There is Heaven and there is Hell

Looking at the news the other day, I was staggered yet again when I saw the tremendous earthquake that happened in Colombia. The death toll had risen to 224 people, and 600 people were injured. A 7.4 earthquake was suddenly upon them, and it made the rescue efforts extremely difficult.

The whole of Colombia was in a state of emergency, which is totally understandable. The President was only in his position for just a couple of days when the earthquake hit, so he was certainly thrown in and had to deal with it as best he could, as he had to face his first major crisis.

There were many collapsed buildings, and the rescue teams were hoping to find survivors. It is truly a horrible time. The area of Cali was one of the worst areas that was hit by the earthquake. There are heaps of buildings with huge cracks and smashed windows. 

Seeing the buildings come screaming down, and the people fleeing for their lives, was truly a horrible sight and a shocking thing to have happened. There are many, many people there looking for loved ones, and they have been told to be as completely silent as possible so that rescuers could hear people under the rubble.

It has been labeled the worst earthquake in Colombia. In Cali, they really do rely on their coffee growing, and they have been totally destroyed. All of the residents are in deep shock, especially so early in the morning after a long weekend. 

There was also an earthquake in Venezuela, and many in Colombia felt it before because they share a border. 

There are at least 300 people reported missing, and they are expecting many more. In the city of Cali alone, at least 30 buildings have collapsed, and of course there are many others that are now completely vulnerable and dangerously close to collapse. Many hospitals, schools, and so many others have suffered significant damage.

The very thought of those poor people suffering so badly makes your heart ache. All those people missing I can't imagine what those families are going through. Watching the news, there are so many families waiting on site looking out for their loved ones. They must be so horrendously upset - it's hard to get your head around it.

What has come home to me yet again is that none of us ever will know when our time has come, regardless of how carefully we live our lives. The only one I can think of, other than suicides. is the Lord Jesus; He knew what was in store for him when he came to earth. 

He knew that his time here would end quickly and pretty awfully, yet, being the holy Son of God, he knew he was going to pay the price for our sins, and he also knew just how he would do that. 

He paid his life for all of us so that our sins would be abolished. He did that because he was a perfect person and also the perfect Son of God. He rose again after his crucifixion and is now reigning in Heaven. He did all this to pay for our sins, and all we have to do is acknowledge that he is indeed our God and King. We have to ask him to lead our lives in everything we do. He also has to become first in everything we do, everything we say, and in fact everything.

What happens if you decide you want nothing to do with him at all? You just need to live your life as you want to and have nothing to do with the eternal God at all?

Actually, it just does not end there at all. There is indeed a heaven awaiting all of us if we decide we need to put God first in our lives and, in fact, first in everything.

If we decide on the opposite that there is no God at all or if we decide there may be a God but don't want anything to do with him, then there is a place after we leave this life of ours. It's called hell, and it is eternal torment that never ends.

Do you need that? Believing and giving our lives to God is what Jesus did for us all those years ago, and all we have to do is ask Him to come into our lives and live for him. Putting Him first in everything we do.

All you have to do is pray an earnest prayer, asking God to enter your life and then to live for him. Putting Him above everything else. Of course, that doesn't stop our problems, but giving our problems to God helps us to achieve an amazing life of fullness in Christ.

God bless you this week. Hope to see you next time.

 

Harold Holt Australia's Prime Minister - Gone! Never to be seen again

Where are you with your workday world? I know I am still 'on the go' and staying busy. It's a good thing as long as whatever it is doesn't just take over your life. When Jesus came into the world, he was certainly a busy young man. His father Joseph was a carpenter, and in those days it was a special job with lots going on, and I guess Jesus, being the eldest son in the family, was always on the go.

Giving Jesus first place in your life, which is amazing, sort of puts everything in order; it's really quite spectacular.

I was reading lately about our former Prime Minister, Harold Holt. he loved getting everything in order and keeping it in that state. He certainly made sure that happened in his job. He felt he was first being PM.  Harold Holt was an agnostic, i.e., a person who believes that God really doesn't exist or basically is unknown. A tad confusing! 

He was a Liberal frontbencher in the parliament, and took over the reins after Robert Menzies retired. Originally he had been in the liberal Party for quite a few years. 

He made things happen quickly and, if you like, efficiently. The Vietnam War was a dominant feature of Holt's reign as Prime Minister here in Australia. The War had begun in 1962, and he, being PM, made it his mission to support the USA in the war in Vietnam.

He introduced National Service for all of us young men at the time, and so many of us were called up to serve in the army and be in Vietnam during this pretty hostile war. Ghastly situation for so many. He justified being there in Vietnam by saying that "Australia was morally obliged to resist communist subversion and aggression and defend the right of every people to choose their own social and economic order." Well, there you have it. Many of us went to war.

There were 4,500 army troops and also 1,500 National Servicemen. So many of the army and National Service people were killed during this time - it was a very nasty war. Holt romped in after this and won the next election so easily. It was called the "Khaki Election", a reference, of course, to the colour of the uniforms of all our personnel including the National servicemen.

So the war went on and on, and Harold Holt's personality was zooming ahead in the polls. Holt loved the ocean, particularly spearfishing, and on 17th December, 1967, he talked his fellow parliamentarian into going snorkelling with him at Cheviot Beach, which is in Point Nepean National Park near Portsea on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria.

It is a beautiful spot and was at that time pretty isolated. There is a picture of the beach on the right.  It is a remote beach. Harold spearfished there many times, and he loved that area so much. Alan Stewart, his fellow parliamentarian, went with him snorkelling. Alan Stewart kept close to the shore while Harold Holt ventured out into the deeper water. 

Not sure what happened, but the thought is that he got caught in a rip and, much to Alan's horror, disappeared from sight, never to be seen again. One witness described him being carried out as "like a leaf being taken out so quick and final."

So ended the reign of Harold Holt as Australia's Prime Minister. What a horrible experience. He was never seen again. His body was never discovered. His disappearance sparked one of the biggest operations in Australian history, but no trace of his body was ever found.

Our lives can change so much in an instant. None of us ever know what is in store for us. The unexpected, the unforeseen, the out of the blue, the unanticipated, and certainly the unpredicted!

In the Bible, in Matthew 24:42, it says, "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day on which your Lord will come," and again in Mark 13:33, "Be on your guard, stay alert, for you do not know when the appointed time is."

What is the appointed time? It simply means none of us know when our time has come when we leave this earth of ours and get to spend eternity elsewhere. Where is eternity for you?

Do you even think about eternity? What is eternity? It is simply a never-ending, continual, and never-changing life. Something we don't even think about. But Jesus, while he was here on earth with us, certainly told us about eternity and warned us that if we didn't hand our lives over to God, then eternity in hell is the alternative.

What does it mean to "hand our life over to God?" It simply means just that! Believe in God, the Creator of the universe. That he has eternal life and that he really wants you to accept him and ask him into your life.

By asking God into your life, he then takes control of your life. He becomes the number one person in everything you ever do. Life continues as before, but the only thing is that God is there, changing you and guiding you. 

Asking God to control your life gives you assurance of eternal life with him. Knowing that when we die, we will go and be with him for eternity. Prayer is an amazing experience, and one where we become closer and closer to God. 

God's richest blessings to you and yours this week, and I hope to see you next time.

4 million people died!

Around 800,000 up to almost 4 million people died in what we now know as Bangladesh from starvation and a multitude of other diseases. This was back in 1943 during World War 2. 

It's hard to imagine what these poor people went through, having to live in hugely unsanitary conditions, aggravated by malnutrition caused by wartime policies and absolutely no health care at all. It was triggered by a man-made food crisis during the war, which ravaged not only the country but the whole population.

Millions of other people were suddenly and horribly impoverished, and they had no help given at all. Children and many others were horribly sick, and many hundreds were dying. Families were hugely disrupted, and they had awful experiences. I really can't imagine what these poor people were going through.

England was there, and they were in the middle of World War 2. Everything was happening.

Mrinalini and her husband Bahadur lived a quiet and unassuming life. Bahadur worked hard, labouring and toting many barrels and heavy items at the docks. They had two boys, Bajrangbali and Balasubramanian. They were only youngsters and didn't go to school, not that there was any where they lived,  but Mrinalini taught them as best she could.

They were surrounded by immense love for the family, and Bahadur worked so hard, coming home each night so late to their very humble dwelling. Mrinalini tried to get some sort of employment, but the children were so young, and she really didn't want to leave them in the care of someone else. Everyone she knew was struggling financially and trying hard to make ends meet.

Even though things were tough financially, Mrinalini and Bahadur loved their children, and they tried to make life as easy as possible. Things were tough, but Mrinalini knew Bahadur was trying so hard to keep everything they had. he was an extremely hard worker, and he loved those boys.

Bajrangbali and Balasubramanian were great kids. Balasubramanian was the youngest, but he tried his best to achieve what his big brother was doing, and that really made Mrinalini smile so much to herself.

Towards the end of 1943, things were plodding along ok for the family, but many of her neighbours were going hungry, and malaria was rampant in the village where they lived. Many were starving, and many others were so sick, and there was actually nowhere to turn for any help at all. Things were deteriorating very, very fast.

Time went on. Bahadur was so busy at work; more and more of the employees were off sick, and many more were struggling with their health but came to work anyway. After all, it was their only source of income. Bahadur was working away one day when his workmate Ujan suddenly and very unexpectedly collapsed. Bahadur rushed over to help him, and Ujan was completely unconscious.

That next morning in the early hours, Bahadur heard that Ujan had passed away. He was devastated. Bahadur had to go to work; his family depended on him. he left early, but it was on his way there that he started to feel completely unwell. His skin was completely yellow, his eyes were blotchy and sore, and he started to have trouble breathing.

That night he became unconscious, and in the early hours he passed away. Was it malaria? We will never know. So sadly the next night young Balasubramanian came down with a fever and was lying in bed with his brother. Two days later Balasubramanian too passed away, and then his brother Bajrangbali came down with the same symptoms. 

Bajrangbali lasted a few more days, and totally devastated, Mrinalini was utterly alone and bereft of all her family. Nowhere to go, no one to turn to, she had to leave the boys and slowly walk away with so many others, making her way to Calcutta in search of some sort of relief. She was not alone, but so many others were bereft of their families and loved ones.

Such a sad outcome: the government at that time, plus the British government, declared a state of famine existed, and any aid given to those affected was totally ineffective through months and months of total crisis.

How do we come to terms with something like this? Great question, and one where I personally do query so many times, and then I was reading the following about Jesus' miraculous ministry while he was here on the crazy world of ours in Mark chapter 1 (the New English Translation)

Jesus was teaching in the Synagogue when a man with an unclean spirit cried out, "Leave us alone, Jesus of Nazareth! Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are - the Holy One of God!" But Jesus rebuked him. "Silence! Come out of him!" After throwing him into convulsions, the unclean spirit cried out with a loud voice and came out of him. They were all amazed so that they asked each other, "What is this? A new teaching with authority! he even commands the unclean spirits, and they obey him."

That was quite a miracle that Jesus performed all those years ago, and I can guess that's why the Pharisees felt quite a bit uneasy with the whole thing. Here was this guy teaching the poor people and those in real need of the amazing things of God and how they could come to Him. 

Those in the crowd who were really well-off financially and always put themselves way ahead of the others were astounded that here was this Jesus talking and listening and what?? Performing miracles??!! To the poor of the city instead of to them.

Like what happened all those years ago in Bangladesh, the poor were needy and relied on many others but were not given anything. They were desperate and certainly needed assistance and help in everything. 

When Jesus performed that miracle in the Synagogue, it was with a poor and needy man, possessed by Satan, and Jesus was so prepared to help and assist him. 

So many others in Bangladesh certainly needed help in so many ways, and they did not get any at all. So many died horribly. Nothing was done there; just like in our story of the poor man that Jesus healed. Many, many people living in Bangladesh evacuated the city and tried desperately to escape the plague that was pursuing them. 

Jesus continued to help and assist so many people suffering horribly, and the rich and famous of the city didn't want anything to do with Jesus at all. So similar to what happened in Bangladesh. The rich and politically correct in the city were so consumed with the war and trying to gain as much as possible that they had no compassion or even the slightest help for the poor and needy.

Jesus loved the people, and He still does. He was prepared to give his life for them. Even after only three years of bringing the amazing word of God, he gave his life to pay for everyone's sin. At just 33 years of age, he was nailed to a wooden cross, and he actually took all the sins of the world on his shoulders and paid the price. Amazingly, after just three days, he rose again, and all we have to do is accept his love for us and ask him to lead our lives.

Are you prepared to ask him into your life? God does not have favourites, but it really does depend on your willingness to have a deep and personal relationship with him. Every single person has been given the same invitation. In the Bible, in Hebrews 4:16, it says that you can come to draw near to God,  fearlessly and confidently and even boldly. That's amazing and so personal for all of us.

God bless you this week and hope to see you next time.

A total Tragedy for Caleb T.

In the Bible, in Luke chapter 5, verses 1 to 11, ordinary fishermen were having a normal day when everything changed. 

Everything certainly changed for all of us while we were at school one day!

Caleb T. went to high school with me. We weren't really mates, but we were sort of friends. That was a normal relationship back then.

He was certainly one of the many who were involved in sports, just like we all were. There was everything there, from swimming to tennis to football to hockey; you name it, our school was fanatical about urging all of us pupils to get into a sport of any sort.

Caleb T. was into soccer and swimming, and that's probably where he and I met most of all; in the pool. He was a great guy, and we got along ok. Probably not the very best of friends, but we were in a sort of boyish friendship.

We were in Year 9 at the time, maybe around 15 to 16 years old, and it was a co-ed school, just like it is today. Back then it was a tad different in that most girls went to an all-girls high school, and the boys went to an all-boys school. But Cook's Hill High School was unique in lots of ways. It was a co-ed school, and a lot of boys had girlfriends, holding hands at lunchtime and spending time together when they could.

Caleb and Eva were certainly good friends; they spent most of their lunchtimes together and also sat together in the classes that they shared - not that there were many, but they obviously enjoyed those odd lessons.  

Jesus was the same with the guys he met who he decided would be his disciples. They were certainly different to him, but Jesus knew just what the future held for them all. He called them to follow him, and he taught them lots of things. He was their friend and teacher, Leader and cohort. Like Caleb and Eva, he was close friends with them, and he also was their teacher.

Jesus was a miracle worker, and on the day he met his disciples for the first time, he performed a miracle: the guys had been fishing all night and had caught nothing. They saw this Jesus person on the beach, and they had a whinge to him about no fish - Jesus told them to put their net down in the deep water, and you will catch fish. So they did, and they certainly did catch fish. Now that was a miracle.

Caleb T. and Eva were at school, enjoying what they could but really enjoying each other's company. Then the Newcastle Show came around. A very special time of the year for us Novocastrians. Caleb got into his good clothes and so did Eva, and he called around to her home and picked her up and together went to the showground.

All seemed well until they came to go home, and Caleb started to walk Eva home to her house. They walked along, and then the conversation took a turn for the worse for Caleb. Eva started to tell him that she was feeling like they should break up. Caleb was astonished! He asked her why, and she apparently told him that her leaving certificate was on the way next year and she felt they needed to concentrate on that rather than on each other.

The fishermen in the Bible passage that we read earlier were astonished at what Jesus did. They were totally amazed and couldn't quite work out what he did and what he meant. But what they did do was what Jesus told them to do, and they went out into the deep water, put down their nets, and caught so many fish they could have sunk their boat.

Caleb T. was so hurt that night. He couldn't understand what Eva had meant. To break up with him? he loved her so much, and she said she loved him too. Why break up? He felt he had come to the end of his life.

He dropped her at her house and stumbled home to his place. He was so distraught and so hurt; he couldn't cope at all with what she had just said.

Caleb went into his parents' garage, organised to commit suicide, and he did just that. So sad, really! We were all so shocked on the following Monday when we were all told at a school assembly about what Caleb had done, and we all noticed as well that Eva was not there, and she never ever did come back to the school. How terribly sad.

Why did that happen? Caleb was so distraught that night; he really felt his life was over. You know, when things like that happen, we must keep in mind exactly what Jesus said when the new disciples said to him that he should leave them because we are sinful men, and we don't deserve your help, love, and promises.

If Caleb T. had thought just a little longer, gone to bed that night, maybe even cried his eyes out, he might have reconsidered what he did that night. But after what had happened, he really felt he had no other options.

Yes, just like Peter said to Jesus, we are all sinful people, and none of us really should come to him at all. None of us deserve to come to Jesus Christ and ask his forgiveness, but that is exactly what Jesus said and what he meant when he said to them, " Do not be afraid; come and follow me".

When we follow Jesus, we can be sure that everything Jesus said in the Bible, all the stories that he told, and all the miracles he did just reinforce exactly why Jesus was here on earth. He was here to bring us to a knowledge and love for him. His eternal life was there right from the beginning.

He paid for our sins, and he rose again after his crucifixion and is in heaven preparing a place for those of us who decide to give our lives over to him. 

If we decide that we have absolutely nothing to do with God at all, then we will have to pay the price when our life is over. There is a heaven waiting for us if we give our lives to God, but there is also a hell.  Where are you in all of this? Have you even considered who Jesus is and why he came to earth at all? 

Our lives here on earth can often be so exhausting and so sad, but giving our lives over to God and asking him to lead us and always putting him first in everything changes how we look at life. It puts everything into perspective, knowing that God is there with us and relying totally on him. I still feel sad about my school friend Caleb T. and his family.

Give your life over to God by placing him first in everything you do. Of course, life will still bring its problems and insecurities, but God will always be there for us. It's truly amazing knowing he is right with you in every single thing you do and every single place you go.

God's richest blessings to you, and I hope to see you next time.

Aberfan disaster

Bryn and Fflur Bowen were twins in the Welsh town of Aberfan that was built over a natural spring of water. They were the apple of Carwyn, their dad's eye, and he thought he was the blest of all dads. Here he was working in the colliery near Merthyr Tydfil, and he and his gorgeous wife Carys had built their home - well, not literally, but had bought an old home, and he was so busy doing it up.

Their home was at the base of the mountain that had been created by the mine where Carwyn worked so hard each day.

The children, twins of all things, were born to them in 1959, and he couldn't believe it. Both Carys and he adored them so much, and he really felt so blessed to have them. He and Carys both gave their lives to Jesus, and they were both in the choir at the church, and their children loved going to church with them every single Sunday.

Off to school they went: Mum stayed home, and Dad took off to work on the 21st October, 1966. He was working hard that day on the colliery spoil tip that was created on the mountain slope above their village. Even though it was pouring with rain. 

It was pouring so hard that there was apparently a build-up of water within the tip, which at the time of the disaster was 34 metres high or 111 feet. The water built up and built up so much that it caused a huge and sudden slide down the hill, causing a gigantic slurry. 

The huge slurry gained momentum as it cascaded down the mountainside and hit a row of houses and totally engulfed them and the Pantglas Junior School. Lessons had just begun at the Junior School, and 5 teachers and 109 children were killed. The total number of people killed in the disaster was 116 children and 28 adults. What a horrible disaster!

Carys was busy at home when she heard the rumble of the mountain, and that was obviously the very last thing she would have remembered, as their home was destroyed instantly by the huge fall. Carys would have been killed horribly that day, as were both the twins at school, Bryn and Fflur.

Their dad, Carwyn, was working on the mountain, and he survived to see his family completely wiped out. How disastrous would that have been? It's hard to put into words how you would feel.

Many others living in the village at that time developed medical problems as a result, and many have had post-traumatic stress disorder. As did Carwyn. he left the village and never really got over the trauma of the whole thing.

How do you possibly get over something like that? My mind goes to what Jesus went through when he was here on earth with us. He went through all sorts of trauma and all sorts of heartache. I know he would have suffered so badly, and yet he loved us so much that he gave his life for all of us.

Jesus was amazing while he was here on earth. He performed many miracles, of which this one below was the very first.

In the Bible, in John chapter 2 1-11, Jesus did a miracle in the town of Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, and he and his followers were invited to a wedding. The following is what happened, and this is the New Century version in the Bible:-

Suddenly all the wine at the wedding was gone. Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine." Jesus answered, "Dear mother, why come to me? My time has not yet come. His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you to do."

In that place there were six stone water jars that the Jews used in the washing ceremony. Each jar held about twenty or thirty gallons, or around 113 litres. Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water." So they did, right to the top.

Then he said to them, "Now take some out and give it to the master of the feast." So they took the water to the master. When he tasted it. the water had become wine. He did not know where the wine came from, but the servants who brought the water knew. The master of the wedding called the bridegroom and said to him, "People always serve the best wine first. Later, after the guests have been drinking a while, they serve the cheaper wine. But you have saved the best wine till now."

The followers of Jesus at this time would have been amazed at the miracle, and it would have just reinforced their brand new thought that Jesus was indeed the very Son of God. 

Looking at this miracle and the very fact all those years ago, long before what happened in Wales that befell those poor people in the tragedy as mentioned above, it just reinforced to me that Jesus knew in detail what was going to happen to him and the price he would have to pay for the sins of the world.

That tragedy in Wales back in the 50's was a huge reminder to me personally just how fragile our lives can be. These people had no idea what was going to happen to them. Carys was a perfect example, as were her two children, Bryn and Fflur.

They had what seemed a perfect life in a perfect spot, and yet all of a sudden their lives were completed, finished, and ended, suddenly and horribly.

None of us know when this may happen. Anything could happen to any of us at any time. Sadly, in today's news, a young lady's life ended suddenly and horribly. Why? We will never know, but when we give our lives to Christ and when we look at how he lived his life and the miracles he performed just to show the world out there that he was indeed God, then all we have to do is accept his love for us and give our lives to him.

The very miracles of Jesus were just a 'pointing sign' if you like, showing us just how miraculous Jesus's life was and is. How Jesus, God in person, came to earth here as a baby born in a dirty old stable and lying in a dirty old manger, living in poverty and dying horribly, all to pay for my sins and yours.

Yes. It was truly sad and horrible what happened in Wales in the 50's, but they didn't know, and none of us know exactly what is going to happen to us. When or how. The thing is that we, all of us, have to come to the realisation that Jesus gave his life for us to actually pay for our sins.

All we have to do is accept his love for us and also how he rose again to welcome us into Heaven if we come to that point in our lives where we accept what he did for each of us personally.

Are you ready to give your life to Jesus and make him first in everything you do? You can ask him into your life to lead you, right now if you wish.

Thank you so much, and I really hope to see you next time.

God allows U-Turns

Bevan Fletcher is a fantastic guy - He gave his life to Christ after a tumultuous life and living what he thought was the very best life he could ever have.

He was brave and forthright and lived his life for himself, making heaps of money and taking what he could, even if it meant putting anyone down who got in his way - he was an angry guy who had lived his life for himself and was making and achieving lots of money and what he thought was life!

One day in his anger, he was driving his Porsche through Sydney's main street, angry at the last guy he met who couldn't afford the money Bevan was due, when he stopped at a set of traffic lights. There were so many of them. Sydney never allowed U-Turns and looked over at a church which had a sign out front that read "God allows U-Turns."

He was suddenly struck! He suddenly found himself praying, and there in the car at the traffic lights he asked Christ to lead him. 

He was completely in awe of what had just happened, did a U-Turn in life, and found himself talking to the minister of that church, who actually advised him to get himself to a Bible college because, knowing Bevan's past, the minister thought he would achieve so much.

That is exactly what Bevan did. He became a full-time minister of the word of God and put himself in God's will, and years later found himself in Syria right in the middle of the overthrow of the Bashar al-Assad regime. There was sectarian violence and a huge and severe humanitarian crisis.

Bevan also found himself in the middle of clashes with Kurdish Forces over control of where he actually was in the northeastern territories. He was in the middle of fighting between traditional government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian democratic Forces.

Stuck in the middle, Bevan couldn't come home, and he couldn't leave this place - he was so helping all sorts of people as best he could. The resources were dwindling quickly, and he had to really make up his mind about what he was going to do.

In the morning he started his journey to the airport, hoping beyond hope he could get some sort of transport out of here and back to Australia. He prayed a lot, and after three full days of trudging along with heaps of other migrants, he found himself at the airport.

He was so aware that he was probably unable to leave because he was in the middle of an active war zone. He prayed a lot, and amazingly, he was bundled with a lot of others on one of the last flights out of the country and taken to the USA of all places.

He was totally broke, not only of money; his passport was gone, he had no other clothes, and he was totally isolated from everyone and everything. Life went on in the USA, and fortunately he found himself with so much help at the Australian Embassy.

A long story cut short, he was soon back in Australia. He was an amazing man, and the USA was fantastic in assisting him back to Australia. He plans to go back once again.

God is great regardless of what we are going through. My mind nearly always goes back to Jesus and what he went through and the age of only 30 years. He gave his life for us, and he rose again to show us what eternity could be like if we even take a quick look.

Jesus once again told a parable to the crowd, especially aimed at the Pharisees and all the others there who were putting themselves way ahead of the poor and needy, who made up the masses who came to see and hear Jesus.

Jesus' parables had real meaning, and this one was trying to get through to the rich and to those of us who think we are pretty good and cruising through life. The following story that Jesus told is found in the Bible in Luke 8: 10-14, and it goes like this in the Good News translation.

"Once there were two men who went up to the temple to pray: one was a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood apart by himself and prayed, Í thank you, God, that I am not greedy, dishonest, or an adulterer, like everybody else. I thank you that I am not like that tax collector over there. I fast two days a week, and I give you one tenth of all my income. 'But the tax collector stood at a distance and would not even raise his face to heaven, but beat on his breast and said, 'God, have pity on me a sinner!' I tell you," said Jesus, "the tax collector, and not the Pharisee, was in the right with God when he went home. For those who make themselves great will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be made great."

WOW! I reckon that was quite a parable that Jesus told, and self-righteousness certainly was not on Jesus' agenda at all. Thinking highly of ourselves was the crux of this parable, and that is certainly something that Jesus was telling us is a danger! 

It is certainly something we should all take on board. Jesus wanted to communicate to all of us how important it is not to put ourselves ahead of others at all. Something I personally have to come to terms with.

Putting ourselves ahead of others can have all sorts of repercussions. Even driving along the roads, there are so many people wanting to get ahead of others and pushing themselves. I'm afraid I am like this also, and even though we are driving cars in today's world, pushing ourselves ahead is certainly a sign that we feel we are better than others.

That is exactly what Jesus was trying to get through to us in this parable. He was making a firm point that putting others ahead of ourselves is good and the right thing to do, regardless of where we are or what we are doing.

This whole parable has been a huge lesson for me personally, and I truly hope that it will be the same for you.

Jesus was amazing when he was physically here on earth, and he is still amazing right now. He really wants you to come to him, asking him to lead your life and give him the honour and glory.

Are you ready to give your life to Jesus and ask him to lead you in everything you do?  God bless you this week, and I hope to see you next time.