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Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Yes or No

Australia is at a crossroad  - deciding whether to redefine marriage as being between one man and one woman or between two people.

The present debate can be  quickly summarised as ;

1    “No” vote -  Accepting what God says as final    -    (see the Bible verse at the end of this article)
2    “Yes” vote  - Denying God exists or has any moral authority over humanity –    (Human reasoning without God’ moral values)

The future implications of a change are becoming clearer – to destroy the value and intention of marriage as well as open the door for the imposing other moral perversions.

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But I ask a question, a question I have not heard or read.:

“How did we in Australia get to this low moral point, that the question should ever be asked at all?”


My answer in brief:

The Christians of the last forty years have failed to fulfil the great commission given by the Lord Jesus Christ – ‘Go into all the world and preach the Gospel’.
Had this Gospel outreach been the primary focus of believers in the Lord Jesus, society might have been preserved by the salt of the Gospel and the light of truth. Society has descended to the policy of “What feels good” and “what is good for me”.  Why ? – because many Christians have adopted this attitude as well as the common people. I have observed change over the last sixty years, and the change has been subtle but real. Instead of a Biblical priority of eternal values, Christians are busy making this world ‘a better place to live’. This has involved the priority of education, the idolatry of affluence  and the withdrawal of Gospel endeavour into church buildings. Even there the Gospel is seldom preached.  Evangelism, as seen in the book of Acts , is very rare. The result :- the general populous ignorantly live for the pleasures of sin as if God does not exist. (eg fornication, adultery, homosexuality, greed , abuse etc)

So what am I trying to say? The present scramble about ‘marriage equality’ is the outcome of Christian failure?  In one way Yes. We Christians have become distracted by the cares, riches and pleasures of this life, and the devil has had free reign.

I suggest the answer to the present problem is a return to the public declaration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the public square :- a Gospel that spells out sin as God sees it with the call to repent, and the wonderful grace of God in Christ to forgive and deliver the lost .


For those who do not like my rebuke I ask:-
What appears in your church newsletter about real evangelism?
When did you last hear a message that focused on people being lost and needing Christ as a Saviour?
How is it that we have so many mediums of communication, and yet the liberating Gospel of Jesus Christ is seldom broadcast to the world.?
Why are Christians so afraid to publicly declare allegiance to His name or stand as witnesses to His word.?

Or shall I make it more personal:

When did you last give an unbeliever a Gospel message by words, by letter, by leaflet??
When did you last give a Bible  to a lost person?
When did you reach out to a Muslim person with God’s truth?
When did you last seek out a homosexual person, to win them to Christ?


Well I actually think the problem is deeper than these questions:-    -so few people actually “know the Lord” !

Shallow, half hearted, ritualistic church going has replaced the Holy Spirit inspired obedience to the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ. Self centred sermons that pick out the verses  to suit the comfort zones of the audience. Denying God ‘time alone ‘ with Him and His word. Reinventing doctrines from the perspective of men, instead of the Word of God.
I think you get the point – sure the general populous has strange moral values,(partly through the promotion on evolution), but who is it that has failed to be the ambassadors for God in the world . 
Hebrews 12.4 is a strong rebuke: “in your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood”

I finish with the words of the Master to His Father in heaven:
“As you sent Me into the world,  I am sending them into the world”
 (John 17)

-      And they killed HIM, but His mission, given by God the Father to seek and to save the lost, was fulfilled and we reap the benefits.
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Qualifying comments.

1 Corinthians 15
The Gospel – “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, that He was buried, that  He was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures.”

The effect – 1 Corinthians 6:9

“the unrighteous will  not inherit the kingdom of God. Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”

“Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed, you were made holy, you were made right with God by calling on the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ and  by the Spirit of our God.”


John McKee


PS  Are there any reaching out in the public arena?  Yes

I have a friend from who goes to the local market to give away Bibles. Another operates a Gospel cafe in the CBD. Others go into the public schools to teach the Bible. Yet another goes out with Gospel tracts. But after reading Acts 3,4,5,8, how we fail to rise up to the call of the Lord to be ambassadors for Him.

Tuesday, September 12, 2017

Choices

The Lord said to the People,
  "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls
 But you said, 'We will not walk in it.'"  (Jeremiah 6:16)

Sunday, September 10, 2017

Is God taking any notice

God’s response

Psalm 2 from the song book of the Bible is so old yet so very up to date. I could say very much about it, but better to let God speak:

Why do the nations rage?
Why do the people waste their time in futile plans?
The Kings of the earth prepare for battle
The rulers plot together against  the LORD,
And against His anointed one.
“Let us break their chains “ they cry
“and free ourselves from slavery”

But the one who rules in heaven laughs.
The LORD scoffs at them
Then in anger rebukes them
Terrifying them with His fierce fury.

For the Lord declares:
“I have placed my chosen king on the throne in Jerusalem, my holy city.
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Submit to God’s royal Son, or He will become angry
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But what joy for all who find protection in Him.”

This psalm is so true to the events of 2017 and the final promise of hope in Jesus Christ God’s Son.


Read the psalm through and find rest in what God has planned. They did in   Acts 4 and likewise for all today.

John McKee

Sunday, September 3, 2017

Your point of reference

A Reference point

The ancient sailors used the stars as their reference point to guide them on their journeys. Our journey of life has a reference point. It directs how we live, why we do things, what gives fulfilment in life  and determines the final destination of our life’s journey. It also gives us identity.

“What is your reference point?”

A lost reference point can frequently be seen in history, summed up by this saying –“Every man did that which was right in his own eyes”
Does that sound familiar in our world today?

Some have referenced life on Darwin’s theory of evolution – survival of the fittest – and thus in the 1940’s, thousands of disabled people were exterminated. Yet others used communism as the reference point and millions of academics and religious people were eliminated. All governments have a reference point – some in Islam, some in Marxism, some in Christianity, some in monarchy, some in capitalism  etc.

The modern reference point of the western world is,  “ if it feels good do it” and thus the selfish, self focused  mind, works, votes, acquires, defends only short term self interest.

Is there a better way?
Yes  - having a reference point outside of our self, from the hand of our creator. God has revealed the “user’s manual” – the Bible.

Are we prepared to let God speak?  Or do we pick and choose the Bible verses that make us “feel good”?  Do we let the Bible rebuke us, correct us, lead us, encourage us? Do we accept it as God by His Spirit speaking to us or is it too inconvenient for the Bible to be our reference point?
The Lord Jesus said of some religious people
“ You have not the word of God abiding in you!”  They were LOST.

Some object that the Bible is not relevant and out of date. Is God the creator without understanding of what is BEST for His creatures? No – It speaks very clearly about our condition before God, about marriage, about loving our neighbours, about teaching young people, about greed, about life after death, about the real meaning of life,  about social responsibilities  etc etc.

If God and His word (the Bible), are refused as the ultimate reference point, then we are lost, wandering in the quagmire of self destruction.
Today is our day of opportunity to return to the Lord (as individuals and communities and nations).  God has spoken, and through His Son Jesus Christ, righteousness can prevail for the good of all. The promise is to all who have ears to hear:
“Whoever will call upon the Lord will be saved”  Romans 10:13

Let us today pause to consider the reference point that controls our thinking, directs our decisions, shapes our attitudes, determines our eternal destiny!

How privileged we are to be able to read the Bible in our own language.  If you do not have one and would like to read it, send a request for one today.