Born.Again.Christian.

Note: This is not a post on how smoking is a sin… smoke away. I do not smoke. When I smell the smell of cigarette smoke I feel sick. It is repugnant to my nostrils. If I am in the presence of a smoker I find myself coughing and spluttering for the smoke is completely foreign to my body. However, to a smoker they do not feel repulsed by the overpowering smell and actually enjoy being around it. They suck it directly into their lungs and enjoy it. It is common knowledge that smoking is bad for you, yet to those who smoke the pleasure of the cigarette outweighs the dangers of smoking. Some smokers have smoked for so long that although they have come to hate their dependence on smoking, they find themselves addicted and cannot stop. This is just like God and His relationship with us. God cannot stand the repugnant smell of sin, but we, who have sinned stink of it. Romans 3:23 tells us that ‘All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God’. We are surrounded by a sinful ...

With the Lord’s death the old rule under which the Israelites came to God was also put to death. No longer do we come to God through physical sacrifices and earthly priests. Now we come to God through Christ Jesus. Hebrews 9:13-14 “ For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, 14  how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” The Lord was put to death outside of the camp ( Hebrews 13: 12  “ And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood.” ). The camp in Israel was where all these procedures and practices took place. (The only thing that wasn’t permitted within the camp was the burnt offering. This took place outside the camp, a picture of Christ’s death.) We too should leave the camp and follow the Lord do...

 Here we are given the accounts of two events happening side by side. The first being the false trial against the Lord Jesus (v53-65) and the second being Peter’s denial of the Lord Jesus outside the very courtroom (v66-72). There is much I could say about each word and every line of this text, the prophecies that were fulfilled by this event, such as Christ remaining silent against His accusers, just as it says in Isaiah 53:7 , or the fact that nothing that his accusers said matched up, because it was lies, or the fact that the Lord Jesus claims His deity in v62 when He is asked ‘who is he?’, (Jesus said “I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power and coming with the clouds of heaven.”) which is an encouragement and a lesson to us, that when people ask us for the reason for the hope that is in us we should tell them ( 1 Peter 3:15 ). However I wish to focus on the stark contrast between Peter in his personal trial and the Lord. You ca...

When you learn a new skill whether it be acquiring a language, learning to cook or learning to play a musical instrument, the material you use to teach you the skill, whether it is a lesson plan, a recipe or a song book containing various songs, you will probably encounter the same words at the beginning of each material. The words being; ‘beginner’; ‘intermediate’ or; ‘advanced’. We tackle each lesson based on our skill level. Once we have mastered that particular thing we will move on to something more challenging to us. What is important is that we do not attempt things that are above our current level of skill. Whilst a beginner guitarist may be very good at playing a song with four chords, he would be lost and confused if he tried to follow a fast finger picking song or a complicated classical guitar strumming pattern. Whilst a beginner cook may cook a fine fried egg, their attempt at baking a crème brulee would result in disaster.   It is important to master what we kno...

I Corinthians 13:4-7 4  Love suffers long  and  is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;  5  does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;  6  does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;  7  bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. To better comprehend God and the things He has done for us, we must be able to comprehend love; for God is love ( 1 John 4:8 ). The world is sinful and not of God, therefore it is no surprise that the world's perspective on love - God's greatest trait- is warped. This warped perspective that is forced upon us by our own desires and our cultures infects our minds so that we do not know the meaning, nor application, of real God-like love. This can cause us many problems, including very damaging relationships that can leave us hurt, angry, rejected, insecure, unfulfilled and empty (the list goes on...

The unconditional Love of God is uncomprehendable to the human mind. The Bible speaks of God's love for us. Below are a just a few examples: John 3:16    For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. Romans 5:8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Zephaniah 3:17 The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. Job 34:19 who shows no partiality to princes, nor regards the rich more than the poor,  for they are all the work of his hands? The whole essence of the Gospel is that God loves us. It is a wonderful fact, however do we ever stop and think just how much it would take to love as God loves? 1 John 4:9-11 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his o...