Windows On The Soul

When heaven and eternal life are thought about, the general perception is one of life continuing on the same forever. The Bible’s descriptions are more than this. ‘In’ eternity, the ‘beginning’ and the ‘ past ’ are just as the ‘ present ’ and the ‘ future ’. Words and phrases like ‘ past ’, ‘ present ’, ‘ future ’ and ‘ continuing on ’ are temporal, making sense only in our natural physical world. In eternity, where there is no sense of ‘time’ as we know it, our physical concepts of ‘before’ and ‘ after ’, ‘ cause ’ and ‘ effect ’ don’t apply. When we speak of someone ‘ living by faith ’, the common belief is that such people ‘ don’t know from where their next meal is coming ’. But the Bible’s description of ‘ faith ’ is one of certainty. This is the difference between simple Hope and Faith. Faith is the substance, reality and certainty of things hoped for ( Heb.11:1 ) . The phraseology could equally be expressed as “living in the reality of the ‘ effect ’ before the ‘ c...

I was reminiscing with a colleague the other day about how much things have changed in our industry since we started in the early 70’s.  And I know some of you have seen many more changes in your life time - two world wars, motor cars, electric light, refrigeration, aeroplanes, wireless, television - the list goes on. And yet in human relational terms, nothing much has changed since Genesis. Greed, pride, sloth, envy, jealousy, avarice, anger, rebellion, etc are still rampant. Sometimes I think we focus too readily on specific incarnations of sins and forget the fundamental SIN of human nature. Thank God that His accepting love, forgiveness and gift of eternal life have not changed either, that they are the same yesterday, today and forever. Interestingly, the words ‘fundamental’ and ‘radical’ mean the same thing - pertaining to basic, core things. Let's be radical in exploring ways in reaching out to the world with God’s fundamentals of love, forgiveness and Life.

We often speak of the principal roles of Jesus in His worldly ministry as those of "Prophet, Priest and King".  But Jesus never used these words directly. In His wonderful way with words, Jesus described His roles in active form.  He said, "I am the way (priest), the truth (prophet) and life (king)". The only way to eternal life, is through Christ's priestly work of intercession and the sin-offering of His life. As prophet he came to teach, to proclaim God's word, to lead us into all truth. In His resurrected kingly splendour, he is the first-fruit, the guarantee of our hope of eternal life, and sustainer of all life. In this season remembering His incarnation, meditate on these reasons for His coming. ----xxxXxxx---- Jn.14:6 "I am the way the truth and life: no-one comes to the father but by me" Jn.8:2 "All the people gathered round Him and He sat down to teach them" Jn.1:1 "Before the world was created, ...