18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
27/04/2014
A Christian Country? Justin Welby's answer.
A Christian Country? · Blog
History provides as many uncomfortable facts as science. Neither can be ignored if anyone is going to talk sense. Last week, the Prime Minister wrote rather movingly in the Church Times about his sense of this as a Christian country.
It followed up other comments from Cabinet Ministers saying similar things, and finished on Tuesday with a very measured intervention by the Attorney General, Dominic Grieve, whose own Christian faith is well known.
Judging by the reaction, anyone would think that the people concerned had at the same time suggested the return of the Inquisition (complete with comfy chairs for Monty Python fans), compulsory church going and universal tithes. More than 50 leading atheists wrote to the Telegraph in protest.
It's all quite baffling and at the same time quite encouraging. Christian faith is much more vulnerable to comfortable indifference than to hatred and opposition. It's also a variation on the normal "Sword and Grail discovered" stuff that seems to be a feature of Easter week news.
Yet the Prime Minister and other members of the Government have not said anything very controversial. It is a historical fact (perhaps unwelcome to some, but true) that our main systems of ethics, the way we do law and justice, the values of society, how we decide what is fair, the protection of the poor, and most of the way we look at society . . . All have been shaped by and founded on Christianity. Add to that the foundation of many hospitals, the system of universal schooling, the presence of chaplains in prisons, and one could go on a long time. Then there is the literature, visual art, music and culture that have formed our understandings of beauty and worth since Anglo Saxon days.
- See more at: http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/blog.php/20/a-christian-country#sthash.mUWxeFTi.dpufDavid Cameron: my faith in the Church of England
My faith in the Church of England
LAST week I held my fourth annual Easter reception in Downing Street. Not for the first time, my comments about my faith and the importance of Christianity in our country were widely reported.
Some people feel that in this ever more secular age we shouldn't talk about these things. I completely disagree. I believe we should be more confident about our status as a Christian country, more ambitious about expanding the role of faith-based organisations, and, frankly, more evangelical about a faith that compels us to get out there and make a difference to people's lives.
First, being more confident about our status as a Christian country does not somehow involve doing down other faiths or passing judgement on those with no faith at all. Many people tell me it is easier to be Jewish or Muslim in Britain than in a secular country precisely because the tolerance that Christianity demands of our society provides greater space for other religious faiths, too.
Crucially, the Christian values of responsibility, hard work, charity, compassion, humility, and love are shared by people of every faith and none - and we should be confident in standing up to defend them.
People who, instead, advocate some sort of secular neutrality fail to grasp the consequences of that neutrality, or the role that faith can play in helping people to have a moral code. Of course, faith is neither necessary nor sufficient for morality.
Well, I know that some of you will be cynical and dismiss this talk as election stuff, call me naive, I can't remember any other politician being so open.. I may be wrong..Have a blessed Sunday!
21/04/2014
Put your armor!
God reveals Himself as the divine Warrior who fights on behalf of or against the people who profess to bear His name, depending on their faithfulness to His covenant. While this truth was known under the old covenant (see, for example, Ex. 15:3; Dan. 10:10–14), now under the new covenant we have a clearer perspective on spiritual warfare, especially insofar as we are called to fight on the Lord’s side against the Enemy and his minions.
Paul explains how we are to equip ourselves for this spiritual warfare. In Ephesians 6: 10–12, he reminds us that our struggles with sin and with those people who hate the living God are not battles against flesh and blood but against the Evil One. Before we knew Christ, we were in Adam and enslaved to the powers of sin and death. Having been reconciled to God through Jesus, we no longer have the Devil as our captain but now serve in the army of the Lord (Rom. 5:12–21). Still, the influence of sin does not disappear at once, for the world, the flesh, and the Devil strive to make us forget whose side we are on as servants of the cross (7:7–25; 1 Peter 5:8–9).
The only effective way to keep us from going against the way of Jesus and acting as traitors to His cause is to continually put on the uniform that identifies us as His soldiers (Eph. 6:13–17). Paul uses the analogy of a soldier’s armor to describe the armor of faith. While it is possible to draw some inferences as to the reason why each particular piece of armor is linked to its specific spiritual characteristic, it is more important to see that the roots of Paul’s thinking go back to the Old Testament. In Isaiah 59:15b–17, the prophet speaks of God wearing the same kind of armor as we are to wear in battle against Satan. Putting on spiritual armor simply means that we continually clothe ourselves in the Lord, relying on His gifts and graces to resist temptation and to enable us to risk even our own well-being for the sake of the kingdom.
Continual prayer in the Spirit both for ourselves and for the needs of fellow believers is the means by which we wear this armor (Eph. 6:18–20). Praying in the Spirit is not a mystical experience but rather an alertness to pray, along with a quickness to pray, because, knowing the Holy Spirit intercedes with and for us as we pray, we recognize the power in acknowledging our dependence on God (Rom. 8:26–27).
Coram Deo
John Calvin comments on this passage, reminding us that we should not let the “injurious treatment” of others provoke us to revenge, for those who bother us are merely darts from Satan’s hand. “While we are employed in destroying those darts, we lay ourselves open to be wounded on all sides.” Instead, “we must go straight to the enemy, who attacks and wounds us from his concealment — who slays before he appears.”
Source : click here
13/04/2014
Friendship is a blessing ...
Today I went to EMA airport to pick up our French friends
coming from La Gironde. They brought us a lovely weather,
it was sunny all day. After the chef Etienne bbq,
we went for a walk by the canal and Shugborough.
They found the bridge there quite quaint and different!
The birds were devouring the seeds happily.
Tomorrow, we are off to Birmingham for a change of scenery,
from the quiet rural place where we live to a busy and hectic town.
I told them that I know a vintage place not far from the centre and
hopefully they will find some souvenirs to take back to their loved ones.
I am glad that Oceane has accepted to be a translator too!
You can guess who is the one not bothering speaking French at all! lol
Have a blessed evening. N.
12/04/2014
Quiz question 1
Question 1 - Where does it say: 'The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma...
But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded. 2 Now the springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens had been closed, and the rain had stopped falling from the sky. 3 The water receded steadily from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the water had gone down,4 and on the seventeenth day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.5 The waters continued to recede until the tenth month, and on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains became visible.
6 After forty days Noah opened a window he had made in the ark 7 and sent out a raven, and it kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth. 8 Then he sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground. 9 But the dove could find nowhere to perch because there was water over all the surface of the earth; so it returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark. 10 He waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark. 11 When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth. 12 He waited seven more days and sent the dove out again, but this time it did not return to him.
13 By the first day of the first month of Noah’s six hundred and first year, the water had dried up from the earth. Noah then removed the covering from the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was dry. 14 By the twenty-seventh day of the second month the earth was completely dry.
15 Then God said to Noah, 16 “Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives.17 Bring out every kind of living creature that is with you—the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground—so they can multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number on it.”
18 So Noah came out, together with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives. 19 All the animals and all the creatures that move along the ground and all the birds—everything that moves on land—came out of the ark, one kind after another.
20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. 21 The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though[a] every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.
22 “As long as the earth endures,
seedtime and harvest,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
day and night
will never cease.”
6 After forty days Noah opened a window he had made in the ark 7 and sent out a raven, and it kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth. 8 Then he sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground. 9 But the dove could find nowhere to perch because there was water over all the surface of the earth; so it returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark. 10 He waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark. 11 When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth. 12 He waited seven more days and sent the dove out again, but this time it did not return to him.
13 By the first day of the first month of Noah’s six hundred and first year, the water had dried up from the earth. Noah then removed the covering from the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was dry. 14 By the twenty-seventh day of the second month the earth was completely dry.
15 Then God said to Noah, 16 “Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives.17 Bring out every kind of living creature that is with you—the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground—so they can multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number on it.”
18 So Noah came out, together with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives. 19 All the animals and all the creatures that move along the ground and all the birds—everything that moves on land—came out of the ark, one kind after another.
20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. 21 The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though[a] every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.
22 “As long as the earth endures,
seedtime and harvest,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
day and night
will never cease.”
The Noah movie
 |
| Noah |
We have no problem with artistic license in a Bible-themed movie when it is done properly. In fact, anytime you decide to depict historical events, you will be using artistic license. The difference is that the filmmakers went beyond artistic license when they overtly contradicted the text in multiple areas and completely changed the character of Noah from being a godly, righteous man into a madman who was bent on making sure every last human being died, even if it meant Noah must slaughter his own grandchildren. See Paramount’s Noah: Artistic License Run Amok for more details on the film’s abuse of artistic license.
There is no doubt that this film will provide an opportunity for Christians to talk to people about the film. But talking about the film and connecting the ideas to the truths of Scripture is actually going to take a lot of work. How will you explain the film’s “rock people” from the Bible? Why doesn’t God speak to Noah in the movie? Does the serpent’s skin really give magical powers? Because of the multiplicity of errors and the paucity of biblical truth, sitting down with an open Bible and deprogramming the person who saw the film is the only answer—but it is going to be a lot of work. It would be a lot easier to encourage someone not to see the film and then offer to teach them the true account of Noah.
Ultimately, if we are looking to an atheist to make a film that that provides us an evangelistic opportunity, then maybe we have forgotten something: the power of the proclamation of the gospel (Romans 1:16–17) and the command to preach that gospel—even when there isn’t a movie to help us. With that said, there are still going to be opportunities to talk to those who have already seen the movie, but Christians are going to have to be intentional and boldly speak of the truth of God’s Word with words of grace and truth.
Source:
http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/noah-movie/detailed-review
07/04/2014
What's that? Did you say 'Laminin' ?
11 days ago, my sister-in law Pauline sent me a message and somehow I missed it! Not because it was enigmatic but because I have been skimming through all the rubbish I do get in my in-box. Anyway, tonight I'm thinking that I'd better delete a few of those messages, suddenly I see Pauline's and wow, I was absolutely astonished! Somebody I've never heard of (I must say) talking about the Laminin (what's that? ) on youtube! Play it! You will be amazed!
I had to check what the Laminin was! The stuff that holds our body together is the perfect shape of the cross of our Lord Jesus-Christ. In Colossians 1 Paul speaks about the supremacy of Christ, Colossians 1-16 Paul says 'by Him, all things have been created' Things in the heaven and things in earth! All things were created by Jesus and for Jesus. Jesus is before all things and in Jesus-Christ, all things hold together! Of course they do. Colossians 1-19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in Him (Christ)!
Have a blessed evening. Yours in Christ, N.
02/04/2014
A generous person will prosper...A kind-hearted woman gains honor
Proverbs 11
11 The Lord detests dishonest scales,
but accurate weights find favor with him.
but accurate weights find favor with him.
2 When pride comes, then comes disgrace,
but with humility comes wisdom.
but with humility comes wisdom.
3 The integrity of the upright guides them,
but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.
but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.
4 Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath,
but righteousness delivers from death.
but righteousness delivers from death.
5 The righteousness of the blameless makes their paths straight,
but the wicked are brought down by their own wickedness.
but the wicked are brought down by their own wickedness.
6 The righteousness of the upright delivers them,
but the unfaithful are trapped by evil desires.
but the unfaithful are trapped by evil desires.
8 The righteous person is rescued from trouble,
and it falls on the wicked instead.
and it falls on the wicked instead.
9 With their mouths the godless destroy their neighbors,
but through knowledge the righteous escape.
but through knowledge the righteous escape.
10 When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices;
when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy.
when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy.
11 Through the blessing of the upright a city is exalted,
but by the mouth of the wicked it is destroyed.
but by the mouth of the wicked it is destroyed.
12 Whoever derides their neighbor has no sense,
but the one who has understanding holds their tongue.
but the one who has understanding holds their tongue.
13 A gossip betrays a confidence,
but a trustworthy person keeps a secret.
but a trustworthy person keeps a secret.
14 For lack of guidance a nation falls,
but victory is won through many advisers.
but victory is won through many advisers.
15 Whoever puts up security for a stranger will surely suffer,
but whoever refuses to shake hands in pledge is safe.
but whoever refuses to shake hands in pledge is safe.
16 A kindhearted woman gains honor,
but ruthless men gain only wealth.
but ruthless men gain only wealth.
17 Those who are kind benefit themselves,
but the cruel bring ruin on themselves.
but the cruel bring ruin on themselves.
18 A wicked person earns deceptive wages,
but the one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward.
but the one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward.
19 Truly the righteous attain life,
but whoever pursues evil finds death.
but whoever pursues evil finds death.
20 The Lord detests those whose hearts are perverse,
but he delights in those whose ways are blameless.
but he delights in those whose ways are blameless.
21 Be sure of this: The wicked will not go unpunished,
but those who are righteous will go free.
but those who are righteous will go free.
22 Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout
is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion.
is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion.
23 The desire of the righteous ends only in good,
but the hope of the wicked only in wrath.
but the hope of the wicked only in wrath.
24 One person gives freely, yet gains even more;
another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.
another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.
25 A generous person will prosper;
whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.
whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.
26 People curse the one who hoards grain,
but they pray God’s blessing on the one who is willing to sell.
but they pray God’s blessing on the one who is willing to sell.
27 Whoever seeks good finds favor,
but evil comes to one who searches for it.
but evil comes to one who searches for it.
28 Those who trust in their riches will fall,
but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.
but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.
29 Whoever brings ruin on their family will inherit only wind,
and the fool will be servant to the wise.
and the fool will be servant to the wise.
30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
and the one who is wise saves lives.
and the one who is wise saves lives.
31 If the righteous receive their due on earth,
how much more the ungodly and the sinner!
how much more the ungodly and the sinner!
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