Glimpses of Heaven.

"But when the kindness and love of God our Saviour appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy." (Titus 3:4)

Deep down we know we live in a broken world. Things just don't seem to go well in so many areas of life: relationships, career, finances, health, broken dreams, financial crises, wars...

Sure, there are glimpses of how things should have been, and life is sprinkled with much joy, but generally there are disappointments upon disappointments, and then eventually death! What is it that is wrong?

Well, the Bible tells us it is something called "sin" which came about at the "Fall" (Genesis 3). It is why even the earth is groaning (Romans 8:22), evident through not just groaning earthquakes but tsunamis, hurricanes, fire-storms, pandemics...

Basically, we need help! We also seem to know deep down that no matter how many "good" things we try to do we could simply never do enough to save ourselves from this messy world or life. We need a Saviour!

Well, there is help. There is a Saviour. God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance from sin (Romans 2:4). Because of God's love, kindness and mercy, He sent Jesus to save His people, revealing His great love and kindness and mercy in the Messiah, Jesus Christ (John 3:16).
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"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)

There is nothing we can do to contribute to our salvation. It is all of God and all because of His love, kindness, and mercy.

"For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Ephesians 2:10)

There are good things we get to do once we have been saved, but God doesn't need them to be done by us to influence Him in any way regarding our salvation. And we should be very thankful for that, for we again know deep down that all our selfish "righteous" efforts are like filthy rags. (Isaiah 64:6)

When “the kindness and love of God our Saviour appeared” we were given a glimpse of Heaven. When we “repent” from sin we “turn” from sin toward our Saviour. Why wouldn’t we turn to Christ, given what He has done for us.

Turn heavenward. Ask our merciful Christ into your life today and experience this divine kindness and love and mercy.

Photo and reflection by Craig Manners.

​The Love Commandments.

"So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 7:12)
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The Ten Commandments are often viewed as being negative, restrictive and prohibitive. Yet how wrong that is! Part of their role is to convict us of our need for Christ and to elicit in us a desire to love both God and others.

"Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”(Matthew 22:34-40)

We all love to be treated respectfully, kindly, fairly, gently, lovingly and generously. No one wants to have their stuff stolen, or to be beaten up, or deceived. If we all treated each other as we want to be treated we would have less of the multitude troubles we see all around us.

So the Ten Commandments in a way act as a pointer to not just our need of a Saviour from this world and it's troubles, but to the reality of just such a perfect world, a heavenly world, where there will be no problems of any sort. They also lead us to the key to enter that new world. His Name is Jesus Christ. (Acts 4:12).

Find out more about God's plan of salvation here.

Reflection and photo by Craig Manners.

Sure and Steady.
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"Strengthen the feeble hands,
steady the knees that give way;
say to those with fearful hearts,
“Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
he will come to save you.” (Isaiah 35:3-4).

Our hands are often feeble, our knees weak. We do not see things as God sees them and we often scramble about thinking it all depends on us and we need to do things. This often leads us to doing the wrong things, getting stressed and stumbling. Like when we see someone seemingly getting away with dishonest or inappropriate gain.

Sometimes we do have to act but ultimately we have to leave the outcome with God and rest in that. He will sort it all out and He doesn't need us.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8-9).

We too frequently fear and do not see the bigger picture in this life. Rest assured, all is well. God is in complete control. He saves and watches over His people. He brings about justice. He is a merciful, loving Father God, desiring to give good gifts to His children, desiring to bless them, and He is the only one able to truly bless them. This often doesn't look like how we would do it. But God knows what is best for us. Worthy of trust is our Father God.

"Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon." (Isaiah 55:7).

So, take a deep breath, calm your mind and go confidently, knowing your steps are sure and steady with Christ.

Reflection and photo by Craig Manners.

Dross or Gold?

“Listen to me, you descendants of Jacob,
all the remnant of the people of Israel,
you whom I have upheld since your birth,
and have carried since you were born.
Even to your old age and gray hairs
I am he, I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustain you and I will rescue you.
“With whom will you compare me or count me equal?
To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?" (Isaiah 46: 3-5)

There is simply nothing comparable to God. Yet we so often live our lives as if there were. We seem to choose lesser things over the greatest thing, God. It would be like wanting the dross, instead of the gold. But the dross is nothing. It needs to be burned up to reveal the refined gold. Our earthly world is like dross. It will be burned up at the end of our life. What will be left? 

Choose God. His ways are perfect. He knows more than those politicians or celebrities or atheists being exalted in the media. He knows much more than those 20 or 30 something journalists doing the exalting and selling death to our youth.

Choose God. He will be there on your last day. All the stuff, all the pride, the seeking of glory, honor, praise and adulation from fellow finite people. All the seeking after and building up a legacy. All the houses, cars, money in the bank, assets, businesses, clothes, friends, will not be there with you or for you. They ultimately amount to nothing. God on the only other hand amounts to everything.

Choose God. He is a Father God. He loves and knows what is best for His children. He is in full control of everything. He alone can ultimately rescue you, sustain you and carry you into eternity. He is worthy of trust is our incomparable God.

Find out more about Him today.

Reflection and photo by Craig Manners.

A Way of Escape

"No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." (1 Corinthians 10:13)

There are many paths one may take in this fallen world. Many of them lead to despair, destruction and captivity as slaves to sin, possibly for eternity. Our loving Father God lays out instructions throughout the Bible to help us identify, choose and stay on the paths which will help us have the best possible life in this fallen world, and He reveals the way (through Jesus Christ) which will lead us to true Life (Heaven) for eternity.

Satan, a real being with real (but limited) power does not want people to succeed in reaching Jesus or Heaven. So he lays traps, he sends out his people to ensnare, encumber and entice. He does this through creative means including temptations, trying to tempt people to leave God's Way and branch off onto the myriad paths of destruction.

He is smarter than us, so we are in real trouble. However, Christ Jesus has defeated Satan on the Cross and Jesus is smarter! So, although Satan is flailing around, wounded and destined to die, desperate to destroy God's people, the more powerful Jesus deploys weapons which allow us to resist these temptations. 

Every day will have its particular challenges, sometimes they will be struggles, trials which come out of nowhere and temptations. What we can learn from this verse is to take each day as it comes knowing that our gracious Father God will give us everything we need to deal with whatever those things may be.

However, we cannot just be complacent. As we need daily food for physical sustenance, we also  need to read the Bible and pray every day to strengthen and prepare us to resist the barrage of temptations when they come.

​As it is foolish for a nation not to prepare and maintain its defenses, so it is foolish for God's people to ignore the means of defense against temptations provided by God.

Photo and reflection by Craig Manners

​Restful Contentment.

"Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you." (Psalm 116:7)

Our Creator has established and sustains our world and our universe so perfectly as to make life possible for us. Think of the sunshine and the rain and the provision of food dependent upon them. Think of day and night, one for us to work and one for us to rest. Think of shade trees on a hot afternoon. God has been good to us.

We could also think of other good things from God, such as marriage and the children this often produces. Work and the satisfaction a days work brings. Food and drink. Family and friends to share them with. Peaceful sleep at the end of a days work. God has been good to us.

When I was a boy I remember seeing a chicken having it's head chopped off. No doubt you know what happened. That's right, its body ran around the yard without its head for a while! A lasting impression was made on my young mind.

Everything we need, all these good things, are found in living a simple life following the design for our life set down by the grand designer, God.

Yet, like an ungrateful child, we are so often dissatisfied, discontent, rebellious and restless. We think there is something else and so we start to run around like that headless chicken, almost mindlessly trying to re-engineer society, introducing laws to pretend wrong is now right, good is now bad, filling our lives with endless activity, noise, distractions, busyness, thinking more of that will provide the answers. But do they?

We need to take a deep breath and calm down. Refocus on the good things already in your life. Stop running around so much and rest under that shade tree.

Stop listening to the panic spread by the media, and the FOMO being induced by social media. You are not missing out on anything. The lives you read so much about on social media are not as perfect as portrayed.

This is a fallen world. Everyone's lives have their share of problems. Everyone has something missing in their lives which can only be filled by God. That is how He has designed us, to worship Him. If we do not worship God we end up trying to fill that space by worshipping endless other things which can never do it. Money, assets, reputation, career, accolades, praise, friends. They can't fill that hole in life, and they all disappear on that last day.

There is only one thing which can fill that emptiness in this life and which still remains for eternity. In fact it is the only thing which can get you into heaven for eternity. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

Contentment or discontentment? Rest or headless panic? Trust or distrust? Fullness or emptiness? Eternal death or eternal Life?

The answer to our problems is Jesus.

God has been good to you. He has everything under control. Trust Him, thank Him and rest contentedly in Him. 
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Reflection and photo by Craig Manners.

​What is in a Name? Much!

"They surrounded me on every side,
but in the name of the Lord I cut them down.
They swarmed around me like bees,
but they were consumed as quickly as burning thorns;
in the name of the Lord I cut them down.
I was pushed back and about to fall,
but the Lord helped me." (Psalm 118:11-13)
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The picture here is one of being under extreme pressure. Not only is nothing going right but everything seems to be going wrong.

Maybe all your important relationships seem to be breaking down; you are experiencing a personal financial crisis; the future looks bleak; those you thought you could trust reveal otherwise; you are betrayed, abandoned. You receive news of sudden health problems.

Pressure from every side all at once leading you to sense you may be on the verge of a total breakdown. But...

With Christ Jesus walking with you, even though you may well be taken to this point, you will not be taken beyond what you can bear!

The Apostle Paul put it this way: "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;" (2 Cor. 4:8)

When life's troubles overwhelm you and you think it is all too much to bear, that is the time to call on the name of the Lord Jesus. Stop with all the frenzied activity, the social media, the devices and other distractions of life. Put them all aside, close your eyes and pray to the one who is in control of everything. Father God, in the name of Jesus, please help me!

Hope defeats despair. Christ will even carry you as He journey's with you on the narrow path to eternal joy. He will never leave you behind, no matter what happens. Take heart. Jesus defeats all.
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Reflection and photo by Craig Manners.

​Finding Joy, Purpose and Significance.

"How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers" (Psalm 1:1-3).

God, being the one who made you, knows you. He knows how you can get the best out of this life and for eternity. He loves people so much He provides guidelines for living. His precepts, commandments, law, wisdom and advice, all clearly laid out in His Word the Bible, is designed to bless His people.

​The secrets of true joy, delight, prosperity (not necessarily excess material stuff, which can actually be a burden), the paths to the best possible life in this fallen world, are to be found in this character developing, life changing and soul saving book. 

God's Word is right, it is true, it is a lamp to your feet and a light to your path (Ps. 119:105). We all desire significance and purpose and meaning in our life. It will never be found choosing to ignore the manual for life provided by the Creator of life. It comes from following it.

We all often try to find meaning, to find our purpose, significance and identity in things which ultimately do the opposite of what they promise. They fail because they go against what the Author of life sets out.

What folly going against our Creator God. Yet we do it time and time again. We think we the created know better that the Creator! We then wonder why there is a mental health epidemic!

It is not easy. The wicked often look and sound good, and are very enticing. You will need God's help. Even inside the Church there are voices proclaiming the wrong counsel, counsel which elevates man over God, counsel which cannot help you in life or eternity. That is one reason why it is important for us to read the Bible for ourselves.

Whose counsel will you set the course of your life by? Whose voice will you listen to in life? That of the wicked, of scoffers, of people who are really only using you for their own gain? People who want you to join them in their wickedness, who really don't care if you fail in life.

Or will you listen to the voice of your Father God, who loves you and wants you to follow the paths set down for the best life possible in a fallen world, and then the very best to come in eternity. Who loved the world so much that He gave His only Son, Jesus Christ, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16). 

There will always be something missing in your life until you find your significance in Christ. Seek more of God, seek to know Him more and discover this significance, purpose, meaning and joy. Stop right now and ask Him to help you to do this.

Photo and reflection by Craig Manners.

​Amazing Creator.

"But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved." (Ephesians 2:4-5).

I don't know about you but I marvel at God's creativity. I love sunsets! But not just sunsets, I find everything such as the different types of animals, insects, flowers and plants around the world are beyond remarkable. Then there are people!

Our Creator made mankind the pinnacle of His earthly creation, fearfully and wonderfully made. The created mind literally boggles at the complexity of creation let alone human beings.

The end of human beings, being earthly death due to the curse of sin, is a harsh reality. But thankfully it is not the end of the human story.

Our merciful Creator God intervened because of His great love for us. He breathes new and eternal life into death-deserving people. He saves them by grace, giving unmerited salvation and eternal life, not earned or deserved. Amazing grace! Amazing Creator!

Have a read of our early human history in Genesis 1-3. It is a fascinating historical record of creation, our fall and the promised Christ. It helps us understand the reason our world and our lives are so messy, and provides the first hint that God didn't intend to leave it that way.

​While we rightly marvel at creation, every time we enjoy a stunning sunset or other things which reveal God's creativity, we should think about and be overwhelmed by God's plan of salvation.

Photo and brief reflection by Craig Manners (This sunset photo was taken in Malawi in 2017. It became popular on the Getty Images owned site Unsplash in 2021 receiving over 7.7 million views in 10 months to April 2022).

​“Snakes! Why did it have to be snakes?”

"He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock." (Deuteronomy 8:15).

“Snakes! Why did it have to be snakes?” When Indiana Jones said this, in Raiders of the Lost Ark, I think he echoed what many people also felt, myself included. There is something particularly nasty about snakes.

One night in Africa, in October 2017, venturing bare foot from the bedroom into our dark lounge room, to retrieve my torch during a black-out, I stepped on something squishy. When I turned on the torch to see what it was I was startled to find it was a Black Mamba snake! (Thankfully it was only young, about 30 cm long. I think it got a bigger shock than I did and although it bit me underneath my big toe, because it was young and my skin was tough the consequences were not serious.)

Having been safely led through a nightmarishly unpleasant wilderness, including the presence of snakes, of course, God's people still grumbled about their lot. So God, who can do anything He likes, produced water out of hard rock. The reader of this history would have thought that should do it, that should cause the people to trust God, but...

Well, it is strange, but even with the benefit of this and many other examples in the Bible, and even having the Holy Spirit, God's people today are still sometimes as fickle as these people mentioned here in Deuteronomy when it comes to trusting God. We also quickly forget! 

While God may not prevent unwanted things happening in your life, like stepping on snakes in the middle of the night, or the myriad things that happen which we wouldn't have scripted into our lives, He always safely leads His people through them to achieve the purposes He has in them. 

One of those purposes is to lead His people to trust Him. We can learn from this that we too need God's help daily to truly trust Him. This is facilitated through two daily activities, reading the Bible and praying to God. When we find ourselves lacking in trust, it is often due to a lack of these two vital things in our lives.

If we go without food and water we get hungry and thirsty and we do not operate very well. If we go without hearing from and speaking with our loved ones we grow distant from them. How much more when we go without hearing from (reading the Bible) and speaking with (prayer) God.

​God, help us to read and pray and trust every day.
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Photo (taken in Liwonde in 2017) and reflection by Craig Manners.

​Acknowledge God and His Work in Your Life.

"I love the Lord, for he heard my voice;
he heard my cry for mercy.
Because he turned his ear to me,
I will call on him as long as I live." (Psalm 116:1-2)

Answered prayer does many a splendid thing, just three of which include:

It gives birth to fresh hope, which then grows as it feeds on the confidence which comes from divine response to your supplications.

It removes burdens, as you realize afresh that God is real, that He is involved in your life, that He cares about you, He loves you, He listens to your prayers, He is all powerful, and He acts and can grant the desires of your heart.

It strengthens faith, replacing the burdens and uncertainty with assurance, confidence, trust and positive amazement.

Answered prayer deserves a response. So, when God answers your prayer, do not delay in acknowledging what has just happened in your life. It is amazing. God, condescending to actually listen to you and answer your requests!!! Praise Him. To help remember make sure you tell people what just happened, and/or write it down, and so "let the afflicted hear and rejoice" (Psalm 34:2).

Do you have burdens weighing you down? Are they keeping you awake at night? Relationship problems? Loved ones who don't know God? You have somewhere to go. No, not the worldly counsellors who offer empty hopes which never satisfy. You have the only true source of help available to mankind. The creator and sustainer of life itself.

Run to God when burdened. Pray to the only one who can do something about your burdens.

Then make sure you praise Him.
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Photo and reflection by Craig Manners.

​He Rescues and He Saves.

"Then King Darius wrote to all the nations and peoples of every language in all the earth:
“May you prosper greatly!

“I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel.

For he is the living God
and he endures forever;
his kingdom will not be destroyed,
his dominion will never end.
He rescues and he saves;
he performs signs and wonders
in the heavens and on the earth.
He has rescued Daniel
from the power of the lions.”

So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian." (Daniel 6:25-28)

Darius here makes his decree followed by the very good reasons why he is making the decree. It makes sense to make such a reasoned conclusion, given what the king had seen God do. It shows his love toward his subjects to want to share this with his people too.

The Hebrew name "Daniel" means "God is my Judge." God is the perfect Judge, full of perfect justice and (thankfully for us) perfect mercy (Romans 3:23-26). He does not let injustice go unpunished. Daniel was unjustly treated but he knew God, and was therefore remarkably at ease. Oh to trust God in that way!

God is in control of all things and has promised to work everything, even the things we see as evil or bad or life-threatening, every single event of our lives, for the good of His people (Romans 8:28). Like with Joseph, what was meant for ill toward His people was worked for good by God. (Genesis 50:20). All we have to do is trust Him.

We can learn from these verses that God is living, eternal, victorious, all powerful, and that He works in individual lives and individual circumstances. He is intricately aware of His children's lives and He acts on their behalf, rescuing and saving. He does all this because He loves us.

As He saved Daniel, this same God of Daniel, through the great exchange which occurred on the Cross, has rescued and saved His people in the only just way possible, by taking our punishment upon Himself through Jesus Christ, therefore perfectly satisfying His justice, while demonstrating His perfect mercy. (Romans 3:21-26)

We can therefore leave justice and vengeance to our perfect Judge. His timing is also perfect, even though it often does not meet our not so perfect desires. Trust and rest in the perfect God of Daniel.

Photo and brief reflection by Craig Manners. 31st August

​Thirst Quenched.

"As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God." (Psalm 42:1)

Often our lives feel empty, as if there is a hole in our inner being, in our heart or soul. This sense of there being something missing can only be truly fixed by filling it with God. That is just how He made us and that is the only thing that will do it.

"My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”" (Psalm 42:2-3)

There is an urgency about this need to meet with God. Many of our problems, our anxieties, and many of the mental and physical illnesses they cause can be alleviated by going and meeting with God, getting right with God, calling out to Him for help.

"These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go to the house of God under the protection of the Mighty One with shouts of joy and praise among the festive throng." (Psalm 42:4)
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How do we fill this hole? How do we satisfy this natural thirst we have for God? It can be as simple as searching up Psalm 42 on the internet, and then other parts of the Bible every day. It doesn't even have to be a long reading, just start small.

"Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God." (Psalm 42:11).

Read the Bible and pray to God. Find a church which is faithful to God's word the Bible, rather than one compromised by the world and elevating man over God. That can't help you. You need God and His word the Bible as He has revealed Himself, that is where the power is, rather than god as man would like him to be, which has no power and cannot help you.

Put your hope in God, praise him, our Savior and our God.

Photo and brief reflection by Craig Manners.