Jesus saves (Luke 18 v 9 -14 )

 The apostle Paul  wrote to Titus who led the church,and in chap 3 he points out a number of  things,I will touch on two of them ,v3 'their past',v4 ,'the kindness and love of God '.Paul includes himself in what he  writes.let us look at their past,and we can also add our past ,because we are all sinners,and manifests that reality in different ways.Here is the list he mentions ,'At one time we to were foolish,disobedient,deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures.We lived in malice and envy,being hated and hating one another.'I'm sure we could all add other things to that list,let's consider are dark and sinfull pass.Let us consider that we were foolish,or as one translation puts it, we were senseless,like the prodigal son .in Luke 15v 11ff.Next we were disobedient in so many ways ignoring God's moral laws,next we were deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures,do you remember those days,or are you still in those days?Next ,'We lived in Malice and envy,being hated and hating one another.'The hymn writer  wrote,'I  once was a stranger to grace and to God,I  knew not my danger,and felt not my load'.What does he mean by that,what danger? every unsaved person is a breath away from going to hell. Verse 4-5, tells us,'But when the kindness and love of God our Saviour ,appeared,he saved us',if you are saved ,offer up a praise of thanksgiving,if you are not saved,get down on your knees and ask Him to save you.

                                    

Trust is the key. ( Psalm 91)

 It is believed that Moses wrote Psalm 91,it is to the whosoever who dwells under the shelter of the Most High,who rests in the shadow of the Almighty. When they do that they will come under a blanket of security. Israel throughout their history often failed to do that,  and God was not pleased,if only they had,they would have been delivered from so many things. As children of God we are faced with the same choice,if we do ,God promises us deliverance,if we don't  we will suffer the consequence of our unbelief. There are many dangers many difficulties mentioned in this Psalm ,I mention a few, pestilence, plagues, and  physical harm.Yes there are a multitude of things that can harm the child of God whatever they may be,but God is watching over  his Children,v7 reads,'A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.' v 10 reads,'no harm will come near you no disaster will come near your tent'.(This is what they lived in during their wilderness journey) In  verses 11-13 we are told that God will use His angels to preserve His children.In verses 14-16,God speaks, 'Because he loves me,'says the Lord ,'I will rescue him;I will be with him in trouble,I will deliver him and honour him.With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.'

                                                      I am the Lord,the God of all 

                                                     mankind.Is anything to hard

                                                    for me'

                                                             Jeremiah 32 v 27

                                       

Now you will see what I will do. ( Ephesians 3 v 20)

Many years ago I did voluntary work in a Christian bookshop,it was owned by a married couple.I myself had managed  a Christian bookshop,but in the end we had to close it,it wasn't making enough to survive,the shop was in Belfast,and there were no shortage of Christian bookshops,we just could not compete.It seems a nice idea to open a Christian bookshop ,but there are very few bookshops now,simple because of the internet .Now getting back to the shop I  did voluntary work ,it was not making enough trade to survive,there were overheads,and things financial was getting worst.They even opened a cafe to support it but that didn't work out,they had  a lease that they couldn't get out of.I got a scripture from Exodus 6v1,which read,'Then the Lord said to Moses,'Now you will see what I will do'. I shared this with the owner of the shop,and it was shortly after this,that the local council purchased the premises,praise God.It got that couple out of a very difficult situation. Sometimes we are like that couple we find ourselves in very difficult situations,we are boxed in,the roof it seems is going to cave in on us,but  dear child of God,you are not forsaken,you have come to the end of your human resources,but that's not the end of the story,your prayers have not gone unheeded,God is saying to you ,'Now you will see what I will do'.

You give ( Matthew 14 v16)

 I have many weaknesses,one is English scones ,for lunch I had an English scone plus Greek  yoghurt with mandarin segments, they tasted lovely.I thanked God for them ,and I thought how many people  have never had the pleasure of eating such things. Many people in this world are just about existing at starvation level,they have neither in them or on them.The water they have to drink is polluted,they have no medicine,live in a one room hut .When Christ was on earth  He had compassion on the hungry and He fed them, (Matthew14 )Before He did that,He said to the disciples,'You give them something  to eat'. These words are a challenge ,it is our blessed Saviour saying to all us,you help the hungry , poor, homeless, widows ,orphans and the sick. Let us not be judgemental,let us remember our Saviour  wasn't He fed everybody that day His giving was not conditional,He gave freely to them all.

They need more ( Isaiah 55 ) 2

 Yesterday we considered the needy people in this world ,needing help  in so many ways,After Jesus had fed the five thousand , many of people followed Him,people who felt that He was their meal ticket (John 6 v 26),He reminded them that,'He was the bread of life',the bread He had given them,satisfied their physical needs,but it could not supply their spiritual needs,only He could do that.So many people are hungry  just for the things of this world, they are blind of their souls need, yes we should help people ,but we should never forget that their greatest need is Christ.There are religious charlatans ,in other words individuals who exploit people's  faith and gullibility for personal gain,They often perform  fake miracles,create elaborate scams,or present themselves as having a special connection to  God to enrich themselves,and building a following.These words describe the prosperity gospel people.We are and have a soul that will never cease to exsist,but without Christ we will go to a lost eternity. I repeat ,only Christ can meet the deepest need of the soul,your soul,my soul,everybodv's soul.

9

None other. ( Exodus 20 v 3)

 When Geza king of Hungary became a Christian he was reproached by a monk for continuing to offer sacrifice 'to various gods',he cheerily acknowledged  that hedging his bets' had brought him both wealth and great power'.When Paul visited Athens he found an altar with an inscription .'To an unknown God (Acts 17 v 23) could be they were hedging their bets. The thing is you  cannot worship other gods,and be a Christian,there is one God,we cannot compromise . Satan  temped Jesus  by offering him all the glories of this world ,if only he worshipped him,and Jesus answered,'It is written:''Worship  the Lord your God and serve only Him''(Matthew 4 v 5-7) in  1 Corinthians 10 v 20  Paul told the Christians that the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons,not to God'. The devil is behind every false religion,yes every false religion,no exceptions.We must take that very serious,it is no good ignoring what scriptures tells us. Our great triune  God is the only God there is,there is none other.we worship Him and none other.

Storms ( Hebrews 6 v 19)

I was walking with a friend  and I noticed a large anchor,my friend told me it was called an'Admiral Patton Anchor'.It reminded me of a hymn we used to sing by Priscilla Jane.Owens , the first verse goes,'Will your anchor in the storms of life? that's a very good question and I wonder how you  will answer that question?there are many storms in life  some of our own making. We are married and our marriage appears to be falling apart, there is usually a reason ,but what ever  the reason,you're scared,frightened, and don't know where to turn to.Could be you just have been diagnosed with a serious health  problem,will you survive it?,so many things are going on in your head. Job loss how are you going to get by it is like being in in a storm,and you feel like you are  drowning.Then there is your children,they are in trouble,and it seems there is nothing you can do about it,another storm.They are never far away ,they come when you least expect them,these are some of the storms we get into,is there an answer?,here is the chorus of that old hymn.

                                                    'We have an anchor that keeps the soul

                                                     Steadfast and sure like the billows roll;

                                                     Fastened to the rock which cannot move,

                                                     Grounded firm and deep in the Saviour love! ,'

I read this on the internet ,'The anchor symbolizes Christ ,and its through Him,we receive inner strength, enabling us to persevere in all the storms in life ,and to be more conquerors.