Be prepared. ( Matthew 24 v36-51)

 A  Christian minister has published a booklet called,'How to Prepare for Christ's return', I have not read the booklet,I wonder what your  advice would be as regards being ready for Christ's return?.There are two things I would say in answer to being prepared for Christ's return,the first one is,you need to trust Him as your Saviour,because it will usher in for the unsaved judgement , 2 Thessalonians 1 v 8.-9 we read,'He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out  from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His might'. That does not mean they will not exsist ,no, the soul will exsist eternally,some describe it as eternal ruin,another  calls it eternal exile.( CP Luke 16 v 19-31).If you are not a Christian take it serious ,please ,I urge you trust Jesus as your Saviour,before it is to late.Next we look at the position of Christians,how do we prepare for Christ's return?.live in the light of His coming,some foolish people make rash statements as to when Christ is coming again,in spite of not taking it to heart that no one whoever they are, knows when Christ is coming back again, Matthew 24 v36 reads,'But about that day or hour no one knows,not even the angels  in heaven,nor the Son,but only the Father'. Spurgeon writes,' Even Christ, in his human nature,so voluntarily limited His own  capacities that He  knew not the time of His second advent'.Yes He is coming again ,what is important is that we live in the light of that,live each day each moment in the light of our dear Saviours coming. Peter writes ,'You ought to live holy and godly lives'.

                                      'At His call the dead awaken,rise to life from earth and sea

                                      All the powers of nature,shaken,by His looks prepare to flee;

                                      Careless sinner, what then become of thee?

                                       But to those who have confessed,loved and served the Lord below,

                                        Hw will say ;come near,ye blessed,see the kingdom I bestow;

                                        You forever shall MyLove and glory know'   (Words John Newton)

True Hope.( 2 Timothy 1 v 12)

 It is said that there are three types of hope in the NT, 'No hope','False Hope',and 'True Hope'. In  Ephesians 1 v12  the apostle reminds the Gentile Christians of their former state ,that they were ,'without hope and without God',this applies to all who have not trusted Christ as their  Saviour,it's as serious as that. Next you have ,'false hope',in Matthew 7 v 21-27 we read of those who will say on judgement day ,''Lord,Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out deamons and in your name perform many miracles?Then Jesus said I will tell them plainly,''I never knew you. Away from me,you evil - doers!'' Next we consider 'true hope',  every true believer in Christ has true hope.it is described as an 'anchor,firm and secure' (Hebrews 6 v19)John Bunyan was arrested  for refusing to abstain from preaching ,he was filled with thoughts of uncertainty,he said this''Everyone doth think his own religion rightest, both Jews Moors and Pagans; and how if all our faith and Christ and Scriptures should be but a 'Think so'too?'' But when the light broke he ran out, ''Now I know! I know'', the Christian hope is different from wishful thinking,it is based on the word of God,and the Christ of the word of God.

                                                  'Min e!Mine!Mine! I know Thou art mine;

                                                  Saviour,dear Saviour,I know Thou art mine'

                                                                     Anna Hudson

                                                              

He always keeps His word.( Psalm 121)

It is sad thing  to say that people don't always keep their word,there are many examples of that,likewise goverments break promises they made before they were elected.But when it comes to God He always keeps His word ,God cannot lie,it is in fact impossible Hebrews 6 v18,'God is not human,that He should lie, not a human being, that He should change his mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfil?.' Numbers 23 v 19.When He says He will help us ,He will do just that,what He promises He will do it.The hymn writer wrote,

                                             ' Standing on the promises that cannot fail,

                                               When the howling  storms of doubt and fear assail,

                                               By the living word of God I shall  prevail ,

                                               Standing on the promises of God'

                                                                  Words  R. Kelso Carter

We live in a very insecure world,so many people feel under a threat,everyday many people are afraid of loosing  all their money by the scammers,wars and rumours of war abound. Are you over whelmed by life,failed marriage,loss of employment,loss of health,in the end you just feel lost. I went to bed last night I woke early,could not get back to sleep,worrying about a certain thing.This morning  I read from one of my daily readings,'Be anxious for nothing,but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving,let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God ,which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus'.    ( Philippians 4 v 6-7 )    

                                                   'Don't be afraid,for I am with you.

                                                   Don't be discouraged,for I am your God.

                                                   I will strengthen you and help you.

                                                   I will hold you up with my victorious

                                                  right hand. ( Isaiah 41 v10)

                                                  

                                                            

Perfect timing,planning ,and purpose. ( Isaiah 46 v 9 - 11)

When the angel appeared unto Mary to tell her she was going to have a baby,he said,'For no word from God will ever fail' (Luke 1 v 37). What God says will happen,nothing can stop it happening,in Isaiah 7 v14 we read ,' Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign; the virgin will conceive and give birth to a  son'.The prophet Isaiah prophesied from 739-681 BC, the word He gave came to pass,time does not weaken God's promisies,and so it came to pass.Why the delay? why did it not happen sooner? ,because it was not God's time, Ecclesiastes 3v1 reads,' There is a time for everything,and a season for every activity under the heavens'.Why was I born in 1944? it was God's time,why was I born in Belfast? it was God's place.Why was Jesus born at that time,it was God's time. Galatians 4 v7  reads,' But when the fullness of time was come,God sent forth his Son'.This was a God initiative event ,some people see that many of the things in place when Christ came would enable the spread of the .Gospel.The maiden Mary was God's choice,the place of His birth was God's choice,and the place h His of death was God's choice,and the instrument of His death was God's choice.Our Sovereign God is working out all things in keeping with His will, (Ephesians  1 v11) and let us not forget,it's not over yet.,remember Jesus said 'I will come again'.

                                           

Free indeed. ( Ephesians 2 v 1-10)

 Christmas is hastening on,in many ways it is a lovely time,when we as Christians rejoice at the birth of our Saviour.When the great event happened all those years ago,angels appeared ,wise men and shepherds came.We have lovely Christmas cards with the nativity scenes on them ,it is all very idyllic,but very soon dark clouds would appear over the birth of this child,that caused his parents to leave Bethlehem to escape the murderous  intentions of the paranoid king Herod. Herod give an order that all the children in Bethlehem under 2yrs should be murdered.If Herod had succeeded in killing the Christ  child think of the awful consequences for mankind,to say the least it would have been absolutely awful for all mankind.We must look beyond the Herod's of this world to someone beyond our natural sight,but his works and evil are manifest everyday,he is god of this world,and has many followers and disciples. There are two kingdoms in this world ,the kingdom of the devil and the kingdom of God.John writing of the kingdom on darkness and its power declares,'That the whole world is under the control of the evil one( 1 John 5 v19) David Jackson writes that,'This world is dominated by the devil, who controls it with tyrannical authority,organizing and orghestrating its life and activities to express his own rebellion and hatred against God'. Read the newspapers, listen to the news,read history,that should convince you.But into this world  was born a child called Jesus , which means Saviour,and it John who tells us that,'The reason the Son of God  appeared was to destroy the devil's works'(1 John 3 v 8)No wonder he tried to murder our Saviour, but praise God he never succeeded,and so the gospel goes forth,and men and women who accept Christ are set free from the power of the evil one and brought into the kingdom of God.

                                                         'So if the Son sets you free,

                                                          you will be free indeed.'

                                                                    John 8 v36

                                                  

Let us pray. ( Luke 18 v 1 )

 In 1 Thessalonians 5v17 we read,''Pray without ceasing'',I read an article on the internet,I thought it was very helpful.''Pray without ceasing'','in these words we are being encouraged as believers to maintain a constant connection with God throughout their day. It doesn't mean praying constantly in a literal sense, but rather to be in a prayerful state,and to frequently speak to God''John Piper says''Pray without ceasing means, to stay steadfast, and never give up praying''.Next we read of some ways to help us in our prayer life.

                                                      'Be aware of God's presence.

                                                      Seek God's guidance.

                                                      Express gratitude.

                                                      Offer petitions,praise and

                                                      thoughts to God.

                                                      Pray in the morning.

                                                      Center prayer around meals.

                                                      Focus on Joyful prayer.

                                                      Pray after making a mistake 

                                                      or error.

                                                      Pray at the end of the day.

                                                      Learn to listen to God'.

What is your mindset? ( 1 Kings 18v21 )

 In Romans 8 v 12-14, we are being instructed,' that we are under no obligation to do what our sinful nature urges us to do'.Our sinful nature will always be with us to the end of our days,you can bet on it. Unlike the unsaved we are indwelt by God's Holy Spirit so that gives us a great advantage,but we still have to resist evil urges,there is no let up ,in overcoming evil.King David unfortionately did not resist his sinful urges,and we know the consequencs, but he recognised what he had done and repented.(Psalm 51).  John Stott  writes of people having a ,'mindset, the' unsaved  In both cases their nature determines their mindset, the unsaved, and their mind will be set on so many  things ,and God won't be part of their lives,they do not to live to glorify God,Often it is to glorify themselves , their mindset is solely taken up with the things of this world,and God is shut out' This has irrespective of earth;y successs, dire consequnces,as one man comments,it is spiritual suicide. Now the Spiritual controlled life has a mindset on things above, of pleasing God,resisting ,not swept along with the goals of this life,they say that there are four main Goals of life,happiness,meaning,success ,and integrity', 'Happiness 'is a very elusive thing..'Meaning', without God there is no meaning, 'Success' ,it was Alexander the Great,who wept that there were no more worlds to conquor,cp Ecclesiastes 1v 12-18.'Integrity'' yes we need people of integrity,but it will not save anyone,standing on our integrity can be a source of pride,that can blind us to our greatest need,Christ.

                       Someone wrote the following' It still remains true that the Spirit-controlled,

                       Christ-possessed man is on the way to life; death is but an inevitable interlude

                       that has to be passed through on the way'.