Steven Colborne's Blog, page 49

The Relationship Between Jesus and God the Father

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.”

Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, “Show us the Father”? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?

“The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.”

From the Gospel according to John.

I believe the works that Jesus is referring to are the many miracles recorded in the New Testament. More than 30 miracles performed by Jesus are described in the New Testament, and John 21:25 suggests that he performed very many more.

Jesus’ Teaching on Forgiveness

Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.”

Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.

So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.” And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when the servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, “Pay what you owe.”

So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you.” He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place.

Then his master summoned him and said to him, “You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?” And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

From the Gospel according to Matthew.

If God has forgiven our sins through the atoning sacrifice of his Son, then this should give us all the impetus we need to forgive those who have done us wrong. Thanks be to God.

Reblog: The True Source of Greatness

It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

—Matthew 4:4 ESV

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The Word is alive, it speaks to me; it has feet, it runs after me; it has hands, it lays hold on me.

—Martin Luther

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Believe me, sir, never a night goes by, be I ever so tired, but I read the Word of God before I go to bed.

—Douglas MacArthur

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The New Testament is the best book the world has ever known or will know.

—Charles Dickens

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The Bible is nothing less than God’s written Word—and because of this, it’s just as true today as when it was first written. As the Bible says concerning itself, its writers “spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21).

—Billy Graham

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What makes the difference is not how many times you have been through the Bible, but how many times and how thoroughly the Bible has been through you.

—Gypsy Smith

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An African chief wanted to know the secret of Britain’s greatness. Queen Victoria, holding a Bible in her hand, said, “Tell the chief that this book, the Bible, is the secret of our greatness!” (Psalm 19:9; Proverbs 14:34)

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The majesty of the Scriptures strikes me with admiration, as the purity of the gospel has its influence on my heart. Peruse the works of our philosophers with all their pomp of diction, how mean, how contemptible are they, compared with the scriptures!

—Jean-Jacques Rousseau

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The Bible contains a complete series of facts and of historical men, to explain time and eternity, such as no other religion has to offer. … What happiness that book procures for those who believe it! What marvels those admire there who reflect upon it!

—Napoleon Bonaparte

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The Bible is an inexhaustible foundation of all truths. The existence of the Bible is the greatest blessing which humanity ever experienced.

—Immanuel Kant

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I consider an intimate knowledge of the Bible an indispensable qualification of a well-educated man.

—Robert A. Millikan

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I consider the Gospels to be thoroughly genuine; for in them there is the effective reflection of a sublimity which emanated from the person of Christ: And this is as divine as ever the divine appeared on earth.

—Goethe

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Jesus Christ opens wide the doors of the treasure-house of God’s promises, and bids us go in and take with boldness the riches that are ours.

—Corrie ten Boom

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If a man is not familiar with the Bible, he has suffered a loss which he had better make all possible haste to correct.

—Theodore Roosevelt

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The Bible is far more than a doctrinal guidebook. God’s Word generates life, creates faith, produces change, frightens the Devil, causes miracles, heals hurts, builds character, transforms circumstances, imparts joy, overcomes adversity, defeats temptation, infuses hope, releases power, cleanses our minds, brings things into being, and guarantees our future forever! We cannot live without the Word of God! Never take it for granted. You should consider it as essential to your life as food.

—Rick Warren

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The Bible is the most wonderful, supernatural, miraculous, amazing, marvelous book in the whole world. It tells you where we came from, how we got here, why we’re here, how to survive while here, how to be happy while here, and how to have love, joy, and peace forever.

The Word of God is the most powerful truth on earth.—Words that contain the very Spirit and life of God Himself (John 4:24). The Word is the spiritual spark of God that ignites us with His life, light, and power.

His Word is the most powerful weapon in the world, sharper than any two-edged sword, sharper than any weapon on earth. It can do more than split atoms; it has greater power than the hydrogen bomb! For it can even divide asunder the soul and the spirit of man. And can change hearts and change minds.

—David Brandt Berg

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What shall we say of Isaac Newton (1642–1727), who discovered the law of gravity, formulated the three laws of motion, developed calculus, constructed the first reflecting telescope, and whom many consider the greatest scientist who ever lived? Newton wrote an estimated 1,400,000 words on religion—more than on physics or astronomy. Here are a few quotes from him:

“I have a fundamental belief in the Bible as the Word of God, written by men who were inspired. I study the Bible daily.”

“All my discoveries have been made in answer to prayer.”

“We account the Scriptures of God to be the most sublime philosophy. I find more sure marks of authenticity in the Bible than in any profane history whatsoever.”

Then there was Francis Bacon (1561–1626), credited with developing the scientific method. He said:

“There are two books laid before us to study, to prevent our falling into error; first, the volume of the Scriptures, which reveal the will of God; then, the volume of the Creatures, which express His power.”

How about Blaise Pascal (1623–1662), the brilliant French mathematician who developed the science of hydrostatics and helped formulate the laws of probability? From 1658 until his death, he worked on a defense of Christianity. He said:

“Except by Jesus Christ we know not what our life is, what our death is, what God is, what we are ourselves. Thus, without Scripture, which has only Jesus Christ for its object, we know nothing, and we see only obscurity and confusion in the nature of God, and in nature herself.”

Samuel F. B. Morse (1791–1872) invented the tele­graph and Morse Code, built the first camera in America, and founded the National Academy of Design. A dedicated Christian, Morse established one of America’s first Sunday schools and supported missionaries. He said:

“The nearer I approach to the end of my pilgrimage, the clearer is the evidence of the divine origin of the Bible, the grandeur and sublimity of God’s remedy for fallen man are more appreciated, and the future is illumined with hope and joy.”

The first message he sent by telegraph was:

“What hath God wrought.”

Though born a slave, George Washington Carver (1864–1943) became one of the world’s greatest agricultural scientists. Working at the Tuskegee Institute, an Alabama school for African Americans, he developed over 300 products from the peanut and 118 from the sweet potato. He showed both black and white farmers how to better utilize land, and revitalized the South’s economy. He did much to improve race relations, and was also an accomplished artist. Like Pasteur, Carver patented none of his discoveries, but gave them away. He turned down an offer from Thomas Edison to leave Tuskegee Institute and work at 60 times his pay. In 1940 he donated his life savings to the Institute. A devout Christian, Carver taught his students from the Bible, in a class that met on Sundays from 1907 until his death. He said:

“The secret of my success? It is simple. It is found in the Bible, ‘In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths.’”

—James Perloff (Tornado in a Junkyard)

Copyright © 2017 The Family International
(Reblogged from Frederick Olson’s blog The Word! The Word! The Word!)

The Final Judgement

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.

Then the King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.”

Then the righteous will answer him, saying, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you? And the King will answer them, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”

Then he will say to those on his left, “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.”

Then they also will answer, saying, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?” Then he will answer them, saying, “Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.” And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

The words of Jesus in the book of Matthew.

God is Always Everywhere and Sometimes Somewhere

I believe an aspect of God’s nature is that He is everywhere. You can sense this for yourself if you spend a moment examining your consciousness, and asking whether there are any boundaries or edges to it. When I do this myself, I have a sense that reality is boundless, and this means that if God exists, He must also be boundless. There is not a place where the world ends and God begins, but instead the being of God extends boundlessly, and it logically follows from this that our world must be contained within the being of God.

God’s boundlessness makes perfect sense. If God can beat my heart when I am in London, and can beat my heart when I am on the Moon (okay, I haven’t tested that, but my astronaut friends could testify to this, I’m sure!) then this means that the being of God is just as present on the Moon as on the Earth. If you pray for God to keep you safe while you go away on holiday (for example), you are acknowledging that God can control all the events in your life wherever you are. He can do this because His being is everywhere (He is omnipresent).

Here are a few scriptures from the Bible that point to God’s omnipresence:

For in Him we live and move and have our being

Acts 17:28

He is before all things and in Him all things hold together

Colossians 1:17

“Can a man hide himself in hiding places
So I do not see him?” declares the Lord.
“Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the Lord.

Jeremiah 23:24

Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.
If I take the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
Even there Your hand will lead me,
And Your right hand will lay hold of me.

Psalm 139:7-10

As well as being omnipresent, God also manifests His being in a way that is localised. In the Old Testament, God appeared to Moses in a burning bush (Exodus 3:1-5), and in certain instances He appeared to people in the form of an angel (see, for example, Genesis 16:7-10). The most obvious example of God appearing to human beings in a localised way is of course the Incarnation, when God appeared in the person of Jesus Christ.

One of the great mysteries of the Christian faith is the concept of the Trinity, which says that the being of God is manifested in three forms (or ‘persons’): God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Without wishing to get into complex theological formulations, I will just note that when God walked the Earth in the person of Jesus Christ, He still existed in His omnipresence as God the Father. So we can see that God is always everywhere and sometimes somewhere.

Do Bloggers Really Need an Email List?

Greetings, beloved friends. Yesterday I sent out a brief email inviting people to sign up to my email newsletter. I provided an incentive to sign up (a free eBook). Today I have been carefully thinking through my intentions and purposes; with this blog, with my books, with my email list, and with my online activities in general, and I would like to take a moment to clarify a few things.

In an age where ‘marketing’ is seemingly everywhere, it’s easy to get caught up in what people who are influential in the marketing space are saying. However, as a Christian, I’m aware that I’m called out of the world, and should not be conformed to the world.

The truth is that many people who are interested in marketing worship money, rather than God. The reason why many people promote their email lists and email newsletters is so they have another tool in their armoury when it comes to generating a greater income. Many authors believe sending out email newsletters will lead to increased book sales, so they will become wealthier, which they believe will make them happier.

It doesn’t take a great amount of insight to realise the flaw in the plan, which is that money doesn’t bring happiness. It can help increase influence, which could be a good thing if one has honest and good intentions, but as a Christian I believe honest and good intentions mean living a life of servitude to God through Jesus Christ.

The reason why I personally felt the need to set up an email list is because I thought I would like to be able to stay in contact with this community in the event that my blog becomes unavailable for some reason. I have been sending out a monthly newsletter, but I honestly don’t believe this is really necessary, because my ‘audience’ is my blog followers and there’s not really any reason to share content in an email newsletter rather than on my blog.

My intentions for starting my email list were linked to considerations of security. If a nuclear bomb goes off in the vicinity of WordPress HQ, or if censorship increases dramatically for some reason and my blog is taken down, or if there is an attack on WordPress by some scheming and ill-intentioned anti-WordPress hackers (although this seems unlikely), then at least when the dust settles, I thought, I would still have a way of keeping in contact with at least some of you.

But I am now thinking differently in two ways. The first way is that God is my security, and if my blog were to cease to exist I would simply have to find other ways to reach people. Also, it’s perfectly possible that the structures that allow me to send emails could be affected by the same ill-intentioned activity that brought my blog down (in the hypothetic scenario I described above), and therefore, in this scenario the building of my email list will have been a waste of time.

The more I think about it, the more I feel that having an email newsletter (for my purposes) isn’t really necessary. I will keep my list active for the time being, so you are welcome to sign up and get the free eBook if you’re interested, but I really do feel everything email list related is all a bit ridiculous and surplus to requirements.

If you’re thinking about whether or not you need an email newsletter, I suggest you carefully think through your motivations and whether or not it’s necessary, and don’t fall into the same marketing snare that has exerted influence over me personally too much and for too long.

My time and energy would be better spent trying to raise awareness about my books through online advertising and through engaging with the blogging community. Approaching things in this way lines up with the true purpose of my books and my blog, which is to encourage people on their faith journey and to help people come to a knowledge of God and of the Truth, rather than to become financially wealthier. I will also pray for the longevity of the WordPress platform, and I invite you to do the same.

How to Begin a Letter

There’s a Christian bookstore a couple of miles away from where I live in South London. The lady who runs the store is a little… eccentric (so I feel right at home when I visit

Discerning the Will of God

I’ll be honest with you, I sometimes have a big struggle trying to discern the will of God for my life. Perhaps some of you reading this have the same problem. In this article, I will be sharing a few thoughts in relation to this matter, touching upon the subject of hermeneutics and also mental health.

God speaks to people in different ways. Scripture is of course one way, and the indwelling Holy Spirit — which all followers of Christ receive — speaks to us in other ways. Prayer is of course an important method by which we might hope to receive God’s direction. People see appearances of Jesus and messages from God in dreams and visions, which is another way in which God speaks to us.

Romans 1:20 describes human beings as ‘without excuse’ for not believing in God, as He arguably speaks to us so clearly by way of His creation. I’m not a fan (dare I say) of that Bible verse because I believe people will only ever believe in God through a direct act of God revealing Himself to them or stirring their faith in some way, regardless of how clearly the created universe might seem to point to God to believers.

As a side note, I spend a lot of time with my TV tuned to YouTube watching lengthy videos of underwater creatures swimming around, and I find it ceaselessly amusing. I sometimes laugh, and sometimes cry with joy at the different kinds of fish and other underwater life, which to me clearly demonstrate God’s creativity and sense of humour. But I acknowledge not everyone would see these scenes in that way.

I make no secret of the fact that I have experienced several episodes of what psychiatrists term ‘psychosis’, and having gone through these experiences, with subsequent treatment, I was given a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder. It would take too much space for me to explain here my understanding of the spiritual aspects of psychosis, but I will just say that trying to discern God’s will when you are unsure whether your thoughts are from the Holy Spirit or related to your mental health condition can cause quite a lot of frustration and confusion.

It’s actually clear to me that all our thoughts must ultimately come from the same source — God. I believe in God’s sovereignty over all events, so from this perspective there is no need to distinguish between the cause of thoughts related to a mental health condition and thoughts related to faith. While I know some people reading this would try to argue certain thoughts are from Satan, while others are from God, I know that ultimately all thoughts come from God, because He is sovereignly in control of the unfolding of every aspect of our lives.¹

Someone might argue that the only source of knowledge we can truly trust when attempting to discern God’s will is the Bible — the Word of God. I have no doubt that God uses the Bible to reveal His will to people in a uniquely powerful way. But all Scripture is open to whatever kind of interpretation God brings to the mind of readers as they read and reflect. It is not as though lines and curly symbols on a page actually embody meaning. Imagine a book with no one to read it — there is no meaning being conveyed in that scenario; meaning is not somehow contained within books and symbols themselves. It is in the act of reading and interpreting words that meaning is conveyed, and what constitutes understanding is impressions in consciousness that God manifests in our minds as we read and reflect.

I suppose the overarching point that I want to make — my motivation for writing this post — is that for a person like me the only way to be certain of God’s will for my life is to observe what actually manifests in reality. There have been times when I’ve thought I’ve heard God speak to me clearly on a matter, but that subsequently the way I believed events would unfold has seemingly not come to pass. Because of this, I have learned to keep a very open mind. It may be the case that for people who have never experienced psychosis this is less of an issue, although perhaps all believers wrestle with this to some extent.

I do believe God makes promises and keeps promises, although I would point out that being all-powerful means God is never under any obligation to keep any promises that He makes. There is a scripture which seems to suggest that it’s impossible for God to lie (Hebrews 6:18), but anyone who has any respect for God’s sovereignty will admit that it’s plainly obvious that a sovereign God can do whatever He pleases (there is a scripture that says this too: Psalm 135:6). One might argue that God wouldn’t lie (Titus 1:2), but I don’t believe it is at all logical to argue that God cannot lie.

This is the type of blog post for which I have felt inclined to close comments recently, because I know some of my statements might be stirring or provocative for some people. I fear that readers with no experience of mental health issues could be judgemental, but I hope I am incorrect. If you would like to comment, please share how you personally go about discerning God’s will for your life, taking into account the topics and arguments that I have discussed in this article. I think we could have some interesting discussions around these issues that would bless us all. Thank you for reading

Quick One

Hello, friends. I just wanted to let you know that I’ve decided to enable comments on all posts, both recent and historic. I had been quite guarded and chose to close comments on some of my more controversial posts because I was finding the negativity (of a small minority of readers) difficult to handle. However, I’ve decided I need to be more thick skinned and considerate of people who want to express their views, whatever those views are, so the comment gates are now wide open.

I had to go back through dozens of posts and manually reopen the comments; I may have missed a few so apologies if you do find a post where comments are closed. If you do find a post on which you would like to comment but can’t, please drop me an email and let me know and I’ll edit the post and reopen the comments.

First-time commenters will still have their initial comment moderated, as is the sensible norm.

I may not personally respond to all comments but they will all be allowed except where they are very unkind or potentially offensive. I will see how things go and review if necessary.

That’s it. Thanks for being interested in my writing. Have a great weekend!

My Favourite Segment of Preaching Ever

Greetings, friends. A few days ago I was honestly thinking of stopping blogging completely, I think out of a kind of resignedness that global events are going to draw people’s attention away from the blogosphere. I have also been contemplating that getting online could become harder as restrictions on citizen freedom around the world increase. I know some people have been predicting food shortages and other difficulties as well. Anyway, I’m finding there’s still plenty I want to blog about for the time being so I praise God for the inspiration and hope my posts are of benefit to someone.

Whatever unfolds in the coming months, what’s important is faith in Jesus Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life, and who will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. I am more certain of this than ever before.

In today’s post, I just want to share a sermon preached by T. D. Jakes at Megafest 2013, which I continually return to and find to be ceaselessly powerful and uplifting. I hope you will watch it! The video quality isn’t amazing but then it was filmed quite a few years ago. The first fifteen minutes or so are the section that I find the most moving, but by all means watch the sermon in its entirety if you have the time. Love and blessings to you all.