Category: Kingdom of God

Do not judge, or you too will be judged

Judgement scalesIf we were to ask the average man or woman in the street what he thinks of people who call themselves Christians, one of the things they might say is, “They’re always judging us”. As followers of Jesus Christ we may wish to be thought of as good living, upright people but the fact is that we so often put people off Jesus by being judgmental.

I have quite a large range of “friends” on Facebook. Hardly a day goes by without seeing some criticism or judgement upon fellow human beings, society or countries. Sometimes we are requested to “like” some outrageous statement about some more marginalised sections of the population – excluding them still further. Continue reading “Do not judge, or you too will be judged”

Is Faith a blind leap?

 EigerTo someone who does not believe in God, or to someone who is undecided, it would seem that believing in God is like taking a leap into the unknown – “the blind leap of faith“. People require proof. Without proof it may seem foolish to stake all on something without evidence. But is that really true that faith is a blind leap?

Some Questions

  • Can we, who have put our trust in God, prove to others that we are right?
  • Can we prove to ourselves that what we believe is true?
  • Does an atheist need faith to stake all on his belief that there is no God?
  • Is there more to human existence than what we can experience through our 5 senses?
  • Continue reading “Is Faith a blind leap?”

Can we hope for a better world?

hope for a better world?
Hope for a better world?

About 30 years ago, at the height of the “Cold War” between the West and the Soviet Union, there was a possibility that mankind could be wiped out by a nuclear war. Those fears proved groundless (well at least for now). I remember writing an article in which I said, that basing our defense on a policy of revenge, was unethical, and the evil of that policy corrupted as all. A Christian friend of mine said that as the world was going to be destroyed by God, being concerned about the state of the world was like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.

Some questions:

Patriotism, Curse or Blessing?

Mo (Mohamed) Farah
Mo (Mohamed) Farah

In the Olympic Games that have just finished we saw an outpouring of patriotism hopefully channelled in the right direction. In the United Kingdom, we cheered as our athletes achieved success and won medals of gold, silver and bronze. Because I have always held a worldview, I thought that I was not particularly patriotic, but I found myself screaming at the television set when Mo won the 5000 metre race after having already been awarded a gold medal for the 10,000 metre race.

But patriotism can have a negative effect. It divides people into “us and them”. It can cause us to consider other people as less important, or even inferior, to us. In crying out, “British Jobs First”, what seems like patriotism looks more like selfishness and racism. Continue reading “Patriotism, Curse or Blessing?”

Your Kingdom Come

We are all familiar with the words from the Lord’s Prayer that says, “your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”.

These words are some of the most powerful words ever spoken and affect the whole world, and have an effect upon the whole of human history, past, present and future. The Kingdom of God as proclaimed in Matthew’s gospel has often been a mystery. Continue reading “Your Kingdom Come”

The kingdom of God is at hand.

We look around us and see a world in great need, and we look forward to a day when King Jesus rules over everything. We ask, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”.

The question is, “when is this going to true in reality, and are we meant to wait passively for it?”

But the reality can be here and now. The kingdom of God is AT HAND. It is for now. It is amongst us. The complete fulfilment may be yet to come but it has already started. Continue reading “The kingdom of God is at hand.”