#blm! Part-One.

Do Black lives really Matter?

White society has a recent problem with European slavery from Africa to the Caribbean and the Americas from 1618 to 1880 and its is a subject that even Christians try at their best to avoid or excuse instead of facing up to it and dealing with racism today in both N-America, the U.K., France and Australia!

But when we read and study the Holy Bible slavery was a common practice amongst all nations of the ancient world and God was always looking out for those poor people and their dire situations?

Another thing about slavery is that it remains rife even today within Islamic culture and several other races, we term it domestic servitude, county-lines, prostitution, trafficking and the exploitation of the vulnerable!

Attitude plays the most important part in racism and Christians are not exempt, if more prone to hold such views which seriously contradict John 3:16? This one verse is more controversial because it has become an excuse to deny salvation to some, of white peoples choosing depending where in the world they are?

Matthew 10:22, Romans 11:26, 1 Corinthians 10:33, 2 Thessalonians 2:10, Jude 1:5, Revelation 18:13.

Scourge of Protestantism!

Replacement Theology?

If we were to take away this problem and see that what is written in the Holy Bible as one complete revelation for both the believing Jews and Gentiles we would not be divided as we are and there would be more opportunity for understanding each other!

Much confusion is based more son in the New Testament, because many believers miss the point or add in things that were never there?

Much of what the Disciples and Apostles are speaking about is plainly Jewish from their culture and religious experience and yet this rejection with the introduction of blessings and curses from the anti-Semitism of the German Lutheran reformation remains divisional to this day!

One believes that despite the many great Christian leaders of the Ekklesia and since the reformation, the ground work for the falling away of the elect has been a constant revelation with the Church!

Matthew/Levi 24:22-31, Mark 1:1-9 (8), Romans 15:6-13.

Mark 16! Part-One.

The last twelve Verses?

Most believers do not see these technical sections of the scriptures, most denominational teaching cover them up for the lay Christian and since the Apostle Paul warned us about not getting into these arguments it is perhaps wise!

But as one grows and starts to preach and teach we learn some knowledge that can be troubling or debatable for those who like to question the context of the Holy Scriptures and the languages that they have been written in?

On reading these twelve verses, there is a different style to them from the rest of the Gospel of Mark and early Greek transcripts do not have them but that does not mean that they should not be there!

What they reveal is unbelief amongst the Disciples to Jesus rising from the dead and this is a understood state of mind, since most fled in fear from the garden when Jesus was arrested, even one in his birthday suit!

The others is of events that are related to the forty days that Jesus spent on the Earth in Israel between His resurrection and His Ascension!

Mark 16:8-20, Mark 14:52, John 20:15, 25, Acts 1:1-11, 1 Timothy 6:4, Titus 3:9.

Virtual Church?

Thinking outside the Box!

We take too much for granted in the western world when it comes to Christianity, we believe up to this point that we were safe in our established traditionalism? But a minute bug has ended our ability to fellowship to break bread and to gossip, if not pray together!

Now in quarantine we have the Internet, various mediums of communications through Android and Apple systems and yet no one has come up with a virtual Church app?

We have almost virtual everything else, so why not meeting together and facing the real challenges of daily life?

It is not really known how long these lockdowns and re-lockdowns will continue for? Some unwise people are chancing it and it may be to their hurt and suffering if not death! Hope in God now comes to play and so does that personal relationship that some of us like to talk about, but might not really have?

1 Chronicles 29:15, Job 4:6, 5:16, Psalm 25:5, 42:5, 71:14, 119:114, Matthew 18:20, Acts 24:15, 1 Corinthians 14:27, 29, 2 Corinthians 1:7, Colossians 2:17, Hebrews 10:1.

Christian Martyrdom!

Being a Christian?

We would never consider that believers in Europe, Australia or N-America could be martyred for their faith in Jesus and that only happens in Africa, Asia or the Middle-East?

That has been the traditional view now for some two hundred years or so, but it is changing and not with the obvious threat of terrorism but more closer to home with the ideals of unbelief and secular humanism?

Nations are now being pressured by image, by feelings and what is expected of us in not offending anybody except those who hold to the Christian faith! The reason being that the Holy Bible always proves true in the falseness of human idealism and it selfishness to oppose the truth?

We do not think that their are many believers today, who live in comfort would consider making a stance for Jesus? But there are equally many inner city believers who suffer more so for faith in Jesus and some may be murdered for a plethora of reasons that either the state and the police refuse to accept as Martyrdom!

Job 2:10, Psalm 43:2, 107:39, Philippians 1:29, 2 Thessalonians 1:5-6, 2 Timothy 1:8, 4:5, Hebrews 13:3, James 5:10, 1 Peter 2:19-20, 2 Peter 2:13, Revelation 18:15.

Anti-Semitism and Revisionism!

Holocaust Denial?

Many professing Christians are anti-Semitic in their attitude as much as their doctrine, replacement theology or not! The problem is jealousy and taking their focus of who Jesus is, rather than He being the King and Messiah of Israel?

The other issue is that of His redemptive work and prophecy, since without His dead on the stake/tree/cross we cannot be saved from our sins! The Jews were in the will of God in what they did, because it had to happen that way and Rome was blackmailed to do their will!

Today millions are dying without accepting Jesus, millions refuse to accept the fate of the Jewish people because of what Israel is doing in ‘Palestine? Yet this promised land belongs to Israel and they are still doing Gods will!

We can either reject the Holy scriptures or accept them and stop being racist in our attitudes to changing history to suit our perspectives?

Psalm 7:9-11, Matthew 22:14, Romans 3:21-31, 11:17, Hebrews 4:12, 10:10-17.

Martyrdom?

The ultimate cost of faith in Jesus!

There will not be many in western society who will die this season for their faith in God, but in the rest of the world this is a daily occurrence?

Many convert from Islam in the west do face being murdered by their families, but the media has been told not to report this since they want to portray Islam as a religion of peace and staying on good terms with Arab friends!

Stephen was the first Christian Martyr, he was a man who was killed by others who knew the truth but refused to believe or repent, since they were comfortable in their religion! This is the same today with the world they are blinded by fear and stupefied by what they think is enough?

Acts 6:5-7:59, 8:1, 11:19, 22:10, Romans 1:32, 2 Timothy 3:16, Revelation 17:6.

Remembering!

This year it has been treated with Respect?

In the last Century it is very difficult to comprehend how many people died in mechanised wars, that started with the Boers in 1904 in South-Africa, World War-I (1914-18), World War-II (1939-45), the Japanese conflict, which started in 1931-45!

Then we have all the wars from 1947 to 9/11 Iraq, Middle-East conflicts, Malay, Pakistan and many across the continent of Africa? Well over 100, 000,000 Million people died on our planet and despite the Promises of peace, or ‘Never Again, it has happened again?

Many Christians take the pacifist stance that it is not fit for us to go to war, since the Hebrew priests of the Old Testament did not! But this is not quite true, because in some cases they had no choice and when we come to Israel ancient and modern it has to defend itself from hostile enemies?

The ideas of the illegal occupation of Palestinian land does not corelate with Biblical doctrine, there has to be a Temple in Jerusalem for the Anti-Christ to operate from and for the Lord Jesus to return to at the end of the ages!

Genesis 9:16, Leviticus 25:38, Proverbs 17:9, Luke 21:10, Acts 20:35, 1 Corinthians 15:1, Galatians 2:10, 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, Hebrews 13:3, 2 Peter 3:2, Revelation 12:17, 16:15, 19:11.

The watering down of the Truth!

Guy Fawkes now anti-Catholic?

Over the years things have been getting worse for Christians on the mainland -GB, with the watering down of the Gospel, witnessing at work and the introduction of denial doctrines to counter act the truth of the Bible!

Many Anglican Church leaders know refuse to acknowledge the reformation of 433 years ago and are sticking to their Roman Catholic or Celtic roots 4th Century foundation? The Protestant reformation is seen as anti-Catholic and yet they are the same to deny that under Queen Mary-1 over fifty-five thousand Christians were martyred in her short reign by the orders of the Papacy!

Another issue is the denial of historical facts and the many freedoms the media has with the press today, come from the Protestant Puritans fight? What we can say today, remains a issue in many Catholic nations as unspoken except in private!

One hope that the Guy, the English traitor is burned this November the 5th and that children are taught some historical facts that need to be reinforced in a right way in our Churches and schools today!

John 3:21, 4:24, Acts 10:34, Romans 2:2, 2 Corinthians 13:8, Galatians 4:16, 2 Timothy 2:25.

Working with Children n Young People?

Laying Foundations!

Roman Catholicism believes that if you can win them young you have them for life, so the saying goes? But this is not actually true, because all children have to be confirmed into the Church at a certain age wither they profess a faith or not since this is a religious system that is based on traditions and ritualism!

We must not make excuses in our reaching out to children in Sunday school, youth clubs, house groups and other, believing that the new growth comes only this way? One has to wonder where the power of God is in such places, since these are the ideas of the human mind and not that of the inborn Holy Spirit!

The Apostles the Fathers of the Ekklesia did not preach exclusively to one age group and thus this is the way to progress and continue in under the grace of God! It is good to have a working for every-age within the life of the Church and nothing must be side-lines, even the dotty old dears may hear something and the dynamic power of the Spirit will bring them to salvation?

Matthew 3:1, Mark 1:4, Acts 6:2, 15:31, Romans 1:9, 15:4, 1 Corinthians 9:18, 14:3, Galatians 1:23, 1 Thessalonians 2:16, 1 Timothy 4:13, Philemon 1:7, Hebrews 13:22.