George's Blog
An incredible thing happened to me the other day which restored my faith in human nature.
I went for a walk with my wife, son, daughter-in law and one of my grandsons. We walked from Tilford along some very muddy paths. We came out to a main road about a mile from the cars and because I was worn out and had walked far enough I sat on a road sign and waited while the others walked back to collect the cars.
Ninety-nine lost sheep, nine lost coins and a son excluded from his family. These are the stories that Jesus didn’t tell.
A shepherd had 100 sheep. He let them out one morning to roam at will on the mountain side. Because they had free wills he allowed them to go wherever they fancied. As evening time approached he set off to find his sheep but he couldn’t see them anywhere. He despaired of finding any at all but eventually found one. The lost sheep signed a quick form and received a guarantee certificate of a nights safe keeping in the sheep fold.
Did Jesus come to save the whole world or just come to save a minority who believe in him? I am posing this question and suggest that we look at the question carefully without being dogmatic. If you had asked me this question 20 years ago I would have said the only way to be saved, was to believe in Jesus and look to him for our salvation. There are scriptures which support this view but there is a great deal of biblical evidence that it has always been God’s intention and plan to save every man and women — indeed the whole earth (and the whole of creation).
I am now inclined to believe that God will save everyone, but dare not be too assertive on this issue as greater minds than mine have grappled with this question. So, I am not asking you to say, “I agree with George”, but to look at the following passages from The Bible and come to your own position on the subject.
In May 2004 I had a stroke. Now 13 and a half years later, or about 5000 days later, I have some questions to ask myself. I firmly believe that God wants us all to be healthy and he can, and does heal bodies and minds. However, I must be honest with myself and dare to state that complete healing from the effects of the stroke is probably not going to happen. Is this a lack of faith on my part – no, I don’t think it is. [Read more…]
This just has to be one of my favourite Christmas songs. Although it consists of rhetorical questions addressed to Jesus’ mother, Mary, it is really addressed to us, today. It is more about Jesus than Mary. Although it is related to Christmas, it is timeless and speaks to all the generations of Mankind. For me, it is, “George, did you know?” [Read more…]
On Saturday I went for a short walk and ended up walking through Ash Cemetery which is just down the road from our house. I am not a morbid sort of character but was deeply moved by some of the inscriptions that I saw.
Justice and love are two sides of the same coin. We can seek justice through love.
In seeking justice I am not taking about legal punishment of those who steal from, act violently or oppress their fellow human beings but about seeking to change the system where injustice is encouraged or tolerated. [Read more…]
