Love not the world. [1 John 2v 15-17]

In 1 John 2,the apostle John exhorts the Christians, to not love the world v15,now of course God loves this world [John 3 v16].There it is, redemptive we must love sinners, but not the worlds falseness with all its evil, and its consequences. C. H. Dodd wrote,'' Our author means human society in so far as it is organized in wrong principles, and characterized by base desires false values, and egoism''. John highlights aspects of this fallen world v16 ''The lusts of the flesh'', this takes in the sexual, desires, but involves more,W. Barclay writes,'' food, effeminate in luxury, slaves of pleasure; lustful and lax in morals; selfish in the use of pleasures''. Ruled by these things and much more, spiritual values are ignored or resented.W. Barclay wrote,'' We need not think of  this as the sin of the gross and blatant  and notorious sinner. No respect for the personalities of others...anyone who lives in luxury while others live in want, anyone who has made a god of his own comfort,and of his own ambition, in any part of life,is the servant of the flesh's desires''.

                                        A prayer.
Dear Lord free us from the lust of the flesh, in all its aspects in Your name we ask this Amen.

I hate Him. [ Isaiah 53 ]

Jessie James is glamorised ,yet he was thief, and more likely killed a
number of people, yet he became a national folk hero. There have been many movies made about him, and in them he is depicted as a sort of Robin Hood. In the political arena ,people like Hitler and Stalin, were practically
worship, even though they were the cause of millions and millions of people
dying. They did not appear to have any concern as regards the suffering of
people, and yet the had their fan clubs. When Jesus was being tried, He could have been set free, there was a custom, in which a prisoner could be set free. And so Pilate gave the people a choice, Jesus or Barabbas, Barabbas is described as being an insurrectionists and a murderer. Consider Jesus, the miracles he performed, the love he showed, his wonderful teaching. Who did they chose? Barabbas, it is amazing, what did Jesus actually do ,that caused them to make such a choice?. There is a Charlie Brown cartoon ,where a boy is sitting with a friend, Charlie Brown walks by, and the boy says to his friend ,'good old Charlie Brown, 'yes sir'.
But as he moved out of ear shot, he said,' good old Charlie Brown,' how I  hate him.' Why did they choose Barabbas?, instead of Jesus ? because they hated Him. He was their Messiah, He was their Saviour ,yet they hated Him, but here is the most amazing thing He loved them, and He loves you, and wonder of wonders, he even loves me.

                                     A prayer.
Dear Lord we are amazed that you love us ,so much that you died for us
Amen .  

Outrageous Grace. [ Ephesians 2 v1-10 ]

Years ago I knew a lovely Christian lady, she was married to a man, who physically abused her. Saturday night was when he came in drunk, and beat her, it was a regular occurrence, later he became involved with another woman. Then he became unwell, was taken to hospital, and was dying, now they had three sons, one was a Christian, he became my friend, who was respected by all who knew him, even by his father. He visited his father in hospital, and shared with him the gospel, told him how he needed to trust Christ,his father said, I will do what you say son, and he did. We must never forget that Christ came into this world to save sinners, yes the drunkards and the wife beaters and those who are unfaithful. In the words of a Christian song,it is outrageous grace, and of course amazing grace.

                                              A prayer.
Dear God  we thank You for your amazing and outrageous grace that saves
sinners, through our Lord Jesus Amen.

Peace. [ John 14 v 27 ]

Recently I became very anxious ,did not know what was going to happen in
relation to a certain thing. Yes I prayed but found it hard, but I still managed to pray, when I had finished praying I sat down to do my thought for the day, the anxiety left me, and I felt peace. I often think about the apostle Paul
and all the things he had to cope with, He understood that one can so easily
become anxious,so inspired by the Holy Spirit, he wrote the following, when he was in prison,

                                    Do not be anxious about anything,
                                    but in everything, by prayer and
                                    petition, with thanksgiving, present your
                                    requests to God. And the peace of God,
                                    which transcends all understanding,will
                                    guard your hearts and your minds in
                                    Christ Jesus.
                                              [Philippians 4 v 6-7 ]

Clay jars [ 2 Corinthians 4 v 7- 18]

As he looked out at the what had been the path before him, all he could now see,  everything was covered with snow, and he felt panic taken hold of him.Then he heard the guide who had been  leading ,saying, keep your eye on me, and walk were my imprints are in the snow.  Often in life we feel panic filling our hearts, we look for a way forward, seemingly in vain.The
apostle Paul describes us as earthen vessels,jars of clay, I like those words
for it reminds me how fragile we all are, how prone we are to panic, and to despair. Now what I love about the apostle Paul, he tells us how it is,read
what he wrote, of the trials he suffered, never do you read of him saying, 'I don't need this'. He declares ,'Therefore we do not lose heart.Though out-
wardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day'.[2 Corinthians 4 v16] That inward renewal came from God, Paul wrote
be strong in the Lord and the power of His might[Ephesians 6 v10]As earthen vessels need to be filled with that power day by day. But we also
need to remember that we have a guide, even Jesus, so let us fix our eyes, [super glue our eyes] on Jesus.[Hebrews 12 v2].

                                              A  prayer
Dear God you know how fragile we are, easily upset, you know, so help and guide us in Jesus name Amen.

Justified. [ Romans 4 v 3 ]

'The just shall live by faith', so reads the scriptures, we read these word in [Habakkuk 2v4/Romans 1 v17/Galations3 v11/ Hebrews 10 v38.]So they are very important, when Martin Luther, read these word, it transformed his life, and so began the reformation. When the power of Rome was challenged to reform, they refused to bring the church in line with the scriptures. Which they still will not do , ' The just,' who are they?,well they are those who have put their faith in Jesus, to save them. In Romans 5 v1,
we read,'' Therefore ,since we have been justified through faith,we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.'' Now it is important we do not add anything unto those word, like good works,  I stress nothing ,it is
totally by faith in Christ that we are saved. It is not a church that saves us,
it is Christ, in Him alone, if one is not  trusting in Christ alone for salvation, then one is not saved. So what are you trusting in ?.

                                         A  prayer.
Dear Lord we praise you for saving us, that it is not I, but you who save,
                                           Amen.

Openness [ James 3 v13-18]

I have been thinking   about a certain situation, and it causes me concern,
because I believe it is not being done openly, and honestly. It appears to me
that the person in charge is manipulating the situation in a clever and underhanded way. Now the goals he is aiming at, are not evil, or wrong
but the manner in which he is doing this ,leaves me feeling uneasy. Yet it appears that there is nothing one can do about it, but that is the way it is in the world, but it should not be in the church of Christ. In the church of Christ we do not want those  who manipulate us, we want people to be open and honest with us with no hidden agenda. So what does one do? that is the question, we can challenge what is happening  in a way that is peace loving, impartial and sincere[James 3 v17].Most important in all things we should
pray, that Gods will may be done, for that's the most important thing of all.

                                               A prayer.
Dear God help us to open and sincere in all our deals, to remember we are not second hand car dealers, in Jesus name we ask this Amen.

Troubles. [ Psalm 55 v 22 ]

Recently two ladies who are Christians, deeply impressed  me how they coped. Their dear husband suffered, and they ministered, to them, until they went to be with the Lord . I heard recently about a dear Christian who was in a hospice ,who also manifested a wonderful reality, of Christ. In the word of God we have people being delivered out of trouble, sickness, and so many different trials. But we have many who had to endure trials,David,
Job, Stephen, Paul, John, and many others. Yes the others ,who were torture, faced jeering and flogging, were chained and put in prison. They were stoned, sawed in two, put to death by the sword ,went about in sheepskins, and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves, and holes in the ground.
[Hebrews 11 v35ff]A dear person I know, who is suffering a lot wrote the following prayer.

                           Dear God I  don't ask you to make my life
                           easier, but I ask you to give me the strength
                           to face all my troubles. Amen.


                                     

Daniel prayed [ Chapter 6]

I purchased a DVD, simply called Daniel, I have not viewed it yet, what a wonderful man he was. A  man in exile away from his beloved Israel. He had three wonderful friends, friends who did not drag him down, like Daniel they were also in exile, they were all bound together by their faith in God. They had to take a stand and that stand put their very lives in danger, Daniels three friends were thrown into a fiery furnace, Daniel was thrown into a lions den. They all survived, it does not always happen like that, but it can, miracles happen now and again Most of the apostles were martyred, our Saviour was murdered, likewise Stephen[  Acts 7].But then we have those who survived, God is sovereign, and our Lord knows what is best. remember He has a plan, for all our lives. Daniel was a man of godly habits, habits he would not surrender to anyone. Prayer was one of the  his key habits, and it got him into difficulties. His enemies sought to stop him from praying, we need to follow his example. How important is prayer  to us?, is  it, our vital daily breath. In Daniel 6,a law was passed forbidding anyone to pray except to the king, if they disobeyed,they would be thrown into the lions den. I wonder what you and I would do in that situation?. How important is prayer, Bible study, attending your local church ?.  It was important to Daniel, he risked his very life, left everything to God, the challenge for all of us is to make the right chooses

                                   Standing by a purpose true,
                                   Heeding God's command,
                                   Honour them, the faithful few,
                                   All hail to Daniel's band

                                   Many mighty men are lost,
                                   Daring not to stand,
                                   Who for God had been a host,
                                   By joining Daniel's band.
                                  
                                   Many giants, great and tall,
                                   Stalking through the land,
                                   Headlong to the earth would fall,
                                   If met by Daniel's band.

                                   Hold the gospel banner high,
                                   On to victory grand,
                                   Satan and his host defy,
                                   And shout for Daniels band.

                                   Dare to be a Daniel,
                                   Dare to stand alone,
                                   Dare to have a purpose firm,
                                   Dare to make it known.

Sinless perfection. [Romans 7v 24-25]

In 1 John v 8,we read,' If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.'. A person who says they are sinless, is deluded, and as David Jackson writes,' a self deluded person is the saddest of all'. I once knew a person who believed he was Jesus, no amount of pointing out
this obviously wrong thinking could change what he believed. We all desire
to be free from our sinful nature, but it will only take place after we die.[1
John 3 v 2]in the mean time,we seek to be holy, as God is holy, John writes about purifying one self[1 John 3 v3].Charles Haddon Spurgeon,  a great
minister of God,was faced by a man who claimed to be 'without sin'. He invited the man home for a meal. He listened to what the man had to say, then he picked up a glass of water, and threw it into his face. The man became indignant and expressed very forcefully Spurgeon's lack of courtesy. Spurgeon replied,' Ah, you see, the old man within you is not dead. He had simply fainted and could be revived with a glass of water.

                                           A  prayer.
Dear Lord you alone are holy, I acknowledge that I am but a sinner saved by your grace, but one day, sin will be no more, praise your name Amen.

The Word of God [ Jeremiah 6 v 16]

Let us continue on as we consider ,a recall to fundamentals, now it is a fact that we tire easily ,as to so many things, we see this in the entertainment world. We also see it in the fashion world, we do not wear bell bottom trousers, change, change, change is the cry. One of my sons has a  knack of
picking lovely clothes, in the charity shops, people just get tired of them even though they cost a lot new.  Israel as seen in the OT, appeared to love  change, not of fashion, but of their religion, it would be interesting to count how many times they did this, it was a regular occurrence. Let us consider one of the most crucial times in their history. just before the 70year captivity in Babylon. God has raised up a prophet , Jeremiah, he spoke Gods word to the people for over 40 arduous years, pleading with the people to turn back to God. Consider the following,'' Stand in the way and see. And ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it. Then you will find rest for your souls''. This is their reply,'' We will not walk in it'' It was a cry from God to return to Him, and walk in His ways, but they refused, to them the old paths were obsolete. The church more than ever needs to return to the old paths of their forefathers. Mankind for all its desire for change, fail to see that we do not change, we are still sinners,and the only one who can meet  our need is Jesus the same yesterday ,today and forever. [Hebrews  13 v 8 ]
                                             A prayer.
Dear God ,dark is the hour ,dark is the condition of humanity, help our nation to turn back to the old paths in Jesus name''

Fundamentalism [Ephesians 2 v20]

The NEB ,entitles 1 John,' Recall to fundamentals', as a Christian ,the fundamentals ,are the foundation on which I build my faith. What I believe as a Christian, is of vital importance, the fundamentals, the foundation of the Christians faith, we are told in Ephesians 2 v20, is built on,the apostles,
and prophets, and Jesus Christ who is the cornerstone, the cornerstone holds everything together, take that away and everything  will collapse. There is a tendency for some Christians to ignore the Old Testament, I recently preached on the book of Zechariah, and I said ,how I have never heard many sermons from that wonderful book. That goes for many of the OT books, a brother told me that he avoided the OT because of the violence in it. There is awful violence in it, but there are valid reasons,why God dealt with people,in such a way. In 2 Timothy 3 v16,we read,' All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction,for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete,thoroughly equipped for every good work.' John Stott wrote,'[All]Scripture is God breathed and profitable. Even in the midst of these grievous times in which evil men and impostors go from bad to worse. It can make you complete and it can equip you for your work. Let the word of God make you a man of God, remain loyal to it and it will lead you on into Christian maturity'.
                                        A  prayer.
Dear God we thank you for all your word ,grant that we may not stray from it, in Jesus name Amen.

Who knows best?..[ Matthew 6 v25-34 ]

One the responsibilities of being a parent is guiding them, and helping them,
and trying to equip them for adulthood. We by our example, and words seek to help them to develop as they grow up. Often we do know what is best for
our children, although not always, but we love them and try our best. The fact is, there are no perfect parents, but one thing for sure, as Gods children we have a loving heavenly Father, who always knows what is best for His children. God always knows what is best for His children. We can fully trust his judgement, He is perfect in knowledge and wisdom,and He always
acts from a heart of love, always. Unlike us, our knowledge as a parent is imperfect ,He knows us fully, there is nothing hidden from Him,our knowledge of our children is imperfect, not so Gods. No matter how drastic and incomprehensible His dealing with His children, it is always best. Simple put ,our loving heavenly Father always knows what is best for His children. God our heavenly Father makes no mistakes,

                                   Said the Robin to the Sparrow;
                                   ''I should really like to know
                                   Why these anxious human beings
                                    Rush about and worry so''

                                   Said the Sparrow to the Robin;
                                   ''Friend, I think that it must be
                                    That they have no Heavenly Father
                                    Such as cares for you and me''.
                                       [ Words,, E. Cheney]

Dont run away. [Psalm 40]

In the movie Lord of the Rings, two of the characters are talking, they are faced with an army of hawks, and one asks the other,'' What does one do when faced with such evil?'', his companion replied,'' You ride out to meet it''. There was great monster of a man called Goliath, everybody was afraid
of  him, well not everyone ,there was young lad called David,he volunteered
to fight that giant, and so out he went and faced him with his little sling and five smooth stones. The fool ,many must have thought, even among his own people, and of course not forgetting the giant,who mocked him. Well what did that young man do? did he run away?, no, he ran towards him, for he
looked beyond this giant, to his great God, When we are faced with fearful whatever ,we can run away and hide, or like David we can by faith face our fears. And cry out ,thanks be to God who gives me the victory through Jesus
Christ my Lord.

                                Blessed is the man,who makes
                                the Lord his trust, who does not
                                 look to the proud , .
                                        [Psalm 40 v 4 ]    

The old Bill. [ 1 Corinthians 15]

Why did Christ die, for me?, well in case I forget ,the old Bill comes to the surface, and that old Bill is not very nice. Yes not very nice, ,yes but its true
.instead of thinking pure thoughts, or loving thoughts, or forgiving thoughts, I do the opposite. It was John Stott who spoke of the two aspects of salvation, [A] Saved from Gods judgement, when Christ become our Saviour, we are saved from wrath to come[1 Thessalonians 1 v10,Acts 16 v31 ],I am saved, from Gods righteous judgement, because Christ on the cross bore Gods wrath for me. Hell is no longer my destination, but Heaven . [B] The next aspect of salvation is being saved from our sinful condition, Stott speak of not yet saved from all those sinful tendencies, which plague us continually. John writes in 1John 1v8,that if we think that we are without sin ,we are deluded ,'' We deceive ourselves-but probably no one else''[ JS]'. Yes we are still in the body of flesh and all that this means, still a citizen of planet earth ,and all that this means. It was 53years ago that I came back to the Lord, I need to remind myself that this has been a work of God, That means I have experienced Gods enabling grace, and His assurance, that He has and will continue to help me, that applies to every child of God. The resurrection is coming, and on that day, the old Bill will cease to exist, all things will be made new.

                                         A  prayer.
Dear  God for the wonder of the resurrection we praise You, help us to press on by your grace, towards that time when all things will be made new, in Jesus name we ask this Amen.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      ;

Gods discipline. [Hebrews 12 v 5-12. ]

I do not like going to the dentist, but I go, because it will do me good, it was
the practise in the past to give children cod liver oil ,the reason being it was considered good for them. Our parents would tell us to eat our vegetable's because they said ,they were good for us. In the book of Hebrews chapter 12v5-12 the writer touches on something that is painful, discipline ,He reminds them to not make rash , quick judgements when we experience Gods discipline. Yes unlike many preachers, and church ministries who rarely touch on this subject, the writer of Hebrews teaches that God does discipline us. The readers of Hebrews were experiencing hardship, how should they view hardship and suffering?, the writers answer is very simple, the discipline of God. He reminds them that just as our Fathers
disciplined us believing it to be necessary, so our Heavenly Father
disciplines us for our own good, the fact that He disciplines us is an evidence that we are His children. R. Brown writes,'' The whole experience
of hardship, suffering and discipline is essentially purposive. No matter how
painful the experience may be, God will use it. In His sovereignty  nothing
is wasted or useless. When confronted by trials we must think of their immediate benefit, ultimate outcome and permanent effect.'' All discipline is
painful, but Gods  ultimate purpose to produce in all His children ,in the
words of D. Brown,''  both an inward peace and moral uprightness,'' seen from that point of view, we are reminded as D.B,writes ''we cannot possibly have suffered in vain''.

                                        Romans 8 v28.
                           And we know that all things work
                           together for good, to those who love
                                             God.

The unexpected [Luke 12 v16-21 ]

The scripture tells us something that is so obvious,'' Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth''[Proverbs 27 v1] How few people ever give consideration to these words of wisdom, they are not meant to make us a nervous wreck. they are given as a needful reminder, of the uncertainty of life. People are boasting all the time, making their plans, with no real thought of God, or their spiritual well being. In the days of Noah, we read,'' they married wives, and were given in marriage, until the very day when the flood came, and destroyed them all[Luke 17 v28-29] I heard recently that a close friend of one of my grandsons and two others ,were killed in a car crash. It is so very sad, yet it reminds us, no matter how we try to ignore, that life is so uncertain. All these uncertain events are Gods messengers to all of us, reminding us that we need to be ready, from the uninvited happenings.As C. Bridges writes,'' Heaven and Hell are no trifles. Tomorrow presumed upon, today neglected, ruins all,
Standing on the brink of the precipice - how precious the moment for
prayer-ere the door of mercy is closed for ever''.

                         ''Where will you spend eternity?''

Living Water [John 4 ]

As I passed a van of a local water company, I notice the words printed on the side of the van,'' Living Water''. These are  unusual yet meaningful words for without water we would all die. Without water this planet earth would die, we would be just a dust bowls like Mars and the Moon. Many people are dying in Africa at this time because of severe drought. And in other places many are dying because people are drinking polluted water. This planet has plenty of water, but most of it is sea water, and so we cannot drink it, the scientist have discovered a materially that can separate the salt from sea water, it will be interesting to see if this can be developed. In Johns  Gospel chapter 4 ,Jesus spoke to a woman who had come to draw water from a well. He spoke to her about living water, He went on to say that if she received this water she would never thirst again. What do you think He meant? the woman did not understand, well it involved two things.
The first it would satisfy, are you satisfied?, next he relates it to eternal life, now eternal life mean more than just living for ever, it involves our total well being. Listen to the words of Jesus ,''If you knew the gift of God, ......you would have asked him and he would have given you living water''

                                 ''Ask and it will be given to you''
                                      [Matthew 7 v7 ]

                            

I know His name [ Matthew 1 v 21-23 ]

One of my grandsons was having a conversation with a friend, and his friend said to him,'' I believe in a higher power,'' my grandson replied,'' I believe in a higher power, and I know his name''. Of course his name is Jesus ,consider the following ,

                                    And He will be called
                                    Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty
                                    God, Everlasting Father ,Prince
                                    of Peace.
                                           [Isaiah 9 v 6]

                                    In the beginning was the Word,
                                    and the was with God, and the
                                    Word was God, He was with God
                                    in the beginning.
                                           [John 1 v1]
                                   
                                   The Word became flesh and made
                                   his dwelling among us.
                                           [ John 1 v 14 ]

                                   He is the image of the invisible God
                                   ..........For by Him all things were
                                  created.
                                          [Colossians 1v 15-16 ]

                                  Thomas said to Him,'' My Lord
                                  and my God''
                                          [John 20 v28 ]

                                Yes I believe in a higher power, and
                                               I know His name.


                             

If only. [2 Samuel 12 v 13- 23 ]

I was thinking how meaningful the words,'' if only'', are, and how many people think them, and are effected by them. We think about our past, or even our present, and we think,'' if only''. Think about those who committed a crime and are now paying the price. Look at world history, take Hitler, how many people thought of the awful pain that maniac would  cause , If only he had been killed during the first world war, if only, he had never been born, if only people had ,read his book ,''Mein Kampf',and took him serious. The words ,''if  only'', can  be applied to many situations ,''if only '',many are thinking ,if only I  had never not been born. If only, knowing what I know now, I could live my life over again. So many, if only, ']regrets, and so it is ,but the question we ask, what is the purpose, for living in that unhappy valley called,'' if only''. The answer is very simple, better not dwell on the ,'if only' s '  in life, better by far, to leave them in Gods hand. Consider the words of Paul in Philippians 3 v12ff.

                                               A  prayer.
Dear God help us not to dwell in  the past 'if only 's' in Jesus name Amen .

Avoidance. [ John 26 v33-35/ 69-75]

We are encouraged to pray to our Heavenly Father,' lead us not into temptation,' God will help us, this I believe, but we have a responsibility, to avoid those things in which we have a particular weakness. For example if I had a problem with alcohol it would not be a good idea not to work in a pub. A child abuser was challenged as to why he started up a children's home, when we was child abuser, He said he started the home up not to abuse children,but simply , because he enjoyed working with children. It was a very poor excuse,and does not hold water, it would surely have been better for him to avoid children altogether. He knew his weakness, as he had worked with children in different positions, there he had abused children. So why start a home up, one can only assume he was doing it so he could more easily prey on children. Solomon wrote of the dangers of falling into sin, and warned his readers ,yet he himself fell. [1 Kings 11v1-8 ]Knowing ourselves should help us know, it is always best for us to be like Joseph, who fled from Potiphar's wife, she had tempted Joseph to have a sexual relationship.[Genesis 39v6ff]
                                       A  thought.
                               He sinned, and fell, so may I.

Palm Sunday. [ Zechariah 9 v 9]

On Palm Sunday we are reminded that the coming of Christ and his saving
ministry is a fulfilment of the Old Testament. When Jesus met with the two people on the road to Emmaus [Luke24],after his death and resurrection, He
spoke to them, and reminded them how what had happened to Him ,was a fulfilment of the scriptures. He them gave them a Bible lesson,beginning with  Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was said in all the scriptures concerning Himself.[Luke  24 v27].So it is when we read of Jesus entering Jerusalem we have a fulfilment  of what was foretold in Zechariah 9 v9.His birth was foretold, the events of His life was foretold,
His death was foretold, His resurrection was foretold, and His coming again is foretold. When we think of Palm Sunday we are reminded of a number of things, yes its fulfilment, as declared by Zechariah, The righteousness of Jesus ,let us remember that He was without sin, and then we read, having salvation, the greatest need you and I have is to be saved, there is only one Saviour ,Jesus. Next we read He was gentle, He did not come with weapons of war, for He is the Prince of peace, He treated all with gentleness, we read in 2 Corinthians 10v1,of the meekness and gentleness of Christ. There He was riding into Jerusalem, the crowds where cheering and praising Him, but soon they would turn on Him, and cry crucify Him, He knew this yet bravely He rode on, to face His destiny, the cross, because of His love for you and me.

                                          A prayer
Dear God on this Palm Sunday, we  praise for your wonderful Son Jesus
who died that we may be forgiven all our sins Amen.

Bad leadership. [ 1Timothy 3 ]

Barry Webb wrote,'' Bad leadership is a perennial problem, and it always leads to scattering and lostness''.This is very true ,I know that it is not always the leaders fault that causes division in churches,but it does happen.
One thing I continually pray for is, that I may not cause division in the church I attend. I am a Christian of long standing ,and I see things that I feel
are not right, it would be so easy to stir things up, what I do is pray about those things. After all it is the church of Christ, it  is not mine, the greatest weapon we have is prayer, so we should pray to the Lord of the church. Many churches are led by ministers who by their lives and ministry ,bring the church into disrepute. The old saying is very true ,the sheep look up and  are not fed, in the church in which I was a minister, there was little rug in the pulpit, with the words ,''preach the word''. That is every leaders responsibility, to preach Gods word, but also seek by Gods grace to show
by their lives  godliness, in 1 Timothy 3v7, we read that a leader in Gods church,must have a good reputation with outsiders. When a Christian leader
 fails in this ,he is failing in his calling, yes the calling to be a leader in the Church of Christ is truly a high calling, may those of us who are called to this high calling, manifest that reality in our lives, by Gods grace.

                                    A prayer
Dear God grant unto your church good leaders, men of godliness of character, and faithfulness, in their ministering your word,in the name
of Jesus who loved and died for His church we ask this Amen.

Be careful. [Ecclesiates 10 v 20]

Recently as I was talking to a friend, my phone went, I fumbled  with my phone but did not answer it. Soon after this I spoke to my wife on the phone and she informed me that she could hear me having my conversation with my friend, my phone had not been turned of. I told my friend this and he recalled how a minister had to resign from his church. Before his church service, he went into his  vestry wearing the microphone, and in the vestry
he had a conversation with someone about a couple of people in his church.
What was said was not very nice, but the minister did not realise that the microphone was on and everyone in the church could here what he was saying, which was very serious .Consider the following words  from
Ecclesiastes 10 v20,''Never make light of the king, even in your thoughts.
And don't make fun of the powerful, even  in your own bedroom. For a little
bird might deliver and tell them what you said''.
                                          A prayer.
Dear God help us be careful in all we say, as regards others and as regards You,in Jesus name Amen.

We are all different [ Psalm 133 ]

He is trying to make us become....., well the man who does that is asking for trouble, he was a young Pastor, and he will have to learn the lesson ,that he is there to lead the church, and to leave the driving to driving his car.People
of course need to change ,but I remember years ago how a whole lot of trouble began in a certain group of churches, when a new hymn book was introduced. As a visiting speaker I go along usually with what the church
 does, the main thing I am there to preach the word. It so easy to cause disharmony in churches, the task of every Christian, is to strive for unity. The church of Christ is made up of different points of view, in government, views of eschatology, [the doctrine of last things]. People have a right to different views, as long as it is nothing heretical, within every family there will be differences, we should seek to be tolerant. We must make effort ,yes effort ,to strive for unity, to love Gods church.

                                    Live in harmony with one another.
                                                  [Romans 12 v 16 ]

We can be set free. [ Romans 6 v22 - 23 ]

And so it goes on,the Church of Christ continues to suffer, I have just read how a dear brother in Christ has died. His name was Peng  Ming ,he lived in China and was serving a life sentence on spurious charges of engaging in terrorism In prison he suffered beatings ,and was denied medical treatment, many have been praying for him that he would be set free. Well now he truly is free, basking in the presence of his Saviour. Free at last, in this world many  cry out for freedom, and yet people are still prisoners so many
wrong things rules their lives. Yes ,they are not in prison, but they are prisoners, and unless they turn to the only one who can set them free, they will remain prisoners. One day Jesus Stood up in His local synagogue , he was handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, and He  read,'' The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has  anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed''[61 v1-2 ]Jesus did  come to forgive sin, but also to set people free, These are tremendous words of hope for us all, we can be set free, let me repeat this, we can be set free, by Jesus.

                                          A  prayer.
Dear Lord Jesus we praise you forgive us, and free us from any sin Amen.

We can make a difference.[ Matthew 10 v 42 ]

I wonder as you look out in the world, at the millions of people who are hungry and homeless, many of them living in refugee camps, you ask yourself what good can you do?, I know, I have. Can our small efforts make a difference?, Well I remember reading about a man walking along a beach, thousands of starfish, were washed up on the beach. A young lad was gathering them up and putting them back in the water. The man cynically
spoke to the boy, he said,' what difference are you making', the little boy looked at him as he slipped a starfish into the sea, and he said,' well it made a difference to that one'. Yes we cant help everybody , but we can help somebody, and that's better than helping nobody.
                                  
                                         A  prayer
Dear God help us to do what we can in helping  others, even it is only one person, in Jesus name Amen.
   
        [I will recommence on 5th April, every blessing]

Giants [1 Corinthians 15 v57 ]

A little chorus came to mind ,here it is,
                            
                             Only a boy called David,
                             Only a rippling brook;
                              Only a boy called David,
                              Five little stones He took,
                              Then one little stone went into the sling,
                              And the sling went round and round,
                              One little stone went into the sling,
                              And the sling went round and round,
                              Round and round, and round and round,
                              And round and round and round;
                              One little stone went up, up, up,
                               And the giant came tumbling down.
We read about this event 1 Samuel 17,when this young lad David faced a giant,called  Goliath, Everyone in Israel was afraid of this giant, but not
David ,who as a young lad did what it says in the chorus, he defeated that
giant. The giant looked at this young boy and mocked him, but David replied,'' You come against me with sword and spear, and Javelin, but I
come against in the name of the Lord Almighty'', and he did, and he slew that giant. What giants are you facing today?, take encouragement from the story of David, as God Almighty give David the victory, so He can give you victory, trust Him.

                                  Thanks be to God, He gives us
                                   the victory through our Lord
                                               Jesus Christ.
                                    [1 Corinthians 15v 57 ]

Put Him first.[John 21 v15-22]

I don't know if you have ever read the book of  Zechariah,  it is about those Jews who came back from the 70years captivity in Babylon. The city of Jerusalem was in ruins the walls of the city had been demolished ,by the Babylonian army when they conquered the city, they also demolished the temple. When the captives came back the most important task for them was to rebuild the temple. Surely one would think that the rebuilding of the temple could wait, wrong, the temple was there link with God. The important thing in building the temple was to make God the centre ,in other words they would be putting God as first importance. Things in a sense has not changed for us Christians, Putting God at the centre of are lives is vital to our well being. There are a multitude of things that are of importance,but
believe me when I tell you there is none, let me repeat, there is none more
important than God. When we put God of secondary importance ,then
we are in fact excluding Him from our lives. God will not play second fiddle  to anyone or to anything, the challenge for all followers of Christ is at all times , to put Him first.
                                       A  prayer.

                             Jesus be the centre of our lives
                                             Amen.