The business of adultery took a hit recently when a hacker opened up the Ashley Madison website and revealed the names and account details of the 37,000,000 registered there. These had been attracted by the sites motto “Life is short. Have an affair,”

The secrecy, under which it had operated over the last 14 years, removed last week, at the touch of a hacker’s finger – causing global consternation!

Technology has provided the vehicle for the largely atheistic society to work out the implications of their unbelief in God. If the commandment “Thou shall not commit adultery” does not apply and humankind simply evolved by chance then adulterous behaviour is to be expected.

Perhaps it is the scale of the business that astounded people as it seems to lend credence to the founders comment “monogamy, in my opinion, is a failed experiment”!

Popular culture, led by the entertainment world, supports this contention. ‘Soaps’ continually push the boundaries of decency treating any experiment in sexual gratification as the norm. In this environment where no moral boundaries exist adultery is treated as customary. Multitudes take their cue from these ‘soaps’ producing incalculable hurt and broken lives.

The Bible ridicules the idea that anything can be hidden from God ‘Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight’ (Hebrews 4 verse 13). If you assume for a moment there is a God it would be folly to suppose that it could be otherwise.

The sinners questions, “Who will see me? And “Who will know?” (Isaiah 29 verse 15) are met with the resounding “Thou God seest me” (Genesis 16 verse 13).

For those who have knowingly enlisted in elicit internet activities the way back to peace of mind and peace with God is to confess to those cheated and truly repent. Some have called this repentance “the never again of a sin sick heart”.

The Lord is gracious and can forgive as he did in the case of the woman caught in the act of adultery (St John Chapter 8 verses 10/11).

He can also forgive the sins of the repentant atheist who recognises the mess his life is in and turns to Jesus the only one who has the power to forgive completely as he bore all sin in his body on the cross (1Peter Chapter 2 verse 24).

This salvation introduces the sinner to a new landscape, one where those who previously were thought weird now seem sensible as the scales fall off and vision is restored.

“All human conflict is ultimately spiritual”. I cannot remember who said it but it does ring true. What we believe ultimately governs our actions. Sometimes secondary causes get in the way but in the end of the day our lives will show whether the heavens were empty – there is no one there and we went it alone or, God is sovereign and “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give an account” (Hebrews Chapter 4 verse 13).

The high court in London this week ruled that a radicalised schoolgirl be removed from her parent’s home which was full of terrorist propaganda including pictures of beheadings, bomb-making materials and instructions as to how Jihadists should hide their identity. The girl exhibited similar emotional harm to those who were sexually abused. The judge said “The violation contemplated here is not of the body but of the mind”.

This 16 year old has been prevented from following others who have gone to Syria to join ISIS as a jihadi bride.

An extreme case? Perhaps but the ISIS followers of Allah are simply pursuing their cause in their time honoured way, not by intellectual battles but by well orchestrated intimidation, now made easier via social media graphically portraying executions.

The effectiveness of their efforts hit the front pages of our press today showing the steps the Macedonian authorities had to take to control the influx of Muslins desperate to reach Western Europe. They came in their thousands from Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq paying dearly to mafia groups at each stage of their journey and facing an uncertain future.

St Paul made the same crossing to Macedonia in response to a vision of a man calling on him to ‘come over and help us’. This was the confirmation they needed and after a few days they joined a prayer meeting where St Paul preached the Gospel (the first time it was heard in Europe) leading to the conversion of an immigrant from Asia called Lydia and her household Acts Chapter 16 verses 9-15).

The message could not be more different from that of the Jihadist. It speaks of Jesus, who led a perfect life, and died a sinner’s death, before rising to reign eternally, so that faith in his death in our place and the gift of his Spirit brings us into his kingdom forever.

Jesus has done the work. He went to Calvary. Ours is the little journey of faith to serve a living Saviour, sharing his love with others. This led to St Paul getting beaten up the next day and thrown into jail where God carried out an even more spectacular conversion (Acts Chapter 16 verses25-34).

All human conflict is ultimately spiritual. Jesus said “You are either for me or against me” (St Matthew Chapter 12 verse 30). It’s your call!

Living in Ireland whose climate is “flower friendly” and fortunate enough to be married to a flower grower/arranger it is impossible not to be struck by their sheer elegance and beauty. They surround the house and ‘invade’ our living space in the most glorious manner!

All this, of course, does not happen by chance. Nor would the processes of evolution produce such order even if we waited a few billion years! It requires the hand of the gardener who tends, weeds and feeds each in its season according to its own special requirements.

In this regard they resemble human relationships. They bring the greatest joy when they are looked after and the greatest difficulties when they are neglected.

Just as flowers need to be weeded (Jesus said “An enemy has done this” referring to the tares in the wheat field; St Matthew chapter 13 verse 28) human relationships need daily attention. The same enemy can sow the weeds of conflict, control, selfishness, pride, self-righteousness…which, if allowed to grow choke the life out of relationships. Good relationships are good because those involved never stop working on them.

Job must have been having a bad day (and he had a few of them) when he said, “Man who is born of woman is few of days and full of trouble. He comes out like a flower and withers; he flees like a shadow and continues not.” (Chapter 14 verse 2) So what is Job saying? He puts flowers and Man into the same transitory category. Both have a relatively short shelf life! But both have the potential, under the hand of the master Gardener, to produce great beauty.

Let’s leave it to St Peter to sort out the seed which produces the flowers of God’s love. We are to “Love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; (then he quotes Isaiah) for ‘All flesh is like grass and all its glory its glory like the flower of grass.

The grass withers and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.’

(Then he adds)

And this word is the good news that was preached to you.” (1Peter chapter 1 verses 22-25).

So St Peter is saying the seed of a good relationship with both God and people is the word – the Bible. And the good news is (in verses 18/19)

“You were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.”

The risen Jesus is the master Gardener. Put your trust in his work – it lasts forever.

I have just finished reading “The Gospel in the Marketplace of Ideas” because I thought it would be a help in speaking (or writing) about Jesus to modern people. The book is subtitled “Paul’s Mars Hill Experience for Our Pluralistic World” as the authors wisely focussed on Paul’s sermon addressed to Gentiles who would not have known anything of the Jewish scriptures and whose beliefs most closely match those found in the public square today.

After dealing with the world of 1^st century Athens and comparing it to the mismatch of ideas and religions available today the book focuses on Paul’s sermon found in Acts Chapter 17 verses 16 – 34. In a word for word analysis it reveals Paul’s in depth knowledge of the worldviews of the different groups he was addressing. By this means he gained their respect by showing an understanding of their position without diluting his message.

Using a statue to an “Unknown god” which he found there as his entry point to their beliefs he outlined the work of God in creation and in sustaining all that exists. He went on to reveal Jesus as universal judge and his resurrection as proof of this bringing forth a threefold response. Some mocked, some procrastinated and some believed and joined Paul.

All who engage in Gospel work will be familiar with the responses but few will have analysed their audience as thoroughly as Paul. His quoting from their literature where it fitted would have gained their attention in the same way as picking out the redemptive key in film or literature would do today as all great plots have their redemptive episodes.

This was radical – Paul was not looking for a new temple or a new statue – not even a priest! Paul did not require an effigy of Jesus since God can see, hear and speak. Athenian statues could do none of these things and were made redundant.

The word Paul used when he encouraged his hearer to repent had a double meaning: first to change one’s mind and second to change one’s practice. Action needed to follow understanding.

The Authors suggest a ‘Socrates Café’ as our Mars Hill and we could add ‘Third Spaces’! We have both in Dublin so bring on the debaters and pray that the Holy Spirit will bring forth a harvest.

Amid the many stories of the planet’s wildlife being slaughtered there emerged this week the story of the large piratical fishing trawler which bears its most recent name of Thunder. It underlined again the difficulty in policing the oceans and also the sad fact that if you want to destroy species and make a fortune in the process you need a ship.

Few, if any, nations wish to engage in the costly task of policing the seas so it was left to ‘Sea Shepherd’ (an Amnesty International type organisation sailing out of Amsterdam) to stalk the Thunder with two of its ships.

The chase started in Dec.2014 in Antarctic waters and ended in April. The voyage took the vessels through some of the world’s most hazardous waters as the Thunder tried to shake off her pursuers.

The species most at risk are Marlin, Swordfish and Tuna but the most coveted of all is the Tooth Fish renamed Chilean Sea Bass for the upmarket US restaurants. It is known as ‘White Gold’ and fillets sell at $30 a plate. These fish measure up to 6 feet in length and weigh 250 lbs. The Thunder was fishing for them on the Banzare Bank using 5 miles of illegal netting which was confiscated.

The journey ended with Thunder, its fuel supply running low, being scuttled off the West African coast. Its captain claimed it had hit an object but it appears he had sunk the ship to destroy evidence of illicit fishing. All were rescued and whatever evidence that could be grabbed from the vessel was taken as she sank under the water.

What has the Bible to say to all this?

When God said “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea…” (Genesis Chapter 1 verse 26) everything he had made was very good – both fish and man.

We must never underestimate the radical change that took place at the fall.

Instead of being good stewards of all God had provided sin, entering the world through our disobedience, has polluted all our efforts at husbandry.

The Thunder simply provides us with an illustration of what we are all capable of given the opportunity. The absence of law enforcement and the presence of great wealth offer an irresistible opportunity for short term gain. Only an encounter with the risen Christ can change the polluter to be a protector. Only when the fisher of Chilean Sea Bass meets the fisher of Men, turns his back on the former in order to embrace the latter can we hope for good stewardship in Antarctica or at home.

As Joseph Hart put it: –

‘Come you weary heavy laden, Lost and ruined by the Fall;

If you wait until your better, you will never come at all;

Not the righteous – sinners Jesus came to call.’

It has become a common sight to see ocean cruise ships packing the harbour in Dublin Port. We have become a destination of choice for those cruises sailing in more temperate climes whose passengers might just prefer the soft weather here to the baking sun over there!

Whatever brings them here the sight of ships 7 decks high have given way to a monster of 9 decks and 330m in length. These ladies have to be towed in backwards as they cannot, at present, turn around. However a pier is being removed as part of a major docklands redevelopment which will enable even the largest Cruise liner built (its 360m) to turn and sail under the eye of the ports four tugboats.

In order to cater for future expansion of maritime traffic the harbour area and channel are being deepened from 7.5m to 10.5m. Dublin port is fortunate in that the flow of water in the Liffey is sufficiently strong to scour the bed and prevent it from silting so to a large extent it maintains itself.

Some consideration has been given to the sea birds which nest in the area.

At present there are colonies of two types of tern. The renovations include a floating bird island to provide nesting space for them!

Of course ‘Cruising’ means something else to those interested in matters equestrian. It was a famous stallion, bred on the farm next door, who, for 5 years dominated the horse jumping scene in the latter years of last century.

He died last September at the age of 29 but has left many progeny around the world.

He is in the news again as his DNA has been successfully cloned, the first in Ireland, producing Cruising Encore and Cruising Arish. The latter has sired a foal which resembles Cruising’s attitude so much that it has been named Cruisitude!

It may be only a matter of time before they clone humans! One thing however that can never be cloned is the new birth. Each person born from above is unique – born of the Holy Spirit (St John Chapter 3 verses 3-9). Jesus answered the religious leader, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

(Probably Jesus was reminding him of Ezekiel 36 verse 25-27 – I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from fall your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.)

That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Appearing around the same time (1930) Pluto the Planet and Pluto the Pup
have enjoyed a shared identity.    All this may be about to change as new
photos of the former came into the public domain last Tuesday revealing fresh secrets of the Planet whereas the Pup has nothing left to reveal!

In the flyby NASA treated us to pictures of the dwarf Planet.   Its mass is
only one sixth of our moon but it has mountains of rock and ice some 11,000 feet high and gorges estimated at 3 times the depth of America’s Grand
Canyon.  

One of the mysteries revealed by the photos is the absence of craters which
pock mark the rest of the solar system.   This lends credence to the view of
a recent date for its creation.   

Why has Pluto not got a smooth but a mountainous surface?    It would have
required great heat to melt the bedrock and create the mountains.    It is
another mystery as there is no possibility of it being heated by
gravitational interactions with neighbouring larger planets.   Some other
unknown means created the mountainous landscape.

The probe has confirmed the suspicion that liquid water exists beneath the
surface of these icy worlds at the end of our solar system.    The
geological processes seem to be continuing in a place where they were least expected!

The Psalmist was more familiar with the unexpected.   He revelled in God’s
revelation!    “The heavens declare the glory of God and the sky above
declares his handiwork.   Day to day pours out speech and night to night
reveals knowledge.   Their voice goes out through all the earth and their
words to the end of the world”. (Psalm 19 verses 1-4).

God “speaks” in the order and perfections of his creation.   No one is out
of range of his voice.     No one can say I missed it.
In addition to the voice of creation St Paul writes of the voice of redemption in the message of Christ (Colossians chapter 3 verse 13-16).

Pluto the Pup obeyed his master’s voice.  By contrast many today are deaf to
the creator’s voice.    He still speaks clearly, “Come to me all who labour
and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.   Take my yoke upon you and
learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls”. (St Matthew Chapter 11 verse 28-29).

It’s nearly 2,000 years since the Apostle Paul heard the Macedonian call to “Come over and help us”. The people of Greece could do with a little help again today! This time however, whatever the spiritual needs are, they pale in the face of the gigantic load of debt which the European Community seems determined must be repaid.

Just how they managed to run up such a debt is a question we Irish should be able to answer – when we get the answer to our similar question from the Bankers Tribunal! The Bank Guarantee which sealed our financial fate was struck in Dublin in the small hours of the morning. The Greek parliament was called to a meeting at 5 minutes to midnight last night -seems familiar!

The easy way out of all this would be for the Greeks to bid farewell to the EC, declare bankruptcy and reinstate the Drachma. No longer tied to the Euro and relatively free of debt the old currency could find its own level in the financial markets. This would suit most Greeks but not the big boys in their boats! Those sleek super-cruiser owners would not take kindly to the drop in their asset value which would come about if the Drachma was reintroduced.

Joining them in their disapproval would be the more wealthy EU States who would have to write off their Greek loans. It might even remind Germany of the post World War loans which were cancelled for her, but that may be too far back to stretch the national memory!

Such thinking will never darken the door of Brussels where they are busy adding to the Greek debt by arranging another ‘bailout’. Ironically we Irish may be asked to contribute to this one having ourselves been a bailout recipient in recent times!

So bring on the Apostle Paul! We know what he would do. He would look out for believers, join them in prayer and preach Jesus as Messiah, crucified and risen. The response then was immediate and resulted in the first baptisms in Europe!

Opposition followed in the form of a fortune-telling slave girl who followed them shouting “These men are servants of the Most High God who are telling you the way to be saved”. St Paul, in the name of Jesus, commanded the spirit to come out of her and the spirit left her. Her owners were enraged that their source of income was gone, had the Apostles flogged and cast into prison (Acts Chapter 16 verses 11-24).

Material considerations were not allowed to get in the way of the Gospel in those days –read Verses 25- 40 – and neither should they today. God can turn around the most unlikely of situations. He did it for his people then. He will do it for his people today.

Roll out the barbeque and let’s celebrate. It’s the 4^th of July known as the day the US of A shook off the shackles of a British Parliament with its outrageous tax demands. Not even the infamous Boston Tea Party where tea valued around €750,000 (at today’s prices) was dumped into Boston harbour could slake the thirst for independence!

But all this was back in the 1770ies culminating with the signing of the declaration of independence in 1776. It enabled the Patriots to enshrine their political philosophies of liberalism and republicanism in a document which characterise the two political parties to this day. It also rejected the monarchy and the aristocracy and famously declared that all men are created equal.

This declaration was expanded on this week when the Supreme Court on a 5 – 4 majority ruled that States cannot ban same-sex marriage. In the name of ‘equality’ this law removes the ban right across the country.

The Bible is not silent about those who make such decisions. Alongside its clearest explanation of homosexual sin is the indictment of those who approve and institutionalise it (Romans Chapter 1 verses29-32). What happened in Ireland yesterday has happened in the US today!

The Bible is also clear as to the judgement which follows. In the same passage individuals who engage in these practices will receive the penalty of more of the same! It is as if God endorses their choice and says “you have made your bed so you must lie on it” (verses 24-27).

Can we assume God will judge the Nation, who legislates for sinful practices, any differently? Again this text would seem to predict an explosion of sinful practices – as if God’s restraining grace had been removed and the floodgates open (verses 29-32).

Christians are not immune from such sins. “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap” (Galatians Chapter 6 verse 7). The crucial difference is that we mourn over our sins. We do not make them into laws and go out and celebrate them. Instead we pray for forgiveness for ourselves and genuine repentance for others.

July 4^th is not quite the same this year. The Creator’s equality has been distorted. We need to shed tears for the Nations whose laws mock God.

Righteousness exalts a Nation but sin is a disgrace to any people (Proverbs Chapter 14 verse 34).

Roll out the barbeque and let’s celebrate. It’s the 4^th of July known as the day the US of A shook off the shackles of a British Parliament with its outrageous tax demands. Not even the infamous Boston Tea Party where tea valued around €750,000 (at today’s prices) was dumped into Boston harbour could slake the thirst for independence!

But all this was back in the 1770ies culminating with the signing of the declaration of independence in 1776. It enabled the Patriots to enshrine their political philosophies of liberalism and republicanism in a document which characterise the two political parties to this day. It also rejected the monarchy and the aristocracy and famously declared that all men are created equal.

This declaration was expanded on this week when the Supreme Court on a 5 – 4 majority ruled that States cannot ban same-sex marriage. In the name of ‘equality’ this law removes the ban right across the country.

The Bible is not silent about those who make such decisions. Alongside its clearest explanation of homosexual sin is the indictment of those who approve and institutionalise it (Romans Chapter 1 verses29-32). What happened in Ireland yesterday has happened in the US today!

The Bible is also clear as to the judgement which follows. In the same passage individuals who engage in these practices will receive the penalty of more of the same! It is as if God endorses their choice and says “you have made your bed so you must lie on it” (verses 24-27).

Can we assume God will judge the Nation, who legislates for sinful practices, any differently? Again this text would seem to predict an explosion of sinful practices – as if God’s restraining grace had been removed and the floodgates open (verses 29-32).

Christians are not immune from such sins. “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap” (Galatians Chapter 6 verse 7). The crucial difference is that we mourn over our sins. We do not make them into laws and go out and celebrate them. Instead we pray for forgiveness for ourselves and genuine repentance for others.

July 4^th is not quite the same this year. The Creator’s equality has been distorted. We need to shed tears for the Nations whose laws mock God.

Righteousness exalts a Nation but sin is a disgrace to any people (Proverbs Chapter 14 verse 34).