THE BROKEN IMAGE

Every house has one of me or more. 

Schools have me and so does every building or work place. 

I always tell the truth and I turn everything around without moving.

I am the easiest way to double your money.

You probably used me this morning when you washed your face and checked your outfit. 

If you haven’t already guessed, 

I am a mirror.

Genesis ch1 v 26-27 says, God made man in his own image. 

We were made to reflect God on this earth for his glory and pleasure. 

God is righteous (without sin). He is love, light and life. 

However, man failed to live up to God’s perfect standard and so sin entered this world. 

‘Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for all have sinned.’ Romans 5 v 12. 

The image was broken.

Even though we are a broken image of God, the image is still there. 

God made us with a conscience to know right from wrong, to understand that we are sinners and need to get right with Him. God has given us the Bible, which acts like a mirror. Exodus 20 lists the Ten Commandments which show us how we look through God’s eyes.

Ask yourself these questions: 

Have you ever told a lie? Have you ever taken anything that doesn’t belong to you? Are you always obedient to your parents? 

The Ten Commandments show us our sin, just as a mirror shows us the dirt on our faces. 

One day, each one of us will stand before God, the Holy judge, and we will be found guilty.

But, God did something to save us from hell. He sent Jesus to pay our fine in His life’s blood by dying on the cross. Jesus then rose again and defeated death. 

If you repent of your sin and trust in Jesus to save you, God will let you walk free and give you eternal life. 

Have you repented and trusted the Saviour? There’s no other way to escape hell.

‘For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.’ Romans 6 v 3

Love,

Will.

Only two types of people go to heaven…

Will there be "good" people in heaven? 

Is going to church enough to mean you'll go to heaven? 

Does reading your bible and praying everyday result in you having a ticket to go to heaven? 

Well the bible says there are only two types of people that can be in heaven…

1.       Perfect people

2.       Forgiven people

1.Perfect people…

God is perfect, righteous and holy. 

Unfortutnley, none of us can claim to being perfect. 

We might be a good person in our own eyes. Perhaps even other people would describe us as a good person. 

There are definitely some people out there we are better than. We're not as bad as Hitler or someone who steals from old ladies.

But the standard for good is not our own. Neither is it what the majority of people agree on. The standard that we have to meet, is God’s standard. 

His perfect standard. 

And God has judged this world and said 

 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:23

“for all”- that leaves no one in history out.

“have sinned” we have all done something that offends God. Think of the ten commandments. Can you honestly say you have never lied?

“fall short of the glory of God”- We may be better than others but compared to God’s glory we all fall very short. 

So there are no perfect people, in fact everyone stands condemned by God’s standards.

So is there any hope for us to get to heaven?

2.Forgiven people. 

I read recently, "If God didn't forgive, heaven would be empty".

Think about that - the only way anyone will be in heaven is because God has forgiven them. 

Heaven will not be full of people who have lived perfect lives (there was only one, the Lord Jesus). Heaven will not be full of people who have done good works.

Heaven will be full of forgiven people.

People who have realised they are sinners before a holy and righteous God. People who have repented and asked God to forgive them for their sins. 

When Jesus was on the cross He prayed "Father forgive them". It is only through Jesus’ death on the cross, His perfect sacrifice, that God can offer forgiveness of sins and remain just and Holy. Someone must be punished for your sin.

When we truly realise this our perspective completely changes. We are not owed anything from God. Anything bar judgment that is. Every blessing both present and future is all of His grace and due to His forgiveness!

Have you asked God to forgive your sins?

Or are you relying on something else to get you to heaven?

When we meditate on this truth we understand that when God calls on us to forgive it is the least we can do.

"bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do". Colossians 3:13

We can forgive our enemies, forgive one another, because we have been forgiven.

Who do you need to forgive? 

Who could you show grace and mercy to? Following the example of your heavenly father? 

Love,

Dave. 

"Ultimately, we're all castaways in need of rope"

Not long till Christmas...

Christmas Countdown
This past weekend you have probably all opened your advent calendars and started the count down to Christmas day. But why is it tradition to count down to the 25th December? Many today think it is only about Father Christmas and receiving presents, but lets take a closer look at what the real reason for advent is.

What is Advent?
It is a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus. The term is a version of the latin word meaning “coming”.
Although we celebrate the birth of Jesus on the 25th of December, we do not know the exact date He was born. The Bible does not tell us.

Why was the birth of Jesus so special?
It was special because He was God Himself. He was called Emmanuel, God with us: Matthew 1:23.


This was when God became man, but yet remained God. How wonderful! Imagine living in the days when Jesus lived upon the earth!
This was no ordinary birth. He was born of a virgin, conceived by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18,20). How special His birth was. It was recognised by many, who came to worship Him as ‘Saviour, Christ the Lord’ (Luke 2:11); and gave Him gifts as King (Matthew 2:10-11).
His birth was so special it was prophesied in the Old Testament, by many prophets, hundreds of years before His birth. In Isaiah 7:14, we read of His name and who He would be born of; and in Micah 5:2 we read where He would be born.

Why was Jesus coming into this world important?
Jesus came into this world as the Saviour: Matthew 1:21 “for He shall save His people from their sins.” Yes, John the baptist could declare, “Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.” John 1:29.
He is the One that paid the price for our sins by dying on the cross and completed the work when He arose the third day.

We all know the famous verse John 3:16 but do we believe what this verse says? God loves us with an everlasting love. This means that His love will never fail. He made a way for us so that we will not perish. To perish means that we will be in everlasting torment, in the lake of fire, where there is “weeping and gnashing of teeth”. God doesn't want that for us! His way of setting us free is by His Son, Jesus Christ, who offers us everlasting life and eternity with Him, the one and true God.
John 3:17 tells us that God sent His Son to save us not to condemn us! In verse 18 we read that if we do not believe we are condemned already. How can we go on living as normal when there is eternal doom set before us.
“...Whosoever believes on Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16
Jesus is now in Heaven seated at the right hand of His Father. He is coming again not as a babe but as King of kings and Lord of lords: 1 Tim 6:15.

This advent, as you count down the days till Christmas, think about the real reason for Christmas!!
Are you looking forward to His coming? Are you ready for His coming?

Love Josh 

What does it mean to have faith?

In order to answer that question, we need to know what faith actually is. The Bible gives a clear definition of faith in Hebrews 11:1. 

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." 

In addition to being the substance of the things we hope for, it’s the evidence of the things we can’t see. Faith doesn’t leave room for doubt, God gives us that deep sense of ‘evidence’ in our heart. 

Let’s take an example: 
If you’re ready to jump out of a plane that’s bound to crash into a mountain, and you have a parachute in your bag. You might not be able to actually see the chute itself, but it’s there. You know it’s there because you trust the one who prepared it for you (or you might even have prepared it yourself). 

This is just like faith.

So here is a question? 
How useful is it for you to simply acknowledge that the parachute existed and was on the plane, but not take it and put it on before leaving the plane!

Sadly, this is very common when we compare the parachute to the Lord Jesus.  Many people believe the facts about the Lord Jesus. They recognise that He existed, died on the cross and rose again, but don’t feel a need for a “parachute”.  They believe they’ll be fine without Jesus in their lives. 

They know the parachute is there for them on the plane, but don’t feel the need for it. They think that by spreading their arms and legs, they’ll manage to stop the fall. 

No matter how much you spread your arms and legs, or how light you are, you know as well as I do what’s going to happen to someone who jumps out of a plane without a parachute. 

This is the same with Christianity, many people believe that their good works will be enough, but the Bible says in Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."

We need to have faith and trust in the work of Jesus on the cross.

Then there’s those who say: ‘’well, I don’t really know if we’re going to crash or not, but we’ll see’’ (in other words: ‘’I don’t really know what comes after death...’’). 

Well, the Bible is very clear on that subject. We read in Hebrews 9:27. 

"It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment." 

If you are found guilty on judgment day and have not accepted Jesus as your personal Saviour: you are bound to an eternity in the lake of fire. 

What about those with great theories or philosophies? Will these not save us in the end? 

Well, you might as well jump out of a plane with a backpack full of books, theories and dictionaries, than trust in the theories of men. 

If you jumped from a plane with a bag full of books the fall is going to be even worse: like the surprise many “intelligent men” will have after death.

Not believing in God is the same as jumping out of the plane without a parachute. Crazy!

Make sure you have your parachute on your back and open it! 

It’s useless all folded up, so it is with faith. Believe in God and let it be seen. 

Tell people that parachutes are available, and don’t let them jump without one. 

Like in Psalms 105:2. 

“tell of all his wondrous works!” 

Love,

Jimmy

Growing like a baby

“Like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow” 1 Peter 2:2

Hi everyone, this is a big hello from me and Mona to you all. It has been a few months since camp, the days are getting darker and it is almost bonfire night! For Mona and I, we are busy getting ready for a big change in our lives as we are expecting our first child in February and we are not the only helpers who are expecting (or have just had) babies in the next few months!

Every week we get emails from very helpful websites telling us what to expect in this week of the pregnancy and how big our baby is now. They have an unusual way of describing how big the baby should be though! To help us understand they compare the baby size to a fruit. So in the early days it was the size of a seed, then later it becomes the size of a blueberry, then a raspberry etc. Some of these descriptions were a bit strange and really tested my knowledge of fruit! 

For example, is a passion fruit really much different to a large plum? Some of them were really surprising, like the week when the baby apparently turned from the size of a grapefruit to the size of an apple. Surely a grapefruit is bigger than an apple?! Has our baby shrunk?! But after a few months it is becoming obvious that our baby is definitely growing fast!

Once they are born it does not slow down much! We have neighbours who have just had a baby about 3 months ago and I am sure that baby must have doubled in size in the last few weeks! 

How to grow as Christians...

In the Bible, Peter compares the growth of a baby to the way that we should be growing as Christians. God wants us to grow in our Christian lives and to really grow fast! But how do we grow? 

Well, how does a baby grow? It drinks milk, and lots of it! And if it doesn’t get it’s milk then everybody knows about it! 

Peter uses this example to show what our appetite should be for our spiritual food, the Bible. As the baby longs for the milk, so we should long to read God’s word. This is the only way that we will grow as Christians. The more that we spend with the Lord in prayer and reading his word, so the more we will grow in our Christian lives. 

The best way to do that is to make sure that we get into really good habits, just like we do at camp in our quiet times. To spend time every day in a set routine of prayer and reading the Bible is a great way to guarantee to grow spiritually and is something that all the helpers could not recommend enough. There is an old chorus that puts it like this: ‘read your Bible, pray every day, if you want to grow’.

How amazing would it be if we could all double or triple in size (spiritually) by the time of camp next year? :) 

“But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 3:18

Much love,

Al

Do you know how to save a life?

Would you know what to do if someone collapsed in front of you? 

Some of you might have done first aid training that teaches you how to help someone if they have collapsed or been involved in an accident. 

Your actions in the first few minutes can be crucial in saving someones life. Thankfully there is a really easy way to remember what to do.

It’s A, B, C.

Airway, Breathing and Circulation. 

Airway:

You need to clear their airway. You need to tilt their head and lift their chin to open their airway. Only move on to the next stage once their airway is open and clear.

Breathing:

Are they breathing normally? You need to look, listen and feel to check they’re breathing.

If they are not breathing, you need to call 999 for an ambulance, or get someone else to call if possible, and start giving chest compressions and rescue breaths.

Circulation:

Are there any signs of severe bleeding?

If they are bleeding severely, you need to control the bleeding with your gloved fingers, dressing or clothing.

Although these actions won't save everyone, they will certainly give someone a fighting chance.

Saving someone's life is very important, but do you know how to save someone's soul?

Salvation is God's work...

As Christians we know there is nothing you or I can do to give someone eternal life. We can't forgive their sins, or help them go to heaven- this is all God’s work. 

It has already been completed when the Lord Jesus died on the cross for our sins.

The question is, would you know what to say if a friend said they wanted to become a Christian. This is something even more important than CPR. What would you say?

Thankfully there is a really easy way to remember what to say- it's as easy as the alphabet A,B,C,D.

A-Admit you're a sinner - The first step is to admit in God’s standards I have not lived as I should, I have broken God’s rules and made up my own! "God I have rebelled against you in this world."

"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," Romans 3:23

B- Believe- do you believe Christ died for you?  The second step is for someone to admit they have gone astray and for them to believe God has laid the punishment for our sin on Jesus.

"All we like sheep have gone astray;we have turned—every one—to his own way;and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." Isaiah 53:6

C- Count the costs- Trust in Jesus not just to save you, but lead you also. This involves repentance- changing the way we are living and taking Jesus as our Lord and master. 

"Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out" Acts 3:19

D- Do it- ask Christ into your life. Although a Christian life is not always easy, you won't find a true Christian who regrets repenting of their sins and trusting in the Lord Jesus. 

"behold, now is the day of salvation" 2 Corinthians 6:2

Love,

Dave 

The cure for loneliness?

I feel pretty sure that nobody could say that they have never felt lonely. It’s something that affects us all to some extent or other. Sometimes you may be surrounded by many people and yet still feel lonely and still feel that nobody quite understands you. Perhaps you feel that nobody understands or even cares.

As a Christian we can sometimes feel even more like this. When we look around at all our class mates, our friends or our colleagues, we can very easily find ourselves in an environment where nobody else is a Christian, and it’s easy to feel alone.

You're not the only one...

It’s important to realise that you are not the first to feel like this. Elijah was a man who lived in old testament times. Elijah was a prophet for God and yet rather than speak to people about God he had run away because he feared for his own life. He ended up in a cave all by himself.

You can read about the story in 1 Kings Chapter 19.

In the cave he hears the Lord speak to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” and so Elijah tells the Lord his sorry tale:
“I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.” 
I think this is the first good point we can learn from this story. Never be afraid to tell the Lord about your problems, we can pray to him anywhere and he will hear us.

Basically, Elijah tells God, “I’ve worked so hard, I’ve tried my best, and look, no one is listening to what I say. Everyone else who agreed with me is gone and now it’s only me, and they want to get rid of me too!”

Then Elijah witnessed a great storm. The mountain where his cave was located was being battered by a great wind and an earthquake and even a fire! This was a demonstration for Elijah of the power of God (I think Elijah had forgotten about it). In the previous chapter God had used him in an amazing way to speak to everyone, and yet Elijah seemed to forget how powerful God was. He forgot that God could take care of Him, and that God would take care of him, and of course that God was able to be there with him, even in his cave in the middle of nowhere.

Not only does God tell Elijah, “you are not alone” but He adds in verse 18 “Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal”

So we see the reality, that there were a lot more people following God than Elijah realised.  It is important to remember, it’s exactly the same today. You are not alone, you are not the only Christian out there, there are others! Go and find them, maybe your school or university has a Christian Union. Go along to a church where you can find others and be encouraged.

The Lord Jesus is our example

But maybe despite all that there are still times when you find yourself on your own... Well, next time you feel like this, look beside you and think “He is here”.
Who am I talking about? I’m talking about the Lord Jesus himself. He has promised “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5)

So, wherever you are, He is there! And not only so but he understands exactly how you feel. When the Lord Jesus was here on this earth, he also felt alone. In the Psalms it says

“I am like a pelican of the wilderness;

I am like an owl of the desert.

I lie awake,

And am like a sparrow alone on the housetop.” Psalm 102:6-7

Owls and pelicans do not belong in the desert. Today we might use the expression “Like a fish out of water”. That is how it was for him when he was here on this earth. Can you imagine what it was like for the Lord Jesus? 
Everyone else was a sinner, and He was the perfect man. He was so totally different from them! 

The verse also talks about a sparrow alone on the housetop. Sparrows are normally seen in great numbers, they flock together and to see one alone is a quite unusual. Perhaps it’s the ultimate picture of loneliness.

So to sum up, He really does understand, so if you ever find yourself in a situation where you feel so alone or feel like nobody understands, look beside you and think “He is here, He understands, He cares”

“casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7 

Love,
Chris.