May our confidence be based on more than this!

"Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."

Now there's a hope that will last today, tomorrow, next week and on into an incredible eternity in God's new creation! I've been challenged recently that perhaps I don't talk about these positives enough. Yes, Jesus' death on the cross does save me from the terrors of a real Hell, but God always saves us for something better - life forever with him! Not a nervous day-by-day "have I been good enough to escape the clutches of hell today?" but a bold, assertive "praise God!" for doing everything on my behalf that was necessary to secure my eternal future. My primary identity as a Christian is now "in Jesus" - i.e. it's Jesus' obedience, Jesus' excellencies, Jesus' perfect sinlessness that is the deciding factor in whether I'll be admitted to heaven. If Jesus is in, and I'm in Jesus, then I can be sure that I'll be there with him - that's what being in him means!

Following up from my earlier post about the National Biblical Literacy Survey, I'm launching a new blog to celebrate the weird and wonderful world of the Old Testament. The intention is that it's for anybody, of whatever religious persuasion or none, who simply finds the Old Testament worth talking about.

Yesterday on BBC Radio Four's Sunday programme (about 10 minutes before the end) they shared some preliminary results from a National Biblical Literacy Survey carried out by St. John's College, Durham. The results will come as no surprise, but they do paint a sorry picture of a nation that has forgotten God:

• Encouragingly, 75% of people surveyed owned a Bible, though few ever read it
• 57% could say nothing at all about the story of Joseph and his brothers, despite the popular musical
• 60% could say nothing at all about the Good Samaritan ("wasn't he the man who helped the woman at the well?", asks one interviewee)
• One of the commentators involved in education said many of her students couldn't even tell you which came first: the crucifixion or the resurrection of Jesus

"Why does any of this matter?", you may ask. Kudos to Nicky Gumbell, one of the guests on the show, for a very clear presentation of what's at stake: God tells us that the Bible is the ultimate revelation of his character, will and plan, and that it's therefore powerful to change people. As the wonderful Vijay Menon often likes to put it, it's pure dynamite. Ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of God, which is ultimately the world's biggest problem.

Sounds to me like a great time to be making Old Testament adventure games to help share with people the amazing message of the Bible.