His kingdom ( Daniel 6 v 7-8)

 When our Saviour stood before Pilate,he asked him,''Are you king of the Jews''? why did he ask Him that?.' well it was simple enough,because he knew that the Jews wanted to overthrow the rule of Rome.When Paul was arrested he was asked was he an Egyptian who had started a revolt?,( Acts 21 v38)of course he wasn't.So as I have pointed out the Romans were always aware that a revolt could happen any time.But our Saviour put him at his ease,and replied,'My kingdom was not of this world' (John 18 v36).Our Saviour never came to set up an earthly kingdom by force of arms.Because the kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom. filled with spiritual people, by the new birth (John 3 v 7) That kingdom can never be destroyed,can never be overthrown, (Daniel 6 v 26).many are trying to do that,by murdering the citizens of God's kingdom.That will not work  ,God's kingdom will not only survive but it will continue to grow, those who are persecuting citizens of  God's kingdom  are fighting against King Jesus ( Acts 9 v 4).King Jesus cannot be overthrown no matter how much they try. In  Deuteronomy 32 v4 and Psalm 89 v26  God is called a Rock, likewise in 1 Corinthians 10 v 4 Christ is called a Rock, He is that Rock upon which the Church is built upon,and none other.

                                                 'On Christ the solid Rock, I stand;

                                                 All other ground is sinking sand'

                                                            'Edward Mote'

                                                 

 

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Habits. ( Ephesians 4 v 17 - 24)

 Old habits die hard,so it goes,and its true,this was borne in a upon me recently,I have stopped wearing a wrist watch,but I have started to wear a bracelet,with a cross displayed.But here's the thing, I keep looking at it, to see what time it is.it makes me smile.But I know that there are many habits that many people have that don't bring a smile,or cause them to be happy,there are good habits and there are bad habits.If one is a Christian then we should ,read our Bible,pray,witness ,attend a fellowship with fellow believers,also we should do good works,when we let these things slip then we are slipping up.Those habits should not be done unthinkingly but with earnestness and sincerity,all this will help one grow spiritually. Reading the Bible regularly is like spiritual food,it is food for your very soul.Prayer is vital to our relationship with our triune God,we will gain strength from it, opening up many pathways,that are all good,neglect it to your cost.We are all called to be witnesses,by our lives and our words,to a lost world,ask the dear holy Spirit to empower you to witness to others.Not attending a fellowship with other believers,we are neglecting our Christian  family,lets not neglect our family, remember they need you and you need then.Then do good works ,not to be saved,not out of legalisim but out of love for others,and as we do that, we are glorifying our heavenly Father  (Matthew 5 v 16 )

                                                 ' Let our lives be filled with good habits'

The have's, and the have nots. ( Luke 10 v 25 -37 )

 In 2017 their was a major fire in a block of high rise flats ,72 people died.223 escaped,I watched it on TV, it was awful. Then  there was fire in a block of flats in East London thankfully the 100 residents escaped. One of the residents was complaining that she lost her wedding dress, now I know a wedding dress is important,or is it?,after all she didn't loose her life.So often we get things out of proportion , I believe that is so ,like the case of the young lady who lost her wedding dress. We need to look out of our comfort zone , to the have not's in the world.There is so much suffering going on ,think of the homeless,hungry, persecuted,in Mozambique there are approximately one million people who live as Internally Displaced People.If you are one of the have's,be grateful,be thankful, keep things in proportion, let us remember the have not's, in our prayers,and in our giving, or in anyway we can help them.

                                                    'It is more blessed to give than to receive'

                                                                        Galatians 6 v 10

John the Baptist (Matthew 6 v13)

 Before Christ was born John the Baptist was born,John's birth was in answer to  prayer, it would have seen that his parents had missed the boat,we do not know what age they were,only that they were very old(Luke 1 v 7).If it is God's will our request will be granted, even if everything appears to the contrary.I love those words written about Abraham how against all hope,in hope he believed the promise by God that Sarah and Abraham would have a child,even though Sarah was 90 and Abraham was a 100,and so it came to pass. If God gives a promise He will always fulfill it,and so Abraham had a son called Isaac.When John's father heard that his wife would have a child ,he did not believe,Luke 1 v19,and was struck dumb,which continued  till after John was born,the fact is ,that even the most godly of people,can fall into unbelief, and usually God wil deal with us,whoever we are.The sciptures foretold of one who would prepare the way of the Lord,(Isaiah 40 3),in Malachi 4 v5,he is called Elijah ,our Saviour said that John was Elijah,in that he miistered in the Spirit and power of Elijah. (Matthew 17 v 12) . In Luke 7 v28 our Saviour said of  John , 'among those born of women there was no greater than John',but then He adds this,'Yet the one who is least in the Kingdom of God is greater than he'John foretold of Christ's coming,and prepared the way for Christ coming ,so that they could enter His kingdom,but we as Christian's have not only seen the kingdom of God come we have entered into it through faith in Christ,such is our privelege.The kingdom of God has come , but we are told that we are to pray for God's kingdom to come (Matthew 6 v12),that means that through the proclaiming of gospel, people may by accepting Christ' be rescued from the kingdom of darkness and transferred into the kingdom of His dear Son'. (Colossians 1 v 13)

Love is ( 1 Corinthians 13v 7) 10

 Verse seven tells us ,'Love always protects', The word means covering,or concealing  the faults and imperfections of others( Barns)When Joseph heard that Mary was expecting a child,he thought she had been unfaithful we read,'Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law,and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace,he had in mind to divorce her quietly'.Not like the Pharisees who appeared to take pleasure in exposing the faults of others (John 8 v 53ff). Then we read ,'Love always trusts',it has with it the idea of always believing the best about someone,There is a song called,'After the Ball' by Charles Elmer Szabe, about a man who attended a ball and when he arrived,he saw the girl he was going to marry kissing someone,filled with anger he left,and that was the end of that,he never did marry,and as an old man he discovered it was her brother she had kissed. Let us not jump to the wrong conclusions, believe the best about people, and do not make a rash judgement. 'Love always hopes', when things are difficult beyond words,and the difficulties don't go away,it is easy to give up, but as one translation puts it ,'Love is always hopeful',We can be hopeful in spite of all the difficulties we may be facing, because our God is sovereign,and nothing can seperate us from the love of God,and that He will cause all things to work together for our good.Last but not  least ,'Love always persevers', or as the Ampilified Bible puts it,'Remaining steadfast during difficult times'.which we all will experience in some measure.The hymn writer wrote,'Nor death nor life,nor earth nor hell,nor time's destroy sway,can e'er  efface us from His heart,or make His love decay'.

Love is ( 1 Corinthians 13v 6) 9

Love rejoices with the truth v 6. From not delighting in evil,to 'rejoicing  with the truth', the reformation came about because the truth of God's word  was being underminded,not only was it was undermined  ,it was withheld from God's people. Christianity is built upon truth,personified in the person of Jesus Christ who is ,'the Way,the Truth,and the Life'.We rejoice in that truth,and many are suffering and dying for that truth. The problem with fallen mankind they will believe a life rather than embrace the truth of the word of God.It was Joseph Goebbels the propaganda minister under Adolf Hitler, said,'If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe in it,and it becomes the truth' Of course it does not become a truth,for a lie dressed up,still remains a lie.Psalm 119 v 160 declares , 'All your words are true ',we cannot say that of humanity our words are often far removed from the truth.In so many areas of life truth is is distorted,evil is called good and good is called evil.Many people lives are built on lies,and no matter how a lie is dressed up,it is a lie for all that,when people tell  a so called half truth it becomes a total lie.Many people swear on the Bible to tell the whole truth,and nothing but the truth,with no intention of being truthful.

                                                        'The Lord detests lying lip

                                                         but He delights in people

                                                          who are trustworthy.'

Love is ( 1Corinthians 13 v 6 )8

Love does not rejoice in evil but rejoices with the truth v 6,There is a perverseness in humanity that actually rejoices in evil, and even delights in evil,there are endless examples of that. Evil must be seen for what it is,and not to be laughed at ,we pray that the Lord will deliver us from evil.'In ancient Rome people took a delight in the gladiatorial games where for entertainment people fought to to the death.The story is told that a monk called Telemachus from Asia,heard an inner voice telling him to go to Rome,he ended up in the colosseum,where  to his horror  he saw two gladiators fighting,he ran between them calling out ,'in the name of Christ stop'.The result was he was run through with a sword,as he lay dead,the crowds left  the stadium.it had an affect and eventually the games came to an end.' In these days when moral values are being eroded by people who delight in evil practices,may we not go along with evil doers but be like that dear monk who stood against the evil which he witnessed.