Do you Cry out for God?

Someone recently said to me “It must be wonderful to have a faith and a belief”. And it is, they were correct. It is kind of wonderful.

There are so many people around these days who seem to be disillusioned with life and with things in general. Some voice their frustration privately and other more publicly.

The person who was sort of envious of what I seemed to have needn’t be, not at all.

Here’s the message then – very simple and very straightforward too.

Anyone can share the same belief and faith that I do, absolutely anyone.

So what if I turn out to wrong then, so what if there really is nothing after this life – what if it all is mumbo jumbo!!

Well, I know one thing you won’t be able to do – tell me “I told you so!!”

I know in my own heart, and after careful consideration of the facts, there is someone there waiting for me – someone who gave me this life and will give me the next.

Oh, I cannot actually prove the existence of God, not in the way you would want me to. I can’t take you to him and introduce you to him in person. But I can show you the evidence and let you make up your own mind.

Someone recently suggested that my faith is a crutch helping me prop up my life. I actually used to believe that about faith and God a few years ago too.

I would have said people who hold a belief and faith were frightened of facing the truth. That death was just a part of this existence and an inevitable part of this earthly toil.

Now, far from being a crutch which props me up, my faith and belief is a tower!

A framework for my life – this one and the next.

And if I am wrong, well I guess we shall all have to wait and see won’t we!!

Take Care and trust God – He is there.

Bill

silly religious propaganda

In a little more detailed reply to Harold, on the Guestbook, the posts have been added below to allow viewers to get the gist of the conversation. Harold could have ticked the 'private' box so that only I would have seen it, but I think Harold really wanted to be 'public'.

Harold

I didn't watch that 'Father Ted' in fact I didn't watch any episodes, so can't comment on that.

Was it Marx who said that "religion is the opiate of the people".
History suggests that much religion has been in that category. When Jesus was on earth the only people He criticised (and severley) were the religious establishment. Likewise "blind faith" comes under the same heading. However true Christian faith should be based upon the considered and reasoned information in the bible. There is an enormous amount of information supporting the accuracy of the bible, much more than can be presented here. This would include authenticity of the bible documents, archaeological information, history and especially prophecy.

Our last edition of Church News had articles covering these topics, as was the series of meetings we had in the Spring at Woodvale Community Centre on Wednesday evenings. Do click on AE Newsletters under 'News and Articles to read the Spring edition and we would be happy to supply further evidence should you wish.

True Christianity is certainly NOT a blind faith and many of our members have gone through a lengthy reasoning process, before coming to the irrefutable decision that the Bible is true and Jesus Christ is God and therefore Lord of their lives. Bill (Bill's mutterings) is one of them

Do take your time browsing the information on our website, the answers are all there and your decision is for eternity.

Every blessing in Christ

Beverley

Comment: Thanks for your reply Harold.
True faith relies only upon the Bible and not upon man made rules. The bible has been proved more reliable than many historical books and is worth examining. Do browse the website, in particular http://aechurch.2day.ws/aechurch/section/ThoughtstoPonder/3398965 and open 'Good Seed' I have enjoyed our conversation

Name: harold
Country:	Date: Fri Jun 29 20:14:16 2007
Comment: .........I recall the sketch from the TV show Father Ted wherein Father Maguire converted the Bishop and made him realise that he had been accepting such blind faith - it was very funny did you see it? Thank you.

Name: harold
Country:	Date: Fri Jun 29 20:12:02 2007
Comment: Beverly; I have no intention of presenting you or your brethren with my private details thank you very much. Yes, your ‘quarterly’ is the one I allude to. I am however delighted that you agree with me about your blind faith, which is of course based on nothing but ancient handed down propaganda. This was a refreshing surprise. Are you sure that you are the right person for this job Beverly?

Name: Beverley (webmaster)
Country:	Date: Fri Jun 29 19:36:26 2007
Comment: Thanks for leaving a message Harold, unfortunately i cannot reply personally as you left no contact details. I presume you are talking about our quarterly Newsletter which has just 'gone out'. We do not want to offend anyone so if you would leave the address in the 'Private' box I will ensure that your house is 'missed out' and I assure you we will not annoy you. The comments you make about religion are valid in many ways and I will place an article on our web site in answer to you.

Name: harold
Country: uk	Date: Fri Jun 29 17:05:19 2007
Comment: Please stop posting your silly religious propaganda through my letter box. It is not only a waste of paper but also offensive to many. You hold the monopoly on nothing but blind faith based of ancient falsehoods. Religion creates war nothing more! Thank you.

DO YOU LIKE A BET?

You work hard all week and weekend arrives and some of us like a wager on the

horses don’t we. So it’s down to the newsagent for a paper and back home to study the form; what are our chances of picking a winner?

Some people stick the old pin in the list of runners whilst others like to study form a bit. Look at the past performance and the recent outings of the horses and take our chance accordingly. After all it would be crazy to just throw your money away wouldn’t you without at least studying the tipster information and so on.

This short article isn’t about the rights or wrongs of gambling but it is about taking calculated risks though. Actually it’s about taking completely uncalculated risks.

If someone stopped and asked you why God should let you into heaven and your answer was something along the lines of “I’ll take my chances when the time comes” you are gambling completely blindly (unless you have read and understand the Bible).

Have you any idea of the requirements the bible outlines for admission to heaven?

Did you know, for instance that being good doesn’t have a great deal to do with it – simply because no matter how good you are you still cannot be good enough in the eyes of God.

There is a lot more to it than that.

Why not study the formbook?

You wouldn’t take a chance with your money on the horses without a little homework so why take a chance with your life after death. It just seems crazy to me.

Go to the bookies on Saturday, come and see us (or me) at church on Sunday. I can help put you straight about the formbook God has provided. Once you understand the basics I guarantee you, odds on, you will like your chances.

See you then.

Bill

Human Fertilisation

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority is the UK's independent regulator overseeing safe and appropriate practice in fertility treatment and embryo research.

Go to www.hfea.gov.uk to answer the questionnaire on creating human/animal hybrids. It's easy to fill in, and shows the public are aware of whats going on. Esme.

14th June 2007

Hello everyone! :o)
Wow it’s been a few weeks (again!) since I have emailed. I am very sorry but to be honest I have no idea where the last fortnight has gone!

Sue Lim arrived on the 30th of May from Singapore. She is 37 years old and is here for a month. She is living with my self and Diane in the new family house. She is very quiet and is helping Lyn with teaching.
Susie has started teaching S’phewi on a one-to-one basis as his concentration levels drop by the day. He finds it very hard to block out the surrounding noise of the school room and gets very frustrated at times.
Please remember S’phewi in your prayers. His dementia is also getting worse and he is showing signs of autism as well. Well he gets upset with you he calls by a comic book villain’s name like Lex Luther (that was my name for 2 days straight!) He is also suffering very bad headaches……..we feel all of this is a part of his deterioration process and it is very hard for Lyn &Dave to watch.

Last Tuesday we had an incredible storm at 2.30am. Our little wooden house was shaking with the thunder and lightening and the rain was deafening. Lyn &Dave where still in Australia at this point so Chris was sleeping in the lounge on the couch. At 3am he heard yelping and barking from outside…….It seemed Rouge had attacked the pup again. She yelped and wailed all night with the pain & the next day we took her to the vet……..she has broken her front right leg, at the joint…….it was snapped in half! So the poor little thing is now hopping around with her leg in plaster. The vet is worried it may never set as it’s a really bad break, we are taking her for a check-up tomorrow. So poor Dave arrived home to a lovely vet bill!

Lyn&Dave had a wonderful time away and we all enjoyed looking at the pictures they took. Life is now plodding on as normal. School is back on, and Pol and carlos now seem to be grasping the idea that if they work well, they get a reward (sweet)…….I have NEVER done so much work with them as I have this week!!!!! Its so funny to see them when I say to go for a break; ‘No! we want to do more school!’…….so now we have a star chart…….when they get 5 stars they get a treat. Lol!

Diane opened Bethesda on Monday but no one has come yet. So she, salve & Lorraine (who lives on the camp) have been going over to the squatter camp to get to know some of the mums. Yesterday all of the workers children came over to play……all of our kids were so excited to play with new children and even the babies went crazy when they saw other black babies their age! It was cute and funny to watch them. Lukey constantly went round tapping the babies on the head and going ‘uhhhh????’

Me&Aaron now meet every morning for a quiet time and our relationship is blossoming because of it. We feel like a new couple starting out, because we have made a fresh start…..with God in the centre. It’s fantastic! Aaron has also asked if he can take over full time in the kitchen when Becca & Susie go Home as Suz makes the lunches at the moment.

So generally things are rather happy at the moment. A lady from the Big Shoes foundation came round on Monday. The org. looks after children or helps support kids who have stopped responding to HIV treatment. She is also sending me, D&L on a four-day paediatric course and I’m really looking forward to it!

It was Paulinas 8th birthday on Sunday and on Saturday Dave took her to get her very own, brand new wheelchair! She was so excited and apparently when she test drive it she went straight into the cashier desk and sent
EVERYTHING crashing to the floor!........thats our Pol! :o) it should
arrive next week sometime.
We are waking up to frost every morning now…..its bizarre to see SA with frost! I’ve never seen so many cups of hot chocolate being made everyday!
Lol!

I had better go as I am writing this before going to soccer training……we have no phone line again ( another reason for not emailing) so I will send this from Sue&Alan’s house.

I hope you are all well.
Sending you allllllllllllllllllllllllll my love and prayers Erin XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

24 May 2007 20:25

Hello every1 I hope this email finds you all safe and well.

I have finally got round to attaching some photographs. There's a bit of a mixture. But you get to see the house I'm living in.....and the one I will be living in when Sue-Lym(no idea on spelling) arrives on the 30th.

I thought it would be nice to share a little about what I've been reading and what I feel the Lord has been speaking to me about these last few weeks.

Salve gave me a book for my birthday, by Francine Rivers. It was called the Atonement Child.....it was a very upsetting story; a girl at bible college in the US is raped and gets pregnant. her engagement falls apart, she loses her place at college etc etc as a result, but what struck me was that every Christian in her life who she depended on, all tried to persuade her to get an abortion. B4 she got raped they had been totally anti-abortion but all of a sudden it seemed the best way to get rid of her problem........it showed me that no matter how strong you think you're beliefs are on certain subjects.....you can't rest on your morals until you have actually experienced what you 'believe'.........and this got me thinking about all the poor girls in SA and the rest of the world who get pregnant as a result of rape and have abortions.......we only see them as a statistic...and immediately without realizing we condemn them.....and then I thought of Di who is setting up Bethesda for such a cause.....to help women in a similar situation, and I was suddenly filled with compassion for them....I guess what I’m saying is, this book helped these statistics I read about, become real women who do have real problem and tragedies.

The story had a happy ending......the girl stayed faithful to God no matter how hard it was and when her baby was born, she loved her so much.....and she fell in love again and got married.

Since then, my quiet times have led me to read about spiritual gifts and love. we all have something to offer to bless someone else's life (as well as to Bless and Glorify God) no matter how small, whether it is helping, caring, loving, being a listening ear for someone.....they are all gifts from God that he has given us to help others and show them His love.

Now.........on Friday night I was sick again in the night, but it only lasted 24hours so I think it was just a bug....but unfortunately on Monday, Di Bec and Suzie all started with it. Di was terribly sick and had lost a lot of weight. They are all better now thought and are starting to 'fatten up' again lol (Di's words not mine) also the weather has taken a chilly turn....a VERY chilly turn!!!!!!!!!

Monday night the wind was terrible and the temperature reached -5 degrees!

and as you all know our house is just a wooden hut........I know sleep with a vest, several pj's a jumper, blankets, duvet and a hot water bottle.....and I still wake up shivering!!!! The days haven't been warm either. I text my mum yesterday saying I'm in South Africa, on a Sunny, cloudless day.......wearing several layer, a coat, scarf and gloves!

Suw Well’s kindly bought us a heater for our house and we have been budgeted for 2 more. Our washing was frozen solidly. Di was throwing our socks at us and they were just blocks of ice!!!!!

Lyn left for Australia on Tuesday and we have had word that she has arrived safely, she has joined Dave for a 2 week holiday for their 25th Anniversary.

So I've been getting up b4 6am (shivering my butt off!!!!!!) to get over to the house for 6.30am to do medicines and gets the babies ready.

Poor Luke, Baden and Paullina have had bad errrrrm, how can I put this.....toilet problem. Lol Aaron had to change Luke this morning and I think it has scarred him in some psychological way!

Anyway I’d better go.

Hope you like the pics

Take care and god Bless

Erin

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The Problem With Being A Christian

It is a problem you know, I mean being a Christian. To others around you who maybe don’t share the same faith and beliefs it might seem, looking in from the outside, an easy job.

It’s not always easy though; oh it’s great knowing the Lord Jesus is there for you and it’s great having the understanding that your sins are forgiven if you are truly repentant. Of that there is no doubt. But what’s not too good is knowing that you aren’t perfect and that you can never be in the eyes of God. The trouble with being a Christian – well at least for me anyway – is that I am constantly aware of my failings. We all have them; all of us and we all know exactly what they are too. Maybe others do not, but we do, we are acutely aware of our failings.

If you are not a Christian, on reflection maybe I had better stop for a moment and clear that last statement up. What exactly do I mean by a Christian? Well, I mean someone who believes that Jesus Christ died on that cross all those years ago that I might be forgiven. It means being prepared to tell others about that belief also.

It means a lot more than going to church too! Don’t expect to get into heaven when God asks “Why should I let you in here?” that “I went to church every week for years” will be OK, because I would hazard a guess that it won’t do at all! I went to church every week for years too, my parents made me. I didn’t want to be there either. That was when I was 7 years old. Now I am 57 and you know, I want to be at church. Now there’s a turnaround!

So what will get you in then? What do you have to do to get the keys to the second life? It’s so easy it’s almost unbelievable! Believe, repent and make Christ the most important person in your life. Of course, you also need to try to live a life that reflects those beliefs and ethics too. Remember when I said at the beginning of this article that being a Christian wasn’t easy? Well, that’s what I meant!

Jesus Christ was and continues to be the perfect God and during his stay with us in His earthly form was the perfect man on earth. Absolutely sin free. No faults, nor any failings and bad character traits – none whatsoever. Not even just the one!

Now herein my problem lies sometimes. No matter how Christ like I try to be I know I will fail even before I have begun. I have no chance of emulating my God. I can try, but try as I may I will never be successful. Let me give you a prime example. Recently I was given some news that shocked me – it really doesn’t matter what that news was, it’s not directly relevant. Anyway, as I said the news shocked me and I reacted with an untimely and uncalled tirade of words that were completely out of order and totally uncalled for. In simple terms I lost my temper good style for around 30 minutes and then sulked for another day! Before you laugh I bet you have been in the same position before – thought so!

Well, this was Saturday and by Sunday morning I had calmed right down and thought things through. Then it suddenly hit me like a nuclear missile. Despite all my good words at church, despite the articles I had written for my church magazine (and the blog spot – whatever that is!) and despite preaching occasionally about my Saviour – yes, despite all those things I had failed again, and I mean again. I do it all the time, almost seems as though I can’t help it sometimes.

This is the hard part about being a Christian, failing because of the standards that my God sets and expects from me. I felt that bad about things that I could not make myself attend church that day. I felt ashamed for what I had done and how I had done and why I had done it. I mean how bad can things get?

I contacted a couple of my fellowship members – Ian and Gill, 2 very close friends and shared the problem with them. I got some really good advice (and I knew I would, that’s why I rang in the first place!)

What they said, for a moment, just a split second, made me feel really bad and even more ashamed! But then instantly overjoyed; I will tell you what it was in a minute or so. When I first became “born again” I remember reading on more than 1 occasion reading about murderers who became great prophets in the eyes of men because of their calling to the Lords word and goodness. Did you know, Moses killed an Egyptian who was giving a Hebrew a hard time, did you know that Saul, who later became Paul spent his early years persecuting Christians in a big way?

Then something happened, God called them for His work. God had better and bigger things in store for these two men who were to become biblical giants. And yet, when they began their activity as set out in God’s word you could have been forgiven for being a little surprised at how they spent most of their lives.

Now I am not gong to make some sort of a comparison between me and those great men of God except in one area; I am not perfect either! Oh, I have never killed anyone, but you know the bible says that you break one commandment and you break them all. Also one is no less important that the other. None of us are perfect - Let him who is without sin cast the first stone- you must have heard that quoted before today I am sure.

You may not be a Christian (Not yet anyway) but our society is guided by Christian values. Our laws are based on the 10 commandments and the 10 commandments are Gods words.

When man breaks mans laws he is punished and reprimanded. When man breaks God’s laws he is reprimanded, just as a father would reprimand his child. When the child says “sorry” to his father he usually gains forgiveness. When the Christian says sorry to God, and truly asks for forgiveness – he is forgiven, EVERY TIME.

The advice I got from Ian and Gill my good friends in Jesus?

Go and get a Bible open it at 1 John Verse 9 -

“If we confess our sins he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness”

If you died tomorrow, or the day after, and it turned out that there was indeed a God (and there is, of that please be sure) what would you be able to say when asked by God?

“Why should I let you in here”

Would your answer be based on confidence because you would you be able to say that you knew God and He knew you personally already?

Or would it be a suggestion that you had lived a good life without belief but you had been almost perfect, doff your cap and sort of hope for the best?

We have a growing fellowship for heavenly life at Ainsdale Evangelical Church and remember time for earthly life grows short. Why not come and be with Jesus today. I look forward to talking with you on Sunday or at any time that suits your needs.

The best advice I could give right now is to open your heart to Jesus, mind you I am not perfect, He is though!

God Bless Bill