As Christians, we are personally convinced that Jesus rose from the dead; but it's still wonderful to be able to read evidence of His resurrection that helps us to reassure doubters.
I never cease to be amazed by the volume of information that is available to us in this age, on the internet. In the Christian perspective, there is so much to read that is encouraging, informative, inspirational and educational. Whereas in the ages before the internet we may have had to do a great deal of research just to find out where to look for answers to questions we may have had, the internet makes the results of in-depth, studies and exhaustive research available to us with a simple search. I am grateful to all the authors who have dedicated so much of their lives in exhaustive studies - and to be able to benefit from their great work.
Just recently I read a number of very uplifting papers from a site called "y-jesus.com" (Link provided here under "Links to Recommended Sites" in the right-hand column). One of those papers was on the subject of Did Jesus Really Rise from the Dead . Links to more of these interesting studies, like Did Jesus Claim to be God, Is Jesus Really the Only Way and more are provided under "Links Of Interest".
Thank you to the team on y-jesus.com for your inspiring site.
Wednesday, 6 April 2016
Tuesday, 8 July 2014
Peer Pressure - the Hidden Persecution
Ever wonder how you would stand up under a great religious persecution? Most of us probably have. We know that it's happened before and that it'll happen again. Will we stand or fall? In some parts of the world, our Christian brothers and sisters suffer persecution even now. There are those who risk everything, including their lives and the lives of their families to practice as Christians.
While most Christians today take our religious freedom for granted, there is a hiddden persecution that we may not recognize as such - yet it can be as fatal to our success or failure as open persecution. It is called Peer Pressure.
While peer pressure is generally recognized as a serious threat to our youth, we are all subject to its devastation, in many cases without even being aware of it. For the Devil, it's the thin edge of the wedge that he drives into our lives to seperate us from the values of the Lord.
How many events do we attend where behaviour is contrary to our values; how many activities do we partake in that we know, if we consider, have a detrimental effect on our standing as Christians? How much of the media hype of entertainment and advertising sucks us in, where our herd instinct takes over and we happily cross lines because - well, what harm can it do?
Having some fun is not a sin, having a good laugh is no sin; but when we get sucked into the wrong kind of fun, the wrong kind of conversation because we don't want to fall out of the group, we can find ourselves developing wrong habits and unconsciously taking a path we shouldn't be walking on. We don't even realize it until we wake up one day and find that we've strayed far from the path intended for us, and we have to start the long process of finding our way back. All too often, painfully.
Peer pressure can be a dangerous weapon in the Enemy's hands to make us feel dissatisfied with our lives and particularly with what we have or don't have - compared to others. That dissatisfaction can easily lead to anger and misery, which have no place amidst the Fruits of the Spirit. It can spread like a spiritual cancer, quickly overpowering the peace, love, joy, humility and dedication to God that we once knew.
The overt religious persecution is a threat that is visible and enforces us to confront it and ourselves. The hidden threat is the one that we don't see and we avoid having to confront it, until the wedge is driven in so deeply that it is only with a great deal of pain that we have to claw our way back to the right path, bleeding and in spiritual tatters.
Let us be aware, therefore, of the inevitable onslaughts of the enemy each day, and remain safe in the armour of the Lord and the Fruits of the Holy Spirit, regardless of what our friends may think or what we may be missing out on. We are left in the world, not removed from it; but we are left in the world to reflect the glory of God to the unbelieviers, not to join them in their pursuits.
May God be with us and not only strengthen us, but grant us joy in our daily victories. Jesus is always with us. Let us rejoice in Him more than in anything with which the Devil's society may tempt us.
While most Christians today take our religious freedom for granted, there is a hiddden persecution that we may not recognize as such - yet it can be as fatal to our success or failure as open persecution. It is called Peer Pressure.
While peer pressure is generally recognized as a serious threat to our youth, we are all subject to its devastation, in many cases without even being aware of it. For the Devil, it's the thin edge of the wedge that he drives into our lives to seperate us from the values of the Lord.
How many events do we attend where behaviour is contrary to our values; how many activities do we partake in that we know, if we consider, have a detrimental effect on our standing as Christians? How much of the media hype of entertainment and advertising sucks us in, where our herd instinct takes over and we happily cross lines because - well, what harm can it do?
Having some fun is not a sin, having a good laugh is no sin; but when we get sucked into the wrong kind of fun, the wrong kind of conversation because we don't want to fall out of the group, we can find ourselves developing wrong habits and unconsciously taking a path we shouldn't be walking on. We don't even realize it until we wake up one day and find that we've strayed far from the path intended for us, and we have to start the long process of finding our way back. All too often, painfully.
Peer pressure can be a dangerous weapon in the Enemy's hands to make us feel dissatisfied with our lives and particularly with what we have or don't have - compared to others. That dissatisfaction can easily lead to anger and misery, which have no place amidst the Fruits of the Spirit. It can spread like a spiritual cancer, quickly overpowering the peace, love, joy, humility and dedication to God that we once knew.
The overt religious persecution is a threat that is visible and enforces us to confront it and ourselves. The hidden threat is the one that we don't see and we avoid having to confront it, until the wedge is driven in so deeply that it is only with a great deal of pain that we have to claw our way back to the right path, bleeding and in spiritual tatters.
Let us be aware, therefore, of the inevitable onslaughts of the enemy each day, and remain safe in the armour of the Lord and the Fruits of the Holy Spirit, regardless of what our friends may think or what we may be missing out on. We are left in the world, not removed from it; but we are left in the world to reflect the glory of God to the unbelieviers, not to join them in their pursuits.
May God be with us and not only strengthen us, but grant us joy in our daily victories. Jesus is always with us. Let us rejoice in Him more than in anything with which the Devil's society may tempt us.
Wednesday, 2 July 2014
Project Mankind
God has been around forever, but let's quantify that as multi-millions of millennia for the purpose of this post - yet mankind has only a 6000-odd year history. What has God been doing for all that time, before we came onto the scene? Mankind and Earth is a recent - and current - development! That is interesting, but how does that impact on our relationship with Him?
Funnily enough, I've been inspired by two previous blog posts that I wrote - the idea for which just seemed to pop into my head - "Imagine...." and "Project Earth". In the post "Imagine", I posed the question about what God might have been busy with in all that time before us. I was fascinated by what may have been created out there! Pondering the thought afterwards, I suddenly realized the impact of the fact that our 6000 year history wasn't anywhere near the beginning or middle of His multi-millennial activities, but tagged onto the end, or present; that we are virtually a current project after all that time, and the post "Project Earth" followed.
Those two thoughts have had a major impact on my perception of God and our relationship with Him.
God is not idle. He never has been. He has been creating and administrating for probably millions of millennia and more. What mighty civilizations has he established in His realm? Our 6000 years must be a very new and current project to Him, even though it may seem like a long time to us. Who are we, therefore, to think that we know so much - and to judge and contend with God? Suddenly I find it very frightening to think that such a large proportion of the occupants of Planet Earth rebel and actually condescend to God in so many ways in our attitudes towards Him.
The way Mankind lives, the way we conduct our lives, the values that we adopt that are so foreign to His instructions, the way we condescend, so often, in our attitudes towards Him and His values, places us in a very dangerous position! 'Condescend', in that so many relegate Him to being just a concept, or a mere 'figurehead' with great ideas, but in theory rather than in practice.
I can only imagine what he might think of us as a whole when He looks down on this planet and our activities; and I shudder. I shudder because He has so much power, and such advanced civilizations, that I can only imagine what He is capable of when His anger at us waxes hot.
We need to repent. This planet as a whole needs to wake up to our puny, selfish, destructive little statures and humble ourselves before the Almighty God. We need to do it with trembling; and we need to do it fast.
Funnily enough, I've been inspired by two previous blog posts that I wrote - the idea for which just seemed to pop into my head - "Imagine...." and "Project Earth". In the post "Imagine", I posed the question about what God might have been busy with in all that time before us. I was fascinated by what may have been created out there! Pondering the thought afterwards, I suddenly realized the impact of the fact that our 6000 year history wasn't anywhere near the beginning or middle of His multi-millennial activities, but tagged onto the end, or present; that we are virtually a current project after all that time, and the post "Project Earth" followed.
Those two thoughts have had a major impact on my perception of God and our relationship with Him.
God is not idle. He never has been. He has been creating and administrating for probably millions of millennia and more. What mighty civilizations has he established in His realm? Our 6000 years must be a very new and current project to Him, even though it may seem like a long time to us. Who are we, therefore, to think that we know so much - and to judge and contend with God? Suddenly I find it very frightening to think that such a large proportion of the occupants of Planet Earth rebel and actually condescend to God in so many ways in our attitudes towards Him.
The way Mankind lives, the way we conduct our lives, the values that we adopt that are so foreign to His instructions, the way we condescend, so often, in our attitudes towards Him and His values, places us in a very dangerous position! 'Condescend', in that so many relegate Him to being just a concept, or a mere 'figurehead' with great ideas, but in theory rather than in practice.
I can only imagine what he might think of us as a whole when He looks down on this planet and our activities; and I shudder. I shudder because He has so much power, and such advanced civilizations, that I can only imagine what He is capable of when His anger at us waxes hot.
We need to repent. This planet as a whole needs to wake up to our puny, selfish, destructive little statures and humble ourselves before the Almighty God. We need to do it with trembling; and we need to do it fast.
Thursday, 17 April 2014
Easter
Not by chocolate are our sins washed away, but by blood - the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Celebrating the most awesome event in history, is what it's about; not chocolate bunnies or eggs, or the various symbols of fertility representing new life. Those are bogus celebrations of the pagans. Celebrating a new life and new beginnings shouldn't be in the form of pagan symbols, but rather of heads bowed and spirits lifted in awe of the magnitude of Christ's sacrifice in order to reconcile us to God and give us a chance of a new life.
How dare we reduce such an epic event to the frivolity of hidden easter eggs and chocolate bunnies! Jesus Christ suffered the most awful torture and a death on the Cross that no person should have to endure, much less an innocent one. He didn't fight His persecutors; He gave Himself up to it in love and sacrifice for those of us who really didn't deserve His love.
He died tragically and miserably in that barbaric fashion for our sake, so that we may live. And on the third day He rose from the dead in the ultimate triumph over sin and evil, to be our Lord and King, High Priest and Holy Redeemer, King of Kings in a realm mightier than we can imagine.
Celebrate, in awe, the Passover, the forerunner of the true Sacrificial Lamb, when God delivered his people from physical slavery in Egypt, and the ultimate Passover when the True Lamb was sacrificed for us that we may be delivered ultimately from the spiritual slavery of this world - the most amazing event in Human history.
Relegate the eggs, bunnies and "braai's" (barbecues) to their rightful place in simple family enjoyment, and use this Passover Remembrance to rededicate yourself to the reality of your life's true design, to God and to Jesus Christ . It's time to regroup and remember what our lives are about and where we stand - or fall - in the purpose of our lives.
If you haven't yet taken Jesus Christ into your life and accepted Him as your Saviour, now would be the time.
You may not be here tomorrow.
You may not be here tomorrow.
Monday, 14 April 2014
Help My Children
Lord God Almighty,
I bow my head in humble submission and beg you to help my children. Please intervene and intercede for them. They need you desperately. Only you can deliver them. Please, Oh, God.
I pray through our Lord Jesus Christ, and I pray in His holy name.
Amen.
I bow my head in humble submission and beg you to help my children. Please intervene and intercede for them. They need you desperately. Only you can deliver them. Please, Oh, God.
I pray through our Lord Jesus Christ, and I pray in His holy name.
Amen.
Friday, 11 April 2014
Project Earth
......come to think of it, further to the post below, the 6000 years that we're talking about is the present - tagged onto the end of the millions of previous years. In other words, Mankind on Earth is a current project!
After all that God has been doing, we are not 6000 years lost somewhere in the midst of all that time - we are a current project, designed after all those years of experience and experiences, fresh and new in His scheme of things. We weren't a mistake made long ago.
Kinda awesome, isn't it.......?
After all that God has been doing, we are not 6000 years lost somewhere in the midst of all that time - we are a current project, designed after all those years of experience and experiences, fresh and new in His scheme of things. We weren't a mistake made long ago.
Kinda awesome, isn't it.......?
Thursday, 20 March 2014
Imagine.........
What has God been up to for so long?
God has been around forever. "Forever" is not an easy word to measure, so if one had to quantify it in terms of numbers that mean something to us, could one say for anything between many, many millions of years to millions of millenia and beyond?
Yet man was created only around 6,000 years ago. In terms of God's history, that's hardly a wink in time - and ever so recently, at that. So what has He been doing for all that time before Mankind was created on Earth?
It's pretty mind-boggling, isn't it? He is creative, He is busy and He doesn't tire - so he must have been busy then too. My only point is this:
There must be so much more out there than we can ever imagine! So just imagine, if you will, how much we can look forward to being a part of ....one day!
If one considers how short our six thousand years must be in God's experience of time, and how much must be out there, it must surely alter, in some way, our perception of our time on Earth in terms of the big picture.
We seem to endure our sufferings endlessly; but let us take heart in our vision of the big picture and endure what seems to take forever with a little more courage. Hang in there, be brave, keep up the faith. It's easier said than done, but this suffering will end - and what lies beyond is really so much more than we can imagine.
God has been around forever. "Forever" is not an easy word to measure, so if one had to quantify it in terms of numbers that mean something to us, could one say for anything between many, many millions of years to millions of millenia and beyond?
Yet man was created only around 6,000 years ago. In terms of God's history, that's hardly a wink in time - and ever so recently, at that. So what has He been doing for all that time before Mankind was created on Earth?
It's pretty mind-boggling, isn't it? He is creative, He is busy and He doesn't tire - so he must have been busy then too. My only point is this:
There must be so much more out there than we can ever imagine! So just imagine, if you will, how much we can look forward to being a part of ....one day!
If one considers how short our six thousand years must be in God's experience of time, and how much must be out there, it must surely alter, in some way, our perception of our time on Earth in terms of the big picture.
We seem to endure our sufferings endlessly; but let us take heart in our vision of the big picture and endure what seems to take forever with a little more courage. Hang in there, be brave, keep up the faith. It's easier said than done, but this suffering will end - and what lies beyond is really so much more than we can imagine.
Tuesday, 28 January 2014
Honour God
Honour God.
Bow your head in holy submission, whether you agree with Him or not; whether you feel you might have done things differently if you were Him or not. He has the power and He calls the shots. Honour God and His will first, and the rest will follow. His hand is not too weak to give you want you want, if it is in accordance with His will, neither is He short of resources.
Mankind is self-serving, and very persuasive in this pursuit. Mankind - friends, society, the mass media, the world of fashion, business, entertainment - will will do their best to persuade you to fill their needs. In fact, they will resort to emotional blackmail to achieve this end. Each day we are required to make choices, to make decisions. Not all fashion is bad - just changeable to keep the coffers full. Not all entertainment is bad - and not everything that other people may want you to do is bad. The herd instinct is strong and the advertising media and business know that. Our need to "fit in" is a powerful tool that they rely upon - and it works. But in the end, our success or failure in life isn't their concern. We need take a step back each day, take stock of our priorities in terms of eternity (rather than this hiccough that is life in the flesh), then go forward with confidence.
Honour God first; that will set your priorities and guide your decisions. Bow your head, recognize what your life is REALLY about - (why God created you in the first place) - keep the faith and God's standards high.......and get out there and have a great day!
Bow your head in holy submission, whether you agree with Him or not; whether you feel you might have done things differently if you were Him or not. He has the power and He calls the shots. Honour God and His will first, and the rest will follow. His hand is not too weak to give you want you want, if it is in accordance with His will, neither is He short of resources.
Mankind is self-serving, and very persuasive in this pursuit. Mankind - friends, society, the mass media, the world of fashion, business, entertainment - will will do their best to persuade you to fill their needs. In fact, they will resort to emotional blackmail to achieve this end. Each day we are required to make choices, to make decisions. Not all fashion is bad - just changeable to keep the coffers full. Not all entertainment is bad - and not everything that other people may want you to do is bad. The herd instinct is strong and the advertising media and business know that. Our need to "fit in" is a powerful tool that they rely upon - and it works. But in the end, our success or failure in life isn't their concern. We need take a step back each day, take stock of our priorities in terms of eternity (rather than this hiccough that is life in the flesh), then go forward with confidence.
Honour God first; that will set your priorities and guide your decisions. Bow your head, recognize what your life is REALLY about - (why God created you in the first place) - keep the faith and God's standards high.......and get out there and have a great day!
Tuesday, 4 June 2013
GotQuestions for Teens
No doubt about it, GotQuestions.org is one of the best places on the web to get practical, no-nonsense, down-to-earth information about Christian beliefs and practices that is Bible-based, clear, informative and unbiased.
GotQuestions.org has launched their site for teenagers now, www.412teens.org . I encourage readers to give that link to your kids, it's a great site.
GotQuestions.org has launched their site for teenagers now, www.412teens.org . I encourage readers to give that link to your kids, it's a great site.
Thursday, 28 June 2012
Change Public Holidays?
There are murmurs in South Africa that the Christian public holidays should be dropped from the list of annual public holidays. The reasoning is that other religious groups have to take leave of absence from work in order to celebrate their religious holidays, yet the Christians do not. The South African constitution, ever vigilant to strive for absolute equality and to not show any partiality to any particular group (in the wake of the Apartheid era), has to consider the validity of the argument. Of course, "Christians" get very worked up about the idea.
However.....the thought does occur to me that such a move would shake the proverbial tree. Are we, as Christians, more concerned about our comforts in not having to sacrifice anything in order to observe our holy days than about the vast mass of people who, at present, utilize our Christian holidays as opportunities for drunken debauchery and general misbehavior? (Not to mention commercial abuse?)
How serious are Christians about holy days? We know that Christ was not born on 25th December, but we're happy to accept the pagan change of seasons (the worship of the 'new sun' as the worship of the 'new Son') to celebrate his birth. (In the U.S.A. Christ seems to have been replaced by a fat man in a red suit - Santa Claus - as the central figure of the Christ Mass!). We seem quite happy to accept the symbols of pagan fertility rites at Easter - the bunnies and easter eggs - to upstage the Passover and Christ's incredibly glorious sacrifice for us.
I can't help wondering if any other religion is as unfaithful to its holy days than we Christians are? Regardless of the rather dubious origins of some of the days, the things we celebrate on those days are deadly serious. Have we allowed those days to be hijacked by all and sundry through our lack of sincerity?
Perhaps forcing Christians to have to sacrifice some working days in order to celebrate our holidays would shake the tree a little and separate the faithful from the abusers?
However.....the thought does occur to me that such a move would shake the proverbial tree. Are we, as Christians, more concerned about our comforts in not having to sacrifice anything in order to observe our holy days than about the vast mass of people who, at present, utilize our Christian holidays as opportunities for drunken debauchery and general misbehavior? (Not to mention commercial abuse?)
How serious are Christians about holy days? We know that Christ was not born on 25th December, but we're happy to accept the pagan change of seasons (the worship of the 'new sun' as the worship of the 'new Son') to celebrate his birth. (In the U.S.A. Christ seems to have been replaced by a fat man in a red suit - Santa Claus - as the central figure of the Christ Mass!). We seem quite happy to accept the symbols of pagan fertility rites at Easter - the bunnies and easter eggs - to upstage the Passover and Christ's incredibly glorious sacrifice for us.
I can't help wondering if any other religion is as unfaithful to its holy days than we Christians are? Regardless of the rather dubious origins of some of the days, the things we celebrate on those days are deadly serious. Have we allowed those days to be hijacked by all and sundry through our lack of sincerity?
Perhaps forcing Christians to have to sacrifice some working days in order to celebrate our holidays would shake the tree a little and separate the faithful from the abusers?
Wednesday, 27 June 2012
Jim's Testimony
The first testimony that I'd like to publish is one that is particularly close to my heart. Jim Kaplan is a cousin of mine, living in the U.K. (He is a great Harley fan and loves his biking!)
Here is his testimony (Thanks, Jim, for sharing this):
"To all my friends who don't know or haven't heard of what's been happening in my life recently, here's an update!
Most of you know that I enjoyed the occasional drink and partaking in recreational drugs - for the best part of 33 years! In actual fact my drinking and drug taking had been a major problem for most of this time and was ruling my life. Some of you also know that I suffer with manic depression (bi-polar disorder) - suicide was never far from my thoughts. Despite going into hospital several times for Detox and seeing psychologists for many years I don't think I really wanted to, or even had the courage to change my life. For the past 10 or 15 years the drug intake slowed to just an occasional spliff - alcohol became more prevalent albeit in a sort of binge format. In later years I would turn up at rallies, parties, special occasions, (any occasion!) laden with booze and a breathalyzer, get hammered for the duration and ride back when I blew a zero! Was I happy? No, not really, there was a pain inside me something that the alcohol numbed.
Back in the early 80's a few of us travelled over to Europe to 'seek work picking fruit in the south'. I managed to convince a few that we would be better travelling north to Holland and finding work (having a 24/7 party!) in Amsterdam.
Out of the six that set off on the original 'fruit picking' journey, only two remained, myself and my good friend Jim Herring. It was the middle of winter and living in an old van with no heating or any other facilities was not that appealing. We tried to get into the local Hare Krishna temple but to no avail. (I had always believed in a higher power and became involved with the Hare Krishna movement in the late 70's). We ended up spending the odd night in a shelter for the homeless and when we got a bit of money from home checked into a hostel.
Getting nowhere we decided to drive back down to Paris, because of the lack of funds we had to abandon the van en-route and eventually got repatriated back to England.
When we got back my drink and drug intake went through the roof, I was injecting speed almost every day and drinking all I could.
During our time in Holland Jim had seen something else, he had started a different journey. I would often see him diving in and out of pubs or at festivals with Bibles and pamphlets under his arm! I wasn't that interested at the time but even through my drink and drug-fueled haze I saw a complete change start to happen in him.
A few years had passed my life wasn't really going anywhere, yes, I managed to hold down a job - but only by the skin of my teeth and a very sympathetic manager.
Jim, now married, always kept in touch and was always encouraging me to go to church, he and his wife prayed over me on several occasions when I was in a really bad place with the booze. He had given me a Bible and encouraged me to read it although I must confess I found it difficult. I went to his church a few times and did enjoy it but never took it any further.
I was at a rally in Chester a few years back and met up with some people from the CMA (Christian Motorcycle Association) who gave me a copy of their 'Biker Bible', I started reading some of the amazing testimonies of people who had lived lives similar to mine.
Jim continued to encourage me, whenever he phoned he asked me if I had found a church yet? How was I getting on with the Bible? He emailed me with interesting items and sent books for me to read. One Sunday in late August 2010, I walked into the New Life Church, I knew immediately that I liked the 'flavour' of the Church, it was lively and exciting!
I still thought church was a place where you go on Sunday and that was that, how wrong I was! Straight away folk from New Life started to chat to me, I felt very at home. I really enjoyed the first experience and thought I would come again. For the next few weeks I came and listened, not understanding it all at first. I received a lot of encouragement from the guys at New Life. I explained that I thought I was on the first rung of a very long ladder, ( maybe I wasn't ready for any sort of commitment).
I continued going to Church for the next few weeks - during this time I still drank and had no real plans to stop.
I was just an ordinary Sunday (or so I thought) on the 16th January 2011 and I went to Church; the guy talking asked that if anyone in the congregation wanted to learn more about, or have a closer relationship with Jesus to raise their hand and come for a chat after the service. Something inside of me stirred, the next thing I knew my hand was in the air!
After the service two of the guys prayed with me and I asked Jesus into my life! My life has now completely changed, the way I look at things, people, and situations have all changed.
I was baptized on the 3rd April 2011 and apart from one 'slip' with the drink in September that year haven't touched a drop since. The depression that had plagued me for so many years has hardly bothered me, in fact I have no serious bouts at all. I know that I am now on the right road and I praise God every day for that. I still have my bike and I enjoy riding whenever I can, I'm not ready to go back to the rallies and festivals as a sober man - yet! I'm sure the day will come when booze won't bother me anymore, but until then I know I have to be careful as to what situations I put myself in.
I'm still a very young Christian but I am determined to learn more, I thank all at New Life Church, the guys in my cell group and especially Jim Herring for all their encouragement and help. (It may have taken me 28years, Jim, but I got there in the end, thanks for never giving up on me, mate!)
For the first time since I was a kid I've started enjoying my life - looking forward to each day and getting over hurdles in a different way."
Here is his testimony (Thanks, Jim, for sharing this):
"To all my friends who don't know or haven't heard of what's been happening in my life recently, here's an update!
Most of you know that I enjoyed the occasional drink and partaking in recreational drugs - for the best part of 33 years! In actual fact my drinking and drug taking had been a major problem for most of this time and was ruling my life. Some of you also know that I suffer with manic depression (bi-polar disorder) - suicide was never far from my thoughts. Despite going into hospital several times for Detox and seeing psychologists for many years I don't think I really wanted to, or even had the courage to change my life. For the past 10 or 15 years the drug intake slowed to just an occasional spliff - alcohol became more prevalent albeit in a sort of binge format. In later years I would turn up at rallies, parties, special occasions, (any occasion!) laden with booze and a breathalyzer, get hammered for the duration and ride back when I blew a zero! Was I happy? No, not really, there was a pain inside me something that the alcohol numbed.
Back in the early 80's a few of us travelled over to Europe to 'seek work picking fruit in the south'. I managed to convince a few that we would be better travelling north to Holland and finding work (having a 24/7 party!) in Amsterdam.
Out of the six that set off on the original 'fruit picking' journey, only two remained, myself and my good friend Jim Herring. It was the middle of winter and living in an old van with no heating or any other facilities was not that appealing. We tried to get into the local Hare Krishna temple but to no avail. (I had always believed in a higher power and became involved with the Hare Krishna movement in the late 70's). We ended up spending the odd night in a shelter for the homeless and when we got a bit of money from home checked into a hostel.
Getting nowhere we decided to drive back down to Paris, because of the lack of funds we had to abandon the van en-route and eventually got repatriated back to England.
When we got back my drink and drug intake went through the roof, I was injecting speed almost every day and drinking all I could.
During our time in Holland Jim had seen something else, he had started a different journey. I would often see him diving in and out of pubs or at festivals with Bibles and pamphlets under his arm! I wasn't that interested at the time but even through my drink and drug-fueled haze I saw a complete change start to happen in him.
A few years had passed my life wasn't really going anywhere, yes, I managed to hold down a job - but only by the skin of my teeth and a very sympathetic manager.
Jim, now married, always kept in touch and was always encouraging me to go to church, he and his wife prayed over me on several occasions when I was in a really bad place with the booze. He had given me a Bible and encouraged me to read it although I must confess I found it difficult. I went to his church a few times and did enjoy it but never took it any further.
I was at a rally in Chester a few years back and met up with some people from the CMA (Christian Motorcycle Association) who gave me a copy of their 'Biker Bible', I started reading some of the amazing testimonies of people who had lived lives similar to mine.
Jim continued to encourage me, whenever he phoned he asked me if I had found a church yet? How was I getting on with the Bible? He emailed me with interesting items and sent books for me to read. One Sunday in late August 2010, I walked into the New Life Church, I knew immediately that I liked the 'flavour' of the Church, it was lively and exciting!
I still thought church was a place where you go on Sunday and that was that, how wrong I was! Straight away folk from New Life started to chat to me, I felt very at home. I really enjoyed the first experience and thought I would come again. For the next few weeks I came and listened, not understanding it all at first. I received a lot of encouragement from the guys at New Life. I explained that I thought I was on the first rung of a very long ladder, ( maybe I wasn't ready for any sort of commitment).
I continued going to Church for the next few weeks - during this time I still drank and had no real plans to stop.
I was just an ordinary Sunday (or so I thought) on the 16th January 2011 and I went to Church; the guy talking asked that if anyone in the congregation wanted to learn more about, or have a closer relationship with Jesus to raise their hand and come for a chat after the service. Something inside of me stirred, the next thing I knew my hand was in the air!
After the service two of the guys prayed with me and I asked Jesus into my life! My life has now completely changed, the way I look at things, people, and situations have all changed.
I was baptized on the 3rd April 2011 and apart from one 'slip' with the drink in September that year haven't touched a drop since. The depression that had plagued me for so many years has hardly bothered me, in fact I have no serious bouts at all. I know that I am now on the right road and I praise God every day for that. I still have my bike and I enjoy riding whenever I can, I'm not ready to go back to the rallies and festivals as a sober man - yet! I'm sure the day will come when booze won't bother me anymore, but until then I know I have to be careful as to what situations I put myself in.
I'm still a very young Christian but I am determined to learn more, I thank all at New Life Church, the guys in my cell group and especially Jim Herring for all their encouragement and help. (It may have taken me 28years, Jim, but I got there in the end, thanks for never giving up on me, mate!)
For the first time since I was a kid I've started enjoying my life - looking forward to each day and getting over hurdles in a different way."
About This Site
The purpose of this site is to share thoughts and testimonies about walking the Christian walk in a world that seems to be set up to trip one up. Social norms, and even so many of the so-called 'role models' of this time, can be a far cry from the standards and values that God demands.
God does not request that we live to certain standards - He demands it. Pretty well all of us fall short of total compliance; but thankfully we are blessed to be able to live under Grace while we keep on trying and growing.
On the subject of Grace, one of the great Sunday morning church services that we have on television here in South Africa is Pastor Brian Houston from The Hillsong Church in Australia. Pastor Brian's messages are very focused on the blessing of living under grace, and about encouraging us to maximize our potential in the 'Grace Zone'. Understanding that we are under grace gives us the freedom and the motivation to live up to our potential without being plagued by doubts and self-imposed limitations. There's a permanent link to the Hillsong Church site in the right-hand margin.
Two of the other permanent links are to Shalom Ministries and a site called GotQuestions.org .
Angus Buchan of Shalom Ministries also has an extremely successful Sunday morning television service in South Africa. Known for his wonderful ability to organize Revivals, this Greytown (Kwa-Zulu-Natal) farmer and evangelist of note, well known for his Mighty Men Conferences, is going from strength to strength both here and abroad. His easy, down-to-earth, grandfatherly approach makes his messages friendly and easy to understand, yet leaves no room for doubt as to what we need to do. Through the messages of Angus Buchan, many men have taken on their rightful roles and responsibilities as heads of their families in a God-centred environment.
I came across the website GotQuestions some months ago, and signed up for their weekly 'Question of the Week' newsletter. Every Friday they send an article to my email address, addressing a topical issue (along with links to suggested reading as well). I've found their articles to be simple, unambiguous, no-nonsense to the point, with ample scripture reference. I would strongly recommend their site for any questions you may have, including questions relevant to today's social issues.
I hope that this site will develop into an inter-active forum, with many people sharing their testimonies and suggesting interesting links to other like-minded sites and organizations.
God bless you in your Christian walk.
God does not request that we live to certain standards - He demands it. Pretty well all of us fall short of total compliance; but thankfully we are blessed to be able to live under Grace while we keep on trying and growing.
On the subject of Grace, one of the great Sunday morning church services that we have on television here in South Africa is Pastor Brian Houston from The Hillsong Church in Australia. Pastor Brian's messages are very focused on the blessing of living under grace, and about encouraging us to maximize our potential in the 'Grace Zone'. Understanding that we are under grace gives us the freedom and the motivation to live up to our potential without being plagued by doubts and self-imposed limitations. There's a permanent link to the Hillsong Church site in the right-hand margin.
Two of the other permanent links are to Shalom Ministries and a site called GotQuestions.org .
Angus Buchan of Shalom Ministries also has an extremely successful Sunday morning television service in South Africa. Known for his wonderful ability to organize Revivals, this Greytown (Kwa-Zulu-Natal) farmer and evangelist of note, well known for his Mighty Men Conferences, is going from strength to strength both here and abroad. His easy, down-to-earth, grandfatherly approach makes his messages friendly and easy to understand, yet leaves no room for doubt as to what we need to do. Through the messages of Angus Buchan, many men have taken on their rightful roles and responsibilities as heads of their families in a God-centred environment.
I came across the website GotQuestions some months ago, and signed up for their weekly 'Question of the Week' newsletter. Every Friday they send an article to my email address, addressing a topical issue (along with links to suggested reading as well). I've found their articles to be simple, unambiguous, no-nonsense to the point, with ample scripture reference. I would strongly recommend their site for any questions you may have, including questions relevant to today's social issues.
I hope that this site will develop into an inter-active forum, with many people sharing their testimonies and suggesting interesting links to other like-minded sites and organizations.
God bless you in your Christian walk.
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