Doctrine. [ John 5 v 39 ]

I have just finished studying Titus, written by Paul to Titus in the island of Crete and according to John Stott the theme of this letter is simply,'' Doctrine and duty''. J  Stott ,gives an outline of the Christian Life.
                              [1]Doctrine and duty in the church][1 V5-16]
                              [2] Doctrine and duty in the home[2v1-15]
                              [3 ]Doctrine and duty in the world [3v1-11]
Doctrine just means a set of beliefs, everybody has some sort of belief , even an atheist is ruled sort of belief, Stalin  believed in the teaching of Marx,So we have a world  that  is full of different beliefs. Because  humanity disobeyed God, and went there own way, and so we have a world that has chosen to not worship or follow God. Israel of old was used by God ,to be a witness for Him,  they had Gods word, which taught them the right way, as to God Himself, and His will. Those scriptures promised that a Saviour would come, the Jews for all of their history believed this ,and of course He did come in the person of Jesus. He declared that He was the truth and the life ,the only way to God the Father[John 14 v6 ].To know God we must know Jesus, the question you may  ask is why?. Because He said so, because only in Him can the barrier of sin be dealt with, only when it is dealt with can we have a relationship with a Holy God.

                                     A  prayer.
Dear God help us to see the importance of doctrine, as revealed in your word, in Jesus name we ask this Amen.


               

                                                                                                      

Peculiar people. [ John 15 v12 ]

I heard things about a local curch that is causing me concern, and yet as I read the letters to the churches, in the New Testament, it reminds me that some things never change. Most of the letters written to these church, voiced concerns, about  doctrine and behaviour. The great apostle  Paul who had to deal with so many difficulties in the churches, wrote,'' I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches''[ 2 Corinthians 11v28] It is easy to talk and gossip ,but that is not the answer, we need to pray, for those churches that are knowing difficulties. After all they are part of our Christian family, yes they may have different views on different things ,that we hold ,they are still Christians. There is a group of churches in England,
and they where known as the, 'Peculiar People', this  is taken from the AV,
and has an entirely different meaning now. Most people used the AV when this movement came into place, in modern translations it is translated,'' His own special people''. As one observes some Christian groups, and even may
I say, some Christians, we may be inclined to label them, peculiar people,
but let us remember, in spite of their strange ways, they are ''Gods own special people'' . So let us all without exception pray for those peculiar people who are Gods special people.

                                          A  prayer.
Dear God you know us your people, and how often we act in peculiar ways
we ask that in mercy You may perfect that which needs perfecting,as
individuals and as local churches, in Jesus name we ask this Amen.

Obedience [ Acts 1v 8]

I went up to a dear Christian brother and  spoke to him,he has just been diagnosed as having dementia, he is a former London City missionary. Even before he became a missionary he would visit ships in Tilbury docks, as I spoke to him he said how he still seeks to witness to people about Christ. His name is David, and I said to him you have witnessed to hundreds of people, yes people from all over the world. Let us never loose sight of this fact we all are called to be witnesses of Christ. Yes by our lives, but also by our words, you may have forgotten this , or neglected this , but we cannot shirk our responsibility to tell others about Jesus. How can we do it?,we are reserved, we are shy, we do not want to be known as a religious fanatic, we want to be liked, and accepted. People will  ostracise us, they may even
resent us, and what we have to say, make fun of us, pick on us .In looking back on my like ,and the times I have witnessed to people, I suppose I could have done it more tactful, with greater wisdom. Yes that is true, but I did try, I did pray,I  did obey,and the challenge to obey has not changed, to be a witness for Jesus.

                           Will you leave yourself behind
                            If  I but call your name?
                            Will you care for cruel and kind
                            And never be the same?
                            Will you risk the hostile stare,
                            Should your life attract or scare?
                            Will you let Me answer prayer
                             In you and you in Me.
                             [Words G. Maule/J L.Bell]

We will remember [John 22 v 19 -20]

Every year our country holds a day when we remember, those who died in the many wars our country  has been involved in, ,the following words are spoken,'' we will remember them''. It is John Stott who wrote the following,
''There are many warnings in scripture of the dangers of forgetfulness, and many  promises to those who remember. A bad memory was one of the main reasons for Israel's downfall'' CP  Psalm 106 v7/13.  Deuteronomy chapter v8]Again he writes'', Jesus had to make the same complaint to the apostles' Don't you remember...?[Matthew 16 v9].To the many who want something new, J.S ,writes,'' All conscientious Christian teacher,once they have been delivered from the unhealthy lust for originality ,take pains to make old truths new and stale truths fresh''. Many arguments ,and pain have been caused by people reading more into the Lords Table, communion, mass, call it what you will. It was never meant to be a war Zone, it is basically a time when we remember our Saviour, and His dying love for us. The bread and wine are nothing more than that, if we make more  of these simple symbols, we go beyond what Saviour taught us. For He said,'' do this in remembrance of me[John 22 v19],why ?lest we forget.

                                        A prayer
                        
                         King of my life I crown Thee now,
                         Thine shall the glory be;
                         Lest I forget Thy thorn crowned brow,
                         Lead me to Calvary.

                                Lest I forget Gethsemane,
                                Lest I forget Thine agony,
                                Lest I forget Thy love for me,
                                Lead me to Calvary.
                                 [Words by J. E. Mussey]

Propitiation [ John 3 v16]

Now I mentioned in my last devotional the importance of preaching, and indeed believing the whole truth, which God expects us to do. Now there was a person called C. H. Dodd who was uneasy with the whole idea of God manifesting wrath, it appeared inconceivable ,he took exception, to the word propitiation,'' which refers to satisfying or setting aside wrath,'' Dodd
would not accept this, And he committed the awful crime that no translator should commit, he changed propitiation, to ,expiation which refers to cancelling sin, in Romans 3 v25,and the two references in 1 John 2 v2/4 v10,propitiation is omitted. This is something that J Ws do especially in relation to the deity of Christ. Unfortunately  he has his followers,people
who continue to shy away from God, manifesting wrath. Dodd denied that
Gods wrath was personal. The fact of the matter is ,right throughout the
Bible God personally deals with those who sinned, both in the Old and in the New. The fact is this when Christ died on the cross, he experienced the
wrath of God ,that all who believe in Him would not. We cannot appease God, it is God alone, in order to do that. I quote D.A.Carson'' God the Father is thus the propitiator, and the propitiated, and God the Son is the
propitiation''
                                               A  prayer.
Dear God help us to see how awful our fate will be, if we do know Jesus as our own and personal Saviour Amen.

               [ I will return to my devotional 29th March, every
                 blessing.]

I am not an entertainer [ 1 Corinthians 9 v 16 ]

Dr Martyn Jones, having preached a sermon on the wrath of God, and having called it ' a controlling conception' of Romans where it occurs ten times, the said,'' I confess freely, I cannot understand a jocular evangelist Go back and read the lives of the men whom God has used in the mightiest manner, an you will invariably find that they were serious man,  sober men, men with the fear of the Lord in them''. Of course people do not want to hear about judgement, and sad to say there are many preachers, who do not
preach it, because they cannot come to terms with it. We must leave them with God who will judge all things,[James 3 v1 ],but I must remain faithful
to my calling to teach and preach the whole counsel of God. Recently I spoke to a Salvation officer, who said ,''we are doing those we minister to ,no favours when we do not mention sin''. In witnessing to someone recently ,the said person ''there you go mentioning sin again''. The awfulness of the cross reminds us of the awfulness of sin, and the absolute importance, of what the cross is all about. Without our Saviours death on the cross, every human being, would be lost in Hell, and would never enter Heaven, can never enter in ,it is impossible, as long as we have not had our sins forgiven.[Revelation 21 v27] Heaven is open to all those who ask Jesus to save them, and have  their sin forgiven. John 3 v36 reads,'' Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him''.

                                            A  Prayer.
Dear God help us to be faithful and to proclaim the whole truth of your word, in Jesus name Amen.

Peace be still [ Mark 4 v 35-40]

I was out walking, it was a lovely day, reminding me that winter is slowly going, I also noticed that there where blossoms on some trees. There was a wind blowing, a soft wind, not cold but pleasant, depending were it comes from, will determine what sort of wind it will be. But today it was a soft wind, tomorrow it could be a cold, and destructive wind, it caused me to think, how life is full of situations, in which we feel we are in a storm ,or we find ourselves, in a destructive storm, like a hurricane. Now of course I am using the wind as an illustration, of what live is like, none of us have control over the wind, it blows whatever way it chooses, or rather whatever way God chooses[Psalm 148 v8].Yes today a soft wind, tomorrow ,God knows, and most  important He is in control, the disciples where in a storm and Jesus was with them,[Mark 4 v35-40], the Lord is always with us. The
disciples were scared out of their lives, and so they go to Jesus who was sleeping, The wake Him with words,'' Master carest thou not that we perish?
They felt they were going to perish, but more than that they felt that He did not care. They were wrong on both accounts, they did not perish, and He most differently did care, Jesus rose up, rebuked the wind, spoke to the sea,
''Peace be still'', and the wind ceased and there was a great calm.


                             And He said unto them ,
                             Why are ye so fearful?
                              how is it that ye have
                              no faith.?
                              [Mark 4 v39]

Fear not. [Psalm 48 v14 ]

                                          I will pilot you.

                                 Sometimes when my faith
                                 would falter,
                                 And no sunlight I can see.
                                 I  just lift my eyes to Jesus,
                                 A I whisper, pilot me.

                                 Fear thou not for, I'll be
                                 with thee,
                                 I will still thy pilot be,
                                 Never mind the tossing billows,
                                 Take my hand and trust in Me.

                                 Often when my soul is weary,
                                 And the day seems oh so long,
                                 I just look up to my pilot
                                 And I hear this blessed song.

                                 Fear  thou not for, I'll be
                                 with thee.
                                 I will still thy pilot be,
                                 Never mind the tossing billows,
                                 Take my hand and trust in Me.
                                    [Words by S. Whitman ]

                                The Lord will guide you always.
                                         Isaiah 58 v11.


                        

















                          

                                                                                                              
      

Ignorance is not bliss. [ Matthew 28 v 18- 20]

I was speaking to a retired nurse, and asked why is it, that years ago so many people died in childbirth. Her answer was very simple, infection, in other words if more care had been taken with hygiene issues, many, many ,lives would have been saved .I suppose people were ignorant as to the dangers of infection, and put it down to one of those things. Ignorance is defined as lacking knowledge and education, in so many countries many people are still dying through lack of knowledge and education. But there is another aspect to ignorance, people are embracing, false religion, with dire consequences. because they have never heard the Gospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ . Now I know God is sovereign, but the fact is , they need to hear about Christ. We are saved ,because someone told us about Jesus, and the Spirit of God, used that to bring us to our Saviour. Could it be that many of us have been slack in not telling others the good news. Consider these challenging words from Romans 10 v 13ff.

                         ''Everyone who calls on the name of the
                           Lord, will be saved. How ,then, can they
                           call on the one they have not believed in?
                           And how can they believe in the one of
                           whom they have not heard? And how can
                           hear without someone preaching to them?''

Against all the odds [ Romans 5 v 6-8 ]

I was watching a nice movie, called Hugo, about a young lad who was left to fend for himself in a railway station. He was good at fixing things, and near the  end of the movie, an old man who had been a famous movie maker but had withdrawn from the public gaze. Hugo had helped him to as it were to make a come back,declares , that his come back was due to a young man[ Hugo ]''who saw a broken machine, and against all the odds fixed it.' ''Those words struck a cord with me, for I am reminded of another young man called Jesus ,who saw a world full of people ,whose lives were broken, and against all the odds, he fixed them . I can think of so many people ,who were broken by their sinful ways, and broken by this sinful world, and against all the odds  He fixed them. I will leave you with the words of a gospel hymn I used to sing, it is called ,''Broken pieces.''

                                 Have you failed in life's battle ,
                                 to accomplish your plan?
                                 Is your heart heavy laden?
                                 do you fear the Lord's command.?.

                                 You may feel there's no hope
                                 broken hearts just cannot mend.
                                 Tho you're torn in many pieces,
                                 Christ can make you whole again.

                                 Pick up the broken pieces
                                 and bring them to the Lord.
                                 Pick up the broken pieces,
                                 trust in His holy Word;
                                 He will put them back together
                                 and make your life complete,
                                 Just place the broken pieces
                                 at the Saviour's feet.

                                    [Words Ruby Kitchen ]

I did not sign up for that. [ Hebrews 11 ]

I was watching a movie and one of the characters in the movie, said ,''I didn't sign up for that''. When we accepted Christ, we received forgiveness
of all our sins, acceptance with God ,the gift of eternal life, which yes includes never ending existence, but our dear Saviour, ''defined its life in terms of knowing Him, and knowing the Father''[ John 17v 3 ][ J. Stott].
again as  J.Stott puts it ''a present possession and a future hope''. What a
blessing ,we diffidently signed up for that, but with these blessing we are faced with the challenge of following Jesus, walking the walk, of trusting
Him day by day, whatever befalls us. It is possible we may say well I didn't sign up for that, as you view a broken marriage, ill health, financial difficulties ,the loss of someone, persecution, unanswered  prayer, unloving Christians, and so it goes on. We do not want these things, well nobody wants them, the fact of the matter is we can experience many of these things and more. The fact is when  we trust Jesus to save us, it does not remove us from  the difficulties of life,that means we are to trust our Saviour ,come what may. That is the challenge  every child of God is faced with , when we trusted Jesus,we  really did sign up to follow Him come what may.

                                   My times are in Thy hand;
                                   My God, I wish them there;
                                   My life ,my friends, my soul I leave
                                   Entirely to Thy care.

                                   My times are in Thy hand;
                                   Whatever they may be;
                                   Pleasing or painful,dark or bright,
                                   As best may seem to Thee.

                                   My times are in Thy hand
                                   Why should I doubt or fear?
                                   A Father's hand will never  cause
                                   His child a needless tear.

                                   My times are in Thy hand;
                                   Jesus the Crucified;
                                   The hand my cruel sins have pierced
                                   Is now my guard and guide.
                                  [Words by H.F. Lyte]

To obey or not to obey that is the question.[ John 15 v 14]

I found myself singing the words of  Psalm 137,it is written out of a very painful experience, what is known as the captivity of the Jews in Babylon,
which lasted 70 years. The question why did Gods people end up in captivity?, surely they were Gods people, and of course they were. Well was God not suppose to protect them ,and keep them from harm?, to appreciate the reason for the awful overthrow of  the Jews by the Babylonians, we have to turn to Deuteronomy 26 -28.We read how God made a covenant with Israel, but to enjoy the blessing involved in this covenant, God required obedience. To emphasise this ,it was clearly told to
them of the consquences of disobedience ,in words of a curse , and when they heard this the people would say, Amen. meaning ,so be it. At that time they agreed with it,but their time in living in the promised land,turned out a
disaster when more times than enough they disobeyed God. The situation
became so bad, evil from the Lord came upon them, a small number where spared, by being taken into captivity, but most were destroyed  by the
Babylonians.
                                          A  prayer.
Dear God, help us who are your children ,to be obedient children in Jesus
name Amen.

What about now? [ Revelation 2 v1-7 ]

I read these words recently. that the secret of England's greatness, was the Bible. Greatness it seems is what most nations want. President Trump wants to make his country great, it is though that Mr Putin want to restore Russia to be once again a great power. As to that saying about the secret of England's greatness,I will leave that for God judgement.Yet there is no doubt that the Christian influence had an effect on England,  Yet like many countries, many people did not believe  in Christ, many people did attend church, mighty movements by Gods Spirit had an effect upon the United Kingdom. Wales experienced revival, likewise Ulster, there where movements in Scotland.In England God raised up great ministries, and great ministers, but it is all past history as with many western countries there has been a sharp decline in the Church of Christ. I cannot say that the scriptures have any real place in England now, although Bishops take there place in our parliamentary system, there voice is rarely heard. England is still a great country but that former greatness is gone. What it was and what it is now is sadly different,it does raise a question for all of us who are Christian, can it be said, that our testimony relates only to the past?, that what we once where, and what we are now ,are sadly different?.
                                
                                             A  prayer.
Dear Lord help us to manifest the reality of You in our lives now, in your name we ask this Amen

Loneliness . [ 2 Timothy 4 v 16-18 ]

Is it wrong to admit our weakness, our feelings of loneliness?, we are all part of humanity, and we all have our weaknesses. Even though I have been a Christian for a long time ,I still feel at times lonely, the Beatles sang, about all the lonely people. I believe many, many people suffer from loneliness. of course that is one reason God gave Adam a wife [Genesis 2v18].One aspect of  bereavement is loneliness, and that is why some people marry soon after the death of that loved one. Dating agencies are popular as ever, because people are lonely, modern life has brought us many benefits, but it has destroyed a sense of community. Our prosperity has caused us to be more independent, less dependent on others.We all live in little boxes ,little boxes in a row, we do not ,nor even consider going to our next door neighbour to borrow something like the well known  cup of sugar. The church I attend is a very friendly church, but it is so sad when we hear of churches that are not welcoming. I remember attending a certain church, which was well attended, the people I felt were alright, but as I was leaving, the minister, seemed to look at me as if I was an intruder. So is there an answer as regards loneliness, yes there are partial answer, try and connect socially, attend a friendly church, be friendly,ask God to help you.
I believe that as long as we live on planet earth, there will always be a degree of loneliness, until that day when we enter the eternal glories.

                                          A  prayer.
Dear God help us in our lonely times to not give into despair, grant unto us
the grace to bear with life, and all that is thrown at us, and most of all, fill our heart and lives with your wonderful presence in Jesus name Amen.

An everlasting Kingdom. [ Daniel 2 v 44 ]

I read something our government did that was a cause of concern, yet lets face it the government's of this world, do not represent the Kingdom of God. Consider those words spoken to a political ruler in John18v36, by Jesus,'' My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my Kingdom is from another place'' no political system represents the Kingdom of God ,they pass laws that are often contrary to Gods will, and even are sinful. Consider those words of our blessed Saviour as regards His kingdom. Islam would want to set up what they believe to be their gods kingdom, where all would follow
and submit. Some Christians believe that Christ one day will set up a kingdom on earth, where He will rule with a rod of iron, for a thousand years, and the temple worship will be reintroduced again, and all the nations will come and worship. God is not in the business of building again that which He has destroyed[Gal 2 v18] The Jews had an expectation that the Messiah would come set his throne up and rule from an earthly throne [ John 6 v15],it did not happen and will never happen, for His Kingdom is not of this world, it is different, its a spiritual kingdom, where Christ rules in the hearts of all who accept Him as Lord and Saviour, a kingdom that will have no end.in the words of Daniel 2 v 44,''A Kingdom that will never be destroyed'', and will ''Endure for ever''.
                                           A prayer.
    Dear Lord we pray that your kingdom will come into the hearts of all men. Amen.
                          
                            

                               

Lucky charms. [ 2 Corinthians 10 v 4- 5]

Do you believe in lucky charms, many people do, recently a man told how he picked up a penny, this coincided with him doing the Lottery, and to his surprise, yes you've guessed, he won over a million pounds. So that penny
became his lucky penny,yet how a penny really had anything to do with it, does not make sense. Are you superstitious?, well the dictionary defines  superstition as having an irrational belief in supernatural events, that certain objects, actions,  or events bring good or bad luck. Some religious people have been noted as being superstitious, throughout history, some so called Christians, have believed in relics, that would bring them good fortune, it was thought the more relics one had the better. Most of it was absurd ,and utter nonsense in fact it all was. there will be those who will strongly disagree with what I am writing. There is nothing in Gods word to support a belief in relics or lucky charms, people who hold to such beliefs, are far removed from God. I remember making a wish, on a so called wishing chair.and I felt so convicted by the Holy Spirit that what I had done was wrong. I am not holding unto any trinkets, relics, or whatever, but in God and His word. I believe in the power of prayer to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, that beats a so called lucky penny.

                                             A  prayer.
Dear God open the eyes of all who hold to those things that are contrary to
your word, in Jesus name Amen

His will or mine? [ Matthew 26 v 39]

It is lovely to see God moving in situation's, in things one is concerned with, our part is to pray. Yes I stress again the importance of continuing in
prayer, it is so easy to give up, that is a mistake.Jesus tells us to keep on asking, seeking, and knocking.  [Matthew 7v7] I am not talking about vain repetition, but a legitimate spiritual exercise, where in faith we seek God.
If what we seek is Gods will, we will have what we seek, if not , then we are better not to receive it. In Psalm 106v15 we read how God granted to Israel their request ,but sent leanness into their souls. 1 John 5 v14-15,tells us,
''And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that ,if we ask anything
according to His will, He heareth us; And if we know that He hear us,
whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of
Him''
Consider your parents, would they gave you anything, you ask for, if it was not good for you?. Our parents had rules, that they believed was  for our good, when we are little children, our parents, do not give into our pleading for they know what is best for us, in a very real sense their will is best. God knows what is best for us, His will, is always  best, and it is best for us to realise this, and to not rebel against it.

                      Let us learn this most important lesson,
                      Gods will is always best.
  
       [I will return to my blog Monday, every blessing Bill]

Immanuel Kant [ 1 Corinthians 1 v26 - 31]

My son showed me a quote by Immanuel Kant ,the question is who was Immanuel Kant?. Well I look looked at a web site , he was a Prussian, born 1724 died 1804,and had a religious background. He turned out to be one of the major Philosophers of all time,now philosophy is a study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence.I must confess I have a very limited knowledge of Kant, but he appears to not to be tied to any limitations in his thoughts. And so as to his concept of God and humanity, he will form his own opinions, he wrote many books one was called,'' The Christian religion is a natural religion''. well as  a Christian I do not accept that, was he a Christian?, what I do believe that a Christian is one who only accepts what God has revealed in his word, and it appears to me that Kant was not willing to do that. He said many interesting things one thing for sure, one would not find salvation in his writings, please bear that in mind.I come back to that quote my son showed me, it reads,''The existence of the Bible is a book for the people, it is the greatest benefit which the human race has ever experienced. Every attempt to belittle it, is a crime against humanity''. What Kant meant, I am not sure, as with much that he wrote. but I know what its meaning is to me. The Bible is Gods word to man, it reveals our origin, our condition, our need of God, and the only one that can meet that need ,Jesus, the Son of God, and Saviour of mankind.

                     For the message of the cross is foolishness
                     to those who are perishing, but for us who
                     us who are being saved it is the power of
                     God. For it is written,'' I will destroy the
                     wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of
                     the intelligent, I will frustrate. Where is
                     the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where
                     is the philosopher of this age? Has not God
                     made foolish the wisdom of the world?. for since
                     in the wisdom of God the world through its
                     wisdom did not know him,God was  pleased
                     through the foolishness of what was preached
                     to save those who believe. Jews demand
                     miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom,
                     but we preach Christ crucified; a stumbling
                     block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.
                   
                             [1 Corinthians 1 v18-23 ]

Does God answer prayer?. [ Hebrews 11 v 6 ]

Following on from yesterday as regards superstition, I read the following from a book by Leonard Merrick, two men, one called Conrad, the other called Mr.  Irquetson,''Do you think prayers are ever answered?,inquired
Conrad'', well do you believe that?, Mr Conrad was not sure  though he prayed often, Mr Irquetson went on to say,'' Once he said,'' I was passing with a friend through Grosvenor Street. ......we came to a ladder leaning against a house, my friend passed around it, and raised his hat to it. You may know the superstition. He was a university man....I said to him, is it possible you believe that nonsense? He said, N-no, I don't exactly believe in it, but I never throw away a chance.'' Suddenly the vicar's inflexion changed,his utterance was solemn, stirring, devout.'' I think, sir, that most people pray on my friends principle- they don't believe in it, but they never throw away a chance.'' William Barclay comments,'' For many people prayer is either a pious ritual or a forlorn hope. It should be a thing of burning expectation. Maybe our trouble is that what we want from God is our answer, and we do not recognize His answer when it comes.
  [Taken from W. Barclay's daily notes on Marks Gospel]

                           Lord teach us how to pray. Amen.