Can’t Buy Me Love

Rainy Day

60’s weekend in Pickering, between the showers we had showers of blessing.

Street Preacher, Roger Gray OAC

 

 

TRAFFIC JAM

Pickering Market Place

GOING NOWHERE!

A regular occurrence in Pickering Market Place. Unfortunately!

This ancient Market Town wasn’t designed with motorists in mind, so when too many of them want to traverse its Market Place there is gridlock.

The number of older residents means there’s a higher than average number of disabled drivers for whom double yellow lines are a parking space. Add to them delivery vehicles and those who think the highway code is for other people, and scenes like this become a daily event.

For all our intelligence, ingenuity, and technology there are times when we get stuck.

At the end of the line!

Jesus’ Parable about the LOST sheep, coin and son in Luke’s Gospel chapter fifteen inform us that its our choices that get us in trouble, and that only when we are ready to admit we’ve come to an end of ourselves can our mess be untangled.

The sheep was lost because it was silly, the coin through someone’s negligence, but the boy is lost because he chooses to get far away from all who love and care for him.

Luke 15:14–16 But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.

He’s fallen out of the good life, into a world where pigs eat better than he does! He’s in a jam!!

Back in the Market Place, there was a lot of maneuvering going on, and some even had to go into reverse.

As drivers acknowledged their mistakes, one by one the mess was unraveled and order was restored.

We don’t know how long the boy in Jesus’ parables was stuck at the end of his line, but we do know that when ‘he came to his senses’ he could see the way out: –

Admit He Was Wrong, Go Back Home and Cast Himself  Upon His Father’s Mercy.

Jesus calls it ‘repentance’ – A change of heart that results in a change of mind and then of direction.

Matthew 4:17 (NKJV) From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Luke 5:32 (NKJV) I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

Luke 13:3 (NKJV) I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.

To repent is to change your mind. However, this only defines the word, not the concept, for you need to ask, Change your mind about what? …

If repentance is understood to mean changing your mind about your sin—being sorry for your sin—this will not necessarily save. There are plenty of criminals in and out of jails who are repentant in this sense. They are sorry for making certain mistakes, but this does not mean they give up a life of crime. People can be sorry for their sins without wanting to accept the forgiveness of a Saviour.

But if repentance means changing your mind about the particular sin of rejecting Christ, then that kind of repentance saves, and of course it is the same as faith in Christ. C. C. Ryrie

 

Repentance isn’t feeling. It is turning from sin to God. One of the best definitions was given by a soldier. Some one asked him how he was converted. He said:
“The Lord said to me, Halt! Attention! Right about face! March! and that was all there was in it.” D. L. Moody

The Way Out of His Jam was to turn from the tangled mess he’d made of his dead end life and go home!

Believing his father would receive him, he’s ready to consign himself to the most menial tasks necessary – To his great delight and benefit – When he reaches home there’s a welcome and he’s embraced as a long lost son.

This Is Jesus Message for All of Us – 

Left to ourselves we get get into such a jam that there’s no way forward, someone has to give way – and when you do you will find the relief and freedom of forgiveness and restoration to the family of the God and Father of all mankind.

Luke 15:21–24 (NKJV) And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.

Backs Turned to God.

ISN’T IT ABOUT TIME

YOU RETURNED HOME?

Today’s Youth.

A DIFFERENCE 

BETWEEN GENERATIONS

The Older One Imagines They Know All There Is To Know About God.

This was certainly the case with the elderly man who thought he’d have the last word by asking about the old chestnut: ‘Where did Cain get his wife if Adam and Eve only had two sons?’

Apparently it had been enough to silence the priest during their preparations for his wedding. Shame on him!

But, then when I told him the answer to his conundrum, instead of admitting he was wrong and exploring the truth, he walked away, it was just an excuse!

Romans 1:20–21 (NKJV)  For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,  because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

You will find the answer to this question and thousands of others here:

http://www.gotquestions.org/Cains-wife.html

The Delusion of the 60+ generation is tragic!

War, Politics, Hardship, Family illness or tragedy, they all conspire to harden their unbelieving hearts. Add to this the utter confusion brought about by Liberal Christians, it’s no wonder the Established Churches are closing down!

Two wrongs don’t make a right, but they make a good excuse. —THOMAS SZASZ, TheSecond Sin

It is never too late if we want to pursue a goal. No one can plead old age as an excuse for not changing, not learning a new habit, or not becoming a Christian. We still eat in old age, and sleep, and think. Why can’t we change habits in our senior years? 

 

CONTRAST HIM WITH THESE LADS:

Listening to the Gospel.

They’d stopped to take a leaflet, and after a few minutes stood to listen to the Gospel.

Here they learned that all are equally sinners, that God holds each individual responsible for their sin, and that unresolved sin would mean eternal separation from God in hell.

Then they heard the great Good News of God’s resolving the sin of believers through the work of Jesus Christ, whereby He paid our penalty and now sets free from sin and judgment all those who will take Him at His word, repent and believe on Him as Saviour. So Simple, yet So Hard to Accept.

You can watch a presentation of this Gospel Message here:

These lads listened respectfully, said they’d never heard this before and went off home. I pray that we will hear from them again soon.

WHAT A CONTRAST – I WISH MORE WOULD AT LEAST LISTEN

We are not out to force people to conform to our opinion, but to ask them to honestly consider the Good News.

Romans 6:23 (NKJV) For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

A Free Gift

Remember, salvation is a free gift, and it is a free gift for us. Can you buy it? It is a free gift, presented to “whosoever” will accept it.
Suppose I were to say, I will give this Bible to “whosoever” will take it; what have you got to do? Why, nothing but take it. But a man comes forward, and says:
“I’d like that Bible very much.”
“Well, didn’t I say ‘whosoever’ will can have it?”
“Yes; but I’d like to have you mention my name.”
“Well, here it is.”
Still he keeps eyeing the Bible, and saying, “I’d like to have that Bible; but I’d like to give you something for it. I don’t like to take it for nothing.”
“But I am not here to sell Bibles; take it, if you want it.”
“Well, I want it; but I’d like to give you something for it. Let me give you a cent for it; though, to be sure, it’s worth about five dollars.”
Suppose I accept the cent; the man takes up the Bible and marches away home with it.
His wife asks, “Where did you get that Bible?”
“Oh, I bought it.”
Mark the point; when he gave the penny, it ceased to be a gift. So with salvation. If you were to pay ever so little, it would not be a gift.

D. L. Moody

Pollution!

HOW OUR COUNTRY

HAS CHANGED:

Where once dirt, soot and pollution were accepted as normal, now everyone is alert to the problem of global warming.

Letting off Steam, and who knows what else?

Today, such emissions would only be accepted as a tourist attraction run by enthusiasts of a former time.

Clean air and control of carbon emissions are accepted as normal, allowing us to enjoy a far better living environment.

Market Place, people can now eat at the side of the street!

Whitby from Sandsend

THERE IS A FORM OF POLLUTION

WHICH IS ON THE INCREASE.

The pollution and corruption of the human heart and mind.

A young man stood reading the book titles from a distance:

Books and Tracts – And All Free

When I approached him and offered a leaflet, he declined, so I asked what he had been looking at and thinking about. “I was wondering who this ‘John Blanchard’ is”?I was able to explain that he is an author who writes to defend the Christian Faith.

This is how he’s described on his web site:

Dr. John Blanchard

Dr. John Blanchard is an internationally known Christian preacher, teacher, apologist and author. He has written 30 books, including two of Britain’s most widely used evangelistic presentations, Right With God and the booklet Ultimate Questions. The latter has over fourteen million copies in print in about 60 languages. His major book Does God believe in Atheists?, published in 2000, was voted ‘Best Christian Book’ in the 2001 UK Christian Book Awards, and immediately became a best-seller, described as ‘a brilliant defense of belief in God’. Other books he has written include: Truth for Life, Whatever Happened to Hell, Meet the Real Jesus, and The Beatitudes for Today. Dr. Blanchard is now heavily committed to Popular Christian Apologetics, a project involving writing, speaking, teaching and broadcasting in defense of the Christian faith. Following on from Does God Believe in Atheists? further books in the series include, Has Science got rid of God?, Is God past His sell-by Date?, Meet the Real Jesus, Is Anybody Out There?, Where Do We Go From Here?, Evolution: Fact or Fiction?, Why Believe the Bible?, Why on Earth did Jesus Come?, Why the Cross? and JESUS: Dead or Alive? Click here to find out more about this project or browse the links on the right. John Blanchard is a member of Banstead Community Church, located in the Surrey village in which he lives.

 

 

 

 

Interested in reading one of them? Simply request it by email, remember to include your address, and I’ll have one sent.

When I offered him any or all of the books on view free of charge, the pollution revealed itself.

“I’m one of those Atheists, I think the Bible is a fairy tale and Religion is rubbish”. I was quickly able to point out that the very opposite was true, but his mind had been polluted, no longer able to think for himself, he turned and walked away. This pollution is spreading fast as ignorance of God, and confusion of gods is on the increase.

Psalm 14:1a The fool has said in his heart,“There is no God.”

Romans 1:18–23 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.  

George Bernard Shaw(July 26, 1856–November 2, 1950),wrote: The science to which I pinned my faith is bankrupt. Its counsels, which should have established the millennium, have led directly to the suicide of Europe. I believed them once. In their name I helped to destroy the faith of millions of worshipers in the temples of a thousand creeds, and now they look at me and witness the great tragedy of an atheist who has lost his faith.”

POLLUTION INDEED!

Yet there is hope for all, let them once see the irrationality of unbelief, call on Christ and they and their world will be freed from the pollution of the sin of unbelief.

Put Him to the test, you will find what billions have discovered down through the ages, He cleanses and purifies men and will ultimately purge the universe of all pollution.

Matthew 11:28 (NKJV)  Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

John 6:37  All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.

The moment you repent open your heart and invite Christ in, He cleanses you so absolutely that “though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isa. 1:18). He removes your sin “as far as the east is from the west” (Ps. 103:12), and then casts them “into the depths of the sea” (Mic. 7:19). He says, “I will remember their sin no more” (Jer. 31:34).

When you were saved, He made you absolutely pure so that you can enter into the presence of God covered in His absolute righteousness: “For he has made him, who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Cor. 5:21). When you were saved, you were absolutely purified. Past, present, and future, every sin was done away with, and forever you’ll be pure.

Traction Engines

STEAM, SMOKE AND SOOT – Wonderful!

Steam and smoke fill the Market Place

Great Fiery Monsters Create a Sense of Admiration.

Magnificent example of dedicated hard work.

Spewing out great clouds of carbon.

A Testimony To Human Genius and It’s Limitations.

Almost Every Vehicle in Town Today has had to be Saved from the Scrap Heap and Restored.

A Fine Example.

Going Where?

The People Come in Droves to Reminisce and Admire.

The Watching Crowds.

GOD, WHO GAVE MAN THE BRAINS AND SKILL, IS ALSO IN THE RESTORATION BUSINESS!

As ‘The Master Engineer’ He knows that you need a sound power unit before He manufactures a new chassis, body and wheels.

Ezekiel 36:26 (NKJV)  I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

1 Corinthians 15:51–52 (NKJV) Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

Acts 4:12 (NKJV) Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

Acts 16:31 (NKJV)  So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

God has been in the business of restoration and maintenance from the beginning of life as we know it. You must be overhauled by Him or end up on the scrap heap of life. 

Only fully functioning and approved Vehicles may enter.

HE’S OPEN FOR BUSINESS.

Are you just going to stand and watch or will you put yourself in His hands for a total overhaul?

If a tramp comes to us in dire need, down and out, in rags and tatters, and sick, even starving, it will be good to give him a bath and a change of clothing, but not enough. For he is ill and undernourished. So, in addition, he needs food and hospital treatment. Similarly, we come to Christ down and out, in the rags and tatters of our sin, spiritually sick and starving. In Christ, we are at once made welcome and accepted, and given a bath and a change of clothes. God sees us as righteous in Christ. This is our new status. But it is only the beginning. The Good Physician knows we are sick. So he puts His Spirit within us to give us new life and health, and He feeds us with His Word until we grow strong and vigorous. There are no half-measures with Him.

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE:

Pickering Market Place

Pickering Market Place

This Is The Difference

ANSWERS TO LIFE’S ULTIMATE QUESTION:

What Happens Next!

The Grand Journey of Life Moves on Relentlessly

Time to Go?

OLD CARS CAN BE RESTORED:

Classic Car – E type Jag!

BUT WHAT HAPPENS TO PEOPLE?

No, we are not left to guess, our Maker and Designer has spoken plainly.

Romans 2:4-6   do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?  But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who “will render to each one according to his deeds”: eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honour, and immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; but glory, honour, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

HOW CAN ANYONE PREPARE FOR THAT DAY?

That’s the purpose of the Bible and all that other literature on the table – it’s time to ‘HELP YOUR SELF’.

Take up and Read!

I was weeping in the most bitter contritition of my heart, when I heard the voice of children from a neighbouring house chanting, “take up and read; take up and read.” I could not remember ever having heard the like, so checking the torrent of my tears, I arose, interpreting it to be no other than a command from God to open the book and read the first chapter I should find. Eagerly then I returned to the place where I had laid the volume of the apostle. I seized, opened, and in silence read that section on which my eyes first fell: “Not in revelry and drunkenness, not in licentiousness and lewdness, not is strife and envy; but put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” No further would I read, nor did I need to. For instantly at the end of this sentence, it seemed as if a light of serenity infused into my heart and all the darkness of doubt vanished away. – Augustine

Romans 13:14 (NKJV) But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. God.

Read about the amazing God who made us, His Holiness and Righteousness, His Love and Mercy. How He acted in time to bring about the permanent restoration of the human heart and mind so that men might live in His presence – Forever!

Romans 5:10 (NKJV) For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

Romans 3:26 (NKJV) to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Mary had a little pig and it was white as snow,
That is when it had had a bath, as you of course might know.
But Mary had an awful time to keep the piggy clean,
For it was just the dirtiest pig that one has ever seen.

She’d wash him and she’d scrub him, till he would squirm and squeal,
As if he wanted her to know it was an unfair deal.
And then inside his green backyard he’d plan from morn to night,
Unless he happened to sneak out and lose himself from sight.

And then when Mary found him he’d be blacker than ere before, 
So Mary’d get the soap again and scrub the pig some more.
Poor Mary thought and wondered much what she could ever do
Until she figured out a plan, and this she carried through.

She took him to a doctor who put the pig to sleep, and then he 
Took his heart right out, but not of course to keep.
And then he took a little lamb and took his heart out too
And put it in the little pig before the piggy knew.

When little piggy did awake he had no more desire
To wallow in the mud again or ever in the mire.
And try as hard as ere he could he never understood,
How such a pig as once he was could ever be so good.

And so you see, dear friends of mine, you need a new heart too,
Just like the little piggy did, the old will never do.
If you’ll receive a brand new heart, well, here is how you may.
Accept God’s son as Saviour now and let him in today.

NEED HELP TO UNDERSTAND ALL THIS?
Just Ask!

Ready to Help – Yes It’s Me. Get in Touch.

And Then It Rained!

CAUGHT OUT!

 Today Started Out Like Any Other Saturday Lunch Time.

 It was the ’60’s Weekend’ and there were a few people in town and some 60’s transport around.

60’s Weekend

60’s Weekend

Mod on Scooter

Rocker on Bike

A number of people happily took the the ‘Real Life’ leaflet.

A man paused and looked at the table, so I asked: ‘Have you heard the Gospel?’

Goodnews for Some

‘Oh, yes’, was his reply, ‘My sister is really into it’.

‘How about you’? ‘I used to be, but not any more.’ ‘Perhaps it’s time you reconsidered’?

‘No thanks’, was his reply and off he went round the corner and out of sight!

Matthew 7:13,14  (NKJV) “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

 

A young woman stopped, the testimony of Debbie Flood caught her attention

Our few minutes of conversation ended abruptly when she suddenly said: ‘I don’t like to be preached at’, deposited the leaflets she’d taken back on the table and left!

Mark 4:40 (NKJV) But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”  

“Sinners never have true joy or feel inward peace, because; ‘there is no peace for the wicked,’ says the Lord (Isaiah 57:21).

  We worry too much. We follow the example of our earthly father Adam when he confessed to God, “I was afraid … and hid” (Gen. 3:10). We have become a fearful people, even though most of our fears are often unfounded or just plain silly, because we do not have our eyes on the sparrow.

 THEN THE RAIN CAME:

Steaming in the Rain.

Time to pack up and go home? But wait:

Matthew 7:24–27 (NKJV) “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:  and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

Every Shower Reminds Us of The Need to Be Safe on the Solid Rock of Salvation through Faith in Jesus Christ. High and Dry – Are You? 

 A Peanuts cartoon pictured Lucy and Linus looking out the window at a steady downpour of rain. “Boy,” said Lucy, “look at it rain. What if it floods the whole world?”
“It will never do that.” Linus replied confidently. “In the ninth chapter of Genesis, God promised Noah that would never happen again, and the sign of the promise is the rainbow.”
“You’ve taken a great load off my mind,” said Lucy with a relieved smile. “Sound theology,” pontificated Linus, “has a way of doing that!”

Profitable Conversations

A table loaded with light and truth.

THERE’S USUALLY SOMEONE

.

WHO WILL STOP AND TALK!

Talking about the Gospel – GOODNEWS.

These two were quite happy to engage with us on matters of great importance.

It began with a comment and complaint that people had no idea that this was ‘Whit Week’! And developed into a discussion of how to be ready to meet God.

The lady was so disillusioned with the  ‘Established Church’ that she’s been meeting with ‘Jehovah’s Witnesses’ for a long time.

We touched base on their familiar shibboleths: Jesus isn’t god, the Holy Spirit is just God’s energy and that God’s Name is Jehovah.

When I explained that the JW’s were a man made cult with just c.150 years of history, and that they’d gone so far as producing their own version of the Bible to  pass off their views as Biblical, she began to listen.

“Ah”, she said, “you’ve got to have hope”, so I  pursued her line of thought to show that what the JW’s call hope is no hope at all – just ‘I hope so’, and so they are no different from every other religionist on the planet, ‘hoping’ that when the meet their Maker and Judge, He will review their ‘good works’ and approve them as worthy of a place in His eternal world.

The Christian’s hope is very different, it is a person – Jesus Christ, who as our representative and substitute, has completely covered our sin and  made us acceptable to God, here, now and forever.

Romans 5:1–2 (NKJV) Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

 Romans 5:5 (NKJV) Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

1 Peter 1:3 (NKJV) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

 So desperate is our state by nature that we need rescuing, not another set of rules which no one can keep. Jesus Christ is that Saviour, those whom He saves have the ‘blessed hope’ that He will bring them into the eternal world by His strength, and His alone.

Matthew 1:21 (NKJV) And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

 Acts 5:31 (NKJV) Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Saviour, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.

 Philippians 3:20 (NKJV) For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ,

 I don’t usually quote Thomas Aquinas, but in this quotation from ‘The Imitation of Christ’ he hits the mark:

In Thee, therefore, O Lord God, I put all my hope.… For many friends shall not profit, nor strong helpers be able to succour, nor prudent counselors to give a useful answer, nor the books of the learned to console, nor any precious substance to deliver, nor any secret and beautiful place to give shelter, if Thou Thyself do not assist, help, strengthen, comfort, instruct, keep in safety…
To hope in Thee above all things is the strongest solace of Thy servants.

 

The People of Pickering, and every other place on this planet, need ‘hope’ not the ‘hope so’ of man made religion, but the  ‘Living Hope’ which God has Established through the Death and Resurrection of His Son.

1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead

All who pass along this street need and can find hope – that includes you!

Life at the End of the Line.

The train might turn around, but all the passengers had to get off.

PICKERING  – THE END

 .

OF THE LINE FOR MANY.

 .

THE BEGINNING FOR SOME.

The North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) is a heritage railway in North Yorkshire, England. First opened in 1836 as the Whitby and Pickering Railway, the railway was planned in 1831 by George Stephenson as a means of opening up trade routes inland from the then important seaport of Whitby. The line closed in 1965. It was reopened in 1973 by the North York Moors Historical Railway Trust Ltd. The preserved line is now a significant tourist attraction and has been awarded many industry accolades.

The NYMR carries more passengers than any other heritage railway in the UK and may be the busiest steam heritage line in the world, carrying around 350,000 passengers in 2009. The 18-mile (29 km) railway is the second-longest standard gauge heritage line in the United Kingdom and runs across the North York Moors from Pickering via Levisham, Newton Dale, Goathland and terminating at Grosmont. Some heritage rail operations continue along Network Rail tracks to Whitby.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Yorkshire_Moors_Railway/

http://www.nymr.co.uk/

Thousands of Journeys have been made on this rolling stock, each one different yet because of the limits of the track and equipment there are obvious similarities.

You buy your ticket, take your seat,  then enveloped in oily clouds of steam and smoke you enjoy the scenery along the way, but all too soon it’s over and you return to the hum drum routine of life.

A snapshot of life itself, we are all on the same journey, whatever our individual variations of race, colour or creed we relentlessly move along the rail track of life from the cradle to the grave.

A highlight of the train journey is the arrival of the ticket inspector to check the validity of your ticket, you mustn’t travel without one. You may have to buy it yourself, or perhaps enjoy the benevolence of a generous friend, parent or companion, but not to have a ticket is to contravene the railway’s regulations. Those who break the rules must pay up, immediately or find some generous soul to bear the cost.

The Journey of Life is relentlessly traversed  by every human being, and like on the underground/metro/tube, tickets are checked at the exit barrier.

Do you have one? We begin this journey by just being born, using the amenities and consuming resources day after day after day, no one has a ticket, yet everyone needs one to exit on the right side of  the track at the end of the road.

NYMR Station, Pickering.

Wise travelers check the timetable and plan their journey.

Wouldn’t You?

Yet billions muddle along the journey of life without giving a thought to where they are going and how it will end.

Offer them a timetable or details of what to expect at the terminus and they foolishly brush you aside with a curt, ‘No thanks I’m OK’ . What a tragic mistake, for it’s not a train they miss but the privilege of knowing God and the provision He has made for all who can see their need and accept His ‘gift’ of the full and free cancellation of all charges incurred enroute, with a guaranteed welcome into His world of beautiful peace and joy at the end.

Proverbs 14:12  There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.

John 14:6  Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Acts 13:38–39  Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins;  and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.

Acts 16:30b–31 “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

Meandering through Life without Checking your Ticket is Madness.

Luke 12:20–21 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

REAL LIFE, putting the extra into the extraordinary

The Leaflet We Give Away.

Tells the story of Olympic

 ..

Silver Medalist Debbie Flood.

Her accomplishments in the games at Athens and Beijing are a great testimony to her hard work and determination.

In Her own words, there is something more special than her well earned success as an athlete.

"In my teenage years a local worker in a church challenged me about where I stood before God. Despite going to church and praying every-so-often I knew I needed to accept Jesus into my life. I needed to say sorry to Him for the wrong in my life and ask Him to forgive me, change me and be King of my life."
"I knew that I couldn't fool God - He created me - and there were things in my life that were far from what God would want. God the Judge said there has to be a penalty for the sin in my life."
But Jesus died for me and paid the sentence for my sin. Asking Him to become my Lord and Saviour is something that no Olympic success could bring. He has given me more than any Olympic medals could. However sorted my life might be, without Jesus it means nothing."

Another leaflet taken away to read.

It Was Our Privilege to hand out this leaflet, and many gladly received it:

Will you take a Christian leaflet?

Inside you will find a description of the One whom Debbie, and many others, depend upon to deliver them from sin and to give meaning and purpose to life. The One to whom you must turn in repentance and faith if you would find the kind of peace which she has found.

 

Mark 9:23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”

John 11:26 whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

Hebrews 11:6  he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

 

Sir Nigel at Pickering Station