Pete's Blog

At Christmas, Jesus was born. At Christmas, God became a human being to rescue us. This human being who came to rescue us was born in a stable in Bethlehem and laid in a Manger, he is Jesus Christ. All of us need to receive Jesus Christ, to receive him in the same way as we receive the King or President of our country when they come to stay. We need to invite him in and give him the run of the price. Without Jesus Christ, we "perish," as John 3:16   makes plain "...that whosoever believes in him should not perish..." T he word "perish" means just what it implies and the only way to avoid this is to receive God’s grace by faith—his grace displayed in Jesus.   Without him, we are "lost" a terrible thing to contemplate—though millions of people today never give it a thought. I n Acts 4:12 we are told: "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be save...

An article that appeared in USA Today had this title: “Psychologists now know what makes you happy.” And the writer discovered a not-so-surprising fact, forgiveness is most strongly linked to happiness and the Bible closely links forgiveness with healing. "Forgiveness is the trait most strongly linked to happiness", said University of Michigan psychologist Christopher Peterson. T he Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa, in removing revenge from the agenda, brought, to a certain extent, forgiveness and healing to the country.  There are reported to be still deep divisions in the country of South Africa.   However, the situation would have been far worse, most political commentators agree, if revenge had been left to take it's course. Truth is  important, but so is reconciliation. At a personal level forgiveness also has a profound effect.   The psychologists are right on this one. Happiness is closely linked to forgiveness.  The truth is t...