Trivial Pursuit ( Mark 8 v 3 6 - 37 )

A writer ,writing about a certain billionaire  , wrote the following, He splashed out on a  46 million pound jet, then a 100 million pound yacht , to add to the two he already owned. The yacht  was everything, you imagine it would be, ''Gold taps '',she comments,' after he had finished showing of the rest of the yacht ,he got bored and grumpy'. We may ask the question how can a billionaire be bored?, could it be that he is just playing 'Trivial Pursuit' ?. Sad to say a lot of our lives are made up of playing the game of  , 'Trivial Pursuit'. Philip Yancey  attending a life - threatening illness support group, which met monthly  in a hospital support group,  writes,'  I cannot say I' enjoyed ' those meetings, yet when walking home, I had the sense that the evening was one of the most meaningful I had spent. We skipped  trivialities and faced into the issues most urgent to everyone in the room- death and life, and how best to spend what time remained'. He goes on to quote the poet John Donne ,'  I need Thy thunder, O my God;  thy music will not serve  Thee'. I often ask myself the question what is God saying in these days?, could it be , that it is Gods voice thundering ,asking this question,' Are  we ready to meet Him?. Let us stop playing 'Trivial  Pursuit', and seek the Lord Jesus while  He can be found, and to call on Him while He is near.

Perfect no. ( 1 John 1 v 8 - 10 )

The neighbour heard raised voices next door, the couple  who lived there were Christians, so when he saw his neighbour, he mentioned to him , what he had heard. The Christian looked at him and said, I am sorry you heard that, but the fact is I am not a perfect husband, a perfect father, or a perfect neighbour. But he went on to say this, ''but I  will  try be a good husband, a good father, and a good neighbour''. As a Christian I know  Jesus exhorted us to be perfect , that's the ongoing goal of every Christian, we must never forget this, and never cease trying to attain to that challenge, you may ask ,how can one achieve this daily challenge?. Well it is obvious that it must be by relying on our helper, the Holy Spirit, and with His help we can be better people, more Christlike. The greatest of the apostles said that he wasn't perfect, he did not give up, he continue to press on, so must we, until when all things will be changed, listen ,on that day we be like Him, totally  conformed to the image of Christ. In the meanwhile  remember repentance does not stop when we get saved, it is ongoing, keep short accounts with God your Father, seek forgiveness. He has promised in His word ,'that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness . ( 1 John 1 v 9 )

Change the meaning ( Psalm 32 v 1 - 2 )

I have just purchased a lovely book by Charlie Mackesy called ,' The boy, the mole, the fox, and the horse'.  Charlie is a cartoonist , I would commend to you this book, I don't know the author, nor am I on a commission, it would not take long to read it, if you buy it you will see why. I will give you a little flavour of the book,' Do you have a favourite saying asked the boy ?,'' Yes'' said the mole  ,'' What is it?'' '' If at first you don't succeed, have some cake,'' ''I see, does it work?'' ''Every time''. I hope that made you smile. Just one more, ''Often the  hardest person to forgive is yourself'' I think that's right , looking back on my life there are things I have said, and things I have done, and  I  find it hard to forgive myself. Yes I  have been forgiven all my sins, when I trusted Jesus, yes all of them, not one sin remains ( 1 John 1 v 7)  So why can't we forgive ourselves?  if we have been forgiven  all our sins, maybe, we need to drop the word forgive and replace with it the word ,''Regret''. The fact is we will always have regrets, we can't change that, but if we are a Christian, let us not live with unforgiveness, 

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No excuses ( John 13 v 34 - 35 )

 A number of years ago my  wife and I went for a holiday in Turkey, and we visited Ephesus , one of its inhabitants had been the Philosopher Heraclitus  who lived in 7BC. He is remembered for saying,'' No one can wash his feet twice in the same river.''  When we visited  Ephesus we visited the site were the virgin Mary had  supposedly lived ,and were John the Apostle spent his later years' It is of course uninhabited , all there is now is ruins. Very early it became in the Christian era a Christian church , it came into being under the ministry of the Apostle Paul. Paul moved on , his purpose was to establish churches. Later on when he was in prison  in Rome ,he wrote a letter to them , in chapter  1 v  15, he wrote a lovely  thing about this  church, that they had,' a love for all God's people,' I wonder can it be said of you and me that we a love of all God's people?, all the people in your fellowship, let us remember  what our Saviour said, ''A new command I give you; love one another , as I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another '' No excuses ,do it.

It can happen to you. ( 1 Corinthians 10 v 12 )

 Recently a person was  passing judgement on a young person  who is expecting a baby,  who is not married. Now let me say this what she has done is a sin, it is sin ,sex is a sacred gift from God, but when we act in a way that's outside  of  God's sacred purpose it  becomes a sin.  So how should we look at what that young  person has done?, well we can see the occasion when a woman  was caught in the very act of adultery ( John 8 v 1 - 11 ) ,the religious leaders had alternative for bringing her to Jesus. They wanted Jesus to pass judgement, which meant stoning her to death, but he did not do that, he said he that is without sin cast the first stone. They all  left, convicted by what Jesus said ,leaving the lady, he said, that he did  not condemn her, go and sin no more. Now in no way was he condoning what she did,, he called it for what it  was, sin, and told her to change her life of sinful ways. If we are to pass judgement, let it be righteous judgement, in other words, let us  have a right spirit in dealing with the fallen, for as they are, so at one time were we. Let us  remember we are all vulnerable, it happened to them, it can happen  to you and to me.

Seek . ( Acts 17 v 26 - 27 )

 When on the news  I hear  of  some famous person who have died, and then they have programmes about them, in which other people  extoll their many fine qualities , and achievements .But like much that goes on in society God is absent from it all, it is sad that some very nice people ,are bereft of any spiritual  life. You never hear them saying he was a godly person, why?,  when they stand before God, I wonder will they say,'' who are you ?. I  joke of course, everyone will know who God is, Nietzsche the German philosopher ,who  said that God was dead, will realise that God is very much alive. It is a fact that people make more of  creation, than the creator,  I find it sad that when a certain person who is revered for his programmes on wild life, never mentions God, he often mentions evolution, how the animals changed this and changed that, to become what  they are now. It is interesting that C.S.Lewis  used to say, ' that Christians  do not go to nature to learn  theology- the message is too  garbled. God can be found, yes,  he is not remote, he can be known, how? do you want to know him?. I know God is sovereign ,but our responsibility is to seek the Lord with all our hearts , and by his grace and mercy , we shall find him. ( Jer 29 v 13)

The greatest day ( 1 Corinthians 15 )

 Richard Nixon  got carried away with excitement in 1969  when Apollo astronauts first landed on the moon. ''  It's the greatest  day since Creation '' crowed the president , until Billy Graham solemnly  reminded him of Christmas and Easter .  Both those events ,brought to this earth hope,  in a world were sin is obvious, and it's terrible consequences, sin and death.  Christmas and Easter  proclaimed  God's answer to both these plagues  ,the only answer  for the plague of sin could only come from God, that answer was Jesus death on a cross.  

                                                      O, wonder of all wonders ,

                                                      That through Thy death for me,

                                                      My open sins, my secret sins,

                                                      Can all  forgiven be    ( Word by  K. N. Kelly) 

What about that other plague  death?, we have all been reminded of  that plague ,before the awful virus struck ,death was the unmentionable, not now, its in our face, I write this with great sadness .Is  that all we have to look forward to? ,  no, consider the words of Jesus,'' I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me will live, even though they die''.  ( John 11 v 25 ) 

                                  May the Lord bless you all on this Christmas day.

Amazing ( Philippians 2 v 5 - 11)

It was J.B. Phillip's who wrote  the following fantasy,'  A senior angel  is showing a very young angel around the splendors of the universe  ,all those billions of stars and whirling galaxies . As the two drew near to the star we call our sun and its circling planets, the senior angle pointed  to a small and rather insignificant sphere turning very slowly on its axis, It looked as dull as a dirty tennis ball to the little angel, whose mind was filled with the size and glory of  what he had seen. ''I want you to watch that one in particular'', said the senior angel, pointing with his finger. ''Well it looks very small and rather dirty to me'', said the little angel. ''What's special about that one?'', To that little angel, earth did not seem so impressive. He listened in stunned belief  as the senior angel told him that this planet, small and insignificant and not  overly clean , was the renowned  Visited Planet.  Do you mean that our great and glorious Prince went down  in person to this fifth -rate little ball ?. Why should He do a thing like that? The little  angel's face  wrinkled in disgust,'' Do you mean to tell me, that He stooped so low to become  one of those creeping, and crawling  creatures of that floating ball? I do, and I  don't think He would like you to call them , creeping , crawling creatures in that tone of voice. For strange as it may seem to us, He loves them. He  went down to visit  them to lift them up to become like Him.'' The  little angel looked blank. Such a thought was almost  beyond his comprehension.

                                                         John 3 v16   

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten  Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish  but  have eternal life.

A grace gift. ( 2 Corinthians 9 v 15 )

 Here  is a ,not so happy thought, is Santa  a sinner ?, I wish I hadn't  said that, now I will not receive any Christmas presents.  I don't want to disillusion any body, but I read this recently, 'Just because someone is older and is a mall Santa from time to time, doesn't mean  they are not capable of terrible  things.' For many people , like Santa ,Christ is just for Christmas, Santa surely is, but we know ,I hope  that the Coke Cola Santa is not real, but Christ is real, he is not just  a Hollywood invention. He is God's gift to this world ,yes I said a gift, no charge, just express your need to God ,and you will receive the  gift of gifts As He enters your life, all your sins will be forgiven, money cannot buy that wonderful grace gift ,and your life will be transformed forever. 

                                             Like a  blind man, who walked in the darkness,

                                             I had longed, I had searched for the light,

                                             Then I met the Master,  

                                              Now I walk no more in the night.

                                              For all things were changed, when He found me,

                                               A  new day broke through all around me,

                                               For I met the Master ,now I belong to Him.

                                                          Words / Booth Brothers.

Have you made a will yet ? ( 2 Corinthians 6 v 2 )

The famous novelist Agatha Christie writing in one of  her books, of a rich elderly woman who died, and had not made a will. the lawyer a Mr  Seddon dealing with her affairs comments,'' Mrs  Welman always meant to make a will, but  tomorrow was always a better day to make  it than today, she kept telling  herself that there was plenty of time'' It is called procrastination , here are other words for procrastination , dally, dawdle, delay. lag, loiter. no matter what they are called, they simple mean  putting of  till  tomorrow, what should be done today. Most wives know all about this, they remind their dear husbands  of  jobs to be done, only to be told,'' I will do it tomorrow'', and of course , tomorrow never comes. Now on a more serious note ,if you read my blog regularly, you know how often  I have stressed the importance of trusting Jesus . I do this because, I love you, and  I know the consequences of  dying without Christ , for  God's word tells us that after the death the judgement ( Hebrews 9 v  27 ). Yes  judgement  ,if  you have not trusted Jesus to be your Saviour  and asked him to forgive you, your sins,  you will go a lost eternity, Christ the Saviour  will be your judge and He will  say to you, ''Depart from me, you who are cursed; into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his  angels''  ( Matthew  25 v 41 ). Can you blame me for trying to warn you of the importance of trusting Jesus now, please , ask Jesus to be your Saviour now, before it is to late.

That makes all the difference. ( Isaiah 50 v 10 )

It was the poet Longfellow  who wrote,' Some  days must be dark and dreary', of course we may agree, but we may not like it. As regards the weather in this country it is dark and dreary, but I know the sun shall eventually break through the gloom. Dark  and dreary can also  apply to our situation, we read as regards Judas ,who went out  to betray Jesus, that 'it was night',( John 13 v 30 ) at that moment it was for Judas, the darkest and most dreary  night of his whole life, and it would not get any better. In spite of scripture  telling us clearly how many of God 's choicest servants had dark and dreary days, they write words like,' now I am happy all the day'. I feel we must tell it as it is ,we are not stoics our moods can change, in 2 Corinthians 1  v  8 ,the apostle tells us that he and other were facing such trouble that they felt crushed ,overwhelmed, and felt they were going to die. Ecclesiastes 3 tells us ,'that there is time to weep , and a time to laugh'. In that lovely hymn ,'I will sing the wondrous story', by  F.H. Rawley,  he writes, 'Days of darkness still may meet me, sorrow's path  I oft may tread', but he does not stop there, he goes unto write,' But His presence still is with me, by  His  guiding hand I'm led'. This is the secret of the Christian life, the presence of the living Lord , who is with us at all times, to bring us through lives changing scene, and let me assure you, that makes all the difference

If that isn't love . ( Isaiah 53 )

 Now what about this child?, it should  have  been no surprise to the Jews, for the coming  of this child was foretold ,about 700 yrs BC , In Isaiah 9 v 6 - 7, it begins,' For unto us a child is born , to us a son is given',  and then it what he would be called, 'Wonderful  Counsellor, Mighty God,' we will stop there and consider that, he would be the Mighty God. Consider the mystery in those words, look again at the baby, in his book , ' The Jesus I  never  knew, Philip Yancey writes ,' The Messiah who showed up, wearing the glory of humility , '' God is great,' cry the Moslems,' that is  true, but as N . Figgis comments'' , '' That GOD  is little''. is amazing, this was non other than God in human flesh ,no wonder the wise men worshipped Him. Why had he come, to establish an earthly kingdom, no  ( John 18 v 36 ), He came to die on a cross ,for through his death ,sin the greatest blight on every human being ,could be forgiven, if he had stayed in heaven, and not died on that cross we could never  be forgiven. It is said it was not the nails  that kept him  on the cross, but his love for you and me. As regards saving the planet, well  I am not an environmentalist, but  what  I do know is ,that mankind needs a saviour  and that Saviour is Jesus.

                                              He left the splendour of heaven  , 

                                              Knowing His destiny, 

                                              That lonely hill of Golgotha,

                                               There to lay down his life for me.

                                               If that isn't love, the ocean is dry,

                                               There's no stars in the sky,

                                               And the sparrow can't fly,

                                               If that isn't love. then heavens a myth,

                                               There's no feeling like this,

                                                If that isn't love.  ( Words by Bill and Gloria Gaither )

                                                

                                               

The truth of the gospel. ( 2 ) ( Ephesians 2 v 8 - 9 )

 Continuing on from yesterday, as regards a church that was turning away from  the gospel. The good news, it  is not Christ plus, it is Christ only ,the moment one adds unto the gospel ,it is no longer good news,   it becomes invalid. There are people who believe that they must do something to save themselves, they would profess to believe  in Christ ,but insist on adding something extra, they are  in error, and they will never be saved. It may be circumcision , baptism ,good works, sabbath keeping, door knocking, church attendance, keeping the commandments. Anything you add to the gospel , is destroying the gospel, in fact it becomes another gospel, which in fact is not a gospel. The apostle Paul said the  following ,''May I never boast  except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, ( Galatians 6 v 14 ) , Christ death on the cross is sufficient to save us completely, when we add to it we  are taking away from it. If you have trusted Jesus as your Saviour ,do not sell out to those who tell you must add on ,don't be fooled. It is never  a matter of you trying harder, but a matter of faith and faith alone in Christ, that saves.' Nothing in my hands I bring , Simply to thy cross I cling; Naked, come to Thee for dress; Helpless,  look to Thee for grace; Foul , I to the fountain  fly; Wash me Saviour, or  I die'.  ( Words by A. G. Toplady )

The truth of the Gospel { 1 } { Galatians 1 v 6 - 10 }

 Imagine  a young person who was  rescued from a abusive situation ,and adopted  into a loving caring family, and then imagine that same young person leaving that loving family ,and going back into that abusive situation. It does not make sense, the loving  family are devastated, why they ask themselves? why?. Then  consider the great apostle Paul hearing that a  Church that had come into being under his ministry, were now turning back, why/?.  It is in his letter to the Galatians we discover the reason , they were forsaking the truth, for error. When  we forsake  truth we are forsaking God, for God is a God of truth, and he expects those who follow him , to hold fast for the truth  especially  the truth of the gospel. After all it is only the truth of the gospel that can save us. It appears that  people  ,they are called, the circumcision party , did two things ,they poisoned the minds of the church  against Paul. If they had succeeded in this  they  would have undermined Pauls teaching, and ministry. What were they teaching ?,they were Jews who  taught that Christ and his finished work on Calvary was not enough to save ,a person.  They taught  that one had to be circumcised, to be a real Christian, in other words they  had to become legalistic Jews.  This basically is what the letter to the Galatians is about ,this is as relevant now, as it was then , as we see next time.

God does test us . (2} ( Romans 8 v 28 )

 Yes, God  does test us, I suppose the question is why ?. Consider Job who was a very godly man, and so why did he suffer?. People who suffer often say or even think , what have I done to deserve this  ?. Jobs suffering was very severe, he lost all his  children, all his possessions, and  his health, it appeared to have happened very quickly, one blow after another.  He had three friends ,well sort of, you have heard the term Jobs comforters  , when you use that term as regards someone being a Jobs comforter, you mean they are the very opposite to that. Basically  they all said it was Jobs fault , that he was suffering, because he had sinned. Of course like all of us he was a sinner, but Job had not done anything to warrant or cause the evil that had befallen him.  They were wrong ,there are still  Jobs comforters about, beware of them,  Job was not being punished for any sin he had committed, but he was being tested. Satan was attacking him , seeking to prove that he only trusted God because of  the blessing he had bestowed on him. So God permitted the devil to afflict him, and that he did, I believe he came through that test successfully. There is  a lot of suffering in this world , Christians are not  immune from suffering, could be that you are suffering, will you pass that test ?,will you  trust God in your times of trials? In the midst of his trials Job said,'' Though  he slay me , yet  I will trust Him ''.  ( Job  13 v  15 ) ' Judge not the Lord  by feeble sense,  but trust Him  for  His grace; Behind a frowning  providence , He hides a smiling face.'  ( Words by William  Cowper )

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Be good ( Romans 2 v 7 - 11 )

The apostle  Paul  in Ephesians  1 v 4 / v 11, tells us how God  has chosen us unto salvation ,and   writes that  we  should be holy and blameless, and in 4 v 1,that we should walk worthy of that calling. With privilege comes responsibility ,our lives must reflect are calling ,commenting on this  C , Swindoll says ,''Our response to election should be like Queen  Victoria's reaction when she realized  she would one day be queen;  When she was young , Victoria was shielded from the fact that  she would be the next ruling monarch of England lest this knowledge spoil her. When her teacher finally  did let her discover for herself that she would be Queen of England, Victoria's response was, ''Then I will be good''. C S , continues, 'The fact that God has chosen us for salvation in Christ  should not cause us to boast;  it should  drive us to humility. It should  not make us live loose lives; it should  motivate  us to ''be good'' that is, to conduct ourselves in holiness and blamelessness before Him'. As a parent ,what did we often say to our children , ''be good'', so our loving heavenly Father says to his children ,'' be good''.

Change. ( Psalm 48 v 14 )

We live in a world of change, I am not the good looking young man I used to be, now I am the good looking old man, the mirror does not lie.( my little joke ).But the fact is most of us do not like change , for instance, moving home , country, job ,you may be reallocated, children moving school. Just  at this moment I  am working on my new laptop, I know it is for the best, the last one was old and needed to be replaced, but because I  am not sure of the new one, I struggle with that. Now for any of you who have moved, or about to move, whither it is to a new house, a new job, a new school, country etc, Here is what God would say to you,  'Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord  your God will be with you wherever you go. '   ( Joshua 1 v  9 ).

Don't forget. ( 1 Timothy 1 v 15)

Confined to his bed in early 1807 ,because of age and his weakening condition ,John Newton that able preacher, and hymn writer, had a visit from a friend. As the friend sat by his bedside he saw that John was struggling to say something, so he leaned over to hear what it was. This is what he said, ''My memory is almost God, but I remember two things'', he whispered , feebly. ''That I am a great sinner'', He paused to summon up his last breath, before finishing the sentence,''  And that Christ is a great Saviour''. Then he went to be with the Lord. John never forgot what his Savour had done for him, nor should we , for we are  all  great sinners, but praise God like John we have a great Saviour.

 

Mental illness ( Romans 5 v 6 - 8 )

'Could we with ink the ocean fill,and were the skies of parchment made;Were  every stalk on earth a quill,  and every man a scribe by trade  To write the love of God above,would drain the ocean dry,nor could the  scroll contain the whole. Tho ' stretched from sky to sky'. We do not know the name of the person who wrote these lovely words,they were written by a man on the wall of the narrow room in an institution for the mentally ill,the man  was said to be demented. These words  were later incorporated  into a hymn by F.M. Lehman, called ,'The Love of God'. ' Are you a Christian? if you are,think much  on the love of God, look on the cross and you need look no further.Consider it was for you the Saviour died, He became cursed for you, that curse that is upon you, because everyone who has broken God's law is cursed . (Galatians 3 v 10 ).In so doing he saved you from God's wrath'.That death on the cross was a manifestation of outrageous love,'Love so amazing so divine, demands,your soul, you life,your all.'

Save our planet. ( Isaiah 9 v 6 - 7 )

 Save our planet ,that's  what we hear   regularly ,we are told  of the dangers if we don't do something, at times like this we ask the question, where is Superman ?,or even John Wayne.  Yes the hunt is on for a saviour, who is it going to be ?,  science ?, well as I  appreciate what they have done during this time, but  was it not science that developed mustard gas, nuclear weapons. Well what about the politicians ? unfortunately we may get a Hitler or a Stalin,  or some other nice person like that. Sometimes one is tempted to think ,is it worth saving?, let's  personalise  this, are we worth saving ?.God thinks so, how do I know?.  In 1644 the Puritans , banned Christmas, yes they had their reasons, they said it was a time of  immoral behaviour, and other things. Well  as a Christian I realise that Christmas  for many is  not about Christ, yet in spite of that I am glad we have  a Christmas celebration. If we can look beyond , Santa, gifts, food ,etc, we may for a moment catch a glimpse of a miracle,  in the person of a baby. We may ask the question , what's so special about that little child ?.  His name  is Jesus, it is the same name as Joshua in the OT , and it means Saviour, this little  child  would grow to become the Saviour of the world. For what this world needs is a Saviour, He came  to rescue all mankind, from sin, Satan, and death, and through his death and resurrection he did that, so I would invite  to trust him as your Saviour.

                                                       

                                          

                                                   

The black hole . ( John 4 v 1 - 26 )

 Karl Marx's said that ',religion was the opium of the  people', in other words he likened it unto a  drug, So  he is saying that all who are religious are drug addicts ,the question is, are they?. Of course they are not, but what I would say, that mankind is an addictive being, be it politics, religion, gambling, food, etc. I believe that  mankind has a want within him, and so he tries to satisfy that want, it is like a black hole, that sucks everything in, only to find the hole is still there. The book of Ecclesiastes tells about a king ,who denied himself  nothing .yet he remained unfulfilled, and declared it all meaningless like chasing after the wind. He further wrote something very interesting ,that God has set eternity in the human heart. ( Ecc 3 v 11) Derek Kidner writes', Nothing we desire has any  permanence, unlike the animals ,  immersed in time....we know something of eternity ,enough at least to compare the fleeting, with the forever.' Was it Alexander the Great, who when he conquered so much, said,'' no more worlds to conquer'' ,people  sometimes say there is nothing on the the TV to watch, even though there is a vast amount of channels, showing so much. It is Augustine who wrote,' Thou hast made us for Thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee' Pascal wrote, 'There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of  every man, which cannot be filled by any creative thing, but only by God, made known through Jesus'.

The scars remain. ( Psalm 55 v 22 )

 After  forty years of happy marriage John Newtons wife died, it  was a great loss, death has an unreality about it, one moment that person is there the next moment they are gone. One can find it hard to understand ,if only one could just  hear their voice again . When God created mankind we were never meant to die, but sin changed everything. Yet through Christ death and resurrection  ,death will die, vanquished for ever. Until that day we will grieve over the loss of a loved one, in time it will be easier, to some extent, time is a healer. After a while ,John Newtons  friend William  Wilberforce inquired how he felt  at the loss of his dear wife Mary, John replied,'' God has healed the wound. But the scar remains''. I suppose that sums it up, the scars remain, but one day the scars will be no longer, when God will wipe away all tears, and all pain will cease. Until that day ,Gods amazing grace will enable us to live with the scars.

Imagine ( Romans 3 v 10 - 23 )

 Walter Mitty was a fictional   character, he indulged in fantastic daydreams, there is bit of  Walter Mitty in us  all.  There was a song called ,' If I ruled the world', written by  Leslie  Bricusse, it has words like ,'Every day ,would be the first day of  Spring, every man would be free as a bird,'. Then a lot  of people love  the song  by John  Lennon, 'Imagine', it has words like, '' Imagine there's no heaven , its easy if you try.no hell below us, Imagine all the people living in peace.no need for greed or hunger, a brotherhood of man. You may say I'm a dreamer'. These songs are all Walter Mitty songs, because  they  are not based on reality, no matter how much you dream they are not  real. Lets look at life as it is, stop daydreaming, lets face reality, because sin and  its consequences are real, just today I received a scam email , sent by real people who don't care about  the wrong they are doing. You and I are going to die, that's reality, let us not be taken in by the Walter Mitty's of this world, let us not become Walter Mitty's , Walter Mitty was a fool, I believe there is a heaven, there is a hell, The historical Jesus  died on a cross, why?, because He knew the reality, he knew our lost condition, He is our only hope, only  in him our sins can be forgiven, only in him  can we freed from our  sins, only by trusting him can we saved ,and go to heaven.

I Know ( 4 ) ( Acts 16 v 30 - 31 )

 In Christ ,God has provided for your salvation ,it is not Christ plus, no it is Christ alone, through his death all your sins can be totally forgiven, you will not have to face the wrath of God, and you will go to heaven. It is as simple as that, whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved ( Romans 10 v 14 ) Jesus said I give unto my sheep eternal life.(John 10 v 28 ) We are saved by grace alone through faith alone, not of ourselves, it is a gift of God,   not of works, so that no one can boast. ( Ephesians 2 v 8 - 9). Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life,( John 3 v 36 ) For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son ,that everyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. When we trust Jesus we are taken from the place of uncertainty ,to the place of certainty, no longer  will we live in that place of fear, and dread of oncoming judgement, you shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. Augustus M. Toplady , wrote ,'Not the labour of my hands, can fulfil Thy laws demands; Could my zeal no respite know, could my tears forever flow; All for sin could not atone ,Thou must save, and Thou alone' 

I know ( 3 ) ( Isaiah 53 v 10 )

 Light has come into the world ( John  3 v 19 ),here  it is speaking about Jesus who is called the light of the world ( John 9 v 5 ). Jesus  came from heaven, born of a virgin, born in Bethlehem, the scripture foretold of His coming  C P, Isaiah 7 v  14/ 9 v 6 / Micah 5 v 2  .  Every Christmas we celebrate this great event, but why should He come? ,what was the purpose of  His coming , the answer  ,'He will save his people from their sins'. That problem that man caused was going to be solved by God, through Jesus his Son, only God could solve it.. This Jesus would lead a sinless life, that had to be, as we will see , the purpose of his coming ,was clearly foretold in the Bible, CP Isaiah 53/ Psalm 22.It was John the Baptist who declared, 'Look ,the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world'. How was he going to deal with sin? ,it is important to make clear ,that Jesus knew why he had come. CP  John 8 v 28/ Matthew 16 v 21/. And so it came to pass, they took him and crucified him, why the cross, why this awful death, Well his death was for judgement for sin, whose sin ,not his ,but your sin ,my sin. God cannot overlook sin ,there is always a price to pay for sin, the wrath of God that abides on mankind, C P, John 3 v 36,that means we would all be going to Hell. So Jesus bore the wrath of  God, so that all who trust in Jesus would not have to bear it.. (We will continue this tomorrow)

Does God test us? ( 1 ) ( Matthew 22 v 34 - 40 )

God does test his people , here are a few examples,   ( 1)   Abraham, in Genesis 22 we read how God  spoke  to him, and this is what  he said, '' Take your son , your only son , whom you love - Isaac-  and go  to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice  him there  as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you''.  Consider what God  said, and ask yourself , how would you feel if these words  were spoken to you. Isaac was a child of promise , Gen 17 v 19, he loved Isaac , but how  much did he love Him?. Remember  what our Saviour said to Peter in John 21, '' do you love me more than these ?,who or what was our Lord referring  to?, was  it his business, as a fisher man?, it was Peter who said to the other disciples, '' I am going out to fish'', the rest followed him. our employment is important to us, Jesus could have been pointing to the other  disciples, and was saying, do you  love me more than them, I am  sure that we all appreciate the importance of friends. The great test, in relation to our love for our Saviour,  boils down to how much do we love him?  

                                                  Lovest thou Me, lovest  thou Me, more than these ?

                                                  Modern times have brought many blessings,

                                                  People live in  wealth and luxury ,

                                                   But the Master still asks the question,

                                                    Lovest  thou Me, lovest thou Me,

                                                    More than these ?.

                                                                        ( Words by Emie Hassie ) 

I know (2) ( Romans 3 v 9 - 23 )

 Continuing from yesterday, and how one would get to heaven, I guarantee you will get to heaven but first of all, I want you to do something, I want you to pray in your own words,. asking  Him to help you, as you look at what we are dealing with.  I want to take you back to two people in a Garden, they were sinless, but then they disobeyed God. So sin entered this world and paradise was no longer, everything had changed, I mean everything, no longer were those two people innocent,  their whole nature had changed, all who   would follow would have same fallen nature.  This would effect mankind's relationship with a holy God, the result we would  die physically, and spiritually, we had become sinners. There are no perfect people, for as the Bible tells us, all have sinned and come short of God's glory. ( Romans 3 v 23).While we are in this sinful condition, we cannot have a relationship with God who is holy, nor can we enter heaven. So that leaves us in a very  dreadful condition, facing only one thing  judgement , Humankind's fallen nature ,is spiritually dark ,in other words they do connect with what God says in his word, instead they invent their own word, their own spiritual  leaders, or they reject any concept of there being a god. In fact the world is at war with God, and  intent in doing things their way, which inevitably means sinning against God. The following words sum it up, 'Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.( John 3 v 19 ) ( We will continue this next time)

I know ( 1 ) ( Ephesians 6 v 19 )

 In an old movie a black lady spoke in response to what someone said, ''In a 100 yrs we will be wearing golden slippers,'' then she added,'' I  hope''.  I believe she was talking about going to heaven, I wonder do you think you are going to heaven?. Can anybody be sure they are going to heaven?, what does it depend on?. Are you like that dear lady, who added, 'I hope', and what do we have to do to get to heaven?.  Let me say this, I know how one can get to heaven, I can give you a sure certain answer, no if 's, or but's, or a maybe, or I hope. Is this not wonderful, that one can know for certain, how they can go to heaven. Say I said to you, I can tell you a sure and certain way you can become rich, I have special knowledge, and say I was able to convince you, to take my word, and you did, and you got rich, and you would say amazing I am so glad I listened to him..  Now lets return to the question as regards heaven,   and the knowledge I possess to  tell you how you can get to heaven. I want you think about this,  after all everybody wants to go to heaven, nobody wants to go that other awful ,terrible place, do they?, do you?. So  I invite you to return tomorrow ,and we will consider this further.

Eternity ( Hebrews 9 v 27 - 28 )

 A novelist , in one of her books, has a character who will not stoop to do certain things that others do, '' I  know'', she said,''that some day the great thing will come into my life, and I want to keep myself fit to take it''. William Barclay said,'' We must live forever in the shadow of eternity'',  everyone who has ever lived and who will live, will enter the eternal realms, and stand before God. For the many they will not have made any preparation for that moment, they never really give it to much thought. During their life time, the wrath of God lay upon them, John 3 v 36,there in eternity they will realise what that means, no pleading, no tears will change that, no excuses will cut any ice with God, as his justice is declared, they will be sentenced ,not for a certain amount of  time, for time as we know it ,will no longer be. Forever they will exist ,in utter loneliness, utter hopelessness, utter despair. Is it not time that you started thinking about eternity, and trust Jesus to save you?, before it is to late.

Coming Home. ( Luke 15 v 11 - 24 )

 I was greatly encouraged when I heard Charles Swindoll say,'that he had never met parents ,who did everything right'. Why should it encourage me? ,because one my biggest regrets is ,I made more  than my fair share of mistakes,when bringing up my children for which I am truly sorry.The good thing is the boys have grown to be fine men, in spite of my mistakes. I of course have made many other mistakes in life,no end of them,but then who hasn't made mistakes, I am reminded of that popular song by Edith Piaf, which goes,'No,no regrets,No I will have no regrets'. I am not sure what she means by that,but most us have regrets,take buying a car,what can you do with regrets? try not to make them again. learn from them, but we must not let them rule us. What is the biggest mistake I ever made?,I would say it was when I went away from the Lord,there are no advantages in doing that. In those away years I took on habits, and accumulated mind sets that were not good,did things, I should not have done.Was I still saved ? only God knows,what I do know is , God in his mercy restored me to Himself,and that has made a profound difference to my life,for the better.There is an old hymn by W.T.Kirkpatrick,which reads,'I've wandered far away from God , now I'm coming home. The path of sin too long I've trod,Lord I'm coming home. Could that be you?, is it not time for you to come home?.

Loneliness . ( 2 Timothy 4 v 16 - 18)

 Seemingly one of the saddest things during this coronavirus is loneliness, this is not surprising,God himself said it was not good for man to be alone. In this overcrowded planet,it is sad that there are so many lonely people,I am reminded of words from the Beatles song Eleanar Rigby,'all the lonely people ,where do they all come from?. The ,Lonely Hearts Club is full,the fact is, we are social beings, in  the 1950's there was a popular song ,and it began ,'When you 've got friend and neighbours, all the world is a happier place  .Friends and neighbours ,puts a smile on the gloomist face'. But times have changed,in many ways ,we seldom if ever, enter our neighbours homes.Now we have the coronavirus,and people are more isolated, and lonely,not just the old,it is affecting people of all ages.Is there an answer,a way that people can be helped?, many people are buying a pet,the sale of dogs have increased greatly,I am sure this can help.I have felt loneliness in my life ,that has eased,with me,as I have grown older.my relationship with God   greatly helps, after all as a Christian ,we sing what a friend we have in Jesus,that's true,he is a wonderful friend. Unfortunately for the vast amount of people He is shut out of their lives,I wonder could it be, that one the things God is speaking to us about,is, His importance?.We seek everything ,and everyone and we don't seek Him, the Bible says ,'seek the Lord while he may be found,call upon him,while he is near',why don't you do that?.

Mince pies ( Luke 8 v 26 - 35 )

In the U K ,mince pies are very popular,they go back a long time,in Tudor times they were made of 13 ingredients,representing Jesus and the 12 apostles,later mutton was added to represent the shepherds. Modern mince pies have no meat in them,instead they are filled with,dried fruit and spices. A woman who tested the different supermarkets mince pies, she said this about her favourite ,'' I tested  Aldi's   mince pies,they are the best, and they changed my life'' I think she is, to say the least,exaggerating,they may change her figure,but I can assure you they will not change her life or anybodies life. I know someone who can change ones life,his name is Jesus,and when you trust him ,you will not put on weight,you will lose weight.and the weight I am speaking of ,is the burden of your sins,and the guilt that goes along with them, millions have trusted Jesus as their Saviour,and the result was, their lives were changed,they were made anew. In  2 Corinthians 5 v 17,we read, 'Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation,old things have passed away;  behold , all things have become new'.

24/7 ( 2 ) Temptation (1 Corinthians 10 v 13 )

We finished yesterday thinking about the obstacles we face,now lets consider the temptation we will face,I want to highlight 6 things  ( 1 ) Don't put yourself in temptations way, remember humanity is very prone to addiction,and all addiction start with one look,one thought,one action.When Joseph was tempted by a woman ,he ran for dear life ( Genesis 39 v 11),in other words don't run into temptation run away from it.  (2 ) Don't think you will not yield,Samson was a strong man,he yielded to a  pretty woman,and he lost his sight, and his freedom .1 Corinthians 10 v 12  ,reads,'Let him that thinketh  he standeth take heed lest he fall'. ( 3 )Don't be fooled with the temptation,remember all that glitters is not gold, remember the  forbidden fruit ,yes it was pleasing to the eye ( Gen 3 v 6)  ( 4 ) Don't think you are to old to be tempted,  Frances of Assisi said,''Expect temptation to your last breath''. ( 5 ) Don't go asleep,when Jesus had  prayed in the garden of Gethsemane,he came to the disciples and he found them asleep,and he said to them,'Get up and pray so that you may not fall into temptation''. ( Luke 22 v 46 )  ( 6 ) Don't be afraid,the Lord is with us ,he knows how weak we are,and how prone we are  to fall into sin (which we all do),remember temptation is not a sin,it is yielding to it, that is a sin. If we do yield,let us repent and seek forgiveness, CP  1 John 1 v 9 .

24/7 ( 1) Psalm 46 .

 When I was younger I had two jobs one was full time ,the other part time,when you become a Christian,  we have to realize that it is full  time, 24/7 ,fifty two weeks of the year. It is a commitment ,we are always on duty,come what may,when I was a young lad ,I joined the army boy service,I signed on for 9 years,actually I only did nine months,I got discharged ,but when you are a  Christian you sign on for  life , you don't get discharged. Of course being a Christian is not a life time prison sentence,no, it is  the road of freedom,and the blessings are many,but also the challenges are many. It is a life of holiness,  a life  of faithfulness,a life where we are faced with obstacles,,and temptations,that will not change.The obstacles  that we meet are meant to be overcome,and when we don't overcome them  we must persevere,failure is not a get out clause,there are lessons to be learnt from our failures.Our sinful proud hearts are challenged,and we are made to realise how much we need God.The man who struggled with a severe disability ,could say, I can do all all things through Christ who strengthens me ( Philippians 4 v 13) We  will consider this further tomorrow.

Light and darkness. ( 1 Corinthians 15 v 3 - 4 )

 Francis of Assisi said ,''All the darkness of the world cannot extinguish a single candle'',Jesus said ',I  Am the light of the world '', ( John 8 v 12),and so He was ,and so He is. It is in John 1 v 4 - 5,writing of  Jesus it says ,'In him was life,and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness,and the darkness has not overcome it'.Consider the opposition that Jesus had to contend with, at his birth  ,Herod sought to murder him. when he commenced his ministry Satan,sought to tempt him to sin, when he visited his home town and spoke in the synagogue,the crowds tried to kill him. Also in John 10 v 31,we read that the people took up stones to stone him,then Peter sought to stop him from fulfilling  his destiny ,again Satan had an influence in this. ( Matthew 16 v 22 - 23 )Then we move on to our dear Saviours last hours, when Judas  would betray him, influenced by Satan ( Luke 22 v 3 ).The darkness was increasing in its intensity, for mankind, who loves darkness rather that the light , were intent in destroying  Him who is the light of the world,so they crucified him.But praise God they did not succeed. For on that cross ,he defeated Satan, his death accomplished a salvation that would save mankind from the wrath of God, by experiencing Gods wrath for us..Sins could be forgiven,for all who trust him to be their Saviour.But that's not all ,on the third day he arose from the dead.,yes the darkness could not extinguish the light.

Just one look ( 5 ) ( Ephesians 2 v 1 - 10 )

 So we started by looking at the wonderful king ,David,who had everything,God had blessed him,raised him from being a nobody, to being a somebody.He faced God's enemies and he got the victory,the people sang his praises,what could go wrong to the man who had everything?. You know its not the enemies that are without,that are the problem ,that we need the victory over,but the enemy that is within, our fallen sinful nature. So it came to pass,the result,  well you know the result,adultery,followed by murder,these are not little things,he should have been sentenced to death,as the law required (Genesis 9 v 6 / Leviticus 20 v 10),God is no respecter of persons,the law applied to everyone without exception.Why was he not executed,? In Psalm 51 we have the prayer of a repenting David, in other words he had turned from his evil ways and was asking forgiveness?. The Psalm commences with these words,' Have mercy on me,O God',David knew his God, that he was merciful, 'Praise the Lord,His mercy is more.Stronger than darkness,new every morning.Our sins they are many, His mercy is more' (Words by Keith and Kristyn Getty).No matter how awful our sin,or how  many are our sins,they can be forgiven,because God is merciful. We receive that mercy because of Jesus, when we accept Him as our Saviour,mercy will flow like a river,and we are forgiven.

Just one look ( 4 ) ( Proverbs 5 v 21 )

 A little boy had been attending Sunday school,the children were taught a little chorus,the words went,''Be careful little eyes what you see,there's a Saviour up above, looking down with tender love,Be careful little  eye's what you see'.That same little boy was out walking with his father, they were passing an orchard ,so   his father said to him,I fancy some apples,keep looking to see if anybody is coming.The little boy appeared uneasy with this,and his father asked him,what's up?,the little boy replied, ''what about looking up dad''.King David  wrote ,'I look up toward the hills.From where does my help come ? .My help comes from the Lord,the Creator of  heaven and earth'. (Psalm 121 v 1 - 2) . Even the most godly of  people can forget that God is looking at us, as to what we do,not like a sentry on duty,who falls asleep ,for we are told God does not sleep ( Ps 121 v 4 ).Yes he is watching you and me,He see's all ,nothing is hid from Him,  and we read,'The thing David had done displeased the Lord.'.What did he do ?, he sinned against the Lord, When we have sex outside of marriage we sin,when we commit adultery,we sin,when we murder someone, we sin,when we covet someones wife we sin,when we take God's name in vain,it is a sin.In 1 John 5 v 17 we  are told, 'All wrongdoing is sin',not just the gross things,but those things we may consider trivial,no sin is overlooked by a holy God. All sin matters,as  John Stott says,''It destroys fellowship with God',and that is very serious,we will continue this ,next time.

Just one look ( 3 ) ( John 4 v 1 - 14 )

 Lets continue to consider,'Just one look',it is in 1 John 2 v 15 - 17 ,which commences .'Do not love the world',what does the world mean?, it includes all things that are contrary to a holy God,and he names three things,The lust of the flesh,the lust of the eyes,and the pride of life'.The lust of  the flesh stands for all the desires of our carnal nature CP Galatians 5 v  19 - 21.We will go to number 3 ,the pride of  life.of course we all can think what pride is,the question is ,is there a good pride,and a sinful pride?.the core of racism is pride ,we are declaring we are better than them,they are inferior,pride is when we leave God out of our achievements,  out of our successes. .Last but not least the ,'Lust of the eyes',one could say it is being  being blinded to God  and the things of God.it is not just looking, it is lusting,and desiring,and craving,and wanting, and still not being satisfied.Go back to David  ,he had many wives CP 1 Chronicles 3,but the lust of his eyes took over,if we are ruled by the lust of our eyes we will never be satisfied, as David found out to his cost.John Stott writes,'Our affections, are set either on this world or on God. It is impossible to love them both'.

Just one look. (2) ( Romans 6 v 23 )

Just one look is all it took,we should not be surprised at this, in Genesis 3 v 6 we read of Eve being   tempted by Satan,to eat the forbidden fruit,she knew that God had forbidden her to eat this fruit.So we read in spite of this,' When the woman saw ....she took some and ate it,in other words ,just one look,that's all it took. Just before the overthrow of Jericho ,the Lord told Israel that they were not to take any of the spoils for themselves. (Joshua 6 v 19).But a man called Achan ,disobeyed ,so when Israel faced their next challenge they suffered  defeat, and loss of life ,when it was revealed that Achan  had disobeyed , he was confronted with what he done,he said,' I saw the plunder', just one look and he took ( Joshua 7 v 21)  What is very tragic as regards what  David,Eve,and Achan did ,was the consequences of their actions,on others.Consider the result of Davids action,Uriah was murdered,the child born out of the adultery died. Consider the consequences of what  Achan did,Israel lost the battle with the citizens of Ai,with the loss of life. And of course I don't have to mention  the awful  consequences of Eve's disobedience., Yes it all started with just one look, let all of us consider as we look at that which is  forbidden by God ,how it is going to affect others ,your child,your wife,your parents.,hear this, there is always a cost when we sin.

Just one look (1 ) ( 2 Samuel 11 )

 One evening King David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of his palace and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself,she was very beautiful. So it began with just one look,as  he looked at this beautiful woman he was smitten,desire took over, sinful desire..It is said eyes are the windows of the soul, they are also the windows to our sinful hearts,surely that does not mean the man after God's own heart oh yes,it means David,and it means all of us.When the hymn the words,Amazing grace, that saved wretch like me,he meant it,we are all wretches, as we will see ,as we look at what followed that one look. None of us ,yes I say, none of can  appreciate the depths we can fall morally.One look was followed by a headlong  pursuit to  fulfill his sinful desires,and he was determined that nothing would stop him.He was told that she was a married woman,that didn't stop him,and her husband  was one of his bodyguards ,Uriah the Hittite,that didn't stop him. So he unashamedly sent for her,slept with her ,then she returned home,and that was that,his one night stand was over. We will consider this further next time, I will leave you with these words from Numbers 32 v 23.'Be sure that your sin will find you out',there is no escape from the consequences of our sins,as David would find out.

I am His Child. ( Psalm 46 )

A friend passed on four things to me,which I want to share with you .( 1)' Make sure you test positive for faith.' In Hebrews 11 v 6,we have two important words,'Without faith',could that be you?, have you ever thought what that means?,lets put it to the test,have you or have you not faith?.ask yourself that question.   Next, faith in what?or should I say in who? in Christ,do you really know Him as your Saviour?,because if you have not ,then you are lost. If you have trusted Jesus as your Saviour,then trust  Him to bring you through Life and take you to heaven.. ( 2 )' Keep distance from doubt',how do we do that?,by trusting the Lord with all our hearts and leaning not upon our own understanding, ( 3 )'Isolate from fear',is that possible?,yes it is ,it depends on what you are focusing on, the awful situation we find ourselves in,as regards your job,your needs,the ,'what if's',so many of them. Ask the Saviour to help you ,He will carry you through.  ( 4 )'Trust God in all you are going through',we have already mentioned that earlier,He makes no mistakes,remember you are His child.,as the words of the hymn says,'Under His wings I am safely abiding ;Though the night deepens and tempests are wild,Still I can trust Him, I know He will keep me; He has redeemed me, and I am His child'.

Good morning Jesus. ( Proverbs 3 v 5 - 6 )

A man  approached a godly lady, he wanted advice about following the Lord,so she said, every morning when you get up,the first thing you do is say ,'Good morning Jesus'. She told him do this without fail,it  seems such a simple thing,I suppose what it is doing is inviting  Jesus in at the commencement of each day. It does not mean you won't have a quite time,but it set's the right tone for the day.and that's important. When I have a problem I look to God to solve that  problem,and if we bring him into all aspects of our lives,our lives we will be better for it.I try to make prayer a way of life,we all should,yes we need to set a time to pray each day but also live in a spirit of prayerfulness  ,talk to God,and bring him into all your decisions,  tell Him you love Him. Be sensitive to the Holy Spirit's prompting.and when you have grieved Him,tell him your sorry ,and ask His forgiveness,for unconfessed sin  will be a hindrance in your relationship with our dear Saviour,and we don't want that,do we?

We are all the same. ( Romans 3 v 23 )

 William Carey served God in India, he translated the Bible into 6 Indian languages,and parts of other dialects, and languages.He did many other things, he was the founder of the English Baptist Missionary Society.One of the things he said was,''Expect great things from God,and attempt great things for God'   One of his characteristic was perseverance,he is thought to be the founder of modern missions.There was a time in his life when he became very seriously ill,it was thought he might die. He was asked if the sickness proved fatal,what Bible text would he select for his funeral service'.He replied ,'' Oh, I feel that such a poor  creature as me, is unworthy to have  anything said about him,he chose the following words and that nothing more  should be cut on his gravestone,'William Carey born August 17th died - . '' A wretched ,poor,and helpless worm. On Thy kind arms I  fall''.It was Isaiah the prophet  who cried out,''Woe to me'', I am ruined. For I am a man of unclean lips''  ( Isaiah 6 v 5 ) It was Peter the Apostle who fell on his knees before Jesus,and said,''I am a sinful man'',  ( Luke 5 v 8 ) and  it was the Apostle Paul who wrote,'Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,of whom I am the worst'. ( 1 Timothy 1 v 15). No matter who we are, be it  a missionary,prophet,or apostle,we all have one thing in common, we are all  sinners,and need  Jesus to be our Saviour.

is 

Heaven ( 2 ) ( John 14 v 6 )

 Forget about those modern day heavenly tourist,and let us remember we who are Christians,are people of  faith ( Hebrews 11 v 13 )., in 2 Corinthians 4 v 18, we read,' we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. In 5 v 17 we read,' we live by faith and not by sight',but one day, faith will give way to sight, when we are with the Lord.In the mean while ,we press on in faith, towards that heavenly country. The apostle Paul wrote, 'Therefore we do not lose heart,though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all (2 Cor  4 v  16 - 17 ) If  we are suffering,or if we are struggling, or if we are sorrowful,and feel like saying, is this Christian life worth it?.With the eye of faith fixed on Jesus , consider your heavenly inheritance,and the glory that lies ahead,for all who know Jesus,it will be no disappointment,someone said heaven is better than this,that's an understatement ,it will  be glorious ,more glorious than we can ever imagine.Consider what wont be there,the list is endless,all the bad things , the evil things, the hurtful things,the terrible things,the horrible things,the awful things,you name it,it will not be there.Then consider all the good things that will be there, John MacArthur writes ,we will have   perfect knowledge (1 Cor 13 v 12),we will live in perfect comfort,we will live in perfect love,and  undiluted joy,and most of all we will be with Jesus. Heaven is a real place,not something made up,the only thing that will stop you getting there ,is your sin,it must be repented of,and forgiven,this comes through trusting Jesus as your Saviour.

Heaven ( 1) ( 2 Corinthians 5 v 8 )

 I must confess I do not appreciate what is called heavenly tourism, I am talking about those who say they have been to heaven and back, and of course they will have books  published, recounting their experience. It was the apostle Paul who tells us how he was caught up into the  third heaven were he heard inexpressible things,things that no one is permitted to tell  ( 2 Corinthians 12  v  2 - 4) . his experience was real,it was not false..Now of course heaven is real.Heaven and is  were God dwells and rules from,the Lord's prayer starts,'Our Father in heaven',( Matthew 6 v 9 ).  The OT saints looked forward to heaven,CP ,Hebrews 11 v 13 - 16 ,  N T saints also look forward to going to heaven, and were encouraged to set their minds on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth ( Colossians 3 v 2 ).Is this escapism? ,no, its not,life on planet earth is something to be treasured, were we can serve our God and king,but for all of us life comes to an end, death is not a very nice thing,but it is a reality.For many in this world ,life is a struggle,so many people face injustice, persecution,the treasures on earth are temporary,but for all who trust in Jesus the glories of heaven awaits .We are told that Christ is bringing many sons and daughters to glory,( Hebrews 2 v 10),one of the last things He said to His disciples before he went back to heaven was '',I go to prepare a place for you'',(John 14 v 3 ),and in his  prayer in John 17 v 24 ,He prays,'Father ,I want those you have given me to be with me, where I am'. We will continue to look at this next time.

Decision time. ( Matthew 7 v 13 - 14 )

 In Matthew 7 v 13- 14,our  Saviour says, '' You can enter God's Kingdom only through the narrow gate.  The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to  life is very narrow and the road is difficult,and only a few ever find it'' Robert Frost wrote a poem called  '  The road less travelled', It highlights those times in life when a decision has to be taken. The poem ends with the lines ,'Two roads diverged in a wood and I took the one less travelled by,and that has made all the difference'. Consider what Jesus said,it faces us with a challenge,to make a decision,there was a moment in my life when I made that decision,it was on a road less traveled,but it has made all the difference to me ,and it was a difference for the better. Yes there have been difficulties, trials,and challenges,but in the end it will be worth it.Make a choice this day ,follow Jesus on that road less travelled,and you will never regret it.

There is more ( Psalm 23 )

In ancient times as one left the Mediterranean there were what was known as the Pillars of  Hercules, with the following inscription on it ,which read,''Non Plus Ultra'',which means,'Nothing Further Beyond''.When Columbus discovered the ,''New World'',Spain adopted as its motto,''Plus Ultra'',meaning,''Further Beyond'', or more beyond.  The grave looks so cold and forbidding , many in these days  believe that there is nothing beyond the grave,but there is,yes there is more beyond.For those who believe that when life ends ,that's it,will find out to their cost  ,for we are told in the Bible after death there is judgement, this judgement will be for sin.For those who are Christians they believe that is more beyond,not judgement ,because their sins have been forgiven by trusting Jesus as their Saviour, they enter into Heaven were their Saviour is,and enjoy unimaginable joy,and blessing.They  can say with the hymn writer,'Yes, I shall soon be landed on yonder shores of bliss.There, with my powers  expanded, I shall dwell where Jesus is'. 

Despairing saint. ( Isaiah 49 )

 We live in an uncertain world,the rich can loose their riches in a moment,the strong can become weak,those we love can be taken in a twinkling of an eye,all our plans can come to nothing.Yes we are fragile,a puff of wind can blow us over,need I go on. Even if you are a Christian, your world can fall around you,consider Job,in a moment he lost ten children,then he lost his wealth, and then he lost his health.Ask yourself ,how would you feel?,how would I feel?.In Isaiah 49 , we read that Israel was suffering ,and they cried out ( v 14),' The Lord has forsaken me,the Lord has forgotten me'',could it be that you feel like that? God's answer to Israel and to you was,'Can  a mother forget  the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne?.  Though she may forget, I will not forget you.See I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;( 15 -16 ). Spurgeon  comments on these words,'Heaven and earth may well be astonished that rebels should obtain so great a nearness to the heart of infinite love as to be written on the palms of His hands. ''I have engraved you'' .See the fullness of this. I have''engraved your person, your image,your case,your circumstances,your sins,your temptations,your weaknesses,your wants,your works;I have''engraved you'',  everything about you,all that concerns you;I have put you altogether there. Will you ever say again that God has forsaken you when He has ''engraved you'' on His own palms'

Our endeavours. ( Ezra 8 v 21 - 23 )

 Hudson Taylor was founder of what became known as the,'China Inland Mission',but is now known  as the ,'Overseas Missionary Fellowship'.Hudson was a qualified doctor,this is an account of one incident that took place in China,'  During an evening prayer meeting a nurse brought a little child to him ,she thought she was dead,a woman suggested that he pray for the child,''Yes, pray, '' he shouted back,'' while I  work''.The child was blue and limp,his first efforts failed. Then he tried the kiss of life,after a few minutes the child's colour  changed  and she began to breathe,when she grew up she became a   CIM missionary .' Someone said that Hudson   prayed about things as if everything depended upon the praying...but he worked also, as if  everything depended on the working'.Make no mistake, prayer does not excuse us from serving  and working .but the two should go together.

Are you listening ( 4 ) ( Luke 12 v 13 - 21 )

 We continue considering the words of Proverbs 8 v 34 - 36,which promises a blessing on those who listen to God's wisdom,not just listening but with a desire to find true wisdom.A few years ago, my wife and I went to see ,'Les Miserables',during the performance a lady next to me was making funny noises,it was disturbing people around her,but so intent was I in what was being performed on stage ,I did not take much notice of  what that lady was doing. Such should be our intent in gaining godly wisdom.Godly wisdom leads to life,ungodly wisdom lead to death.The worlds wisdom is to just focus on the world and its ways, get enough money and retire to sunny places.We read of such a man in Luke 12 v 13 - 21, he had everything,well he thought he had,you see, he was rich and prosperous,and he said to himself,''You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat , drink, and be merry''.Many can identify with that man,that's were so many people want to get to.Yes he had a good nest egg set aside , the sweet life beckoned,but then the voice of God speaks,'You fool,this very night your soul shall be required of you'. Jesus said ,'Life does not consist in an abundance of possessions'.Dear friend don't be a fool, seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near,turn to Christ before it is to late.

Faith ( Romans 10 v 17 )

 Many people are like Thomas ,the one who would not believe that Jesus had risen from the dead,after all ,when you are dead you are dead.He would not believe ,even when his fellow disciples told him,'we have seen the Lord', but Thomas rejected what they said,after all Jesus died a terrible death,on a cross,now it was finished,it is not rational,there is no sense to it.He wanted proof and the only proof was to actually see Jesus not only see him but  he had see the nail marks in his hands ,and put his finger where the nails were; and put his hand into his side ( John 20 v 25 ). To him Jesus was dead ,and that was it,no matter what anybody said,he would not believe.There is a saying which goes,'convince a man against his will , and he remaineth of that opinion still'.Many people doubt ,refuse to believe in the resurrection,and so do not believe in Jesus,the other disciples had seen the risen Saviour,I wonder before that happened,did they believe?,it is interesting that when Jesus appeared to them,He showed  them,his hands, and his side,to confirm to that it was really him.All Thomas was saying he wanted that also,and wonder of wonders ,Jesus obliged,and Thomas believed.Yes he believed because he saw. But Jesus went on to say to  Thomas,    ''because you have seen me,you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed ( John 20 v 29 ) William Hendriksen writes,'' Faith that results from seeing is good; but faith which results from hearing is more excellent''.

Are you listening? ( 3 ) Wisdom . ( 2 Timothy 3 v 15 - 16 )

 Proverbs 8 v 34 - 36, reads ,'Blessed is the man who listens to me,watching daily at my doors,waiting at my doorway. For whoever finds me finds life and receives favour from the Lord. But whoever fails to find me, harms himself; all who hate me love death.'The book of Proverbs is about the importance of  finding  God's wisdom,and the blessing that comes with it.The world is full of people who are wise in their own eyes,that is called worldly wisdom, this is from the proud in heart.On considering wisdom the most important wisdom I believe is being wise unto salvation. The Apostle Paul writing to a young man called Timothy, writes,' and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.Christian parent remember the most important thing your children  need  is not a university education,but to be taught the Word of God,that they may become wise unto salvation,by accepting Christ as their Saviour.

Are you listening ? ( 2 ) ( Revelation 9 v 20 - 21 )

 When Stephen was contending for the faith before Jewish leaders,there came a point ,that they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him ,and when he said, ''I see heaven open and the Son of  Man  standing at the right hand of God'',they covered heir ears.It appears to me that I live in a society that has covered their ears to the voice of God.Oh yes their ears are uncovered to what the world is saying,and what Satan is saying.Why did people listen to the rantings of Hitler?, they were blinded by their prejudices and their pride, and that he had taken them out of poverty. Stephen said to those Jewish leaders,''you always resist the Holy Spirit. Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute,'' (7 v 51 - 52) and he adds how they murdered Jesus the righteous one ,Jesus.I wonder are your ears covered,Martin Luther was a brilliant law student,one day as he was riding a horse,he was caught up in an electric storm.Lighting bolts were everywhere,when suddenly one struck the ground near him,and he fell of his horse,uninjured but   shaken, he cried out to God,'' I will become a monk''.I wonder what it will  take for this world ,this nation,this town,and you, before you listen to God?.

Are you listening?. ( 1 ) ( Hebrews 4 v 7 )

 I had finished reading ,but had not really concentrated on what I read, I am sure we all do this,when I was working,which involved  a lot of driving,sometimes  one didn't concentrate. How many people pray and sing hymns without concentration ,mouth the words,but that's all they are doing,just mouthing words.  In Matthew 11 v 15, Jesus says this,''Whoever has ears,let him hear''.Your wife is talking to you ,when  suddenly she stops talking, and says ,''you are not listening to me'',and then you reply,'' I was'',but you weren't. We smile, because we have all done it,but when Jesus spoke ,and speaks,it is vital that he is listened to. Many of the people Jesus dealt with, had their own agenda,a mind set that refused to listen to what he had to say .When the J Ws  call at ones door, they have a mind set,the result is they are not really listening,to what you have to say,they are  spiritually deaf of course.Often people turn off, when one witness'es to them,they don't want to hear.There will come a day when people will stand before Christ,and protest we did not hear you speaking,Jesus will reply,every time you passed by a church building ,I was speaking, every time Christmas came I was speaking,every time  Easter came, I was speaking,every time you saw a cross I was speaking,every  time you where offered a gospel tract I was speaking, every time you attended a funeral I was speaking Yes I was speaking,but you were not listening.

Are you Jesus? ( 1 Samuel 12 v 1 - 5 )

 Jeremiah that OT prophet who was called to minister to Judah which included also the small tribe of Benjamin ,although they are anonymous.So for 40 yrs he did just that,it was a very difficult calling,he is called the weeping prophet.The wonderful thing was ,he was faithful,faithfulness is what God requires from those who know Christ as Saviour. That was a big challenge for Jeremiah,he experienced many difficulties,he had to tell the people things they didn't want to hear.Again dear Christian we are all called to tell people things they don't want to hear. R.K.Harrison writing about the true prophet says, they laid exemplary lives,and that the divine word within them was like a fire which consumed whatever was unworthy and made them persons of absolute integrity'. Likewise for all Christians ,our lives should show the reality of what it means to be a Christian,What does that mean?, it means we are to be honest, morally upright,manifesting good works ( Mt 5 v 16). A little boy went up to a missionary and asked him,are you Jesus?,of course he wasn't Jesus,but we should show forth in some degree Jesus in our lives.

It is raining. ( Psalm 30 v 5 )

The summer is gone,so we are getting more grey wet days,it  seems we have an attitude that its only a nice day if the sun shines.I suppose that's why many people go and live in sunny countries. Sometimes when it  rains I am reminded of words from an old Al  Jolson song, called, 'April showers', 'Though April showers  may come your way ,they bring the flowers that bloom in May.So if it's raining have no regrets,because it is'nt rain you know,it's raining violets. And when you see clouds upon the hills,you soon will see clouds of daffodils.So keep on looking for a Blue Bird,and listening for a song,when ever April showers come along'. What the writer is saying look beyond  those showers,as to what they produce,take those who are enduring terrible trials,I have just been reading about recently ,how Christians in Islamic countries who are   suffering dreadfully.It is the apostle Paul who suffered so much,was guided by God's Holy Spirit to write  'we also glory in our suffering, because we know that suffering produces perseverance,  perseverance,character, and character, hope.( Romans 5 v 3 - 4 )John Stott writes,' Suffering can  be productive,if we respond to it, positively, and not with anger or bitterness'.Most of all it produces ,hope,a hope that does not disappoint us.J S further writes,'What is the ultimate ground on which our Christian hope rests, our hope of glory.?. The reason our hope  will never let us down is that God will never let us down. His love will never give us up', Charles Swindoll writes,'We need to listen. In the sound of the rain, the Spirit of God sings silent lyrics with a distinct rhythm,discernible only to our souls through the ears of faith'.

Wisdom ( 2 ) ( James 3 v 13 - 18 )

It is William Shakespeare who wrote of the,' the quality of  mercy', but what about the quality of wisdom,  that other wisdom, that comes from God. This is a different type of wisdom from the earthly wisdom, William Barclay  writes,  'Wisdom  is not philosophic speculation, and intellectual knowledge.Wisdom is for life'.It is vital to  the Christians well being.How do we acquire this wisdom?well we turn to James 1 v 7 ,which reads,'If any  of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God,who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it shall be given him',he stresses that we should ask in faith not doubting .(v 8) Remember God's  wisdom is  very important,and we have a whole book to prove it ,Proverbs.Consider the qualities that this wisdom will  bring to you,'purity,peace love,considerate,submissiveness,mercy,good fruits,impartiality ,sincerity and last  but not least, being a peacemaker'. My, what wonderful  qualities they are,and if we are to be  the Christians we should be, these are the qualities we need, I know I do, what about you?.

Wisdom (1) James 3 v 13 - 18 )

I recently heard  a preacher mention ,'The perfect wisdom of God',Many who suffer loss of a love one,may wonder why,  because it seems so unfair, they may even might think God is cruel,..The perfect  wisdom of God,comes from the God who is love, he is never cruel.In James 3 we are told of two types of wisdom,one we are told is earthly,unspiritual, demonic,from where you have envy selfish ambition and evil practices.  The world is full of that kind of wisdom, John Blanchard calls it the wisdom from Hell,it is a wisdom that follows man basic instincts ,they are following their fallen nature,and William Barclay says,''it source is not God, but the devil. Douglas J. Moo,says,' Some who pride themselves on their wisdom and understanding are displaying a jealous, bitter partisanship that is the antithesis of the meekness produced by true wisdom''.This is wisdom does not only display itself in the world, where you would expect it to, but unfortunately  in the church of Christ,as was evident in the church of Corinth,it may be evident in your church,and you may be the one who is manifesting it.

Desperate ( Luke 13 v 22 - 30 )

 When I young, a long time ago ,we used to buy a comic for children,and one of the characters in the comic was called Desperate Dan,a big brute of man, it was harmless, but I don't know why they called him Desperate. That was his name,Desperate,what does the word mean?,it is an adjective,meaning a sense of hopelessness,that one is in a situation that is bad, that is impossible to deal with. I quote what follows from an article ,by  a minister  Roderick Strange,he was writing about a person called Bartimaeus who was blind,and he was a beggar,we read about him in the Gospel of Mark, chapter 10 v 46 ff .He lived in Jericho,he heard that Jesus was passing,  Jesus the healer,the teacher,the Son of David,here was  an answer to his prayers,so he cried out, 'Jesus, Son of David ,have mercy on me'.The crowds were not interested in a beggar ,and so told him to be quite,but he would not shut up,he kept calling out all the more,you see he was desperate,this was not a game of trivial pursuit .Roderick writes the following,'There is a moving line in the prophecy of Jeremiah, it reads''If you seek Me with all your heart, I will let you find  Me'. The search with all the heart does not refer to effort, but rather to deep longing. The prophet is not saying'' Providing you work hard enough, you will succeed'', offering a reward in proportion to effort,.but rather,when your longing is deep- seated ,you will discover what you desire. Yet the discovery will come as a  gift;''I will let you find Me''. Just in closing ,Jesus did heal him.

Jesus is coming again. ( Acts 1 v 7 )

 Many years ago an elderly Christian man, told me that the Lord told him that he would live to see the Lord returning  before he died, of course it did not happen. Many Christians in their eagerness for Christ's return , stress the signs of the times,there shall be wars and rumours of wars,in Matthew 24 v 6, but our Saviour followed that by saying don't be alarmed,that end is not yet. In verses 6- 14 our Saviour mentions a number  of things that will take place,but there is nothing to indicate a definite time when he would come back again.Jesus is saying, these things  to reassure His followers,not to panic. In spite of  what Jesus said , people have panicked,throughout history, no, let us not  panic,what we must do, in spite of challenging situations,persecution,increase in immorality,lawlessness,and whatever,is to hold on,press on .Verse 14 ends with these words ,'the end will come',when Jesus comes again,(whenever that may be),yes let that hope burn bright in your heart,

Filthy Rags. ( 1 Corinthians 1 v 26 - 31 )

 In the 18 century there was in America what is known as the great awakening,one of the preachers God used was  George Whitefield. It is said that God prepared the people,for what he was going to do, I wonder is that what He is doing now, with this pandemic?, I hope so,let us pray so.In Whitefield's journal we read the following,there was farmer called Nathan Cole who was also  a carpenter in America, who was anxious about his soul . He heard that George Whitefield was preaching,but it was 20 miles away,a good distance in those days to travel,but he was desperate So he went to his wife and told her ,we are going to hear George Whitefield,he told her to get their horse,which she did,he told her to get on it,and to start off to were Whitefield was ,he would   hold unto the horses tail,and run behind,she was to keep going. And so they set of,he rode a bit on the horse ,but ran most of the way. When he got there a vast crowd had gathered,as he looked on Whitefield ,he thought he looked very young and angelic,when he preached it was with the authority of the great God. The word preached,convicted him, realising his own righteousness could not save him, he asked Christ to save him.In Isaiah 64 v 6, we read,'all our righteousness are as filthy rags',it means that no matter what good you do,it will never save you,they are classed as filthy rags.The only righteousness that can make us and make us acceptable to God,is the righteousness of Christ,when we trust Christ we are as it were are clothed in His righteousness.

Trust Him. ( Romans 8 v 28 )

 Although I am retired I  am still active , my wife continues to work ,so I help in the home,each day,one task I do is the washing,I usually hang it outside. Often when I hang it out I spy a dark cloud on the arising,it is then I hear myself quoting a verse from my favourite hymn,'Ye fearful saints fresh courage take, the clouds you so much dread,are big with mercy, and shall break in blessings on your head'.  These words were written by a wonderful poet William Cowper,he had a very difficult background,loosing his mother at a very early age,being sent to a boarding school,boarding schools were notoriously harsh places,which did not help him.He suffered severe mental illness,attempted to take his life at least four times,he was put into an asylum for the insane,but there he read a bible and he put his faith in Christ. That helped him and eventually he lived with John Newton,who befriended him. .As one reads those words from that wonderful hymn,'God moves in a mysterious way', we sense a man who was sustained by his faith,not  understanding the trials he had gone through ,but trusting in a sovereign God. It is so easy to give into despair,as one looks at the world, and our own trouble history,let us like William Cowper   trust in our Sovereign God ,who loves and cares for us,.Remember,'Blind unbelief is sure to err,and scan his works in vain;God is His own interpreter,and He will make it plain.'

Are you weary? ( Matthew 11 v 28 - 29 )

 It was George Whitfield who said that he was tired in the Lords word,but not tired of it, if you read his life,you can understand his tiredness ,His day started at four in the morning until 10 in the evening,his preaching took up 40 to 60 hrs a week,he was so busy he had scarce time to eat. He said the following.  ''fear not, weak  body,we are immortal till our work is done''.''I must lie down to refresh this weary body, my soul , through grace smiles at bodily weakness'' Yes he must have been tired, very few ministers if any would be as busy ,as George was.We do live in a busy world and do become tired,mentally ,physically,yes and even spiritually.In my garden I have two hanging baskets, one was fine the other near deaths door,it looked wilted,I felt the soil and realised the problem,it needed water.So I  watered it and it has revived and looked like its old self.In Psalm 23 we have these words,'He restoreth my soul' Barnes says he word restoreth ,does not refer to the soul wandering or backsliding from God, but to the life or spirit as exhausted,wearied,troubled,anxious worn down with and toil' What is the answer?,or should we say who is the answer? .Hear is what the Lord Jesus says,'Come to Me,all you who are weary and burdened,  and I will give you rest' ( Matthew 11 v 28 )Sinner come to Jesus,he will remove the burden of your sin,child of God,go your Saviour,cast your burden upon the Lord and he will sustain you.

Deo Volente ( Luke 22 v 42 )

The meaning of Deo Volente is, 'God Willing',it is illustrated in the book of James chap 4 v 13 - 16,There we have people who are boasting about tomorrow,what they are going to do,James calls them arrogant and informs them and us,what the right attitude should be,and what they should be saying is,'If it is the Lord's  will, we will do this or that'.The word of God teaches us to acknowledge God in all our ways ( Proverbs 3 v 6 ).to confess that we need him,which we do. If we live in a spirit of  being independent from God,we are no better than the non Christian,the word of God declares the danger of choosing our way,( Proverb 14 v 12 ),where does it lead ?,to death'.The challenge for the Christian is the will of God,when our first parents sinned they disobeyed God's ,and from that time on ,we have lived contrary to God's will,  resisting,and even hating it.Many pray these words every day,in what we know as the Lord's prayer,'Your will be done',without really living it out in their lives,may God help us all ,to mean what we pray,and bring God into all of our lives.

Oblivion. ( John 3 v 16 )

Lying on my desk is a rose ,it is no longer , a  thing of beauty, it comes from a bunch of roses I bought,when I purchased them ,they were lovely ,truly a thing of beauty. Not now, only fit to be thrown out,the poet wrote as regards roses,'Here they bloom but for a season,soon their beauty is decayed'. But then it goes unto sat,'I am going to a city were the roses never fade',it reminds me of the words of a well known hymn.  'Change and decay in all around I see;'And it all ends in one way,death,there is no escape, it will come to us all, one day ,then what?,David Hockney the artist, is 83, was being interviewed, said, ''I expect I will die soon'',when asked did he believe in an afterlife?,he replied,'' Then oblivion''.So that's it,oblivion?, we are all end up dead roses,just another dead rose. The Christian message  teaches that there  is a life after death,how I do know this?,the answer is Jesus, who died,yet rose from the dead,as he said he would,and after his resurrection he appeared to over 500 people ( 1 Corinthians 15 v 3 - 8 ). This Jesus promised that all who believed in him,even though they die, they would live. ( John 11 v 25 ),and dwell with him eternally in heaven.You may ask what happens to those who don't believe?,well they die of course ,but it will not be oblivion,they will exist,in that place of eternal judgement,spiritually dead . Both these options must be taken seriously,it is your choice,heaven or hell,God in mercy offers you life eternal,believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.

Schindler. ( Romans 3 v 10 - 26 )

 I have just finished watching the movie,'Schindler's List', a very moving movie,about a German who managed to rescue 1,200 Jews from death.The movie ends with Schindler speaking to the Jews he saved, and their guards,one of the things he said was,'' 6 years of mass murder has ended''. It raises a lot of questions we don't know the answer to,why the carnage?,why the Jews ?,why?.And yet it bears out  the truth at to what God's word declares about mankind, that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God ( Romans 3 v 23 ). You may have heard  this before , you may not like this truth,or the fact that we are told that our hearts, (nature) is deceitful and desperately wicked ( Jeremiah  17 v 9 ). Can any person give a more true answer?,no ,do not think it will not happen again, the history of mankind,shows us how soon,the facade of respectability can evaporate in a moment,and the beast of  our fallen humanity is let loose,to commit unspeakable evil . I found myself saying,there are so few Schindler's,yet even  Schindler's are sinners,  everyone shows there fallen human nature to some degree.The reality is this ,we do not want to know of the evil we are capable of. God amazingly loves humanity, the answer again shows man at his worse,and  God  manifesting a love that's indescribable and mind blowing,when Jesus came and was   put to death on an infamous cross,taking sinners judgement,and so enabling God to forgive and forget our sins,this happens when we ask Him to be our  Saviour.Philip Bliss wrote about Jesus,'Bearing  shame and scoffing rude,in my place he stood; Sealed my pardon with his blood,Hallelujah what a Saviour'.Dear fellow sinner why not trust Him to be your Saviour and know the joy of knowing forgiveness of all your sins.

The future is known. ( Hebrews 11 v 8 )

 We have considered ,past tense,present tense,now let us consider future tense,future tense applies to all that is in front of us,one minute,one hour,one day,and so on.Many people desire to know what lies in the future,but it is not possible or ever will be possible.The future is unknown to all  with the exception of God,He knows the beginning and the ending,but  we don't.These days are more uncertain than usual,with the Coronavirus stalking not only our land, but the whole world.We are all in danger,where will it strike next?,no one can tell, There is a little song that goes,'I do not know ,how many days of life are mine to spend,but one who knows and cares for me, will keep me to the end,I do not know the course ahead, what joys and griefs are there; but One is near who fully knows, I'll trust his loving care: I knows who holds the future,and He'll guide me with his hand; with God things don't just happen,everything by Him is planned.  So as I face tomorrow with its problems large and small, I'll trust the God of  miracles, give to him my all'  ( Words by Alfred .B. Smith)With Jesus the future is always bright.

How to Cope . ( Ephesians 3 v 20 )

 Last time we considered the past now let us consider the present,I heard someone say,'My old life is full of consequences',the fact is they can effect the present,abuse, drug,addiction,rejection,failure,violence,a  criminal record,bad parenting,the list goes on and on.What is the answer? One has to be honest ,the scars remain often,as regards those scars ,they need not ruin our lives.In spite of the scars I believe we can by Gods grace,cope and lead a full life,the past need not be a death sentence.Christ promised life,abundant life,an inner strength,peace ,love,patience,kindness,goodness,and self control.How is that possible?,very simple,the Spirit of God who dwells within us,can make it possible.Every Christian receives the Spirit of God when they trust Christ as their Saviour (Romans 8 v 9 / 15 ),He is our helper,and comforter,while He dwells within every Christian we need to rely upon Him,we need to seek Him in prayer ( Ephesians 3 v 14 ff) In Ephesians 5 v 18, we read ,'Don't be drunk with wine,because that will ruin your life. Instead be filled with the Holy Spirit'.We have a choice ,we can be like  the world ,fill our lives with the wrong things ,is that not true,we can fill our lives with bitterness ,self pity, and negativity.We can absorb what the would has to offer,things that do not satisfy, or help us,or we can daily surrender each day and rely on Gods Holy Spirit,to help and bring us through,the choice is ours.