Yes, I DO Pray For Our Nation...

Have you ever felt that your world is about to end and therefore you want to do something which will forever be cherished in your memory before the lights finally go out? Perhaps in the last few weeks, it was how I felt, and therefore we made a rash decision for a day-trip to Brussels - while it was still relatively easy to pass through security and the two passport control kiosks at London St Pancras International before boarding the train.

But it was not to be. Instead, as already mentioned in my last blog, the Consultant at our regularly-attended hospital had already arranged for my beloved to receive her chemo intravenously on that same day. Therefore I had two valid return Eurostar tickets which were non-refundable. I would have been far happier to have given those tickets away to any interested couple if it wasn't for the rather small hindrance of having our names printed on them. After all, to make someone, or better still, two people, very grateful and happy would have helped atone for the loss, and therefore considered a privilege.

On the early hours of Wednesday morning, I laid on the bed next to my sleeping wife, in torment and unable to sleep. Where we should have been in bed at the Premier Inn St Pancras, instead, we were at home. I felt troubled by my own stupidity, my impulsiveness, going back to when my wife and I were sitting at St James Park fronting Buckingham Palace. It was here where the idea of a final trip abroad before the UK leaves the EU entered our minds. Alex was equally enthusiastic.

There was some justification for this decision. I was curious about what could happen at St Pancras International if we were to leave the European Union without a deal. On the worst possible scenario, the passport checks would be so much slower and more complicated than at present. After a no-deal Brexit, according to a couple of independent sources, very long queues could form, even snaking back to Warren Street Station! Of course, fully realising that if such would happen, Eurostar would quickly go out of business, and the threat of the French SNCF withdrawing permission for our trains to use their lines also stands as a very real possibility.

This and all other thoughts raced through my head as I lay there. Indeed, Project Fear would love to exaggerate any potential future disaster to unrealistic proportions in their attempts to thwart Brexit. But with us both heavily relying on medicine, the thought of its cross-Channel shipping suffering bureaucratic hindrance from mainland Europe does pose a very serious threat. Then not to mention empty superstore shelves due to panic-buying. Unfortunately, the optimistic view from the Daily Mail journalists, assuring us that all will be well after a no-deal Brexit, does not offer me a crumb of comfort. Instead, I feel the torment biting.

What is happening to our country? Could it be likened to a river approaching a deep waterfall? That is to say, is Brexit more of a judgement from God rather than a blessing, as the optimists believe?

This is one of many thoughts passing through my head as I lay there. Indeed, the Bible does predict that in the latter days, men "will run to and fro" and knowledge shall increase (Daniel 12:4). If I have gotten this interpretation right, then the whole world, and not just England, can be likened to a much wider river on its approach to a massive waterfall - the waterfall of universal tribulation. All life in the river doing its own thing, totally unaware of the catastrophe ahead. And so we drift with the current as we all make our own plans for an imagined golden future of national independence and sovereignty of patriotic fervour and optimism.

And as the waterfall gets nearer and nearer, the level of wickedness increases. But that not just the increase of bad deeds, even though the rise of the knife and gun crimes are making headlines every day. Rather, Britain is the birthplace of the greatest brain robbery ever to arise. This terrible deception had its origins here, in Britain, of perhaps I could refer to as the diabolical trinity of Uniformitarian Geology of Scotsman Charles Lyell, Organic Evolution of Lyell's English follower Charles Darwin, and Social Evolution and Eugenics of Darwin's English cousin Francis Galton. Such philosophies had not only brought about the Holocaust of Nazi Germany's national supremacy but remain active to this day in both in the medical world and in the subconscious of many an average Briton.

And as by these academic ethics continue to push away the truth of the Gospel until the very existence of God is ridiculed as ludicrous and a laughable joke by a very high percentage of the English population, any optimism attached to Brexit is eroded away to the point of believing it's a judgement of God for the nation's rejection of him rather than a deliverance from the chains of the EU.

And so I lay on the bed racked with despair. Grieving over the loss of our trip combined with our fate - a destiny which I have voted against.

And it was then I began to pray in an audible voice, even if it risked waking up my wife and keeping her awake. Indeed, the wonderful therapeutic benefit gotten through prayer cannot be exaggerated. Prayer has that power to free the soul.

As usual, I tend to open prayer with thanksgiving. This is when I count my blessings. This includes the breath of life passing through my nostrils, the ability to think, feel, understand, my health, the ability to love and everything of life. I thank God for my beloved and by God's grace, the ability to love and care for her during the darkest moments of our marriage where her health is concerned.

It was then when I remembered Abraham's plea for Sodom as recorded in Genesis 18:16-33. I really thank the Lord for having such a conversation recorded in Scripture. In it, there's so much to learn. And this includes the humility before God's holiness shown by the patriarch when he sees himself as dust and ashes. But through this Scripture comes my conviction that we as a nation exist with a reasonably healthy economy and a respectable level of prosperity because there are plenty of righteous people living in the land.

And so I cried out,
Lord, what about the righteous living with us? Will you pass judgement on the righteous as well as on the wicked? Will you pass judgement on us too, who are righteous before you?

Among other things, including our marriage relationship, I brought the same request over and over again. Then I pleaded with God that the hold of Evolution in our land will be loosened and souls saved. I even pleaded that we remain in the European Union, for we would be far better off remaining as a member than to leave. Then I conditioned the request with the words:
However, not my will, but your will, be done.
Thus, I left the decision to leave or remain in the EU entirely in God's hands.

In the end, I have prayed for a considerably long time, perhaps for a better part of an hour. Then when she realised that I have gone quiet, she turned and whispered that that was the best prayer she had ever heard. Encouraged, I dropped off to sleep, at last, around 4.30 am.

Although I felt much better when my friend Dave took us both to Frimley Park Hospital, where she had her chemo treatment, it still took a while before I was totally free of the torment. However, it's good to know that such prayer was able to move mountains.

Abraham's intercessory plea for Sodom is an eye-opener for why we as a nation keep on doing reasonably well despite its rejection of God's existence, its denial of Divine Creation and the reality of Noah's Flood. Simply this: Righteous people are living in the land. And if as little as ten righteous people living in Sodom was enough for the whole city to be spared for their sakes, how much more will the presence of churches will spare England also?

At this point, it's wise to ask: Who is a righteous person? Am I being presumptuous by calling myself righteous? Simply this: He is the man whom God imputes the righteousness of Jesus Christ into the sinner's account. Therefore, all his sins, past, present and future, are wiped out, and God sees this person in the same way he sees his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. As Paul the apostle wrote:
However, to the one who does not work but trust God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness. Romans 4:5.

Paul then goes on to write about Abraham and how he was credited with God's righteousness when he believed that children will come from his loins, including his seed, that is, Jesus Christ:
Abraham believed the Lord, and he credited to him as righteousness. Genesis 15:6.

Therefore, I'm absolutely convinced that there has never existed a person who was made righteous by his own deeds. Every single person who will enter heaven, from Adam, right through to the end of history, will be there because God has imputed his own righteousness into that man's account. There is no exception. As the Scripture says that no one is righteous, no one seeks after God, then imputed righteousness from God to the undeserving sinner has no other option.

This is dramatically demonstrated in Scripture when John the apostle sees a remarkable vision of a sealed scroll, and a challenge was thrown out to the entire heavenly population on who is worthy to undo the seals of the scroll. And it was found that not a single person throughout all of history was worthy to open the scroll! And at the vision, John burst into tears. That is until someone worthy to open the scroll was revealed to him, who is none less than God the Son, the crucified, buried and risen Jesus Christ (Revelation 5:1-5.)

That is an astonishing vision John had which endorses the eternal security of the believer. The true saint will once be saved always remain saved. And furthermore, any political opinion has no credit whatsoever. If the righteousness imputed into him is God's own righteousness, then this righteousness cannot be broken by political views, as God's own righteousness is eternal.

As such, I think about my good friends, including Dr Andrew Milnthorpe, who has voted to leave the EU. But I also have good friends who had voted to remain. Really, it doesn't matter. Righteousness comes through faith in Jesus and not by political opinion.

Therefore, it was perfectly right to intercede that night. But this wasn't the first time. I have prayed for our nation several times, maybe many times over the years. But if I did, then I can be thoroughly sure that it had to do with its sin of unbelief and its need for salvation, and not for any political direction.

A Grueling, Fiery Stairway to Heaven?

Nachi Falls in southwest Japan is 133 metres high, making it the highest waterfall in the country. It tumbles down a forested cliff, giving the area a stunningly dramatical setting. Near its top, there is a villa of temples, making this area a centre of the Shinto faith. Alongside the waterfall, there is a 600-metre long stairway where once a year, a group of pilgrims has to ascend and descend the whole length of the stairway until the leader declares the stairway cleansed from any spiritual contamination which might have polluted it. 

Nachi Falls, Japan.

Pantheism is the central belief of the Shinto faith. That is, every object has a divine spirit, known as a Kami, whether it be a tree, a rock, or for this case a waterfall. And because of this particular cascade is the tallest in Japan, it's believed that this very work of nature has the chief of all Kami. Give this divinity what it asks for and the prosperity for the whole of Japan is guaranteed.

And so this young man, in his twenties and holding down a job as a Government clerk, each year he joins a group of pilgrims, each carrying a massive torch made of burning wood, up along the stairway and back, until the route is cleansed from all impurity. Each torchbearer has an assistant who walks alongside to keep the burning wood under control, using water if necessary. To add to all this, each torch is huge and heavy, nearly the weight of the carrier himself. Although the young man is fit and strong, after five round trips he begins to tire. For a brief moment, he is allowed to hand the huge torch to his assistant, but must take it up again and continue with his journey.

Five rounds, or return trips, of the pilgrimage, would have taken him 6,000 metres, but then the priest still hadn't declared the stairway cleansed. How many more rounds the lad has to do before such a welcoming message reaches his ears, we were not told. But I would not be too surprised that he could have covered as much as 10,800 metres, which is over six miles in nine return trips. It may or may not have been that long. Or it could have been even longer. It was all up to the discretion of the priest, who could vary the length of the pilgrimage year by year. At last, when the stairway is finally declared to be purified, an offering of Kami and thanksgiving is made to the waterfall, and Japan can be guaranteed another year of peace and prosperity.

At another location, this time, in the African State of Mali, the city of Djenne boasts one of the largest mosques in the world, which is built of mud. Therefore, after the annual rainy season, everyone on the town volunteers to facelift the whole edifice by applying fresh mud, which must be kept wet with a constant supply of water, over the entire building (with the supplying of the water done by the women.) The roof with its towering minarets must be given special attention. A special place in Heaven is reserved for whoever reaches the pinnacle of the tallest minaret, and so, before dawn, a group of young men literally race to climb the turret. The first to get to the top can begin his duty with a sense of triumph. One participant has run, climbed and won the race over and over again for the last few years. The promise of Paradise is held to him for another year.

However, everyone who contributes to the project will have a place in Paradise. Therefore it's of no surprise that everyone able does his bit. Normally the entire annual facelift is completed in a day. 

Grand Mosque, Djenne, Mali.

Then there is the Shaolin Temple in China, which includes a monastery. Here we are introduced to a Buddhist student, in his late teens, who is training to be a Warrior Monk. This includes an extremely complex martial art of Kung Fu. This lad had to train for many years before the great day he has to take a twofold test. The first is for him to demonstrate the skills of his Kung Fu training. This includes the Monkey Climb, where he had to balance himself on a pole very much like a monkey hanging from the branch of a tree. Except that in Kung Fu, the "branch" is an ordinary pole which is picked up and carried around like any other inanimate object. To pass the test, the student had to perform his moves with lightning speed and split-second accuracy.

The second part of the test was to recite his Scriptures off by heart. Texts from the Buddhist Pali Canon, for example, were picked out by pure random by the judges and had to be quoted by heart, without any referring to the book. It was equivalent to me being asked to quote verbally the whole chapter of Luke 18 or 1 Corinthians 5 by heart without looking at the New Testament. And he had to get every verse, every word, right. Then he is given judgement over the whole two-part test. Fortunately, he passed, which enabled him to become a full-time monk. Had he failed, he would have to wait three more years before retaking the test.

A Warrior Monk at Shaolin Temple, China.

These three are examples taken from a BBC documentary, Sacred Wonders, a series of just two episodes. I was intrigued by how such non-Christian religions have such demands for hard work and tests of physical and mental endurance to earn salvation or even worldly peace and prosperity. But there is this one nagging feeling I had when watching these programs, maybe two nagging feelings. One was the feeling of sorrow for these participants and their mental and spiritual enslavements to these works to attain salvation, whether it's heaven, nirvana or a good life here and now (probably followed by karma.) The other feeling was how weak, inadequate and mentally, spiritually and physically puny I felt when I compared myself to these three young men living around the world.

The Buddhist student, for example. If the two of us were standing in that courtyard face-to-face, he would floor me instantly! No matter how many gym workouts I might have had. No matter how hard and strong my barrel-shaped biceps might be, strength alone would be no match for this student young enough to be my grandson. And then after telling him that I have read and studied the Bible for the better part of half a century, he dared me to recite a chapter, any chapter, without peering into the book. With my own sense of idiocy enveloping me, I would have to kneel and beg for his understanding.

All this is a demonstration of single-hearted commitment to their faith, and especially when such faith demands endurance to breaking point and never shrinking back. Of the three, I have to admit that the Buddhist student had displayed the greatest demonstration of commitment, even if that test - if passed - was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to prove his worth for monkhood. As I see it, the other two candidates may not be so spectacular, but they have to endure such tests every year for the rest of their lives.

Do I see such levels of commitment among Western Christians, myself included? That's quite a point, that! After all, there is quite a difference between a true Christian who was martyred under a fuselage of flying stones under Caesar's orders or stretched helplessly on the Rack during the Inquisition, and that of a modern middle-class college graduate and regular church-goer admitting his belief in Theistic Evolution in order to save face before a sneering scoffer. 

It has made me wonder of the times I hesitated to make an outright confession of faith to an unbeliever when I felt a sudden wave of embarrassment. I still ask myself what has brought me to such a state? Is it from a sense of self-preservation, unsure how the unbeliever will react? Perhaps, but it was not always like this. I remember the 1970s in particular when I never hesitated to confess Jesus of Nazareth as the Christ, the risen Son of God. In a sense, I shook the whole of a precision engineering factory, both among the office staff in management and my colleagues on the shop floor alike. Back in those days, embarrassment wasn't an issue.

By looking at the lifestyles of these three young men, I try to get to the source of embarrassment. The first is the lack of a sense of assurance. And I say this as one who wholeheartedly believes in Eternal Security of the Believer. Could it be from the subconscious echo from Roman Catholic upbringing, when the presence of sins in my life has actually placed a block on my assurance? Or the teaching of some evangelicals who insist that we are not securely saved, but only conditionally, and salvation can be lost if those conditions aren't met? These churchgoers are known as Arminians, after a 16th Century Dutch theologian who taught such soteriology. We have a few of these people in our church at Ascot, despite our Elders' stance in Once Saved Always Saved. Indeed, I'm literally disliked by one Arminian couple who has already condemned me to Hell as an unrepentant sinner! That can be quite disturbing.

Tied to all this is this theory pushed as scientific fact and universally accepted - Darwin's Evolution. So certain is this in the minds of unbelievers (and many believers too) that for me to proclaim Divine Creation as both historical and scientific fact to an unbelieving world at times makes me feel like an idiot. 

To sum up: A lack of assurance from God and a fear of man's rejection of the Gospel has overtaken my commitment to evangelise my faith to outsiders.

Oh, do I need a new backbone! How I want to overcome this fear. Fear is bang opposite to faith. It's not a life I want to lead. And yet there are three sources where faith, I believe, can be gotten - through prayer, the Bible and church fellowship. All three are equally important and are used for building up of faith (known as edifying, from an Italian word Edificio - a building.) One of the wonders of church fellowship is the ability to get together with one of the Elders for a chat over coffee at Starbucks, or even a pub. I had a few of these and I find them so uplifting. To be loved, accepted without judgement by other believers is such a lovely thing, a sweet aroma drifting towards Heaven.

Then there's prayer. If I don't know what to pray about, which is often the case, then just by giving thanks for the temporary pleasures will often lead to intercession or to other topics. Temporary pleasures include marvelling at God's creation. I'm fortunate enough to live right next to some woods, and especially in the Summer, such can inspire thanksgiving. This along for my wife, our home, our holiday memories, our finances. Then along comes confession of sin and supplications - that is asking God for things, especially concerning our health.

And a thorough knowledge of the Bible mixed with faith is another of the three sources. For example, one well-known Arminian preacher once said:

There is not a hint of Once Saved Always Saved found anywhere in the New Testament.*

By studying the Bible and absorbing its goodness into the soul, I can point to at least three chapters where Eternal Security is hinted at - John 10, John 17 and Romans 8. And there are a lot more found elsewhere, even in the Old Testament. For example, in 1 Kings 19:18, we can read about how God has kept or reserved for himself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal. This is not a chicken-or-egg scenario. Those seven thousand men were saved due to the imputed righteousness of Christ into their souls, and not because they simply decided not to bow to Baal. As with us, the salvation came first, then the sanctification.

Or the case of Job, who declared that he will see his Daysman stand on the earth with his own eyes, even if his own skin has long decayed, Job 19:27. And in Isaiah 53, there is one set of prophecies about how the suffering of God's servant will justify many (imputed righteousness) while he was pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities, and by his stripes, we are healed.

Together with Jeremiah's prophecies coupled with Ezekiel's about taking out the old heart of stone and replacing it with a new one of flesh, for his sake rather than ours, I can't help but read Eternal Security into these chapters. Above all, Arminianism denies the Omniscience of God, a divine characteristic these prophecies so well attest!

And that was why I felt sorry for those three young men - a Shinto, a Muslim and a Buddhist. Like the Jew, and despite their heroism, they have failed to attain the righteousness they were seeking, according to Romans 10:1-4. This is because they try to establish their own righteousness instead of accepting the imputed righteousness of Christ which is offered to all believers.

As for myself, it is my prayer that God will strengthen my backbone (metaphorically) and embolden me to share the love of God through faith in Jesus Christ, and at the same time, rebuke any belief in Evolution which destroys any credibility of the Gospel.

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* David Pawson, Cambridge post-graduate Methodist and holder of a B.A. in theology, an itinerant preacher and pastored several churches.

Self Pity? No Way!

One of the benefits of working as a self-employed domestic window cleaner is that I can turn mere customers into good friends, as a result of a long-standing contract between a householder and myself, which involves turning up when I say I'll turn up, and doing a job to the level of their satisfaction. Such is the case of one ageing couple whose house I called at this week. This time round, one of their sons had returned from Australia to stay with his parents for three weeks, and it was their last full day in England before take-off the next day. With him was his wife and his two children. The customer also has a daughter living in San Francisco, and she too is raising her family there. Sometimes I wonder what is it about Britain that makes people want to live abroad.

 

Although I wished them farewell and to enjoy a pleasant flight home, I could not help but sigh within. Living in Australia, with its fine beaches, coral reefs, diversity of wildlife, a slower pace of living, and a pleasant climate to match, makes me wonder, if I were to compare myself with this young father, why I have missed out on some of the good things in life.

 

I knew the customer's offspring for many years, when the boy arrived home from school dolled up in his uniform -  including white shirt and tie. But unlike with me years earlier, he excelled, gained his A Levels and attended university and successfully graduated. With his degree, he settled down to a life as an accountant. With such credentials, Australia welcomed him with open arms, even though his visa took a long while to come through, as the USA also welcomed the equally well-educated sister. While I cleaned their windows, I was able to watch their often-mischievous children run around the house, engage in play and watch their favourite children's programmes on their grandparent's telly. 

 

All this reminded me that there were times I wished I was able to emigrate. Given the choice, Australia would have been first, followed possibly by southern California, particularly San Diego. Back in 1994, I was even considering a long-stay spell in Israel, as a result of working as a volunteer at a Christian Conference Centre near Haifa, owned and operated by the Church of England. That didn't work out either, as I had to return home to England just after three months - a direct result of being booted out by the rest of the team, a diversity of English, a Scot, and three New Zealanders, including a married couple. But not a Jew among them, despite being in their country. Then again, I guess there is something about the English character which never appealed - an island culture of rabid nationalism, love of Royalty and the pageantry pomp that goes with it, social class, contempt for foreigners, Empire-oriented, power elitism, and the self-conceived divine right to police the rest of the world. Little wonder how relieved I always felt when England was knocked out of the World Cup international football tournament. I would dread the national arrogance arising from such a victory.

 

I consider myself fortunate when, at 46 years of age, I met Alex in church in 1998 and married less than a year later. Before then, as a bachelor, after I was dumped in 1972, no female took any interest in me at all. In fact, I found this rather mystifying, as I'm sure I wasn't that ugly. Rather, I was subject to teasing by any group of girls into their late teens or early twenties, whenever our paths crossed. I became aware that there was something wrong with my accent when talking, this particular area in my life I wasn't allowed to forget, as I was often mimicked by older men during my early days at work in the late 1960s. I believe it was this accent defect that had put many potential girlfriends off, made worse by a lack of proper education and no professional status. I would go as far to say that having had a professional career might have been enough to absolve my odd accent.

 

The wonderful feeling of love and acceptance my wife has always shown has made a massive impact in my life. From this I have come to discover and learn how to love a person so devoted to me. As a Christian believer, the answer to that was not elusive. I wanted to love her in the same way that Jesus Christ loves his church, an agape love which covers any faults or shortcomings. Now my wife lies ill in hospital, and according to the medical team, the cause might be from a spinal infection, however, this is yet to be proved. At the time of typing and posting of this blog, she is waiting to be transferred to a neurological ward at one of the country's top hospitals for proper diagnosis and, I hope, further and perhaps rapid treatment.

 

On one early morning this week I recall having a little cry as I sat alone in an otherwise empty house. In a way that has done me some good, as emotions are concerned, if I hit bottom, the only way is up. But adding further insult to injury, I had to cancel our holiday (vacation) in Crete that was meant to celebrate our wedding anniversary. Believe me, I feel gutted. This was something I never ever done before, and claiming on the insurance will be something new to me as well. The only panacea to help alleviate the horrible feeling is to take the week off work anyway, and try to occupy my spare time on a leisure activity such as gym, sauna, even a day trip to London, blogging and Internet browsing - and then making my way to the hospital to spend the late afternoon and evening at my wife's bedside.

 

Strange it seems, but lately I have seen far more dating couples in the street or in the train, petting or exchanging words of endearment, than when Alex was up and about. Also there seems to be a lot more 'planes hovering up in the sky, waiting in a stack to land at nearby London Heathrow Airport. Then, as I sat in the train on my way to visit Alex, at one of the stations is a huge advert board of a British Airways aeroplane, waiting to be taxied on to the runway. It is as if providence was deliberately teasing me, like a mischievous child holding up something he snatched from my hand, and yelling Nah! Nah! Nah-nah! Nah! -as he held it up high in full view and runs away. Then not to mention my good church friend away in Africa, and customers heading to the airport, even broadcasting over the radio - and scores of healthy, middle class folk enjoying life to the full, especially taking early Autumn breaks after the kids return to school. 

 

 

In the morning, the Sunday we were meant to head for the airport, I shall be heading to my church to thank and to praise God for his goodness, love and mercy. If the prophet Habakkuk can do it so can I. He wrote this:

Thou the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crops fail and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Saviour, The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.

Habakkuk 3:17-19.

 

It is interesting to note that the prophet's willingness to praise and thank God during adverse times was of his own choice. "I will be joyful in God" - he says, because of his knowledge of God's salvation. There is something about knowing the Lord which is above comprehension. Sure, this week I had a little cry one morning, yet just two days later, also early morning, I felt my heart rise as I read the 4th chapter of Romans, and I couldn't help but look up to the sky with a smile. Here Paul was using Abraham as an example of imputed righteousness from heaven given to all those who believe in their hearts that God rose Jesus from the dead. But there is more to this, I think. Habakkuk's secret was that he knew that the righteousness he had was imputed, and as a result, led to his belief in Eternal Security. Coming to think of it - Eternal Security, or OSAS if you prefer to think of it as such, is perhaps a major bulwark against adversity, allowing the sufferer to thank and praise the Lord, knowing about the eternal promise reserved for him in Heaven.

 

 

 

Dear brother or sister in Christ, if you are taught by your church, your literature, or from any other source that you cannot accept Eternal Security of the Believer as Biblical truth, then let me encourage you to read John chapter 10, Romans chapter 4 and chapter 8, and allow such beautiful words to nourish your spirit. Don't allow mere men, no matter how academic or well educated they may be, to block your assurance in the Lord.

 

While in hospital, Alex assured me of her "gut belief" in God raising Jesus Christ from the dead. She then referred to him as Lord. What more do I need for assurance that Alex my dear wife is eternally saved and secure in the Lord, whether she will go with me to church or not. Imputed righteousness - now that's something no trip to Crete, or even to Australia, can match!