggle that underlay world rule. One of the great tragedies of the history of the church has been the way in which it has succumbed to becoming one of the powers of this world. Once it joins forces with political power it loses its essential nature, moves over into another kingdom and actually persecutes true followers of Jesus.

And yet, Paul the Apostle is adamant that “the powers that be are ordained of God” (Rom 13:1), and urges that prayers be offered for “kings and those in authority” (1 Tim 2:1). He is not endorsing evil rule here, merely the fact that government is a function that has its origin in God. He is quite clear that God’s establishment of authority is essentially for the punishment of wrong and the encouragement of godliness and as such is to be obeyed, but he is not blind to the fact such authority has been usurped and that we need to pray much for the restraint of the Spirit on the present powers of this world.

Two facts are of great comfort when we contemplate this scenario. The first is that despite the enemy’s grip on the kingdoms of this world, God remains utterly sovereign and even in the evil machinations of its rulers he works out his own purposes. That was true of Babylon and Persia in biblical times and remains so today in the twenty first century. The second is that prophetic purposes of God are very clear; his king and prince, Jesus, is destined to rule the nations. The nature of that rule will be justice, righteousness and peace.




Bob

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HUSBAND AND WIFE

This week has seen the publication of the Government’s Consultation on Marriage, and it calls for comment. The issue of extending marriage to encompass same sex unions really is of grave importance and needs to be pursued – its passage will totally change the relationship landscape, as its proponents realise only too well. It’s a point of no return.

A week or so ago the editor of the Times produced a leading article in classic free thinking, liberalised style saying that the newspaper supported the changes, and that it represented progress. It has not said much since. In contrast, the Daily Mail, in its rather more sensational manner, produced two days ago a massive front page display with the words, “DON’T USE THE WORDS HUSBAND AND WIFE”, and went on to report that much official literature “must be rewritten so that it no longer assumes that a married couple is a man and a woman”. It really got to the heart of the matter. It pointed out also that “private companies will be told to overhaul paperwork and computer data bases containing the words”. It also notes that marriage certificates could change and the terms bride and bridegroom face redundancy. Husband and wife would be infra dig terms.

Is such a change in terminology really that important? Yes, it most certainly is! Such a change re-defines the whole landscape and will hugely change the future public outlook. The essential nature of real marriage between a man and a woman will be completely obscured and the door opened to worse liberalisation of the marriage union. The Daily Mail has picked up a crucial point in its own inimitable way. It did not reflect on the kind of terminology that might replace the age old terms, and that was probably wise, since the kind of politically correct jargon that is likely to emerge defies imagination.

A more sinister aspect of the whole business has emerged in the case of a senior M.P. who is a Christian, and who has been sent scores of intimidating e-mails and messages (including hate mail and death threats) over his opposition to gay marriage. He has been forced to send the material to the police, not, as he said, because he feared for himself personally, but because he was deeply concerned about the curtailment of freedom of speech and the vitriol that poisons any proper discussion. The gay lobby has, unfortunately always had this violent strain in some of its militant followers. The M.P., Tony Burrows, fears that such activists will not hesitate to put pressure on teachers and others who try to act out of Christian conscience.

The government seems to be quite blind to this sinister side of things, though one suspects that it is more bullied by the militancy of the gay lobby than it is ready to acknowledge. It keeps referring to “safeguards for conscience” for Christians and traditionalists but more and more it is becoming evident that such safeguards in legislation can be easily challenged and overcome by militants. Lynne Featherstone, the Minister for Equality, who is so determinedly pushing through the legislation for marriage change, is not too far behind the militants. She has declared that anyone who disagreed with the government’s changes could be “fanning the flames of homophobia”. That smacks of bullying. “Homophobia” has been the unpleasant, evocative and meaningless cry of the militants all along. Such a remark from a government minister seems quite inexcusable at the beginning of consultation; even if it is in her mind a consultation of the “how” and not the “whether” about change.

And still, at the very bottom of all this controversy, is the simple fact that there has been no general call from the nation as a whole for such a change in such a crucial area. Most people on this issue are sensibly traditional. From start to finish it has been the promulgation of a minority, who have been vocal and demanding in their agenda. That is not unusual, of course, when it comes to affecting change. But it is to be hoped on this issue that there will be a general reaction against what is highly dangerous and fundamental social change. Those who wish gay relationships have all they need legally in the civil partnership legislation already active; the coping stone of integration into marriage is unnecessary.

Pray on. It is so crucial to fight this battle.

Bob

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"A LIGHT TO MY PATH"

When I was converted to Jesus, I was given a powerful longing within for a godly and upright life. I was also given a natural desire to pray. Thirdly I was given a clear inward recognition that my bible was the word of life and would be an essential guide for my life. These I believed (and still do) were the vital operations of the Holy Spirit in the heart of the believer. They have been the key of my Christian faith and of my experience of God. They are the proven truths of my life. It has always seemed to me very clear that they were actually the very same spiritual foundations that underlay the life of Jesus himself.

The truth uppermost in my mind at the moment is that of the bible as the word of life. The modern world and modern society is knocking harder than ever at the recognition of the bible as the word of life and the guide for life. To try to argue from the bible in public debate is more and more a non-starter. It simply meets with the contempt and arrogance that is reserved for the foolish and the unlearned. This is no more evident than in the current debate on the nature of marriage.

That debate takes for granted the liberal humanistic agenda that “same-sex” physical relationships are in order and to be welcomed, even dubbed as marriage. It is considered self-evident civilised thinking. We are not to be allowed to make the point strongly that this is not in the least condoned by biblical standards; that biblically it is retrogressive rather than progressive. We have to argue from the humanistic platform to avoid scorn. And there is plenty of scorn and vituperation ready to be poured on opponents of the same sex bandwagon.

Holding to biblical truth is, however, critical for our own lives as Christians and it is critical for our witness in the world. Whether we are scorned or not our calling is to be faithful to the word of God and not to weaken in our own standards no matter how much pressure is exerted on us. My great fear is that many Christians will compromise and weaken.

The prophets were given a clear mandate; they were to speak the truth of God, whether or not people would listen. And they were to speak openly as from Him. No threats or despite were to stop such plain speaking. They prophets were appallingly handled but they had the approval of God. They were also eventually vindicated.

These thoughts about the need for strong personal conviction in the word of God, and particularly in this current national debate, came to me whilst reading through Psalm 119, and I have listed below one or two of the salient verses that stood out as I was reading. Meditation on such truth is very crucial in our generation. It is not a co-incidence, I’m sure, that Psalm 119 is by far the longest psalm in the book.

v46-47 “I will speak of your statutes before kings and will not be put to shame, for I delight in your commands because I love them.”

vv 51-52 “The arrogant mock me without restraint, but I do not turn from your law.
I remember your ancient laws, O LORD, and I find comfort in them.”

v59 “I have considered my ways and have turned my steps to your statutes”.

V69 “Though the arrogant have smeared me with lies, I keep your precepts with all my heart.”

v126 It is time for you to act, O LORD; your law is being broken

Have a look at the psalm if you have time.



Bob


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THE SECURITY OF ISRAEL

The Israeli Prime Minister has been in Washington for talks with President Obama this week. The subject for discussion was Iran’s growing nuclear threat. The Israelis want an assurance that the U.S. will not go soft on stopping Iran getting a nuclear bomb. President Ahmadinejad of Iran openly denies the historicity of the Holocaust and equally openly preaches the cause of the total obliteration of Israel. His rival political figure, Supreme Leader Khamenei, takes a similar line. It’s a very jittery time for Israel, with half its people calling for a “strike” on Iran and half of them dreading the consequences. Is such a strike actually feasible? Would it backfire? It’s a situation that looks well beyond human wisdom.

It’s the sort of situation, however, that Israel has been in before in its sixty year history. At the nation’s inception in 1948, at a point of extreme vulnerability, it was attacked by overwhelming Arab forces but survived. In 1967 the same happened and again in 1973. All these deliverances had a distinct feel of the miraculous about them.

Arguably more striking than even those deliverances, however, was an event widely remembered last month. Seventy years ago in January, 1942, in Germany, 15 senior Nazis, with the support of the Grand Mufti Arab leader, were planning the “Final Solution” for the extermination of European and Middle Eastern Jewry. The threat was enormous and of serious intent, even if it the plan looked like megalomania. Hitler’s unbeaten armies were poised to conquer Egypt and overrun Palestine; they were also poised to conquer Russia. Victory on both fronts would be used to destroy Jewry, and victory looked all too possible. Within three years, however, Hitler’s Reich was utterly destroyed as victory turned to abject defeat, and the Jews found the superpowers sympathetic to their return to the “Promised Land”!

Most political analysts of the time saw that return to Palestine as marking the end of such anti-Semitic megalomania and as solving “the Jewish problem”. The Jews certainly believed that. Unfortunately nothing could have been further from the truth. Anti-Semitism did not die. It transmuted into a much more focussed and virulent strain to become Anti-Zionism. The violence and hatred were once again to be seen and heard. We have now had sixty years of it, and it is not diminishing. I am in fact writing at this moment about a new peak in its threatening history.

Despite the world’s explanations, this violence and hatred is not a social or a political problem; it is a spiritual problem. It is to be explained only in categories which this humanistic and “enlightened” world despises and rejects. It is a spiritual problem because its causes are spiritual; that is to say we are looking not at human forces of hatred at work but supernatural spiritual forces. I find this most clearly presented in an “apocalyptic” prophecy in Revelation. John saw in his Revelation (Chapter 12) a picture of a woman giving birth to a child. The woman unmistakably represented Israel. A dragon, equally unmistakably representing Satan and the Powers of Evil, sought to devour the child. The child, however, who was obviously Jesus, was swept up into heaven. The dragon then went to war and sought to destroy the woman (Israel) and her other “seed” which are the followers of the child Jesus. The woman was, however, kept safe “in the wilderness”, despite frequent floods from the Dragon’s mouth to drown her.

Apocalyptic is hardly a modern idiom, but any serious student of Jewish history will recognise immediately that this vision is profoundly in tune with what actually happened to the Jews in the following 2000 years. They were caught up in a supernatural battle. Anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism defy any other convincing analysis.

At this juncture of history one of the most relevant aspects of this revelation is to be found simply in the prophesied safety of the woman (Israel). Nothing could be clearer, and nothing more demonstrable from history than its amazing preservation both from violence and from assimilation by other nations . Floods of all sorts over two millennia, though inflicting much loss of life, have not destroyed Israel. The reason for that is that God has a purpose for the nation. That purpose remains, and the purpose is that Israel has a significant part to play in the Lord’s return.
Israel remains the key to the turmoil in the Middle East. I find it fascinating that two of its worst opponents, Iraq and Syria, are now in complete disarray after years of threats against Israel. Iran in its turn is now no more an obstacle to God than they have been. And God is very much on the field. These are extraordinary times. They may be violent and vicious times, but the battle in the Middle East must inevitably go God’s way. Rest assured!

We can, therefore, be confident, but that does not mean complacent – it means watching and praying. But God’s victory is sure.


Bob


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COALITION FOR MARRIAGE

I’m sure a good many of you reading this column will have already been alerted to the launch this month of the Coalition for Marriage. It is an umbrella body representing faith groups, MPs, Peers, academics, lawyers, pro-family organizations and grassroots supporters of traditional marriage in the U.K. and opposed to any attempt to redefine it. CARE trust is part of it and putting its full weight behind it. The Coalition already has over 50,000 signatories. Like everything else these days it has its own code – C4M! But don’t let that put you off. Sign up!

It is a very welcome response to the government’s announced intention of re-defining marriage in order to include same-sex unions. This is to happen this year. The Home Secretary has made it clear that a consultation on the issue before the legislation is introduced will not be about whether the change should happen, but simply how it should happen. This is an astonishing example of blatant political bullying on a most profound issue and without any consensus whatsoever as to whether public feeling is really behind any such change. The Government is in fact attempting to stifle public debate on the issue. Happily C4M is demanding a debate. It’s up to us to support and make sure feelings are properly aired. We need a road block against such an irresponsible Juggernaut.

One of the most disturbing features about modern government is that it simply doesn’t seem to listen to any advice, tries to do everything too quickly and consequently in most cases does it badly. That’s the Achilles Heal of our kind of democracy. George Carey, the former Archbishop, put his finger on the source of the problem when, at the launch of C4M, he said, “The Government – egged on by pressure groups and image advisors, but not the general public – is pressing ahead to re-write the legal definition of marriage”. My reaction is simply, “Image advisors!!” What have they to do with such a serious issue? Is it a case of, “Yes, Mr. Cameron, we must be seen to be progressive; a change in marriage would look OK”? Is that where we have come to? What about substance and principle?

It would be very difficult to overstress the absolute centrality to society of the building block called marriage, in the way it has been defined for millennia. A man and a woman meet, commit themselves to each other, have children and then over the years that follow seek to provide the stability and love for those children to grow up happily. That love and stability comes out of the mutual love of the parents. It provides an essential place of belonging, security and resource with a true male-female balance. The particular man-woman relationship does not become redundant when the children grow up; it can still be fundamental not only to the well-being of the couple but to a growing family which includes grandchildren. The cycle is repeated by their children as they grow up. Marriage is the hub of life. To blur this clear definition is dangerous in the extreme.

Some marriages, of course, do not produce children, for a variety of valid reasons. But there remains at the heart of marriage the simple and natural biological physical engagement between man and woman which underlines their mutual companionship, complementarity and love. With or without children it remains the core ingredient of personal affirmation and social cohesion.

When the family fails (which unfortunately it can), society fails. When the family is broken, society breaks down. When the family fights, violence is found everywhere. The most important task of the powers that be is to strengthen marriage, educate for marriage, encourage marriage, and honour marriage. Government has no warrant to tinker with it in the interests of minority pressure groups who are well catered for. It does not need changing in essence – it was a “given” before governments were thought of.
Same sex relationships have also been known for centuries. What has never been acknowledged is that they can be considered as a form of marriage.

For a Christian, of course, the creation ordinance of one woman given to one man, with complementarities which include an extraordinary sexual complementarity, will always underline the basic relationship we call marriage.


Bob

THE QUEEN and INTER-FAITH

In one of the January columns I spoke warmly of the Christian content of the Queen’s Christmas message, and said that in this Jubilee year we should pray that other occasions might arise when she could speak equally firmly about the Christian faith. Last Wednesday (15th Feb) she was present at a multi-faith reception at Lambeth Palace, hosted by the Archbishop of Canterbury. It was, as the Archbishop said, one of her first public engagements to celebrate her Jubilee year. She met with and addressed representatives of eight non-Christian religions – groups from the Baha’i, the Buddhist, Hindu, Jain, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, and Zoroastrian religions. This inevitably was going to be a difficult challenge for her to negotiate. The speeches were short; one from the Archbishop, a response from the Queen and a thank-you from the Archbishop.

The speeches provided a robust affirmation of the validity of religious faith generally over and against the increasingly militant atheism in our culture. The Archbishop paid just tribute to the Queen when he said to her in his opening address, “You have been able to show so effectively that being religious is not eccentric or abnormal” (a common accusation of contemporary secular atheism). He went on to speak of “Your Majesty’s commitment in the name of God to your vocation”, underlining the spiritual dynamic of the Queen’s great sense of duty. These are sentiments which would be endorsed by large numbers of people. Noticeably, however, the Archbishop stopped short of speaking of her Christian faith, speaking only of her “religious” faith. This seemed unnecessarily over-cautious.

The Queen responding made it clear, as Monarch and Head of the Church of England, that there was to be genuine religious liberty in the nation and no intolerance. People can and must work together for the benefit of the whole. Her words were, “The Church has a duty to protect the free practice of all other faiths in this country”, and, “The Church of England has created an environment for other faith communities and indeed people of no faith to live freely”. That was important statement in a world racked with religious and ideological intolerance. The Christian church has learned over a period of some three centuries of inter-Christian conflict that violence and intolerance was not the way to settle differences, and that tolerance was essential. Christians have learned that the gospel is essentially non-violent and non-repressive; its Founder died on a cross, not on a battle field.

At the same time, however, the Christian gospel can never compromise its distinctive teachings. If the church has a duty to protect religious freedom against repression, it has an equal duty to make plain that there is only one God and only one Saviour. Idolatry remains abhorrent to the Creator God. The gospel simply does not see other faiths as a legitimate route to eternal life. On the contrary they lead to darkness and oppression. Jesus remains the “Light” and the “Truth”. The church has to walk the tight rope of being loving and tolerant to people and yet firm on what it has had revealed to it in Jesus. If it does not speak firmly, then it is not faithful to people and cannot be a vehicle of salvation. The problem here, of course, is that the true proclamation of Jesus and the Cross inevitably brings offence no matter how gracious the church may be.

The Queen had clearly been advised to follow a similar line to the Archbishop and to talk about religious faith as such and not Christianity in particular. No offence was to be risked. But her advisors went too far in this direction and lost the balance. Whilst it was not obviously a setting in which to deliberately cause offence, neither was it a setting in which to affirm the essential validity of other faiths. The general tenor, however, was to do just that.

Perhaps the most obvious example of that affirmation was the invitation to the different faith groups to bring a sacred object pertaining to their faith and around which they each might gather. These objects were seen as a rich and beautiful cultural heritage and commended by the Queen, but unfortunately they included idols and the like. The spiritual naivety of Lambeth in making such an invitation is astounding. The objects were certainly not just cultural artifacts to those who brought them; they were highly symbolic and powerful religiously. It was a totally unnecessary gesture on Lambeth's part, since the gathering would have been perfectly adequate without them. Interestingly enough the Christian religious object comprised two implements used in anointing the Queen at her coronation. These are important in their way and may have been offered as a delicate gesture to the Queen, but they are hardly symbolic of the essence of the Christian faith. Why not a cross? Why not the New Testament? Either of those would have put the Christian exhibit on a par with the faith groups who made no apology for putting on display objects absolutely central to their beliefs, including texts. It is precisely at such a point that the Christian inter-faith stance is seriously at fault in its integrity and its legitimate boldness. It reflects a profound "wooliness" about the true nature of God and about call of the church to witness.

Despite these features I’m so glad that the Queen met the faith leaders. I’m left feeling, however, how much she needs our prayer in her desire to do her Christian duties wisely and with integrity.




Bob

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CHINESE (NON) ENTERTAINMENT

The Economist magazine recently reported that “according to an order that took effect on Jan. 1st this year, China’s 34 satellite television stations must limit ‘excessive and vulgar content’”. The Economist noted that “compared with offerings in other countries, China’s television fare is already quite tame. Viewers looking for sex, nudity, gore or crude language will search in vain”. That sounds wonderfully unbelievable! But things are evidently getting tighter still: since Jan. 1st in the 7.30 p.m. – 10 p.m. Chinese “Gold Time” viewing slot there must now be two 30 min. news broadcasts and only 90 min of lighter shows. A much loved singing contest “Super Girl” has been axed. Chinese tastes are clearly being brought to heel!

I found this action from an atheist dictatorship very intriguing. Obviously the government was not acting out of any Christian moral imperative! In fact the article went on to make clear that the reason for this "entertainment" reduction was that the leadership considered the youth of China were being poisoned by such stuff, the poison being a foreign culture and ideology which would “westernise and divide” China. In other words, the government’s motive was totally political and anti-western.

Imagine this censorship happening in Britain! It would be an immediate end to David Cameron. The fact that it can actually happen in China indicates how strong a grip the government still has over the people, despite the enormous strides to free expression the Chinese people have taken. But that grip will soon loosen, and China may burst into its own “Arab Spring” with a new and more successful Tiananmen Square revolt. That is what the Chinese government most fear, and what makes this bit of news (in a year when Chinese leadership will change) all the more surprising. If China does have its “Arab Spring” then it can burst into “freedom” and enjoy as much sex and gore as it pleases – it will have become truly civilized! What an extraordinary choice we have here; political freedom and all the uncontrolled media flood of moral decadence or dictatorship with a realistic censorship on such decadence.


Though expressly political, I suspect that the authorities are also motivated by the fact that much of western behaviour as portrayed on television is decadent behaviour, and not in the long term in the interests of a vigorous state. Be that as it may, China, along with other large cultural areas of the world has come to identify the West with pleasure loving and loose behaviour. Western permissive liberalism is seen not only a political but a moral affront as well. We need to remember that, though embraced by many, such permissiveness is despised not only in China but by many across the world. There are many eyes that are not blinded to the fact that modern western “democracy” has some very dark features. It’s a sad reflection on our society when even atheistic communism has to repel its invidious influence. It’s even sadder when such permissiveness is actively associated with the concept of Christianity. But when we see the continuous moral decline on our own television screens, and see it hour after hour we should not be surprised.

It leaves me more than ever grateful for the advance of the gospel world-wide that western society by the grace of God provided over the last three centuries from the 1700s. As a consequence of that China will have its millions of Christians who will despise an evil television diet and will not need government legislation I’m thankful that genuine Christian mission continues to do the same today through so many faithful witnesses. But it means there is a continuing and desperate need for all Christians to propagate a genuine Christian message of a life of joy and peace through righteous and godly living.



Bob ( N.B.There will be no blog next Tues (14th))

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THE PLIGHT OF MAN

The title of this column, “The Plight of Man” seems rather old fashioned, but it conveys the sense of a desperate need in humanity, a need which has not gone away with the years. I have recently felt the weight of that need more and more, and I cannot find a better phrase.

This phrase has come afresh to me as a result of a more intensive look at the nations of the world and especially perhaps at looking at India. Operation World, the Prayer Guide to Every Nation, says quite bluntly, “India has more human need than any other nation”. It goes on to note that poverty affects hundreds of millions, a poverty that often means utter destitution; forty per cent in India live below the poverty line. Poverty abounds not only in the vast cities but throughout the whole of rural India. This is the truth behind a nation which now boasts a middle class of 350 million and the fourth largest number of billionaires. These merely stand astride a mountain of people in poverty and do not hide the plight of most.

One could add much more to that picture of need. For example an estimated 900,000 people (almost a million) in India die through drinking unclean water or through pollution, 35 million children under 15 are orphans whilst 20 million are child labourers and 1.2 million are involved in prostitution. This is just scratching the surface. The list of such appalling needs is a very long one.

I have cited India, but the truth is, of course, that gross human need, human suffering and distress abound wherever you turn in the world. It affects billions. In the U.K. we are remarkably sheltered from what so many suffer, and the weight of it scarcely touches us, even if we are by no means entirely sheltered from the experiences of need and suffering. It does us no harm to look hard and wide at this panorama of distress and let the “plight of man” start to weigh heavy on heart and mind. It certainly galvanises prayer.

This panorama does not speak simply of widespread and appalling physical and social need, however. It also speaks very loudly of a profound moral plight among mankind. For the simple fact of the matter is that a vast amount of the need and pain and suffering is due to the failings of human behaviour. The plight of man is in fact fundamentally a moral problem. Selfish greed and desire for power spawns corruption and violence. Corruption, feeding on the growth of wealth in the world, is a fast growing and world-wide moral disease. It is avid corruption, not least in high places, which in large measure keeps India and Africa in their backward and needy positions, and corruption is increasing rapidly in the West. The new rich India makes very little progress in getting its act together for the relief of its poor.
The fact is that the responsibility for the plight of mankind rests at mankind’s own door, and mankind on the whole shows a remarkable disinterest in helping its own kind.

Some will no doubt say I should look at things from the other end and see the good in the world – see the glass as half full, not half empty. I think that, however, just evades facing the fact of the desperate nature of the plight of man; it’s rather like saying look at your good finger when four others are broken. No, we need to face what we are like and the awfulness of our predicament. The plight of man is his massive moral deficiency, his huge fall from grace, causing mayhem among his own species.

That plight is, of course, precisely what God is earnestly seeking to impress on people. What has so recently weighed on me is the utter blindness of humanity to its moral predicament. Such blindness has brought incalculable pain to this earth. It’s the blindness of self-seeking. Much as people react against such a biblical expression, the truth resounding all around us is that “the wages of sin is death”. Humanity’s despite of such an expression is the measure of it’s plight, and more than that, it has brought a complete failure to recognise that what we see on this earth as a consequence of our “sin” is a picture of what we shall see intensified after death if we do face up to our moral failure. We should not be too quick to dismiss eternal pain when we see pain all too readily spread out before us every day of this life.

After all, this is precisely what Jesus came to point out. Eternal consequences were not a matter he touched only lightly; it was a major theme. He not only made a strong call to repent now and live uprightly before our fellow human beings, but he spoke of eternal life to come and he spoke of with severe warning of the need to make peace with our Maker through his death. The plight of man is a matter for now and for eternity. That is what makes it so weighty.

The plight of man is much, much deeper and dangerous and threatening than we are prone to think. We should all be better if it made us shudder.


Bob


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THE POWER AND HOPE OF THE GOSPEL

I mentioned a fortnight ago that my local church is engaged in a month of prayer over January. My own involvement has been in leading prayer for the world. The research and reading behind that world prayer (much of it from “Operation World”) has given me a fresh sense of spiritual hope as we walk into a very uncertain year ahead. Two of the areas of the world we have majored on in prayer have been China and Africa (China having the larger population!). When we look back over the last century we find that, from the point of view of the gospel and the growth of the church, both these areas show something quite staggering, something that releases a deep joy.

I was reminded yet again that the number of evangelical Christians in China has grown from some 2.7 million in 1975 to over 75 million (some would say more) in 2010. There has been a huge and ongoing revival, with demonstrations of New Testament power. Christians are now to be found in every stratum of Chinese society, with many vibrant urban professional churches. There is a very high commitment level in the church, and “missionary vision” is widespread. There is already a strategic and growing Chinese “diaspora” across the world, a ready vehicle for witness.

We see something similar when we look at Africa. In the 20th century evangelical Christians grew from 1.6 million in 1900 to 182 million in 2010. This is as many as all evangelicals in the Americas combined and is the largest evangelical population of any continent. African Christianity has established itself as a truly potent force, both on the continent and on a global level. It has some of the largest churches in the world, some of the largest prayer gatherings and initiatives and a strong world mission vision.

It was not simply this growth in itself, however, that brought a fresh sense of hope. It had, for me, much more to do with the fact that this had all happened against a background of appalling historical events. The 20th century was not a peaceful century. Europe virtually destroyed itself and its empires by widespread murderous wars. But neither was it peaceful for China; Japanese invasion in the 1930s devastated the proud “Kingdom”, and after W.W.2 the Communist revolution brought further devastation and widespread death, both to the nation and the church.
And yet out of all that carnage came the staggering growth of a massive evangelistic and missionary minded church of a kind which has been described as having “no parallel in history".

When we look at Africa we see the same basic story. Dominated and exploited by European powers for the first half of the 20th century, the second half saw Africa dominated by the struggle for independent nationhood, and that brought a worse story of corrupt despots, war, genocide, displacement of millions and rapid expansion of diseases, including the scourge of AIDS. It still continues. Yet that is the background to the massive advance of the gospel of Jesus in Africa.

One is left full of praise to God that despite the self centred wrath of man and the devastations it causes, God has been utterly faithful to his promise that Jesus would be a Light to the world and his gospel would be preached in all the world. Yes, “the people who lived in darkness have seen a great light” Isaiah 11.


When I see the portents of chaos for the coming century it is difficult in the natural to feel optimistic. But one thing is absolutely certain; whatever may come in the way of the judgement of God or the wrath of man, nothing will stop further years of the fulfillment of God’s purposes. That is the lesson of history. As Jesus said, “I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it”. The warlike, cruel and corrupt earthly principalities, try as they might, will not hold back the Kingdom of God. There will be further great harvests. That is a matter for great rejoicing, for those whose “citizenship is in heaven”!

In all thiis we are not merely talking about church statistics, but about the lives of people who will find hope and an eternal salvation. That's the real joy. It is for that reason that Paul wrote, “Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord”. Prayer is a very important part of that work.




Bob


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