I think this gives us a small insight into the horror of Hell.  What is Hell but the absence of God and with that the absence of love and the absence of law.  Indeed the Devil is called the 'lawless one' for this very reason.  Without love there is no mercy or compassion.  Without law there is no society or any value structure to adhere to.  Hell will be so much more terrible than this prison, but we see in this example just a fraction of what man becomes when his own evil intent is unrestrained and unleashed.  This evil is in all of us. Those that do not trust in Christ shall experience such uncomprehendable suffering for eternity.

I read at the weekend the government was thinking of introducing care credits a system where engaging in charity work would earn someone care credits that could be used at a later date in your life.

Many religions believe in that by doing good in this lifetime we can bring favour with God, but the Bible states this is not the case. Christians cannot earn their way into heaven by good deeds but it is Gods grace that we rely on. As Paul writes in Ehesians 2 v8-9 “ for it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast”. Jesus is the saviour that died on the cross that gave us our “credit” and by believing in Jesus we gain salvation. We could never earn enough credits to enter heaven as we are all born with sin and live far from perfect lives.

Where does care or concern for others come from in an Evolutionary existence.  There is neither need nor place for such things.  Isn't it true that if we all looked out only for our own interests, acknowledging that this is the natural order of things, the world would be a better place?

Surely not?

Isaiah asks a very important question in chapter 58 of his book.  Is it because God has been patient with you, the Israelite nation, that you do not fear Him?

I would ask you the same question.  Why do you not fear God?  Why do you not recognise Him for who He is and give him the adoration, praise and reverence His awesomeness demands?  Perhaps you find it easy not to do so because you find it easier to blind your eyes to His presence than acknowledge Him.  If everything around you was literally singing out praise to God or we literally saw His acts of judgement on a daily basis wouldn't you have a different perspective?  Yet we can clearly see the work of the Creator in nature around us (if we open our eyes) and the ongoing occurance of natural disasters should be a reminder of the frailty of life and the judgement to come.

God has not yet carried out the Final Judgement because of His mercy and love towards us. But His patience will one day come to an end.  Do not let this very tenderness towards you lull you into a false security and prevent you from humbling yourself before Him. He is God and He is to be feared.

A striking statement.  You may have seen this heading in a recent advert for Marie Curie Cancer Care.  I would commend their work but this message misses some important truths about death by focusing only on our physical condition.

Death itself is unnatural - that is why it is feared so much.  Death is entirely the result of sin - had Adam and Eve not sinned they would still be alive today.   Death and the (un)natural decay of ALL OUR minds and bodies that takes place beforehand is a punishment from God for our sin.  Death is the passing of our souls from 1 existence to another.

Can death ever be good?  Perhaps you see death as the end, a task to be endured before you are gone forever to be no more.  In this light you may say that death is good, a relief from your present existence.  Perhaps from the opposite side you enjoy life so much now, you want to prolong your life to gain maximum pleasure.

But, if you die without first ackowledging God as your Creater and Jesus Christ as your Lord, you will not have a good death.  Whilst death may be the punishment we all receive for our sin, for you this will only be the begininng.  The Bible and Jesus are clear that you will go to Hell, a place completely seperate from God and therefore seperate from every good thing that you have known.  This is a place of eternal torment and suffering - your worst nightmare.

The only hope for a good death is to acknowledge your guilt and need of a Saviour then to trust in Jesus and His death alone to pay your debt to God.  The glories of heaven will then await - an eternity spent in the very presence of God where no bad thing will ever be found.

I think something a little sinister is happening around our ears.

Talking to a muslim man on Saturday about what Christians believe about Jesus Christ, he suddenly changed the subject and said "what should me and you do about the media and governments intimidation against people who believe in God "? I was a bit taken aback. Firstly because he didn't see a bias in the media and government solely against  muslim people, but against anyone who holds any faith view of life.  Secondly, because of the use of the word intimidation. If you are a Christian do you feel "intimidated"?

There are certain accusations most people want to avoid at all costs. To be labelled racist, homophobic, or bigot, ( a prejudiced and intolerant person), is not good. But such is our present moral climate that if anyone has a different viewpoint to you in certain areas then any discussion is halted by the labelling of your opponent.

It may be helpful for Christians to appreciate that this tactic is not new but enemies of Jesus and the gospel have used this for centuries. In John chapter 7 the temple guards had been sent to arrest Jesus but had come back without him. The Pharisees gave them a hard time. They accused them of having been deceived by Jesus. They made the point (wrongly) that no one of any importance had believed in him, and then resorted to pure insult by saying that the only people believing in Jesus were  "the mob" who were "cursed" anyway. I think the similarity of attacks on the gospel and those who believe the gospel today are striking. What do you think?