It can be hard to comprehend sometimes why people die when they do. So that can make it even more difficult to comprehend why God would allow Jesus to die on the cross, when He could have saved Him…
What He Was Dying To Say
Did you find the answer in the above song?
Jesus died simply because He loves us, and because God loves us.
Good Friday…why do we call today “good” Friday, when on this day we remember the pain and the agony Christ suffered for us when He died on a cross.
It’s a fabulous Friday simply because of that pain and agony Christ suffered for us when He died on a cross. After all, as I’ve said already this last week, if Jesus hasn’t been born, if He hadn’t been crucified and if He hadn’t risen from the dead, there would be no Easter, and we would not have been forgiven of all our sins.
His Hands by Kenneth Cope
His hands tools of creation
Stronger than nations
Power without end
And yet through them we find our truest friend
His hands sermons of kindness
Healing men’s blindness
Halting years of pain
Children waiting to be held again
His hands would serve his whole life though
Showing man what hands might do
Giving, ever giving, endlessly
Each day was filled with selflessness
And I’ll not rest until I make up my hands what they could be
’til these hands become like those from Galilee
His hands lifting a leper
Warming a beggar
Calling back the dead
Breaking bread, five thousand fed
His hands
Hushing contention
Pointing to heaven
Ever free of sin
Then bidding man to follow him
His hands would serve his whole life though
Showing man what hands might do
Giving, ever giving, endlessly
Each day was filled with selflessness
And I’ll not rest until I make up my hands what they could be
’til these hands become like those from Galilee
His hands clasped in agony
As he lay pleading,
Bleeding in the garden
While just moments away
Other hands betray him
Out of greed, shameful greed
And then his hands are trembling
Straining to carry the beam that they’ve been led to
As he stumbles through the streets
Heading towards the hill on which he died
He would die
They take his hands,
His mighty hands,
Those gentle hands
And then they pierce them, they pierce them
He lets them, because of love
From birth to death was selflessness
And clearly now I see Him
With his hands calling to me
And though I’m not yet as i would be
He has shown me how i could be
I will make my hands like those from Galilee
Powerful, powerful words in this song. The words of which reminds us that Christ lives a selfless life and His hope for each one of us, is that His life, and His death, will not have been in vain.
Let’s give our lives for Christ today, by kneeling at the foot of His cross, and giving our hearts and our whole life to God.
Today in the UK, it is Mother’s Day, so I’d like to wish all mother’s a very happy Mother’s Day!
I’m sure like me, you thank your Mum often for all she has done, and continues to do for you, and have given your Mum an extra special present today to celebrate Mother’s Day.
Tonight thought I’d like you to spare a thought for those for whom this Mother’s Day has not been the joyful occasion it is for so many others…
There are those who would love to have family of their own, however may have found, for a variety of reasons, they cannot have children. For them Mother’s Day can be a sad reminder for them that they cannot have children of their own.
Mother’s Day can also be very tough on those whose mother is no longer with them. It must be particularly hard for them today and the build up to today with all the advertising and commercialism that surrounds today. Obviously though, the toughest part must be the reminder that their mum isn’t with them anymore. It must leave quite a void in their lives, which must make today difficult.
There is of course another person for whom Mother’s Day must be tough in some circumstances, and that the mothers who have had to cope with the death of a child. Mother’s Day is a celebration of mother’s everywhere, however for mum’s who have lost a child it must be a stark and painful reminder of their lose.
Mother’s Day is a celebration of all mother’s, and all they do for their children, but I’d ask you today to please spare a thought for those for whom today will not have been a happy one.
Finally, there is one other family that I feel I have to mention today, and that is the family of Fabrice Muamba. For those of you who don’t know Fabrice Muamba is a 23 year old professional footballer who plays for English premiership team Bolton Wanderers. Yesterday during an FA Cup game at White Hart Lane against Tottenham Hotspur, Fabrice collapsed with no other players near him. He subsequently received immediate medical attention, and was then rushed to a local hospital where he is now in intensive care in a critical condition having suffered a heart attack.
We were watching the FA Cup game on TV last night when Muamba collapsed and I have to say it was obvious from the reaction of the supporters and players of both teams immediately that Muamba was seriously ill. It is on occasions like that when football pales into insignificance and players and supports alike from all clubs, come together to support and pray for the stricken player.
I’d like to take this opportunity to say that I am praying for Fabrice Muamba and his family at what must be a very difficult time. I’d ask that you too pray for Fabrice as he is still seriously ill. I’d also ask that we all pray for all those who witnessed the events at White Hart Lane yesterday as it must have been very traumatic for them too. Finally I’d like to ask you to say a pray of thanks for the medics who rushed onto the pitch to help Muamba as from the reports I’ve read, it seems they had to resuscitate him on the park, and obviously managed to get him breathing again.
Please continue to pray for Fabrice Muamba.
Why did God send Jesus to this world?
God sent Jesus here to earth to change the world, and that’s exactly what He did!
Here’s just a few lines from the song This Baby by Steven Curtis Chapman, which for me sum up Jesus’ time on earth:
And love made Him laugh and death made Him cry. With the life that He lived and the death that He died, He showed us heaven with His hands and His heart, ‘Cause this man was God’s own son. This man was like no other one, Holy and human right from the start.Please watch and listen to this wonderful song performed by Steven Curtis Chapman, This Child…
Jesus came to earth to change the world…has He changed your world?
No matter what I do, no matter what you do, no matter what your friends do, no matter what your neighbours do, no matter what any of us does…God will reign over us!
No matter how dark our nights, no matter how dark our days, no matter how dark our lives…God will bring us light!
No matter how unloved we feel, no matter how lonely we feel…God will love us!
No matter how unwell we are, no matter how near death we are…God will be with us!
Hallelujah! God loves us and will always love us and will reign forever.
Whenever I hear the phrase “The image of Christ“, here what I think of…
What do you think of when you someone says “The image of Christ”? Does it look anything like the above picture?
Yes there are plenty of nice images of Jesus that I could bring to mind when I hear that phrase. Images such as Jesus praying in the temple, Jesus healing the sick or feeding the five thousand, or maybe even Jesus at the Last Supper. However the image I see is not a very pleasant image of Jesus is it?
So why is it that I think of this particular image of Jesus? Well, I personally never want to forget this image because it means I will never forget just how much God sacrificed just for you and me, the life of His only son Jesus!
Don’t ever forget what God has done for you, and continues to do for you – Please keep the image of Christ on the cross in your thoughts always.
I hope you enjoy the song Image Of by Michelle Tumes, and find it helpful:
Calling Heaven by Michael W Smith
Calling heaven
Seeking mercy
Tell me there’s a place for these
What of the children who have never felt a love
Tender as the morning
Nursing the bruises
And the scars that never seem to go away
What of the babies who have never left the womb
Breathing in the lifeline
Angels in waiting
Gone before they could be given wings to fly
Calling heaven
Seeking mercy
Tell me there’s a place for these
What of the children who have never felt a love
Tender as the morning
Nursing the bruises
And the scars that never seem to go away
What of the noble who are searching for the truth
With truest of intentions
And yet they’re jaded by
Hypocrisies behind cathedral walls
What of the humble and the meek that knew despair
And never got their moment
But sacrificed a life of comfort
So that others knew no pain
Calling heaven
Seeking mercy
Tell me there’s a place for these
What of the children who have never felt a love
Tender as the morning
Nursing the bruises
And the scars that never seem to go away
What of the ones who call you Lord
But play the field
with faithless indecision
Forgive us father for we truly
Do not know what we have done
Calling heaven
Seeking mercy
Tell me there’s a place for these
What of the children who have never felt a love
Tender as the morning
Nursing the bruises
And the scars that never seem to go away
There’s are many hurting people in our world today, but for me the ones I feel most for are those who suffer as a consequence of someone else’s actions, or simply as a result of unfortunate circumstance.
I’ve heard recently of two separate couples who have gone through the pain and grief of losing a child – one as a result of a miscarriage the other a cot death. Both terrible and painful events, but both simply unfortunate circumstances.
In addition the others that always touch me deeply are the children we hear about on the news or in the papers who have been abused/neglected by family or so called friends. How can they do this to a child? The child can’t protect themself, they rely on those around them to look after them and care for them.
Please pray for those who have suffered abuse or neglect as well as for those families who have had to go through the traumatic experience of the death of their child. They need our prayers and our support today and in the future, so please pray for them.
On Monday night this last week, there was a TV documentary entitled “Terri Pratchett: Choosing To Die”which followed Alzheimer’s sufferer Sir Terri Pratchett as he considered his options regarding prematurely ending his own life by committing assisted suicide. Sir Terry travelled to the Dignitas Clinic in Switzerland and witnessed first-hand the procedures for assisted death.
A tough topic, but one I felt I wanted to watch as it touched on a sensitive subject, especially as it followed Sir Terri an Alzheimer sufferer – an illness that’s as a family we are dealing with at this time.
It took me a while to decide whether I was strong enough emotionally to watch this programme, but finally, just before the programme started I decided I would watch it…and I’m glad I did.
Personally I do consider assisted death to be something that should be supported, however I can understand to some extent the reasons why some consider assisted death the best option for their future…and that I find very upsetting.
Those diagnosed with terminal or progressive illnesses have limited options on how they will see out the remainder of their life:
One of the biggest issues the people featured on the TV programme felt about their future was the lack of quality of life they had/would have, and the burden they would be on their carer.
The thing is, is it really up to the person with the illness to decide that they don’t want to burden themselves on their carer? Is it not up to the carer to determine whether they want to and are able to care for their family member or friend.
On the other hand without actually being in the position of the person with the illness, would we ever really know what the person’s quality of life was – People can often look and act as if nothing is wrong, however they may simply be hiding their problems/their pain from those around them.
The other big thing that I noted in the documentary was that at the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland where they assisted with the deaths, they showed us a room full of case files. About one third/or a quarter of the case files were one colour and the remainder another – the majority of the case files were of people who had visited the clinic to ask to take up the option of assisted death however they had never done so…
On the programme they indicated that for many people who consider assisted death it was simply knowing they could go to Dignitas to end their life when they wanted, often meant the person never take it up. I’m not quite sure how I felt about this – on one hand there appeared to be lots of folk wanting the option to end their life, but the majority of them never went through with it…second thoughts perhaps!
For me, and for many I’ve spoken to, the toughest part of the programme was when we were told that the 42 year old (my age!) MS sufferer, had gone through with his assisted death…it just seemed such a waste of a life. For this case as with others who took up the assisted death option, I think it must be harder for those the people leave behind that for those who have chosen to die.
Even the last part of this programme when we witnessed a motor neuron sufferer go through with assisted death in one of the Dignitas rooms in Switzerland, I personally felt more for the man’s wife who sat beside her husband during his last moments and had to watch him drink the fatal liquid, than I did for the man ending his life. Is that wrong? Maybe it’s because it felt as though he was taking the “easy” option, while his wife was being left behind to deal with her grief and her loneliness without him – After all she had stated earlier in the programme that she didn’t wanted her husband to end his life, however she would support him in his decision – That really must have been very very tough for her.
At the end of the documentary Sir Terri Pratchett stated that he had found meeting both those who chose to end their life and someone who had decided to live out his life in a hospice, helpful, however he was no nearer deciding what he wanted for his future. The difficulty faced by Sir Terri is that as an Alzheimer sufferer he will need to choose earlier than those with other illnesses, whether he want to die prematurely, as otherwise the disease will prevent him from either understanding or having the ability to say the words that they want to die.
So did this programme change my view on assisted death? No it didn’t, although I must admit I did get a far greater understanding of why this option is chosen by some.
I feel we must continue to support people to live, not assist them to die. I hope you will join me in praying for all those who may be considering assisted death.
Read any newspaper or any on-line news page or turn your TV onto any news programme and you’ll find there’s nearly always news of someone somewhere having been murdered or seriously injured in what is said to be “an unprovoked attack”. Tragic events which shock the community in which the crime has taken place. Tragic events which devastate families and friendships.
It’s at these times when we as Christians are compelled to pray that God will provide comfort and solace to all those affected by the tragedy. In the days that follow the tragedy we continue to pray for the family and friends of the person killed.
In February this year the nephew of one of my managers was murdered in Blantyre in an unprovoked attack. At this time the community of Blantyre, the family and friends of Raemonn Gormley all voiced their disbelief and devastation at the death of a wonderful young man – I wrote about some of this in two blog posts in February, A Black Friday and Life Is Fragile.
Well on Friday this week the two men charged with Reamonn Gormley’s murder appeared in court in Glasgow. Meanwhile, one of Reamonn’s aunts, my manager, was at work…I was with my manager when she got news from her family on how things had gone at court…all I can say is she was very understandably emotional.
You can read details of the outcome of the accused’s appearances in court on the BBC website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-13642552
If I’m honest I must admit that I stopped praying specifically for her, her family and Reamonn’s friends a number of weeks ago. It’s almost as if just because the immediate aftermath and media attentions, the funeral etc were all over, so the events of that tragic day and it’s impact of them, had gone from my mind. I felt very guilty, I felt I had failed as a Christian as although I had prayed for my manager’s family at the time of Reamonn’s death, I have failed to continue to offer the kind of support that both she and her family have needed.
The grief and devastation felt by the family and friends of any murder victim lasts a lifetime, not just a few days, weeks or months. So I ask that you like me, you will make a promise today to continue to pray for the families and friends of all murder victims, no matter whether the crime occurred yesterday, last week, last month, last year or indeed many years ago. Their pain and grief will never go away, although through our prayers and our support we can help them be strong enough to face another day in the knowledge that God is always with them, and that their loved one is at peace in God’s presence.
Are you scared of death? Are you frightened of death?
There’s no need to be scared, as God has promised us eternal rest in His presence when we reach the of our time on earth.
Hebrews 4:8-11 (The Message)
And so this is still a live promise. It wasn’t canceled at the time of Joshua; otherwise, God wouldn’t keep renewing the appointment for “today.” The promise of “arrival” and “rest” is still there for God’s people. God himself is at rest. And at the end of the journey we’ll surely rest with God. So let’s keep at it and eventually arrive at the place of rest, not drop out through some sort of disobedience.
While these words should reassure us, I’m sure it’s still only human nature to fear death and how we might feel during our final moments. That however should never stop us from believing that when our earthly body has died, we will find rest in God’s presence.
Revelations 14:13 (New Living Translation)
And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this down: Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, they are blessed indeed, for they will rest from their hard work; for their good deeds follow them!”
What about those who have never found God before they pass away?
As I touched on in my blog post yesterday entitled Non Believer, I truly believe that it’s never too late in someone’s life for them to be saved, regardless of their health or state of mind. God does work in mysterious ways at times, so no matter how unlikely we think it is that a loved one may be saved before their death, do not ever stop believing or praying as God does can still make a difference.
Look forward to heaven, it’s a place where eyes won’t cry and hearts won’t get broken…
