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Will UK Councils Criminalise Christianity? The Alarming Precedent Set by a Labour Council

Every now and then something happens in this country that feels small on the surface but carries a deeper spiritual weight beneath it. In this case it comes from a Labour council just outside of London when in March of this year, Rushmoor Borough Council attempted to criminalise Christian street preaching. The injunction has thankfully been paused (for now) as Christians rallied, prayed, and pushed back. But the implications of what nearly happened, and could still happen, should give all of us pause. Because once one council tries something like this, others start paying attention. A precedent has been set — not necessarily in law, but in what could be....

The Reality of Sin

...his Son, Christ Jesus. That is the aim and purpose of our salvation (cf. Phil 2:5; Rom 12:2). As Irenaeus (and Athanasius) said: Jesus became what we are so that we might become what He is! In other words, we are to be renewed and transformed into the image of Christ so that, as Peter wrote, we “may become participants of the divine nature” (2 Pet. 1:4). Remember, judgement begins with the house of God! (1 Peter 4:17). We aren't spared from God's judgement simply by being Christians; no, if anything we will be judged more! We represent Christ on earth (2 Cor 5:20), we should be doing good works in the power and name of Jesus for the glory of the Father. G...

Great is the Mystery of Faith!

...of faith: Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again!”. What we believe and live by in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus is a mystery! It is a strange and powerful thing that God did by sending his Son in the form of a human to grow, teach and ultimately die for us so that we can be made righteous and adopted into the family of God. I don’t think we’ll ever quite wrap our heads around it all fully. I’m going to end this with another poetic excerpt from Melito. I find this to be a very powerful image of what Jesus did for us. I get chills every time I read it. Take a moment to really ponder on these words as you read them and cons...

Before The Pumpkins: Reclaiming All Hallows’ Eve

...It’s that time of year again when pumpkins appear in windows, skeletons hang from doorways, and debates resurface about whether Christians should have anything to do with Halloween. Some will say it’s entirely “pagan” in origin, others that it’s harmless fun — and many of us fall somewhere in the middle, just trying to work out what’s right (or try to ignore it!). But what if we’ve forgotten that Halloween began not with ghosts and ghouls, but with grace and glory? Hallowe’en — “All Hallows’ Eve” — was never about celebrating darkness; it was about remembering the light. It marked the night before All Saints’ Day, a day...

Four Blood Moons and everyone loses their minds

...According to NASA, there are about two lunar eclipses per year. This time there happens to be four all within 18 months - something astronomers call a tetrad. I'm slightly surprised I've not seen much about this yet (maybe a good thing?), but it does seem as though this is an event certain Christians have been waiting for - and writing books about! I came across this on a recent Huffington Post article which gives this story also about church leaders saying these moons are "an omen of Armageddon and Second Coming of Christ", but I'm not so sure about that. I did recognise one of the names mentioned, though: John Hagee, a Texas megachurch pastor. It was p...

The Coming of Jesus: Coming on the clouds

...daism and Christianity encapsulating prophetic texts of this nature. Likewise, "Armageddon" is a Hebrew word which is the name of a place in Israel. Only in modern culture have these words taken on the meaning "end of the world." With that in mind, let's look at the other references to God coming on the clouds through the Old Testament, and what it means. I'll add some emphasis to some of the verses just so you can see what I'm pointing out. Isaiah 19:1-2 An oracle concerning Egypt. See, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud    and comes to Egypt;the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence,    and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within t...