We were asked once why the gospel hall doesn’t hold an Easter service. Our simple reply is that the truth of the gospel is for every day of our lives. Now that the Easter eggs are off the shelves, and the children are enjoying the final week of the school holidays, it would be good for us to reflect on the big questions of life. These are not seasonal.

There was a man called Job who lived a long time ago but who asked four vital questions that are answered in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Job 14:4

Job was thinking about ‘man that is born of a woman’.  The Bible teaches that ‘all have sinned’ Romans 5:12. Job’s question is about the cycle of life and how it can be possible for a child to be born into the world without sin, if the parents themselves have a sinful nature.

This question is answered in the birth of Christ – ‘the Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow you: therefore that Holy One that shall be born of you shall be called, the Son of God’ Luke 1: 25

How should man be just with God? Job 9:1

If man is a sinner, what can he do to make himself right before God? This thinking underlines all religion. The Bible teaches that man can do nothing to make himself just in the sight of God. 

This question is answered in the death of Christ – ‘For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus’. Romans 3:23,24

If a man die shall he rise again? Job 14:14

These thoughts are  brought before us every time we visit the hospital or stand by the graveside. We feel that death is such a waste. How can it be the end? Yes so many aske the question but do not find the answer.

This question is answered in the resurrection of Christ – ‘but now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so, in Christ shall all be made alive’. 1 Corinthians 15:21,22

Oh that I knew where I might find Him, that I might come even to His seat? Job 23:3

Job went in his thinking to the seat of God and longed to to know His great power in his life, so that ‘He would put strength in me’. All of us have things in our lives that we feel we cannot cope with. Life can be overwhelming and Job knew that better than most, as he had lost his business, his children and his health.

This question is answered in the ascension of Christ – ‘seeing then that we have a great high priest that is passed into the heavens…let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need’. Hebrews 4:15,16

The man or woman who finds the answer to these questions in Christ will have a truly happy Easter.

Since Thursday’s budget delivered by Chancellor Rachel Reeves, households throughout Britain have been taking stock of their finances. Many have discovered that they will be worse off through increases in income tax, Council tax, fuel duty and other hidden items such as a milkshake tax! Of course different political parties have either declared it to be a fair budget or the worst ever since World War 2.

However, there is a way that we can conduct a personal  budget, based on the words of the Lord Jesus Christ. Anyone interested in what He taught about money and the necessities of life should read The Gospel of Luke Luke chapter 12. If you don’t have a Bible, you can read it for free here:

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2012&version=KJV

Another famous verse is found in The Gospel of Mark chapter 8 v.35:

“For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul’. 

As we sit with our calculator, savings account statements, social security benefit statement, or salary slip, taking stock, would this not be a good time to reflect on how rich we are towards God? My 5 year old grandson recently asked me, what is my favourite colour of Lamborghini? He has much more chance of owning one than I have!

Jesus Christ challenges us that no matter what riches we could have in the world, it would be pointless if we leave this world and go into eternity with no hope and no salvation to find that we ignored the most valuable thing we had in this life – our soul. So, lets put that in the financial assessment of our lives and get a true picture of our personal budget.

“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement; so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many…” Hebrews 9:27,28

 

 

We have recently displayed a Bible verse at Bishopton Station. If you have come to the site because of that poster – welcome!

The words on display are taken from Isaiah 55 verse 6 and contains a direct appeal from God to men and women:

“Seek ye the Lord while He may be found”.

These words are only part of the verse and are placed in the context of the chapter, so why not read the chapter for yourself? If you do not have a Bible, there is an excellent free online version at:

https://thekingsbible.com/Bible/23/55

The chapter opens with an appeal to men and women who are tired of spending money on things that do not satisfy their spiritual thirst or hunger. How many have spent a lot of money on concerts, dances, theatres, movies, holidays, or food and drink only to discover the next day that there is still something missing in their life? The pleasures of the world are expensive but they never satisfy.

The Lord Jesus when He was in the world told men and women that He is the water and bread of life:

“I am the living bread which came down from heaven” John 6:51

“If any man thirst let him come unto me and drink” John    7:37

We are more than our bodies. We have a soul and a spirit that cannot be satisfied by the things of the world. We were created to enjoy fellowship with God. But our sinful nature has separated us from God. And so the invitation comes to us:

“Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near”. Isaiah 55:6

This is a time limited offer! With the invitation comes a warning that He will not always be found or be near to us. Time is short and death is sure.

“Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon” Isaiah 55:7

The funeral of our sister in the Lord, Grace Peacock, was held on Thursday 27th March at Bishopton Parish Church.

Grace came to us in 2010 and we very soon learned how happy, friendly and devoted a Christian she was. She had recently come to live in Bishopton to be near her daughter Anne and was unable to attend her former church in Glasgow. She came to us at a time when we needed encouragement and she certainly brought that to us every week.

Grace had a deep interest in understanding the teaching of the Bible. Her favourite Bible commentary was written in 1706 by Matthew Henry. If she was unsure of what a speaker had been teaching, she would say, ‘I will go home and see if Matthew Henry agrees with you’. The last series of meetings that she attended was on the journey of the children of Israel from Egypt to Canaan. She said at the end of each night, ‘the grace of God is just marvellous’.

She was also a woman of prayer and she often met people in Bishopton when she was walking her daughter’s dog Mitzi and talked to them about the gospel message. They would then be added to her prayer list. She could not understand why so many people that she met in Bishopton seemed to have so little interest in the gospel message.

Her funeral was attended by people from all walks of life. Some had known her for many years, others had only met her a few times but had been so impressed by her that they wanted to attend and pay their respects.

Some of her favourite words of the Lord Jesus were read from the Bible:

“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.  In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.  And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John chapter 14:1-6

Grace believed with all her heart that Jesus Christ is the only way to God, He is the only truth about God and He is the only life from God.

We will miss Grace very much and will always cherish the years of love, fellowship, care and laughter that she brought into our lives. We are confident that today she is ‘absent from the body to be present with the Lord’ 2 Corinthians 5:9

Tomorrow we will attend the funeral of a friend who died of cancer and who leaves behind a wife and two young sons.

The Lord Jesus once spoke to a multitude of people, so many that they were trampling on one another’s feet. Faced with such a crowd, the modern-day preacher or politician would be advised by their speech writers to take great care with his opening words. This would be a time to tell a joke, or mention an event that happened when growing up – something to build empathy, to get the crowd on his side. But the Lord was not like other men and so His opening words that day were:

“Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.  For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known. Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops. And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.”

This is not the kind of language we are used to hearing public speakers use in 2024 but these were words of warning that came from a loving Saviour.

He encourages us to be open and honest in our dealings with God. The root of the word hypocrisy comes from the idea of wearing a mask while acting in a play. That will never bring us near to God, nor will hiding our sins from Him.

But to return to our friend who has died – his body will be placed in the grave but there is no more suffering for him. He is ‘absent from the body, present with the Lord’.

However, the Lord appealed to men and women in the crowd who had no faith, who did not believe in Him, to fear the God who had power after death to cast the soul into hell. Have you ever considered what will happen after you die? The Apostle Paul wrote, “for to me to live is Christ and to die is gain”. He had believed in Christ while he was living and so he viewed his death as a way of gaining even more of Christ.

This may fall strangely on the modern ear – it is far from being woke or politically correct but are you willing to gamble that it is not the truth?

“From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord‘s name is to be praised Psalm” 113:3

The temperature on the garden thermometer in Bishopton reads 34 degrees and it is only 10.30 in the morning. It was only a few weeks ago that we were experiencing snow!

Politicians, scientists, and activists have much to say about a ‘climate emergency’ and the hot weather is used to argue for their agenda. When we turn to the Bible, we discover on the first and last pages that the sun is not the source of light. God said, ‘Let there be light: and there was light’ on the first day of creation Genesis 1:3. The source of light is not a planet but a Person! ‘God is light and in Him is no darkness at all’. 1 John 1:5

The Genesis account of creation goes on to tell us that the sun, moon, and stars were created on the 4th day. They were created to rule over the earth and still do. Our 24-hour day and 365-day year are ruled by the sun. Our month is determined by the moon. The great lesson is that Earth is not independent of heavenly rule.

However, when we come to the last page of the Bible we learn about a heavenly city that has no need of the sun! ‘And there shall be no night there, and they need no candle, neither light of the sun, for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.’ Revelation 22:5

This is all very far removed from the everyday thinking of men. The Bible is not a book of reason: it is a book of revelation. It is given by God to be believed by men.

As we enjoy the sunshine today, let us reflect on our relationship with the God of creation and the God of redemption. Do we acknowledge Him in our lives? Have we accepted the salvation that He offers to us through the Lord Jesus Christ? Are we bound for that heavenly city at the end of life’s journey?

‘Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life’. John 8:12

On 1st July 1999, Sheila Wellington sang the Robert Burns’ song, “A Man’s A Man For A’ That” at the state opening of The Scottish Parliament. 

Fast forward to 22nd December 2022, when most MSPs, including Renfrewshire North and West’s Natalie Don, voted for The Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill. Now, in the eyes of The Scottish Parliament, a man is only a man if he decides to be one.

The writer J.K. Rowling, who has been outspoken in her opposition to the Bill, said it was a stain on the Parliament. We would go further and say it was the moral low point of The Scottish Parliament and the Bill is a stain on Scotland. Furthermore, as it is clear that most Scots oppose the Bill, democracy was thrown out the window on Thursday.

Scottish churches have a responsibility to re-state that the Bible teaches that God created the distinction between a man and a woman. 

“So God created man in His image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created he them” Genesis 1:27

Even if you do not accept the teaching of the Bible, human history shows that when a child is born into the world, it is either male or female. People even hold gender reveal parties. No matter what may take place in the mind of the person in later years, they cannot change their sex or gender.

There is a recurring phrase in the creation account in Genesis chapter 1 – ‘after its kind’. We cannot plant an apple seed and expect an orange tree in our garden; we cannot buy a chicken egg and hope when it hatches, an eagle comes out of the shell; lions cannot become elephants; tigers cannot become giraffes. Men cannot become women; women cannot become men. The barriers in creation were placed by God from the beginning, and they remain until this day. 

Of course, the Bill reflects a much wider problem in Scottish society, namely the profound shift away from God in civic and cultural life. Solomon, the King of Israel, spoke many proverbs. One of them was:

“Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people” Proverbs 14:34

We would do well to reflect on where we are as a nation on this moral scale.

 

If we were to meet on the Bishopton main street and I told you I know a man who can control the wind and sea, can cast our demons, cure any disease and raise people from the dead, you would either think I was completely mad or would ask how you could meet him.

In our Bible studies on a Wednesday evening, we have been reading the Gospel of Mark. If you have never read the Bible before, Mark would be a good introduction for you. He is easy to read and brings the life and service of the Lord Jesus vividly before us.

We live in a day when politicians make extraordinary claims about their abilities. One of them is their collective ability to reduce the temperature of the planet by 2 degrees before 2030! Christians believe that God created heaven and earth and He alone controls the climate. Marks relates how the disciples made this discovery when their ship sailed into a great storm and they feared for their lives. ‘He arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace be still. And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.’ Mark 4:39.

Demon possession is not something commonly discussed but many people in Scotland are possessed and controlled by powers outside of themselves. Mark ch 5 recounts how the Lord cast out demons from a man who was uncontrollable by others. The Lord told him to return to his friends and ‘tell them what great things the Lord hath done for thee.’ Mark 5: 19. You may not like the Christian gospel, you may not agree with it but you cannot take away from a man or a woman the great things that Christ has done in their lives.

Mark then describes the case of a woman who had an issue of blood for twelve years and had spent all her money on doctors who had only made her condition worse. We have lived through a ‘pandemic’ where governments have spent £billions to curtail and prevent disease. To do so, they revoked civil, personal and religious liberties. They mandated vaccines and still Covid levels are high. Clearly man does not have power over disease! Yet the woman touched Christ as He was passing by and immediately she was healed. We cannot literally touch Him today but faith can connect us with Him.

I was recently speaking to a young man about the war in Ukraine. He told me he is horrified by the pictures of dead people lying in the streets.  It struck me that he belongs to a generation that has been protected from the thought of death. Modern war reporting sanitises the horror of it all. A wise woman in the Bible once said, ‘we must all needs die…’ Death is a reality that we need to face and prepare for. The apostle Paul once said, ‘for to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.’ The willingness of an entire nation to accept lockdown for two years suggests that very few people have that same assurance!

Jairus discovered the truth that would later be explained in Romans ch 1: 4 that Christ was ‘declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection of the dead.’ The great hope of the gospel is that Christ is able to raise the dead to life again. He alone has power over the deep, demons, disease and death.

‘I am the resurrection and teh life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die’ John 11: 25,26

“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel’. Genesis 3:15

The circumstances of the first announcement of the birth of Christ are far removed from the scenes of Christmas trees and lights, chestnuts roasting on an open fire, children writing letters to Santa Claus, and snow falling.

The first three people to hear about God sending His Son into the world to be a Saviour were Satan, Adam and Eve! They were standing in an earthly paradise that had so soon been marred by sin and disobedience. The Bible would later comment on this scene: ‘Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned’ Romans 5:12.

The principles of sin and death were introduced into our world on that day and they have never been removed. Covid lockdowns have revealed that despite all our sophistication and technological achievements, the human race has found no answers to these problems.

Genesis 3:15 is often called the ‘proto-evangelium’. It is a compound of two Greek words, protos meaning “first” and evangelion meaning “good news” or “gospel”. The first gospel message was addressed to Satan in the guise of a serpent. This world’s history is really a controversy between God and Satan. Satan came into the garden of Eden with the intention of harming mankind and destroying any hope of a relationship between fallen and sinful men and their creator God.

God directly addressed Satan and told him of the seed of the woman that would come into the world and bruise his head. The verse, therefore, promises the defeat of Satan and everything he would do in the world. His defeat would come through ‘the seed of the woman.’ Who is the seed of the woman? How can a child be born only of a woman without an earthly father? The answer is unfolded in the Bible over the years:

‘Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and thou shall call his name Immanuael’ Isaiah 7: 14

‘For unto us a child is born; unto us, a Son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.’ Isaiah 9: 7

‘Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins’. Matthew 1: 20,21

‘And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins: and in him is no sin’ 1 John 3:5

‘He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested that He might destroy the works of the devil’. 1 John 3: 8

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was born of a virgin and became a true man. Yet because had no connection with Adam or his sinful nature, He was himself holy and sinless. Only a sinless man could die to take away our sins; only the Son of God could bruise the head of  Satan and destroy his work.

“Because the sinless Savior died,
My sinful soul is counted free;
For God, the Just, is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.”

Hymn by C.L. Bancroft

“Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.” Matthew 2: 1,2

New Year’s day brings a sense of closure on the past events and hope for better days in the year ahead. It also moves most people on in their thinking from the birth of Christ – Christmas is over, a new year has begun, and we need to think about summer holidays or buying a new car!

It was wise men who asked the question, ‘where is He that is born king of the Jews’? They did not view the birth of Christ as a one-day event that could be put out of their minds as they returned to the East. Their meeting with Christ changed their lives. T.S. Eliot captured this in his famous poem, the Journey of the Magi when he wrote:

“We returned to our places, these Kingdoms, But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation, With an alien people clutching their gods.”

Those men asked a question that has never been asked since – where is He that is born King? Men are not born kings. Prince Charles may be King someday, but he was born a prince and remains a prince. He is the heir apparent to the throne of the United Kingdom. A prince may have the legal right to reign, but circumstances can prevent him from reaching the throne.

There is certainty behind the wise men’s inquiry, an understanding that nothing can prevent Christ from being King of the Jews. The Bible is full of such confidence. Christ was born to reign! He has been appointed by Divine decree. He is the eternal Son of God who became man and has inherited as a man all that is rightfully His.

“Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee”. Psalm 2:6,7

And while the wise men understood this, they viewed His kingdom as the nation of Israel. But the Bible throughout makes it clear that Christ will reign over the Universe! He is not an heir apparent. He is the appointed heir of all things because He created all things!

“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds” Hebrews 1:1,2

The year 2020 has seen social and political upheaval in the world on a scale unknown outside of wartime. It has become evident that governments and politicians do not have the answers to the world’s problems. They have undertaken to do the impossible – protect us from disease and death.

The answer to this world’s problems is Christ the King.

“Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment.  And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.” Isaiah 32:1,2

The King is a man who because He is also God can be as a hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest. We do not need to wait for Him to take the throne; we can come to Him today and acknowledge our inability, weakness, failure and sin. He will shield us from the storms of life. He alone can save us from the judgement of God that is coming upon this world.

“Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and ye perish from the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him.” Psalm 2:12