Media Bias

I always get frustrated at the Medias' Bias towards the cause of the Palestinians in the Arab Israeli conflict. I experienced such a frustration just today when viewing the Belfast Telegraph website. There was a typcically staged picture of a Palestinian child looking 'forlorn'. Now no doubt, Gaza is not a pleasent place to be at the moment, but neither is Ashdod or Tel Aviv, but you never see media images of 'forlorn' looking Israeli children. The only pictures you see protraying Israel are pictures of tanks and F16 Jets.

I clicked on the picture on the Belfast Telegraph wesite and it took me to an article about the ongoing conflict in Southern Israel. Once again as I read the article my frustration grew. The following is an extract from the article.

'Since then it (Israel) has carried out hundreds of air strikes in what it says is a systematic campaign to halt years of rocket attacks launched from Gaza. While Israel claims to have inflicted heavy damage, dozens of rockets have continued to fly out of Gaza each day.'

You will notice that the Telegraph's correspondent calls into question Israel claim that there is a systematic campaign by Hamas to shoot rockets into Israel by the subtle use of the term 'in what it says'(highlighted above). However, despite using the language of questioning Israel's claim the correspondent goes on to acknowledge in the same paragraph that 'dozens of rockets have continued to fly out of Gaza each day.'

The facts are clear, in the past few years thousands of rockets have been fired into Israel from Gaza and from Lebanon. There is no question about it, no doubt about it. But listen carefully to media reports and you will continually hear these questioning terms being used 'they say' or 'Isarel says'. On the other hand when they report what Israel does in response (and they have every right to) to these attacks there is no ambiguity. It reported as fact.

Once again the free press disappoints me.

'Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.' Psalm 121 v4

Preparing to Meet Royalty

Speculation has been growing in recent months that the infamous Irish Republican Martin McGuinness is preparing to meet Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth the Second. As a seasoned observer of the Northern Irish political process I would imagine that a meeting is indeed in the pipeline and that the recent drip feed on this story is merely the Republican base being prepared for such a meeting.


However, my reason for writing is not to make any kind of political commentary on this matter, I will leave that to others better qualified. I was simply struck by a spiritual parallel that we would all do well to consider.

Effectively Martin McGuinness is preparing to meet Royalty, something that every man woman and child should do. However, I’m not thinking about meeting the Queen of the UK, I am thinking about the day when we will have to meet the King of Kings, Jesus Christ. A verse of scripture in Amos chapter 4 springs to mind…

‘Prepare to meet thy God.’

The Person

If we were ever invited to meet the Queen, at perhaps a garden party, we would be instructed in advance how we must act and how we must address Her Majesty. In essence we have to take account of the person. When we think about a meeting with the God of Heaven we need to consider His person.

He is Holy, that is, morally pure. He has no sin; in fact He hates sin and must punish it wherever He finds it. That will leave our meeting with Him very difficult. As sinners, we are the subjects of God’s wrath.

‘God is angry with the wicked every day.’ Psalm 7 v11

A righteous, Holy God must and will punish sin.

‘But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.’ Revelation 21 v8

That meeting with God would not go well if it was not for a great plan…

The Plan

While God is Holy and angry with the sinner, we can be thankful that he is also merciful and has provided a means of escape for the sinner. He did that at tremendous cost to Himself in that God the Son, the second person of the Trinity, had to be born into a human body, live in this world and suffer the death of the cross, a cross on which He bore our sins…

‘Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree.’ 1 Peter 2 v24

Having done all of the hard work, all God asks of us is to repent (turn away) from our sins, and trust in the finished cross work of the Lord Jesus. Then and only then will we be ready, or prepared, to meet God.

‘…the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.’ 1 John 1v7

Are you prepared?

The Compassion of Christ

At this time of the year we especially think about the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ and how He suffered so much in order to purchase Salvation. In these days running up to the Easter weekend as I have been considering Christ's Passion I have seen a glimpse of His Compassion.

You will of course remember how the anguish of the Lord Jesus began in the Garden of Gethsemane where, 'He sweat as it were great drops of blood'. He was then arrested and dragged around Jerusalem to stand before the High Priest, Pilate, Herod and then Pilate again. He was mocked, buffeted, spat on and finally whipped so severely that His back was lacerated from the neck to the back of the knees. After this a heavy cross beam was placed across his severely wounded back and he was forced to carry it to the site of Crucifixion. So deep had been the physical trauma that His now severely weakened body was unable to carry the cross beam and it was given to 'one Simon, a Cyrenian' to bear it for Him.

Stop for a moment and think of what has happened to Him up to this point. Put yourself in that situation. How would you have been feeling? What would you have been thinking? Severe fatigue and pain would be shooting across your nervous system or perhaps you would have been angry with your tormentors.

Having set the scene and the context I now want to show 'The Compassion of Christ'. As He was being lead to the cross with Simon bearing the cross beam a group of women who loved Him and believed in Him followed after him weeping. Luke records in his gospel...

'And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him. But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck.' Luke 23 v 27-29

What a picture of compassion, at the very moment when the Lord Jesus was in deep agony and contemplating what lay ahead for Him on the cross He still demonstrated a concern for others and took the time to minister unto them by giving them a word. What selflessness, what love, what compassion, what an example...WHAT A SAVIOUR!!!

'Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.' 1 John 3 v 16

Our Debt to St. Patrick

'I am Patrick, a sinner...'

I don't suppose that you have ever thought this of St. Patrick, but these are his own words from 'The Confession'. St. Patrick understood this truth because God's Word told him.

'For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.' Romans chapter 3 verse 23

'For the wages of sin is death...' Romans chapter 6 verse 23

Patrick realised that the only means of escaping the wages for sin was through the Lord Jesus Christ.

'Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.' Acts chapter 4 verse 12

'Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.' Hebrews chapter 9 verse 12

Jesus Christ knew the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour for he said so in his confession.

'For on that day we will undoubtedly rise in the brightness of the sun, that is, in the glory of Christ Jesus our redeemer.'

St. Patrick's redeemer told a very religious person on one occasion.

'Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.' John chapter 3 verse 3

What does it mean to be born again? When we were born physically, we were born in sin and on our way to hell! So we need to be born spiritually, so how then can we be born again?

'For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have ever lasting life.' John chapter 3 verse 16

God commands that we realise that we are guilty sinners and therefore must turn our backs on our sinful ways. This is called repentance. We then must accept that Jesus Christ is our only hope for salvation and cry unto Him to save us.

'For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;' 1st Timothy chapter 2 verse 5en, the man Christ Jesu

'For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.' Romans chapter 10 verse 13

This was the message that Patrick preacher around Ireland, the message that men and women need to be born again. Thank God many believed for as Patrick himself recorded.

'I am very much in debt to God, who gave me so much grace that through me many people were born again in God.'

As an Irish man I say to you on this St. Patrick's Day, what a debt we owe to St. Patrick!

St. Patrick is in heaven - will you join him there?

'And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.' Revelation chapter 20 verse 15

Come to the Saviour today, for if you find Him you find life!

Water into Wine

The first miracle that the Lord Jesus ever performed is recorded for us in the 2nd Chapter of John’s Gospel. It’s that well known story of how the Lord Jesus turned water into wine in an act of creation, which of course only God can do.

This story is a particular favourite of those who teach that it’s okay for Christians to drink alcohol. Any one who follows my blogs will know that I do not agree with that view point. I feel a balanced study of the subject, in the Bible, leads me to conclude that alcohol is a substance best avoided.

Those who use this passage in John 2 to condone drinking teach that the wine made by the Lord Jesus on that occasion was fermented (alcoholic) wine. So, let’s just think for a moment about the implications of that interpretation of the story. The Lord Jesus finds himself at a wedding party where alcohol is being consumed, at some point in the day the drink runs out and the Lord is put in a position by His mother where He turns pots of water into pots of wine (fermented/alcoholic wine). At the point when He performs this miracle the people have already had quite a bit to drink (‘and when men have well drunk’ v.10) and He makes drink for them.

So this interpretation expects us to believe that the Son of God came to a party where people were ‘half cut’ and He makes enough drink for them to get ‘loaded’. I ask you, is this understanding consistent with the person and character of God the Son? Would this be how you expect the Son of God to behave?

Let’s not forget what God said about wine in the Old Testament.

‘Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.’ Proverbs 20 v1

‘Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast. They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.’ Proverbs 23 v 29-35

‘Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink,’ Habakkuk 2 v15

You mean to tell me that the God who inspired these scriptures would make fermented wine to give to half drunk people? You mean to tell me that the sinless, spotless, Lamb of God, the one who did no sin and knew no sin, the one who always went about doing good, who always did the things that pleased the father, the one who was holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners, helped make people drunk? I don’t think so!

So how are we to correctly interpret verse 10 of John 2?

‘Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.’

Many take the phrase ‘well drunk’ to mean drunken. It is true that the Greek word can be used in that way, but not necessarily. It can be properly translated as it is in the AV with ‘well drunk’. It simply means that having already had some wine (or freshly squeezed grape juice), their tastes buds had become dulled to the flavour and therefore the host could have gotten away with serving a poorer quality grape juice. However in this case the better tasting stuff came later. The fact that the governor of the feast could tell it was better, tells me that the wine Jesus made must have tasted beautiful. I would fancy grapes hadn’t tasted that good since pre curse Eden and therefore the difference was so noticeable.

Another dimension to the confusing understanding of this record comes down to Bible versions. If you are a reader of the modern versions the text would lead you to believe the people at this wedding were drunk. For example the NIV renders ‘well drunk’ as ‘have had too much to drink’. This rendering clearly implies that the people on that occasion were drunk, as it says that they had had too much. Not a bit of wonder God’s people are confused in these days about the subject of alcohol, with unhelpful Bible translations suggesting that God’s Son made alcoholic wine to give to people who were already drunk.

‘And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;’ Ephesians 2 v18