Our struggle .( Romans 7 )

As I grow older in the faith ,I have become  more conscious of my sinful nature,I identify with the apostles experience, which he writes about in Romans chap 7.Stuart Olyott  in his little book on Romans is very helpful, here is a few of the things he writes, as regards the Christian experience,'' He is not ruled by sin ( Rom 6 )but  nor is he free from sin (Chap 7 ) He knows nothing more of reigning sin (Chap 6 ),but nevertheless he is agonized by surviving sin ( Chap 7 ) He is not the same as the unconverted. They are at peace with sin, but he is at war with it. They live in sin; he does not ( 6 ) ,     although sin still lives in him ( Chap 7 ).'' S O,sums it up in these words, ''Romans 7 v 14 - 25 as the experience of the normal Christian life. ''It is a life of agonizing dismay at imperfection, not of claimed 'victory'. It is a life of earnest longing for glory, not of satisfaction at having arrived.''

Trust and obey. ( Psalm 37 )

Under the Old Covenant the Jews were required to fulfill certain things,one of them was that every seventh year, they were to let the land in which they grew their crops rest.(remember they were an agricultural people)They were not to sow anything on their land for one whole year( Leviticus 25 ) Even land needs  to rest, as we do,sabbath rest is important ,for us  and all creation. Of course it would  still produce some crops,these would feed the poor and the wild beasts (Lev 23 v 11 ).God has a heart for the poor, and wild beasts,so should we.What would the farmer and his family live on? well Raymond Brown makes this very important point,'obeying God means trusting Him', he goes on to say,''There are times in all our lives when obedience to God involves us in a venture of faith.We cannot always see the way  ahead with the clarity we would like but,if we are doing what He says, he will never disappoint us. Adequate resources will never be lacking.'

He had a plan. ( Luke 22 v 39 ff )

Writing on our Lords meeting with the lady at the well in John 4, K. E. Bailey makes a very  profound and meaningful statement,'He had a plan'.Our Saviours coming into this  world was not a haphazard affair, rather it was in keeping with Him , who worketh all things after the counsel of His will ( Ephesians 1 v 11 ), God is no haphazard being. Christ we are told  in Revelation 13 v  8, was the Lamb slain from the creation of the world.Salvation was fully worked out before it came into being,and when Christ came into the world,everything he did ,and said, was in keeping with that plan.He never deviated from it  one bit,everything He did was fully in keeping with Gods plan.and will.'Our Salvation depended on Christs   perfect obedience,to His Fathers will.In the garden His prayer that Gods will would be done,stands as a monument to the one who fulfilled God perfect plan, with perfect obedience.

Jealousy . ( Psalm 139 v 23 - 24 )

Events of our childhood can have a lasting effect on us, till the day we die,a man I know who is old in years has never got over the fact,that his brother who was very disabled,got most attention from his parents.It effected his relationship with his daughter,because he could not cope with the attention his only daughter received from her mother,which was a normal attention.That hidden feeling of jealousy was always there,how do you rate jealousy?,is God not a jealous God,CP Exodus 20 v 5 .Yes, God is a jealous God,so there is a jealousy that is good .When someone tries to steal the affections of a wife it is perfectly normal to be jealous. But there is a bad jealousy  by the man mentioned,a wrong attitude entered that man as a young person,and affected his relationship with his daughter.Just to end with this thought,let us not run with our childhood wrong feelings, if we do it will effect our relationships, even our relationship with God.

Guilt ( Psalm 130 )

Recently I felt guilty,it was not a nice feeling, guilt is never a nice feeling, I believe an awful  lot of people suffer from guilt.There are so many things that can cause one to feel guilt,but here is a wonderful remedy,it is a wonderful effective cure for those wrongs that we may have committed .It is illustrated in the word of God,  A man called David a king committed adultery,then murder, but after being challenged God wonderfully forgive him,and my he was so glad,so relieved.Read about it in 2 Samuel 11 v 1 ff, and His response in Psalm 51 .

We don't know. ( Romans 1 v 18 - 32 )

A famous scientist has declared ,' I cant be sure if there is no God', he went on to say we don't know how the universe began. At last a scientist that is showing some degree of humility and honesty,the fact of the matter is, there are no, know it all's ,in the scientific world. Because knowing God is a question of having faith, the natural person, will always be trying to find the answer to the meaning of this universe  by the knowledge they can accumulate.Yet in spite of the knowledge they have accumulated they will always come back to the point of not knowing,not understanding ,if we leave God out of the picture,how can we explain the life force,how can we explain so many ,many, things. The simple answer is, not the god called evolution ,or the god called chance,the science world will try to make it  plausible, by telling us about the billions of years it has taken to reach this point in our so called evolutionary journey.I believe that the wool has been pulled over humanities eyes.In Psalm 14 v 1, we read,' The fool hath said in his heart there is no God'. let me ask you a question are you a fool?.

It is true. ( John 3 v 16 )

Wide,wide as the ocean, high as the heavens above,deep ,deep as the deepest sea,is my Saviours love,though I'm unworthy,still I'm a child of His care,for His word  teaches me that His love reaches me everywhere. On my daily I sometimes get speaking to people, maybe about there dog,garden or whatever,one man I spoke to had suffered a stroke,but was able to walk, one morning I felt I should speak to him and tell him ,God loves him.We all want to be loved, even by our pets.well hears the good news God loves you, whoever you are.How do I know this?, this is what it says in His word,''For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,  that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life,that is why I know God loves you,loves me ,yes He does.

I cannot remember, ( Matthew 7 v 24 - 27 )

We all  look in the mirror everyday I'm sure,I know I do,but looking in the mirror does not tell the whole story,like a photo, we only see the outward person. But what about the person inside, what does that look like?,a good question,of course the outward is very important to us. Cosmetic surgery is on the increase,and the cosmetic industry is massive,I remember my mum saying as she applied her make up that she was putting on her new face.Now it the apostle James who uses as an illustration on the importance of obeying Gods word, and the folly of  just reading or listening to Gods word,and immediately they do that it is forgotten about. He says in James 1 v 23 - 24, 'Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror, and , after looking at himself,goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like'.

When God says no. ( Romans 8 v 36 )

'I thank thee that many of my prayers have been refused,I have asked amiss and do not have,I have  prayed from lust and been rejected,I have longed for Egypt and have been given a wilderness.Go on with thy patient work,answering 'no' to my wrongful prayers, and fitting me to accept' So wrote a godly man of old,and as I look back I am glad that God said no to my prayers sometimes,oh yes He has answered my prayers with a yes many times.Let us remember prayer is not a convenient way of getting what we want,even if it appears legitimate , even it seems right in our eyes.Consider we are praying to an all wise  God,who knows the end from the beginning,and whose ways are perfect. Prayer must always have at the center of its being,an acknowledging ,that God's will be done,as our blessed Saviour, showed in His darkest hour.

An important question. ( Matthew 22 v 16 - 22 )

There it was lying on the ground bright and shiny ,a penny which someone had lost,so I picked it up and it became mine. The penny has a portrait on it of our Queen,and it reminded me of  what Jesus told the religious leaders of his day ( Matthew 22 v 16 - 22).They wanted to catch him out ,so they asked him a question, which was politically loaded,it went like this,'Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?.So our all wise Saviour asked for a coin,and he asked the question,whose portrait was on the coin,they answered Caesar.Then Jesus replied,'' Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's''.What a wonderful answer ,how applicable to modern life,their are employers who expect their employees to serve them in total,their are political powers, who want  total commitment to them,there are relationships where God is totally excluded.Let us not bow to the one sided idea that our belief in God should not  interfere to whoever or whatever.

Learn ( Psalm 23 v 1 )

A  Margaret Gallagher is 77 and lives in Co Fermanagh in Ulster, she has lived all her life in a thatched cottage,and in all that time she has had no running water or electricity.She has to go a well 10 times a day.She has led an active life, even receiving  an award from the Queen for services in the community.When interviewed she gave us all a bit of advice,'be content with what you have'.In a world that is always pressurising us to buy, buy,buy. it is so easy to become discontented.It is the word of God that warns us against a love of money, many people crave after money,but the scripture challenges us with the following words ,that some people think that godliness is a means of financial gain, Again those words cut across the so called prosperity gospel,but no says Paul,' godliness with ..  contentment is great gain'. ( 1 Timothy 6 v 6 )                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

As in the days of Noah ( 2 Peter 3 v 7 - 14 )

It was raining as I was on my daily morning walk, and I noticed a leaflet on the ground, I picked it up and discovered that it was a gospel tract.I read the heading,' as in the days of Noah',it was a quotation  from the gospel of Matthew 24 v 37,the context is about the Lords coming again . It is our Lord speaking, and He is warning us to be ready,He reminds us in the days of Noah people were doing ordinary things ,like eating and drinking ,marrying and giving in marriage.Even though they had a preacher in their midst ( 2 Peter 2 v 5 ) they were oblivious to the danger of what was going to befall them, and so they perished.Let me just remind you that Jesus is coming back again if you are a Christian live in the light of this momentous event,as Peter tells us ,that we should make ever effort,to live a holy life.( 2 Peter 3 v 14 ). If you are not a Christian then seek the Lord while he can be found, call upon Him while he is near  ( Isaiah 55 v 6 ), before it is to late.

Chief of sinners. ( 1 Timothy 1 v 15 )

A well loved minister was retiring ,and in his closing address he said the following, there are two important things I have learned, that I am a great sinner, and I have a great Saviour. Let us never underestimate our sinful condition,we are all sinners, and let none us think that we do not need a Saviour,an old Puritan wrote this , 'Grant me never to lose sight of the exceeding sinfulness of sin.'  Yet for all of us there is hope, it is to be found in Jesus who died that we might be forgiven, for He is a great Saviour.

No room for despair. ( John 4 v 35 - 36 )

I have heard of a system used in personal evangelism, not sure of the details,but I asked a friend about, how successful  it was.He said they had used it in his church,and the results were not very favourable, but he said that may be so ,it is something,better than doing nothing.I do not know if there is a successful system in personal evangelism.. I have in my lifetime witnessed to many people,I cannot say I have been very successful,at least I can say I have tried ,I have done something.Yes not perfectly but prayerfully ,and I leave the rest to God,let us remember what our Lord said to His disciples, 'one sows and another reaps'..I sent you to reap what you have not worked for.Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labour' ( John 4 v 37 - 38 ).W .Barclay  writes,'' No word for Christ and no great undertaking ever fail.If we do not see the result of our labour others will. There is no room for despair in the Christian life.''

God ( Psalm 94 v 17 - 19 )

I have been following the Lord for just over 55 years,a long time, how have I mentioned this ?oh yes I prayed my way through, I have read the word of God continually,I have attended Christian fellowships,regularly.Now of course all these things are important, I am responsible to do all I can in following my Saviour,but  in the end it does come down to the God of all grace. Fifty five years with all the pit falls and dangers,both physically,mentally, and spiritually,are very real,The only answer I can give, can be summed up  in the words of the hymn,'To God be the Glory great things He has done'.

No divorce . ( James 2 v 1 - 9 )

Raymond Brown writes the following  ,''doctrine must not be divorced from life,belief and behaviour  are the inseparable  components of authentic faith''. The history of the visible church often             manifested  a severity that was far removed from the teaching of Christ.The greatest example of this is seen in the inquisition thousand and thousands suffered,often being tortured and murdered.In Isaiah 58 God speaking through the prophet condemned the people who believed that religious practises covered a multitude of sins, such as oppressing their fellow Israelites. Cp  Nehemiah 5 ,where the same thing happened.As A .Motyer writes of' the assumption that it is possible to be truly religious and socially indifferent.As Smart says' one of unique features of the Biblical faith is that there is no     genuine relation with God that is not at the same time a relation with the brother'   May our lives match our Faith.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Distortion

When I complete my blog I just publish it,I do not look at the published article,but I did this week and discovered to my dismay  distortion,I do apologise for this ,I will try to rectify it ,every blessing.

The future is bright. ( 2 Timothy 4 v 6 - 8 )

Recently when holiday in Corfu ,we stayed at a hotel,one the things I enjoyed about the hotel was the view ,of the sea and the mountainous land of Albania.When Albania was ruled by communist it boasted of being an atheist state,of course like most dictatorial states, be it political or religious, those who differ from them,were soon eliminated.When the communist took over Vietnam over a million people perished. one can multiply that number a hundred fold in the like of China,Soviet Union, Nazi   Germany.That will never change never,recently when the Chinese authorities broke into  a church,they demanded that the believers cut from their Bible the first commandment.These wicked states will come and go,but the Church of Christ will survive,yes many Christians will suffer and even die,it goes with the territory .Although they will loose their lives they are promised a wonderful future, that will more than make up for all their suffering. 'The cross here,the crown there.'                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Godly influences ( 2 Timothy 1 v 5 )

Edgar Wallace was a prolific writer of thrillers for an earlier generation,was influenced  by the Christian living of a Methodist friend, J.B.Hellier. He said ,''I believe that much of the good which is within me came because I knew him . He is an everlasting barrier between me and atheism'.  I use to work with a dear man called Gordon,he was a simple soul,vulnerable. He told me how he was visited at one time by the JWs and it came to the place were they wanted him to be baptised into that faith,and what stopped him at that point was this,his old grandfather had held a position in the Anglican church he  attended,   and he thought that his old grandfather would not agreed with what he was being asked to do. Godly lives can have a lasting influence on those we know and come into contact with.

Evidence. ( Philippians 2 v 5 - 11 )

Continuing  on as regards what John said,for his reasons of writing his gospel,to stress that Christ was the Messiah,but he was also the Son of God, ( John 20 v 31 ) This does mean that Christ was inferior   to God the Father ,no ,that in fact He was equal  to Him.. In John 1 v 1,we read the following( Here Jesus is called the Word who became flesh), ''  In the beginning was the Word , and the Word was with  God, and the Word was God''.    Thomas said to Jesus, ' My Lord and my God' ( John 20 v 28 )                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          .

Evidence ( Matthew 7 v 15 - 23 )

Continuing on as we think on the subject are we truly Christians?,we have touched on the importance of  truth as it is revealed in scripture,as evidence of ones faith. Now let us consider another evidence of being a true  Christian,take the words of our dear Saviour in Matthew 7 v 20 , 'By their fruit you will recognise them''. Consider the wealth and health preachers,who lay such stress on finance , I believe they fit so easily into  those people who said that they had prophesied in His name,   likewise they had driven out demons and performed many miracles ( Matthew 7 v 22 ). Consider what  Jesus said , ''I never knew you'',and this is followed with these words,''Away from me, you evil doers''. For all their religiosity they were evil men,and in spite of their apparent religiosity they will be judged. A true Christian will not be an evil doer,for God has called all who are His in Christ, to be holy as He is holy.

Evidence. ( Romans 5 v 8 )

Following on my previous blogg  asking the question, are we truly saved?,  the word of God stresses  that  true faith must show itself ,by what we believe,and by what we manifest in our lives.What we believe is very important,the purpose of Johns gospel is clearly stated, in chapter 20 v 31.'That we may believe that Jesus is the Christ,the Son of God'. In these words  John who first of all stresses faith, a faith that is founded in what the Bible tells us,and only what the Bible tells us. Faith in what  ?Christ,the meaning of Christ is Messiah the anointed one, the one who would come to save us from our sins (Isaiah 53 )In Isaiah 61 v 1 ,we read 'The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,because the Lord has anointed me to  preach good news to the poor to the poor, He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted , to proclaim freedom for the captives,and release from darkness for the prisoners''  In Luke 4 v 21 Jesus spoke the following words as regards Himself ,to his fellow Jews ''Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing''.