Fry-ing my brain

I have nothing against Stephen Fry. I don't enjoy any of his TV programmes but I have no beef with those who do. It's opinion, subjective to each person to his and hers own personality.

However I take great issue with his recent comments about God. 

This argument is often trotted out and it's falls very quickly and easily and here is how - You cannot make a moralistic judgement on anything without a undisputed set of absolute right and wrongs to stand on.

If you ask most unbelievers the rather difficult question of where morality has come from you'll, in my experience, get one of these answers:

'Morality evolved' - this is scary because it means that nothing is absolutely wrong, only wrong at that stage of it's evolution. Rape and murder could have been okay in the past and could be okay in the future.

'We make our own morals' - This is subjectivity of the highest order and not the good kind such as whether we prefer to watch QI or Have I Got News For You on the Dave channel. If we make our own morals we cannot be angry at anyone else because they have a different set of morals. If someone punched me in the face I couldn't be upset because it might not be wrong to them even if it is to me.

'Morality is defined by society' - this has the same issues as both of the above two.

Morality is such an evidence for God because it definitely exists yet there is no reasonable explanation for it's existence outside of a Higher Power. Without God we are simply like animals, it's dog eat dog and the fittest will win. Cats don't feel guilty after killing a mouse and if there is no God why should we feel guilty about anything we do?

Without a Higher Power, morality is subjective as no one persons opinion is bigger than another. However a Higher Power's, who is described as Holy, Perfect and All Loving,  moral judgements are bigger and there is none that can compete.

In fact, the much envied British justice and legal system is actually built upon the Bible, most of our law stems from the Ten Commandments or Biblical principles which are usually always based upon fairness to all.

God is Good and Has all knowledge and wisdom whilst loving all He has made. He made everything, including a perfect morality which we can never keep up with but can only live up to with the grace of God Himself, shown so amazingly through Jesus Christ on the cross dying for our sins so we could be reconciled to Him.

If you have no grounds for moral belief, you cannot even define the words 'evil' and 'monstrous' let alone accuse someone of it. Often people will use the wipeouts of entire groups of people in the Old Testament as an excuse to say God is evil. These groups were far worse than IS, some of them sacrificed children, and there isn't many people who think IS shouldn't be wiped out.
Some say that God was cruel letting Christ die for our sins, I'll let you in on a secret. God was Christ and He chose to do it. Because He loved us that much.

God is only one with the character to justify the creation of morality. Morality is unchanging, immaterial and universal, just like God and nothing else could account for those aspects.

The other thing that irks me is this idea that everything on earth should be perfect. Fry mentions insects that burrow through eyes etc. Anyone with an ounce of knowledge of Christian belief would know the Bible pretty much begins with the corruption of the whole world and ends with the promise of a perfect new heaven and new earth for (the Bible describes it as a place with no more tears) those who have simply acknowledged their own sin and accepted the grace of God offered through Christ. God never said that our world as it is now is perfect and Christians would never claim that.

It's amusing how often people such as Fry and Richard Dawkins criticise God whilst showing a complete lack of understanding of Him. It's sad how many people think that what they are saying is great.

I pray that Stephen Fry, Richard Dawkins and everyone else can join me in the world with 'no tears' on the great and glorious day.

Blessings,

Michael

Fighting Unfit

Well it's been such a long time since a post, heck I'm even surprised I am even writing this post as it has been so long and I thought this blog was behind me!

Today hasn't been a great day because I have been ill but I always find I am more reflective when I am ill.

A lot has happened since my last post, the most life changing of these things being my marriage to the wonderful Caitlin :)

With the marriage we moved to a new house in a place called Tremorfa. Tremorfa means 'sea town' in Welsh and it is in the south easterly part of Cardiff about a mile from the city centre. It has a reputation for being rough and sometimes peoples attitudes towards it remind me of the way the Jews spoke of Nazareth in the Bible. So far we have only found some of the loveliest people and had no problems whatsoever, our God is mighty.

We moved to Tremorfa to be a part of Belmont Baptist Church and Ignite's mission to bring the Gospel and God's blessing (for there are many blessings along with salvation!) to an area with 91% unemployment (according to one survey I read) and allegedly 2/3 illiteracy.

I can already see and, I truly believe, God's work in this area and it is such a blessing to be a part of it with such a wonderful group of brothers and sisters in Christ.

However because of this, the enemy is at work. Satan will hate nothing more than his strongholds that cause the awful things that have afflicted the world and particularly this area of it being demolished by God's work through us.

I realised today that the spiritual battle is alive within me, I realised that those moments of self doubt, temptation to do other things than be with God and unwise or fearful choices I have made have been, in part, Satan fighting against me.

There is a problem when you are in a fight but more so when you don't know you are in one.

Please pray for me that God's will shall be done in my life, in our lives as a married couple and in this lovely area that we now call home.

Christian brothers and sisters, know the battles you are fighting, give them to God and fight the good fight of faith.

Those who don't know God, know that you too are in a spiritual battle. Satan would hate nothing more than for God to be in your life and for you to be blessed beyond all recognition and bless others as a result.

1 Timothy 6:12
Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

2 Corinthians 10:5
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

John 3:16-17
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

My Free Thoughts

Online today I stumbled across a page where atheists were organising a protest against Ray Comfort's distribution of free 'Evolution vs God' DVD (where Comfort claims he has shown that top American college professor and students cannot provide any evidence of evolution and it is all belief rather than fact, it's very good I would advise giving it a watch).

One thing I noticed regarding the contributors is that many of them described themselves as 'freethinkers'. This is a term I have increasingly noticed atheists claiming for themselves.

Actually a common phrase I hear in debates is 'We are not constrained by any god, we think for ourselves'. This irks me greatly because, as well as being tremendously arrogant, it is plainly untrue.

When I decided to become a Christian, it was because I wanted to. I wasn't forced or coerced and certainly not manipulated. It was my choice, my decision, I freely thought and realised that God made this earth, Christ died for me and that I wanted to follow Him.

Following Christ goes against the norm, it is a hard decision for anyone to make because friends distance themselves from you, you become an easy target for mocking and your opinions are rarely listened to let alone understood.

The easy thing to do, without any thought, is to deny Christ or put Him off.

I am often told that following the 'rules' of Christianity is foregoing my own thoughts and opinions. Have they ever considered that I have chosen to take this route, that I believe that this is the best way to live, that I have freely chosen God and His Way? When I wasn't a Christian I simply did what everyone else did, is that any more 'free thinking'?

Many of these atheists will not even countenance the thought that God would exist. Surely a true freethinker would allow the possibility that God made this earth and consider the arguments, it's not as if billions of people over the world don't consider it to be true. It is something that needs to be taken seriously. Simply writing it off out of prejudice or a lack of a desire to be true isn't freethinking.

Without God, I don't think you can even be sure that your thoughts mean anything or make sense. Why would they?

I want to say that if you are reading this and a Christian, be encouraged that you are not what these foolish (Psalm 53:1) people think you are. If you are reading this and are refusing to consider Christ or putting him off, I beg you to consider Him and to make a decision based on free thought based on the facts, the overwhelming evidence that everything that exists doesn't make sense without a Creator, the beauty of His Creation and the fact that Jesus of Nazareth came, lived, died and rose again to pay the price for our sins.

Blessings,

Michael

Blessings Realised

It goes without saying that the last week or so has been a pretty whirlwind one for me.

Having dated from afar the last two and a bit years, having the girl I love beside me permanently and pursuing such an exciting mission for God with her (and other such great people as I get to know them more and more) is obviously a huge blessing to me.

For those who are interested, Caitlin is settling in really well and really enjoying the work she is doing, loving her house, getting on great with her housemates and generally loving it so far.

My reason for writing though...

Right now life reminds me that cliches such as 'living on cloud nine' do have metaphorical, if not scientific, truth to them.

This morning at Church I dwelt on this and I realised that the feeling of completion and happiness I have at having Caitlin here with me has been felt before. Actually, it has been felt very often. It's the way I feel every time I step into God's Presence.

Throughout all the highs and lows of my Christian walk, God has been there for me and lifted me up where I needed it, supported me, been strong for me when I was weak and best of all fulfilled me and completed me in Him.

I was, we were, made to know God and be in relationship with Him. Today I was reminded of that and I know that whatever ups and downs are ahead, I can face the future with confidence and certainty that my God, our God, will be with me all the way, giving me life to the full.

My fullness is in Him and nothing else. Praise God :-)

'I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me'

Jesus Christ - John 14:6, the Bible

God is still here!

It's been a looooong time since I have last posted so it seems very fitting to update you on what's going on in my life.

You may have noticed (and even 'liked') the following verse posted by my Facebook page earlier today:-

Isaiah 41:10

So do not fear, for I am with you;    do not be dismayed, for I am your God.I will strengthen you and help you;    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

I think this verse is one I will attach to the last two years. In these two years I have had to make some difficult decisions, struggle through some difficult moments and endure pressure beyond what I have had in my life before.

In these years I have been far from the ideal servant, whilst everything has eventually made it's way to God's hands sometimes I was reluctant. Sometimes you think you can handle it or it's too small for God but when it's too small for God it often then snowballs into becoming too big for you. The pressure and time needed to concentrate on my exams has meant less time for God and important disciplines in my life being disrupted, many of which I am still trying to rebuild now.

However I can comfortably, easily and safely say that despite my shortcomings, despite my reduced situation at some points, God has been here. He has been my God. He has strengthened me and upheld me with his righteous right hand!

Around last October God gave me notice. He told me that my life was going to change and I should expect it. I appreciated this because I always find change hard to adjust to.

God has again been as good as His word. I managed to pass my exams and become a fully qualified accountant. My girlfriend and myself found an opportunity to serve God in one of the most deprived areas of Cardiff, Tremorfa. She is moving to this country to live and serve there in 11 days time. I will be joining her in serving and striving to join her living there as soon as I can. It is something I have always dreamed of doing and since we have started going up there seeing the area, the Church and the fellowship it has only further confirmed that this is where God wants us each time. I am very excited to have Caitlin in the same place but even more excited for how God can use us and the people already serving in Tremorfa to further His Kingdom.

Furthermore, since I am qualified my role at work is set to advance further which is exciting but also scary since I am certainly having to come more and more out of comfort zones.

Lastly and more trivially, our much loved family cat sadly passed away and our much loved football team, Cardiff City, made it to the Premier League.

So, as you can see, change is afoot!

Cardiff City are a good symbol for the last two years of my life. It was a long, long struggle with much patience needed and many low points along the way but they finally did it and whilst I have needed much patience and had some low points over the last two years, God hasn't let me down and has me exactly where He wants me. Only by His Grace and Power.

My message simply is, don't give up on God, don't even be negative about the state of your life. God is looking out for you, He is there for you, His righteous right hand is upholding you at whatever moment you are at in life right now.

Our individual 3-2 wins over Man City are coming in that blind but beautiful future ahead of us, but only by God's Grace.

Imagine

Just imagine, imagine this scene for a second.

Someone comes to your house, knocks the door and asks to come in as they have something really important to tell you. You sit them down on the settee and they explain this to you...that thing, the most precious thing, the thing you really want most in the world exists. It is being held by someone who wants to give it to you and they are waiting in your local park, waiting for you to come and claim it.

One person responds by telling the person they are a liar and that it isn't true. They accuse the person of having their own motivations for wanting you to go to the park and play along. They never seek, they never even attempt to find out if what the person said was true.

One person is deeply confused and torn by what they have heard. They don't know whether to believe it or not and wander a little bit from their house in a little search to find it but give up before they reach the park They think that they don't really want the gift anyway and that once the person realises who they are they wouldn't give it to them anyway.

Another wanders to the park to see if the person is there. They go and see the person sitting on the swings. They go back to their house realising it was true but never go and claim the gift. Just seeing the person and believing they are there is as far as they ever go/

The next person goes to the person, takes the gift and enjoys it's wonder for a while before giving it back and going back to how they were beforehand. They don't believe it's really for them and are happier settling for life without the gift as it's feels more secure & comfortable to them.

The last takes the gift, they take it and keep it close to them forever because it's so precious to them and they see it's true value. They never let go and experience the wonderful benefits of that gift forever.

If you are the first person, you need to seek out this person and find out whether it's really true or not because you might just be missing out on the thing that will change your life forever. You need to at least say you looked good & hard for it.

If you are the second then you need to forget the lies the enemy feeds you and have the courage to find this out for yourself. Like the first person this can change your life forever and you need to have at least searched for it.

If you are the third person you haven't got fair enough to get any benefit from it, you might have seen it and you might believe it but the gift still isn't yours. Go further and see what happens.

If you are the fourth person, the person in the park is still there. You can claim that gift back and you have another chance. Make the most of it and trade what's easy for what is good. You only have one life so live it!

If you are the fifth then you are like me. I had a pretty miserable life until I found the greatest gift, that changed my life and the thing that I always needed. The gift is Salvation. The gift is relationship. The gift is God's Son. The gift is Jesus. Jesus doesn't discriminate, all those who want Him can have Him.

Whoever you are, whatever you've done, whatever you think of Christianity...God loves you and He wants you to seek Him today.

Jeremiah 29:13
You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart

The real haters

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/08/22/signs-attack-religion-ahead-democratic-convention/

'Just as the city of Charlotte, N.C., gears up to host the Democratic National Convention, an atheist group is mounting a billboard campaign attacking the religious faiths of President Obama and GOP challenger Mitt Romney.

The signs, paid for by American Atheists Incorporated (AAI) and appearing along keylocal highways, include messages such as: "Christianity: Sadistic God, Useless Savior." and "Mormonism: Magic Underwear, Baptizes Dead People, Big Money, Big Bigotry." AAI President David Silverman told FoxNews.com the signs are aimed at keeping religion and politics separate as the convention gets under way Sept. 3.'

The anti-Christian billboard actually includes that Christianity 'Promotes Hate, and calls it love'.

Jesus stood against many things and many people in the Bible, one group he particularly opposed were the Pharisees and he often attacked their hypocrisy.

Using hate to fight against hate is hypocrisy. But then Atheist adverts usually always seek to denigrate faith groups, most often Christianity. 

People who attack others such as bullies due to it due to their insecurity, could it simply be that they are insecure about the strength of their beliefs? Note that Christianity appeals to people telling people how great God is and what Jesus can do for you. From this evidence, Atheism appeals not by saying what is good about it or how it is right but by promoting hate against faith groups.

It's funny how 'Liberalism' tries to maintain that we should do whatever we want yet 'Liberal' groups seek to stop faith groups following their beliefs?

Isn't it strange how instead of combating religion these groups seek to stamp it out instead? 

I think they are worried they would lose the fight, since truth prevails and the truth is with the group can justify how it can know truth!