Don’t forget!

Don’t forget that this blog has now moved to a new site. I have also set up a new blog called a Christian blogger which should help Christian bloggers improve their blogs!

don’t forget

Don’t forget that this blog has moved.  I’ve just added a great new item, so if you want to see what it is change your feed or go the site below.

The blog has now moved to the following address:

http://www.blog.freechristianresources.org

I will no longer be updating the content on the old blog. If you have subscribed via an RSS feed you can access the new site with these thinks:

Posts only:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/FreeChristianResources

Comments only:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/FreeChristianResourcesComments

Thank you for reading my blog,David

this blog is moving!!!

Hello,

The blog has now moved to the following address:

http://www.blog.freechristianresources.org

I will no longer be updating the content on the old blog. If you have subscribed via an RSS feed you can access the new site with these thinks:

Posts only:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/FreeChristianResources

Comments only:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/FreeChristianResourcesComments

The new site is still under construction so it is not finished in terms of look, but it is just as usable as the current site.

Sorry for any inconvenience,

David

plans for this site – update!

Hello,

Sorry for this quick update on my last message on this, however my impulsive nature has  meant the last post is now rather out of date!

After reading a few articles and thinking about it I have decided to host this blog myself and move the location.  This will have very little initial impact as I will be using the same software to run the site (although the look may slightly change as I can’t get the same theme).

The two main things to note is that over the next couple of days I may not be posting quite as much whilst I get it all set up, and that if you subscribe via RSS this feed will change (I will let you know what it changes to).

The basic reasoning for the change is that it is better to do it now whilst the site is small and new than when (if!) it becomes big and established.   Sorry for any intial inconvenience this may cause, however in the long run it will be less work for me and a better website for you!

Kind regards,

David

my utmost for his highest (5/5 stars)

This is perhaps one of the best known daily devotionals available, and one of the most purchased Christian books. With good reason too as it is so powerful, well written and is clearly inspired by God.

It was based on teachings given by Osward Chambers and was compiled by his wife Gertrude (who he called Biddy!) after his death in 1917. It is worth reading about them on wikipedia, as they were an amazing couple.

I seriously doubt that you would get bored if you read this every year for the rest of your life as it is so rich. It can be accessed on several sites via either RSS, email, or by simply clicking on the internet site. The two I give below are probably the best, if you click on the links you will view the page with today’s entry and then just follow the links to subscribe should you so wish.

Website 1 (also for RSS feed): http://www.rbc.org/utmost/index.php

Website 2 (also for email): http://www.studylight.org/devos/utm/

NB the RSS feed is not the easiest to find on the rbc website, so you can go directly here: http://www.rbc.org/what_is_rss.page 

Plans for this site

Hello,

I just thought I’d give you a little summary of the plans that I have for this site over the coming months, as it is still very much in its fetal stage after the launch in late May.

June

• Continue to play around with the format, particularly ensuring it reads properly in Internet Explorer. I want to get the format right before I have too much content.
• Focus on adding more good links so that the pages are not as light on content as they are now.

July

• Finish off adding the best links that I know
• Start scouring the net for other resources that either I don’t know about, or that may satisfy some other niche Christian audience
• Start a list of free audio sermons and books (as currently you still have to know what you are looking for even if you have the link to a good site)

August & beyond

• Add more content through additional searching and feedback from readers.
• Consider hosting the blog myself (apparently this is the best thing to do, but as it costs money and I’m new to this game I am holding off for now!)
• Consider hosting some content as a stand alone website.  This may work best for some of the content, and allow for easier navigation.
• Build in voting by readers (so that you don’t have to rely on my unscientific ratings!)
• Begin to engage more with the readers to see what they would like to have, and how.  Of course, I will gladly accept any feedback you have now too.
• Whatever else I may think of…

Ongoing…

• Continue doing Bible studies

Holy Trinity Brompton Sermons (4/5 stars)

Holy Trinity Brompton is an Anglican church in London, perhaps best known as being the birthplace of Alpha.  They have very good teaching and it is well worth listening in to their weekly sermons.  They can either be downloaded from the site, listened to live, or subscribed to through itunes (there is a link at the bottom of the download page on their website). 

It is a well laid out page, and if any materials where given out on the Sunday (e.g. application questions) you can download these too.  It is a good little website and worth having a look at if you have a spare ten minutes.

The only thing I would say is to remember that this church is based in Knightsbridge (the home of Harrods), so they are much posher preachers than I am normally used to!  Of course, the Kingdom of God is beautifully diverse though so don’t let that put you off!

Website: http://www.htb.org.uk/downloads

The word for today (4/5 stars)

This is a daily devotional site, and is currently the only one I use regularly (which is the whole point!). I find that every week there will tend to be a couple of challenging or uplifiting comments for me. If you live in the UK you can even have a hard copy posted to you free of charge at the following address : http://www.ucb.co.uk/index.cfm?itemid=124

It is not perfect and not as theologically challenging a Spurgeon’s daily readings (a link will be added for this soon!), but this is the best modern daily devotional I have come across, it tends to be pretty easy to apply to your daily life.

Personally, I prefer the hard copy they provide but if you are worried about your carbon footprint you can access it through various ways on the internet including an RSS feed.

Website: http://www.ucb.co.uk/biblehelps

Names of Jesus – Advocate

This is part of a study into the names of Jesus. For more information click here.

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“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous.”
1 John 2:1 [ESV]

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What a humbling place to start my study. What a fantastic place to start my study! The NIV renders this verse slightly differently as “…we have one who speaks to the Father in our defence…”

(1) Jesus is the only advocate
Jesus is the only one that can be an intermediary between us and the Father, and the only one that we can rely upon to clear our sins. Will our sins be ignored by God, or excuses given for our behaviour? No! Jesus does not rely on any cunning, the Father does not turn a blind eye to sin. Jesus relies on his blood and on the sacrifice he made for us on the cross. The one who speaks to the Father in our defence is indeed the only one can deal with our sin.

(2) We can have confidence
When we fall to our knees and ask for forgiveness we do not need to worry about whether it will be successful or not. As mentioned, our forgiveness is based on what Jesus has already done with his sacrifice (1 Cor 15:3). Jesus died for our sins.God doesn’t weigh up our good deeds against our bad, just a judge would not acquit you for a speeding offence just because you gave money to charity. For this we should be grateful as the only alternative, the only hope, is Jesus.

(3) We can be free
Even the smallest sin sees us fall short of the glory of God, and would confirm our guilt. But we know that Jesus will stand in our defence and has taken our punishment. We should not give up when we keep on sinning, we should go to Jesus. We do not have to work harder at being better when we sin, we pray to Jesus.

We all sin (1 Jn 1:8) but we can be free from its power. By relying on and turning to Jesus we can stop sin ruling our lives.

Conclusion

It is humbling as a human to know that we have to rely on Jesus, that we cannot sort out our own sin ourselves. But equally how fantastic that we have the perfect advocate pleading our case with the Father. How freeing that when we mess up, we can come with confidence to Jesus and start again. Whilst sin is not without its consequences in our lives, with Jesus as our advocate it will never change our justification before God (Rom 8:1).

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Application:
(1) Do you let sin take over your life and your relationships? What can you do about it?
(2) Do you believe that Jesus is a good enough advocate to cover your sins? Why or why not?
(3) Do you regularly submit your sins to Jesus and ask for forgiveness? Weekly, daily, hourly?

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Relevant verses: 1 John 2:1

Answers in Genesis (4/5 stars)

This site is run by the people that have just opened a creation museum in America. It is regularly updated, but I am flagging this mainly for their archives. If you go to the ‘Get Answers’ section of the site there is a amazing amount of articles covering almost any question on Christianity you may have. It covers topics from the authority of the bible to philosophy, and from dinosaurs to Noah’s ark.

One of the reasons it has so many articles is that it links to other websites, which ensures a varied content.

Website: http://www.answersingenesis.org/