Anyone who has been watching news programmes will be aware that the UK has been going through massive challenges with the weather in the last few years.  Tidal surges have caused very many problems with homes, businesses and farms being flooded.   These have been increasing with intensity and 2014 has continued to have its share of difficulties.

Interestingly, in February this year, the Daily Mail reported that “a UKIP (United Kingdom Independence Party) councillor who said the floods plaguing Britain were caused by the homosexual marriage law, had been expelled from the party after saying gays should repent.   He made national headlines two weeks earlier when he wrote a letter to his local newspaper saying that the deluge of floods was caused because of David Cameron’s successful move to change the law about same-sex marriage.

“At a meeting of the town council he outspokenly called for gay people to seek repentance from God, adding that he stood by his earlier comments in the Henley Standard.   He was suspended and subsequently expelled from UKIP over his letter to the newspaper in which he warned David Cameron that ‘natural disasters’ would follow the passing of the same sex marriage Bill.

“He added that his aim had in fact been to criticise the Government for passing the Bill and ignoring ‘the national textbook, the Holy Bible.’  ‘I have read that I am barmy to connect this to the weather – if that is the case then I am in good company,’ he said, citing senior bishops blaming floods on ‘abandonment’ of bible teachings.  In 2007, The Right Reverend Graham Dow, Bishop of Carlisle, argued that the floods that year were a judgment on society’s moral decadence and the fact that ‘every type of lifestyle is now regarded as legitimate.’”

A few days later, the weekly BBC “Question Time” programme had a UKIP member on the panel which comprised three politicians, one scientist and a journalist.   The chairman of the panel asked the UKIP member whether she agreed with the councillor who made these remarks and she distanced herself and there was much derision and amusement from other members of the panel and some in the audience.   Such derision will be wiped off the face of detractors when the time of great trouble starts.  The Guardian newspaper reported that UKIP leader, Nigel Farage, launched “a clear out of ‘extremist, nasty or barmy’ views from his party ahead of the polls in May.”

In an ever increasingly secular society, the Bible is seen as outdated, irrelevant and of no value, which is hardly surprising when we understand who is the “god of this world” (see 2 Corinthians 4:4) and how he (Satan) influences society and its leaders.   Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 clearly outline blessings and cursings for obedience and disobedience.   The law of sowing and reaping (compare Galatians 6:7) is not taken seriously and man, in general, relies on his own abilities to introduce laws and govern countries in what their carnal mind thinks best.   However, it seems that believing what the Bible says is seen by many as “extremist, nasty or barmy”.

Jesus upbraided the Pharisees when He said: “Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind.   And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch” (Matthew 15:14).    Jesus also called the scribes and Pharisees “blind guides” (Matthew 23:24).  Our political leaders today, without using the teachings of the Bible and without the power of the Holy Spirit, are blind leaders (or guides) with almost all of the population just following blindly.  Mainstream Christianity, in general, remains fairly quiet on such issues.  

Apart from the Church of God, there are only very occasional lone voices in society which sound a warning noise but, generally, society accepts change in whatever shape it comes in altogether too easily.

God only allows disobedience to go on for so long.   We read in the Old Testament many cases of Israel and Judah pledging obedience to God and then going back on those pledges and then, later, repenting with this cycle of behaviour repeating itself many times.   They never seemed to learn from history but neither do we today!

We know the story of Sodom and Gomorrah when it was destroyed for its sexual depravity (compare Genesis 19 and Jude verse 7) together with other sins as we read in Ezekiel 16:49-50:  “Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.  And they were haughty and committed abomination before Me; therefore I took them away as I saw fit.”

When the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord are in full swing, will everyone appreciate what is happening and repent?   Sadly, just like today, most will not.   In Revelation 16 verses 9-11 we read: “And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory.  Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain.  They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds.”

Just like today, so many will ignore God or blame Him for all their woes and problems, never thinking that they might be self-inflicted.

One day, they will come to realise that just doing their own thing was not sensible or healthy and neither did it bring real happiness and fulfilment.  They will know that the pages of the Bible were the words of life and some might even remember what this beleagured councillor said when he connected the dots and stated that immoral behaviour was bringing about the inevitable punishment of those who ignored God’s way.   They will have help as it states in Isaiah 30:21: “Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it.  Whenever you turn to the right hand Or whenever you turn to the left.’”

And that will be the time when Jesus Christ returns and sets up the Kingdom of God on earth and blind guides will be no more!

I recently watched a fascinating series of television programmes entitled “The Men Who Made Us Spend”.   One of many issues that was presented was that of planned obsolescence.   Amongst many definitions, it can be defined along the following lines:  “Planned obsolescence is when a product is deliberately designed to have a specific life span.”

It was pointed out that we live in a world of seemingly limitless consumption and that it just didn’t happen by accident.   The programme presented proof that relentless spending and throwing away were engineered.

Apparently, its origin, as presented in this programme, began in Berlin in the 1920s although other claims are made to its origin.   Manufacturers hit upon an idea that would become fundamental to the consumer economy, artificially limiting the life span of products.  A coordinated decision was taken by a global cartel of companies to reduce the life span of light bulbs which was known as the Phoebus cartel and was an idea that came from the Chairman of Osram, Mr. William Meinhardt. 

The programme gave evidence that in 1924, the world’s biggest electrical companies hammered out a deal in Geneva.   Its aim was to increase profits by fixing prices and production quotas and at the same time dictated the time a light bulb could last.   Before this, a bulb would last 2,500 hours but this was reduced to 1,000 hours.   The impact on sales was phenomenal, doubling the business of all parties in five years.

In the early 1990s, long forgotten papers were discovered in a factory in Berlin that revealed an extraordinary secret deal that provided the template for the consumer obsolescence that we live with today.   All rules were written down in minute detail.

Planned obsolescence still operates today and is, we were told, an open secret.   One German expert showed how pervasive it is involving so many products: electric toothbrushes, washing machines, printer cartridges and much more.   This expert showed how the counter on a printer cartridge could actually be re-set and used again and how electronic chips in printers are fitted to say that the ink has run out when it hasn’t!

All this leads to a consumer society where continual spending is the norm.

No analogies are perfect in every way but as I was watching this programme I thought about the difference between the planned obsolescence of man which is driven purely for sales and profits through continual product consumption and the fact that God has given us physical life which will end when God decrees.  Those who are called and chosen in this age are given a time span in order to develop holy, righteous character and then those who have remained faithful to the end, their flesh and blood will be a thing of the past with eternity in the spirit world to look forward to.

Man’s planned obsolescence is driven by greed; God’s approach is that we have physical life for whatever time He decrees as His people are not subject to time and chance, with the goal of a wonderful, happy and joyous future.

What a difference there is between the ways of man and the ways of the great God!

In John 6 verses 1-13 we read about the feeding of 5,000 men (verse 10) plus all the women and children. Quite a crowd! We can marvel at such a miracle and the fact that everyone ate their fill and there were twelve baskets that were filled with fragments after the meal, and all from five loaves and two fish.

But after we have finished marvelling at the mighty miracle that Christ performed, we can overlook something else in this story. Christ then told the disciples to gather up the food that was left. Typically today, many just throw rubbish anywhere and everywhere. Just look at the aftermath of rock concerts, picnics in the park, football matches and visits to the cinema. I recall having lunch some years ago with the senior executive of the company I worked for at that time and he paid by credit card. As we left the table, he looked at his receipt and just let it fall to the ground. In another case, a man came out of the post office, looked at his receipt and just threw it on the ground. I  suggested, politely, that he should pick it up and he smiled. I again suggested the same thing and he smiled, waved his hand at me and just walked away. I don’t think that he may have understood much English!

That was not neat!

I recall visiting Singapore on a company convention in the 1980’s and litter was not allowed. I looked up the current situation and read that in Singapore “A litter law dating from 1968 means litter bugs can be fined $1,000 for the first conviction and $5,000 for repeat convictions. On top of that, you’ll be forced to do community labour.  And if you offend three times, you’ll have to wear a sign, which states, “I am a litter lout”. They take it seriously!

Of course, in the United States today, littering is also strictly forbidden and punishable with a fine of at least $1,000 for each violation. In many other countries, similar laws exist.

Why am I raising this issue? Jesus Christ set the example by instructing His disciples to clear up after “the party”. When I first started attending church, I was pleasantly surprised by the attention to detail that church members made. Meeting halls were left as clean and tidy as they were found and, sometimes even tidier and cleaner! Even toilets were left in a clean condition.

Being tidy may seem a small matter but we have to be faithful in the little things (compare Luke 16:10). Do we tidy up at home, at church or wherever we are? Are we following Christ’s example of tidiness and order?

If so, that’s neat!

Do you have a problem with time keeping? If you do, maybe you think it’s not that important or that it’s not top of your “to do” list of those things that you need to improve on. We do have to remember that poor timekeeping can be an irritant to many other people, and we shouldn’t want to cause any offence to anyone unnecessarily.

This is something that I have had to battle with and have failed so many times and so I am speaking from the heart! Years ago, as a senior manager, trying to get a quart into a pint pot was something that I used to try and do so often when I had a very busy schedule of appointments. For example, with a spare five minutes before my next appointment I would often try and squeeze a short telephone call in which usually lasted several minutes thus making me late for my next appointment!

I recall being on a management course and the question of timekeeping and punctuality arose. The lecturer said that we should always start meetings on time even if there were people missing. He said that if we waited until everyone arrived that would send out the wrong signals and would reward the latecomers and penalise those who had played by the rules and had arrived on time. I thought this was an extremely good strategy and have tried to implement this wherever and whenever possible unless there was some extenuating circumstance.

If anyone feels that this is too pedantic, then they may just want to consider that God’s punctuality is perfect. He calls people at exactly the right time. He intervened when Abraham was about to sacrifice Isaac at exactly the right time. And He will send His Son, Jesus Christ, back to the earth at precisely the right time in order that man will not blow himself off the face of the earth. Christ will return on time.

In just over two weeks, we will be keeping the Feast of Pentecost. We see in Acts 2 that the disciples were there together “in one accord” when the Day of Pentecost came. They were there waiting for the day and were rewarded with the gift of the Holy Spirit. Had they turned up on the wrong day or had been late, they would have missed this event.

Shouldn’t we take these examples and try to emulate them? After all, it would be a courtesy to others too.

Wikipedia defines endangered species as a population of organisms which is facing a high risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters.

There are those species that are already extinct, those that are extinct in the wild, those which are critically endangered, then the endangered, and then the vulnerable.

EndangeredSpecie.com is a website dedicated to “providing all the best endangered species information, links, books, and publications regarding rare and endangered species.  This site also includes information about conservation efforts and endangered species organizations that are dedicated to saving and preserving the world’s most endangered wildlife and plant life.”

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service there are 746 species of plants and 516 species of animals on the endangered species list in North America alone.

Money raising schemes abound to try and help so many worthy causes.

Without belittling the hard work and efforts of these fine organisations, there is an endangered species which is of far greater importance than any they may represent.   And that is the true Christian, those whom God has called at this time to live His Way of Life and who will become part of His Family at the time of Christ’s return.

We are preparing to keep the Passover in just over two weeks’ time, and most people will have very little knowledge, if any, of what this means.   The secular society will still be keeping Easter as a holiday, and the Days of Unleavened Bread will mean absolutely nothing to them.   Even churchgoers would probably find it incomprehensible, as we follow the clear instructions in the Word of God.

We see almost daily the constant barrage of anti-biblical rulings, antagonism and antipathy towards true Christianity that would not have even been considered that long ago.   But as we approach the time when Christ must return to save mankind from blowing itself off the face of the planet, the correct reading of Scripture shows that this is inevitable.  

We should not be surprised as we have not been promised an easy life.   God has to find out about us and we are tested and tried in many different ways and, being an endangered species at the end time, is part of that process.

In 1 Corinthians 12:26 we read: “And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.”   The word “honour” can mean “to render (or esteem) glorious, to honour, magnify.”

Church members are regularly asked to pray for those going through difficult trials which may be in the area of health, injury, financial, spiritual or other significant problems.   Many times we may be able to empathise, having gone through similar trials ourselves.   If not, we try and sympathise and pray for those involved, trusting God to work out the situation in their best interests.   In such circumstances, it may be relatively easy to implement a prayer request and relate to those going through their difficult times.

However, how easy is it to be pleased and uplifted when a member is honoured in some way like getting a new, highly paid job or being promoted at work?   What about those who are able to move to a bigger home, buy a new car, enjoy nice holidays or send their children to a private school?    Whilst the majority in the Church may not fit into these categories, what about those who are called into the Church who are wealthy or who have position or prestige in the community?    Does any such situation make us happy to rejoice with them?   This may not be quite so easy for some, as envy or coveting can rear their ugly heads.

Envy is “a resentment” which “occurs when someone lacks another’s quality, achievement or possession and wishes that the other lacked it” (compare Wikipedia).

I recall a situation where many years ago, a senior minister was visiting our local congregation.   The Church had provided the senior minister with a nice car for his use during the time of his employment, which he thought might cause a problem with a member or members of the congregation. How well did he know the approach and mentality of a few!   After all, they reasoned, this was their tithe money being spent in a way of which they may not approve.   Some members seem to feel that they have to “supervise” the use of the tithes they have sent in to the Church. They obviously had not considered two very important points.   Firstly, we are all instructed in 1 Timothy 5:17: “Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine”.   Secondly, once we have paid our tithes, our responsibility in that area has finished.   Those who have the responsibility in the Church to use those tithes will be judged according to how well they will have executed that part of their Church related responsibilities.  

Empathising with someone who is less fortunate than we may be seems to be very much easier than with those who may seem to be in a more advantageous state than that which we may be enjoying.

“A sound heart is life to the body, But envy is rottenness to the bones” (Proverbs 14:30) and in the first chapter of Romans Paul is writing about those who are “being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers” (verse 29).

Coveting is also a no-go area (Exodus 20:17).   Yearn is to possess or have (something); crave, desire, hanker or lust (compare Wikipedia).   One writer put it this way: “Coveting is a devious desire that is complex and complicated, which is often well concealed. The heart, we are told, is deceitful and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9).  We must expect that covetousness, which is a matter of the heart, is deceitful and deceptive, and that it may be well disguised. The bottom line is simply this: sin is more often a problem with our heart (coveting) than it is a problem with our mind (knowledge).”

In an English newspaper very recently, a journalist wrote a small piece headed, “Don’t Be Jealous of Success”.   She said: “Feeling envious of someone?   Does someone you know have something you have?   Instead of letting the green eyed monster devour your happiness see it as a call to arms.  What is it that you want and need that they have?   How can you get that for yourself?   How will it help you?   When our own cups overflow with good fortune we can give to others from our excess of goodwill, easily, effortlessly and generously.   If you are feeling resentful of the good fortune of others you need to be grateful for what you actually have, count your own blessings, wish that person well and commit to filling your perceived deficit with positive action rather than negative begrudgement – and if that isn’t a word, it should be!”

Another paragraph from an entirely different secular source said: “It’s high time we stopped wasting moral or mental energy in being jealous of the very rich.   They are no happier than anyone else; they just have more money.   We shouldn’t bother ourselves about why they want all this money, or why it is nicer to have a bath with gold taps.   How does it hurt me, with my 20 year old Toyota, if someone else has a swish car?   We both get stuck in the same traffic”.

Envy and coveting must never be our approach.

Let us suffer with the members when appropriate and rejoice also with them when the occasion arises.