Exploring Issues of Life by Brian Johnston

This book is now available on Kindle format on Amazon.

It aims to explore biblical attitudes to some of today's most pressing issues. God says in Isaiah 55:8 that "....my thoughts are not your thoughts", so we need to be prepared to have our thinking adjusted from that of society around us and be willing to swim against the flow. The following issues are tackled:

• Global issues - the environment, military involvement, politics, a world of need
• Spiritual issues - the New Age movement, the role of women, fasting, vegetarianism, signs and wonders
• Lifestyle issues - career and educational planning, money & power, entertainment, addictive substances
• Personal issues - singleness, marriage, divorce
• Family Issues - contraception, infertility, abortion
• Sexual issues - sexual standards, homosexuality

The author recognizes that it can only be a beginning in the quest to "renew our minds"; so each chapter concludes with study questions and a summary of the key sub-issues, to enable the reader to develop the issues further, either individually or in small groups.  

 

I can highly recommend it at $2.99 or 1.49!

 

Link to book on Amazon.com !

 

Link to book on Amazon.co.uk !

Links in the Chain of Testimony Ebook

Here we have another book, published by Hayes Press.

Here are the quick links as usual:

Amazon.com: http://amzn.to/LBZygH


Amazon.co.uk: http://amzn.to/LYfEHO

Who is this book for?
This little book is for all Christians who want to better understand how God wants to be worshipped and served today, based on His pattern that is seen throughout the Old and New Testaments.

Who is it written by?
This book was written by S.J. Hill in the early part of the last century. Hill was an elder in the Churches of God, an organization that still exists today (see www.churchesofgod.info) and still seeks to worship and serve God as a collective and united people in the way he describes in this book. The book has been re-published because of a conviction that this church truth is as vital today as it was when it was first written.

What is it about?
It centres around the word “Testimony”. There are many books that talk about the kind of “individual testimony” seen in the lives of people of faith in Genesis like Abel, Enoch or Noah; but this book is about something different that is spoken of much, much less – it’s the important concept of “collective testimony” which is first seen in the Old Testament in the book of Exodus. Psalm 78:5 says: “For He established a testimony in Jacob”, by which he meant the People of Israel.

What is "collective testimony about"?
Collective testimony starts with a redeemed and obedient People, to whom God spoke words like this: “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” (Exodus 19:5-6)

God had a purpose with His redeemed People, when he delivered them from Egyptian bondage and slavery in Eqypt. He set them free, not to remain in Egypt and keep the Passover there, but to leave and do what he wanted them to do. What was that? “And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them” (Exodus 25:8)

This was the first step in God's purpose for 1) a temple to be built in accordance with the pattern that He gave to David and 2) the Kingdom of Israel to be established in the land at a later day. Through Israel's subsequent failure, the Kingdom closed with disaster. Seventy long years passed and the call of God came to the exiles in Babylon: “Any of his people among you may go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the LORD” (Ezra 1:3)

The small remnant, led by great men like Ezra and Nehemiah, fulfilled the purposes of God – ultimately from that little group came the Messiah, who in turn called some of them who were later were found together in the Upper Room. These men became some of the first members of the Body of Christ - but they also became the nucleus of the Churches of God – the House of God - of the Apostolic era. God does not change – he is still calling out His children to contend for the faith, once for all delivered to the saints (Jude v.3) ; and this involves the re-building of the House of God – but a spiritual one, not a physical one any longer, according to Peter's words:

“You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:5)

We see many times in the Bible that obedience to God's Word will bring the believer in line with His purposes, even if there are only a few who can grasp it and act on it.

What is the challenge of this book?
The challenge of this book is clear – are you prepared to be obedient to God’s Word and form part of his spiritual house, built according to his pattern – an entity that is quite distinct from, but closely linked to, the “Church, which is His Body?”

Where is God's House Today? Part 4

Where does God live today?  Of course God lives inside each Christian through the Holy Spirit.  But in the Old Testament, we see that God lived right in the middle of his people in a physical house.  Is there anything like that today?  Many Christians would see the parallel to be any group of Christians, because Jesus said, to the effect. "where two or three meet, there I will be in the middle of them".  But, as this series shows, it speaks of something different - a spiritual House, not the same as the Body of Christ, which operated in the New Testament and operates today.  Here is Part 4 of the series - find the first three videos earlier in the blog if you have not seen them..

Where is God's House Today? Part 1

This is a short video of less than 7 minutes which is the first of series on the subject of where is God's House today?  In the Old Testament, God lived first in a tabernacle (tent) and then in a temple? It is true of course that God now lives inside every believer, from the day of Pentecost onwards.

But is there an equivalent dwelling place for God in the New Testament that can still exist today, that operates in a collective way like it did for the people of Israel?  This video, and the rest of the series,  argues that the answer to that question is yes, and that this has great importance for every Christian who is interested in serving God in a way that he has instructed us to do.  Take a look and I would be very interested to hear what you think.

The Disciple That Jesus Loved?

Jesus affectionately called John a “son of thunder”, perhaps reflecting a fiery and impetuous nature.   But John referred to himself in his gospel somewhat mysteriously as “the disciple whom Jesus loved” - why?

Modesty?  Incase he draw attention to himself rather than Jesus?  Ironically the idiosyncrasy of it may have had the opposite effect!  But this still doesn’t explain the specific self-titling. 

Boasting? Even though John was once guilty of trying to gain closer proximity to the Lord in an age to come, we can quickly discount the theory that there was any sense of superiority behind it – that Jesus in fact loved him any more than the other disciples, or even that John felt that to be the case.  John recorded that Jesus loved Lazarus even enough to cry at his funeral, without any hint of jealousy.

Here are two suggestions:

John’s self definition! Others might define themselves by race, gender, office, wealth or age – but not John.  One could almost imagine the words being the simple epitaph on his headstone – in his mind they summed his whole life up quite perfectly.

John’s testimony! Based on his own very personal experience.  John is rarely away from the Lord’s presence in the Gospel record and so he experienced that love directly and first-hand (see 1 John 1).  It was clearly a two-way process – and so Jesus knew at the cross that John was the best candidate to love and care for his mother after His death despite his younger brother being the normal default option.

You cannot miss how love is so absolutely paramount in John’s epistles, far more so than in the letters of either Peter or Paul.  John writes in the gospel that:

·         God is a God of love

·         that God loved His Son

·         that God loved Christ's disciples

·         that God loves the world

·         that God is loved by Christ

·         that Christ loved the disciples in general

·         that Christ loved them as individuals

·         that Christ expected men to love Him

·         that Christ taught that we should love one another  

·         love is the fulfilling of the whole law.

His writings add a critical component to our understanding of Jesus Christ and the nature and basis of our relationship with Him and with His Father, and the relationship between the two of them.  I recommend a detailed study of it.

John’s exposition of the pre-incarnate Word in John 1 and revelation of the apocalyptic warrior in Revelation 1 are theologically very important.  And one might think that having so much love might cause him to be a bit loosey goosey on truth and doctrine – but no!

For in the gospel of John you see this unwavering regard for the truth. Everything with John is absolute:

·         there is light and darkness in the gospel

·         There is life and death,

·         there's the Kingdom of God, and there's the kingdom of the devil

·         There are the children of God and there are the children of the devil.

·         There's the judgment of the righteous and there's the judgment of the wicked.

·         There is salvation and there is damnation.

·         There is receiving Christ and rejecting Christ.

·         There is a vine and it has some branches with fruit and some with no fruit.

·         There is obedience to His commands and there is disobedience to His commands.

And that's the way it's always portrayed by John. And when you get to the epistles, it's the same thing:

·         There are those who are in the light, and those who are in the darkness

·         There are those who confess their sin and those who deny their sin

·         There are those who are disobedient to Christ and those who are obedient to Him

·         There are those who love others and those who don't

·         those who love God and those who don't

·         those who are righteous and those who are sinful

·         those who keep the commandments and those who don't

·         those who believe and those who don't.

Despite all this very clear thinking, more stunning yet perhaps is the thought that John clearly made a connection with the Lord on an emotional level.  As a whole, John’s legacy reminds us of the vital combination of emotion and reason, of head and heart knowledge. 

John’s perspective should challenge all of us: What defines us and how can our lives be summed up?  What is our testimony that we share explicitly and implicitly with everyone we meet? Can we truly say to ourselves that we are a disciple whom Jesus loves, and loves Jesus?