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.

Your past ( Mark- 5 v 1 - 15 )

 We all have something in common, we all have a past,a present,and a future,take our past,one thing none of us  can do,we cannot change it. It reminds me of the words by Omar Khayyam,'' The moving finger writes ,and having writ,moves on: nor all thy piety nor wit,shall lure it back to cancel half a line. Nor all thy tears wash out a word of it''. Nothing can change what we have written ,or spoken,so it is we cannot change the past,we cannot by tears change the past. We may wish we could live our lives over again,but it is obvious we can't,but here is the good news ,we don't need to be controlled or,destroyed by our  past. Jesus came to forgive our sins,but he also came to set us free,everyone who lives, sins, this is what Jesus  says,''Everyone who sins is a slave to sin''( John 8 v 34 ) but He goes on to say,'' So, if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed'' (v 36 ),he has come to set the captives free. You can stop being a captive of your past,the apostle Paul writing to Christians in a place called Corinth ,mentions a number of sinful practices,sexually immorality,idolaters,adulterers,homosexuals,thieves,drunkards,slanders,and swindlers,  none of these will go to heaven,Then he goes unto say,''but that is what some of you were.they were no longer practicing such things, because of Jesus (1 Cor 6 v 9 - 11)The guilt of past,the wickedness of the past,can be left behind, when Jesus forgives and sets you free..He is more powerful than whatever binds you,he is able to save to the uttermost.

China . ( Psalm 31 v 15 )

 Hudson Taylor was a man of God ,who served God in China,   Billy Graham said,''Few men have been used to touch China for God as Hudson Taylor was''. At that time there were missionaries already in China, but they ministered mainly in coastal areas,but  Hudson's vision was for all of China. That meant    leaving  the coastal areas and going inland,it was another missionary William Carey who said,''attempt great things for God,and expect great things from God'',Hudson most certainly lived that out in his life. Let me say this ,never romanticize missionary work for often it can be costly,and dangerous,whither it was in the 19th century or the 21st century,it was that great missionary the Apostle Paul who wrote,'a great door  for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me'' ( 1 Cor 16 v 9 ). Hudson was  a  doctor,in his training to be a doctor in England during an operation of dissecting a corpse he must have scratched himself,which led to him developing a fever.When he told the surgeon,,he was told,''Get home as fast as you can, and arrange your affairs,you're a dead man''But he did not die,though it took awhile recovering,for he was God's man,who would be preserved,until it was Gods's time to take him home, none will of us will die, until God says so.

Tears ( Job 23 v 10 )

 It has been said,that God our Father will  never cause his children a needless tear, the word needless is important,because many of Gods children are suffering. Just let me point out first of all,we become a child of God when we trust Jesus as our Saviour C P, John 1 v 12,this is very important, and of course it is a wonderful blessing, because it means one  comes under God's special care. In the NT God is referred to as Abba C P Romans 8 v 15.that is a very personal term,something like daddy,for the Christian, God is not a distant uncaring person,but one who is near and instantly available,by prayer.He sees Him as a loving Father,one who cares,one who will help,and watch over his children. Now we live in a world were we can suffer and know pain ,we will never be free from such,but God our loving heavenly Father,never looses the hold of his children.Our heavenly Father purpose for all his children is that they may be conformed to the image of his Son .  C P Romans 8 v 29, Leon Morris writes,'It is God's plan that his people become  like his Son,not that they should muddle along in a modest respectability'.That means sanctification a process by God of changing us,and often that will include pain ,physical and emotional.As we consider the severity of  some Christians suffering,and even our own suffering,we may  be tempted to judge God as being uncaring, but He is not,he always has his children's well being, at heart. These little thoughts came to me,'I felt the hammer blow,and cried out in pain,then I heard a voice that spoke my name.I, your  Father will never cause you to shed a needless tear,All that I do is for your good ,hold on my child,and do not fear.'

Past hurts ( 1 Corinthians 13 v 4 - 5 . NIV )

 A friend observed how kind and considerate she was ,to people who had hurt her,so he asked her why was she kind to those who had hurt her?. She replied ,'' I cant remember when I  forgotten that''.I wonder do you find it hard to forget wrongs?.We may forgive but do we forget,not only  remember but stew over it.In Jeremiah 31 we have the promise of a new covenant,God declares as to all who would come under that new covenant,''For I will forgive their wickedness,and will remember their sins no more'' ( v 34 ). For those who come to Jesus ,and experience salvation.they will not only receive   forgiveness ,but all their sins will  also be forgotten. Is it possible like God we can choose not to remember? although we may struggle with this, I say we,because I struggle to forget .Let us ask the question how do we overcome evil?,how can we overcome the past hurts,consider what God says first of all,'' For I will forgive their wickedness''.so the first step must be for us to forgive, I know a person who has held a spirit of unforgiveness for decades. The next thing is,we need to choose is  not dwell on the past hurts,and the person who caused the  hurts. How? by asking the Holy Spirit to help us,it is possible to get victory,in Jesus name.  Harriet Auber  wrote, 'Our blest Redeemer,ere He breathed His tender ,last farewell, A guide, a comforter bequeathed with us to dwell. And every virtue we possess,and every victory won, and every thought of  holiness,are His alone'.

More serious than you think. ( Genesis 19 v 12 - 14 )

 Why is there a cross?why is there so much suffering,in so many countries were the poor are trampled over? , The answer is Sin ,yes with a capital S,it is William Barclay who wrote,' As we look at the cross we are bound to say: 'That is what sin can do. Sin can take the loveliest life in all the world and smash it on a cross.'We as human beings, I feel, cannot grasp the awfulness of sin,our estimation will never see sin as God see's it. There are no words in our vocabulary to fully describe the terribleness of sin,only God knows its awfulness.When we refuse to acknowledge the sin our lives,we are spelling out our own doom, it takes a supernatural intervention by God to make us aware of our sin  ( John 16 v 8 ).There is no limit to mankind's blindness as regards the full extent of sins seriousness ,and the gravity of it. There is no such a thing as a white lie,ignorance is no excuse,(Romans 1 v 20.),and there is no use shifting the blame unto others, ( Genesis 3 v 12 -13 ),it does not wash,with a holy God..Going back to the cross which shows the awful sinfulness of mankind,yet were  God in his sovereignty and love used it ,to deal with sin and its penalty.  The one who was sinless Jesus would pay the price that all sinners would have to pay,that is eternal  punishment in hell. Take hell serious,it is real ,again many don't take it serious,they are in for a rude awakening ,if you are not saved ,you are just a breath away, from hell,yes its as serious as that..I leave these thoughts with you ,and Gods loving response,to our wickedness,our  sinfulness, Jesus,it is your choice, choose Jesus and know forgiveness and acceptance with God,a God who loves you.

Pat. ( 1 Timothy 4 v 12 )

 There are people that God brings into ones life,that bless us ,my mind goes back 56 years, when I came back to the Lord. In that church there was a man called Pat Kitchen, who befriended me,and help me at that crucial time in my life. Pat  became a friend, his ministry in the church was children's work,there was lot of children in the church in those days,a large Sunday school,a very well attended children's   meeting.  Pat and another lovely brother called Wes  run that meeting, as time went on I became involved. Pat always did his best to help me and encourage me,in my Christian life, Pat eventually became a full time worker in CEF, Child Evangelism Fellowship,until he retired. He may be retired from CEF  but he is still serving the Lord,in what way?well he shared with me recently how every day he spends 3 to 4 hours in prayer.Pat has got Parkinson disease ,but my, he is such a lovely Christian, a living example as a follower of Jesus. Paul writing to young  Timothy,said this,'Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.  ( 1 Timothy  4 v 12) Let us all remember that people need to see Christ, manifest in all our lives.

I miss Him . ( Song of Songs 5 v 16 )

 When Charles Templeton was in his 8os,he was interviewed,he was asked the question,how did he assess  this Jesus,he was still an agnostic,yet this is some of what he said,''He was the  greatest human being that ever lived .He was a moral genius,his ethical sense was unique. He was intrinsically the wisest person,I've ever encountered. His commitment was total,and led to his death,much to detriment of the world. Although it may sound strange,but I have to say,'' I adore Him''. There have been many wonderful people,but Jesus is Jesus' Charles at this point became emotional and tearful and his voice began to crack,as he uttered the following words,''I...Miss...Him ''.Those final words are so very tragic,so very sad, 'I miss Him',all that man said about Jesus,was grand ,but there so much more could be said,that He was the Son of God,who became the Son of Man,who became obedient to death on the cross,for sinners like you and me,Don't you miss Him,accept him as your Saviour, and if you have got away from Him,come back to him,He will receive you with open arms.

A tale of two men. ( Proverbs 3 v 5- 6 )

 I don't suppose you have  ever heard of Charles Templeton, during the 1940 s/50s he was a fellow evangelist with Billy Graham.He had a dynamic ministry that even surpassed Billy Grahams ,many thousand came to know Christ through his ministry.He changed when he attended a semiar ,there he began to have a crises of faith,especially the account of creation,he could not reconcile this with evolution.The result was, he declared himself an agnostic,and ceased being an evangelist.He spoke to his friend Billy Graham challenging him as regards his belief,in creation.Billy replied,''I believe the Genesis account because its in the Bible''. I've  discovered something in my ministry; When I take my Bible literally and proclaim it as the word of God, my preaching has power. When I stand on the platform and say,'God says,or the Bible says' The Holy Spirit uses me,there are results. I've stopped questioning and accept the Bible as Gods word.I don't know about anybody else,I've decided that's the path for me'. In this age that we live in,so many ministers are like Charles Templeton, so many things they do not believe, in the Bible,We thank God for Billy Graham,let us follow in his footsteps,and have faith in Gods word.

Heaven . ( John 14 v 1- 6 )

I do not imagine a lot of people give a great deal of thought about heaven, people differ as to what they believe, as to what will happen when they die.For some there is no after death,for others it is  reincarnation,for others there is an after life,I fall into that category.As a Christian I believe in an after life,why do I believe this, because of Jesus who returned to heaven , Acts 1..As a Christian I am not on a road leading nowhere,I have a destiny ,a sure and a certain hope,one commentator writes of a world going nowhere.The Bible speaks of Christians longing for a better country,a heavenly one,it will be better in every way than this world,rest assured of that,no more death,no more suffering.I am not sure what Gods plans are for us in heaven ,but I know it will be wonderful,eternity will be glorious.The Bible says ,'if in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied' . ( 1 Corinthians 15 v 19 ),but of course we have hope, of a wonderful glorious future ,because of Christs resurrection .Which leads me on to answer the question ,how do we get to heaven?,We read in Colossians 1 v 27 these profound words , 'Christ in you the hope of glory'.without Christ in you there is no hope of glory. In the words of a hymn ,'Christ died that we might go to heaven,saved by his precious blood'. If you desire to go to heaven then ask Christ to be your Saviour,to forgive you, your sins,when you do that,the barrier to heaven is removed,you become a Child of God,and you will receive a wonderful welcome home.

Whose first in your life? ( Matthew 8 v 18 - 22 )

 Consider what one of the greatest challenge we face in life,LOVE,   Consider what Jesus taught ,'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.And the second is like it.Love your neighbour as yourself. ( Matthew 22 v 37 - 39 ). Are not these the most challenging words in the Bible,the first one tells us , (and these two verses are commands)that we are to love God with our total being. The words of Jesus to Peter comes to mind,when he said,''Do you love me more than these'',apply that to the first commandment about loving God. How do you feel when it is pointed out from scripture that we are sinners?,do you protest your innocence?,you do not think you are  a bad person ,you would not cheat anybody,you are a good husband, father,a good son and daughter,neighbour, etc, but that is not facing up to the question as regards loving God.I put it to you that no one loves God as they should, that is very serious,because it is challenging ,it is saying that you are a sinner.That has serious consequences ,Jesus faced people with  what really was first in their lives,when he said these challenging words,'follow Me',money got in the way,religion got in the way,family got in the way,what is getting in your way?.Jesus was truly God and truly man,and when you refuse to follow him ,you are clearly showing, that you do not love God,and that you are a sinner.

Working your Ticket (2 ) ( Colossians 1 v 19 - 20 )

 We continue on considering the one who said ,''I have come to do your will, my God'',Jesus knew why he had come,in John 6 v 38 we read him saying,''I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me''.Well it entailed a number of things,to finish animal sacrifice,because as the book of Hebrews tells us in 10 v 11,'they can never take away sins'. one commentator writes,'Offerings which can never take away sins, can only be repeated'.The answer, Christ would become a sacrifice for  sin (John 1 v 29 ),on the cross, and his last words were,'' It is finished''.The sacrificing of animals was finished, His sacrifice effectively dealt with sin,in that he bore the wrath of God,that rests upon everyone (John 3 v 36 ) This means when we trust Jesus as our Saviour are sins are forgiven, and the wrath of God is lifted from us,and we are saved from wrath to come. In conclusion, no animal sacrifice,no pilgrimages,no good works,can save us,no matter how sincere we may be,all for sin cannot atone,we cannot work our ticket to heaven,it has to be, 'Nothing in my hands I bring ,simply to Thy cross I cling;' (Words A.M.Toplady )

Working your ticket. ( 1) ( 1 Timothy 1 v 15 )

 I  watched a video oh  the Hajj ,pilgrimage, and all the things they have to do ,seven in all, when they complete it, a message comes over the Tannoy system ,telling the Muslim pilgrims that allah had forgiven them their sins.It seems that so many religions,including the cults stress the need for doing works of some sort in order to be saved. The JWs are expected to do so many hours door knocking,a good question to ask them ,who are they seeking to save?.The Christian religion tells us clearly that there is absolutely nothing one can do ,to save ourselves.That includes good works,religious practices,prayer ,church attendance,religious rites,like circumcision,baptism,or whatever. The reason being that none of these  can cancel one sin,yes not one,likewise the sacrifice  of an animal is useless so why does the Bible tell us that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness ? (Hebrews 9 v 22 ),in Psalm 40 v 6, we read,'Sacrifice and offering you did not desire',because they were ineffective in dealing with sin.what was needed was needed was a sacrifice that would effectively deal with sin.v 6,continues by telling us of someone who would deal with sin effectively,it is Christ speaking (Heb 10 v 5 ) ,'You don't require burnt offerings or sin offerings. Then I said, ''look, I have come to do your will, my God''. As it is written about me in the scriptures. I take joy in doing your will'.( We will continue this next time.)

Making decisions . ( Matthew 6 v 33 )

 C.Swindoll wrote the following,'Every day Christians are faced with decisions-not simply between right  and wrong,but between good,better ,and the best'. When David sinned, 2 Samuel 24 ,God give the option as to the punishment,he should receive.there were three.here they are,3 years of famine,3 months of fleeing from his enemies,or three days of plague in his land. So what did David do?,he let God choose because he knew that God was merciful. None of  these punishment were good,but in the end David made the best choice.In 1 Corinthians 3 we read that what we have done for Christ,will be judged as to their  worth,they will be tested as by fire. Every father wants whats best for their children,so it is ,our loving heavenly Father wants whats best for His children.Eric Liddell was asked why he was so willing to give up everything the Olympics now offered him,'Because I  believe God made me for China'he always replied.It was a costly decision but it was the best decision.

''I'll be back''. ( Acts 1 v 9 - 11 )

A famous actor is remembered for a phrase he used in one of his movies,''I'll be back'',I don't think I ever saw the movie. I'll be back,someone more important than any film star,said a similar thing,it was Jesus,it was on the night he would be betrayed,it was the night when all good Jews would keep the Passover .he knew that he was going to die ,and return to heaven,to prepare a place for his followers,and he adds ,''I will come back and take you to be with me  that you also may be where I am''. (John 14 v 3 ). As a Christian of many years, I have witnessed how many Christians are divided about the end times,and I think it is sad.Maybe I am over simplifying things when I say ,that their systems,and idea's become more important than Jesus,and his very simple, profound glorious promise ,''I will come back''  These words spoken by Jesus, have blinded  many to the fact that it is a blessed hope,not given, to cause division and bitterness.It is John the beloved disciple who records the words of Jesus in Revelation 22 v 20 ,''Surely I am coming quickly'', Johns response was this,'' Amen. Even so,come, Lord Jesus''.

The ultimate purpose in life. ( John 17 v 1 - 5 )

 I wonder what you think is the ultimate purpose of life,for us as believers?, serving God, yes we should all be serving God.But what has the apostle Paul to say as regards his service to God?,in Romans 15 v 17-18, he writes,'I glory in Christ in my service to God.'Yes I dare not boast about anything  except what Christ has done through me'. Stuart Townsend in that lovely hymn he wrote,'How deep the Father's love for us', penned these words,'I will not boast in anything,no gifts,no  power,no wisdom,but I  will boast in Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection.' The moon cannot boast as regards as having light in itself, because it is a dead planet, the moon only reflects back to earth, the light from the sun.Without the sun it can do nothing ,hear what our blessed Saviour said,''apart from me you can do nothing''( John 15 v 5 ) The world is full of people who boast what they can do,those self made men and women,but the Christian says 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me'( Philippians 4 v 13 ).There is no room for pride in the Kingdom of God,which leads us back to where we started,our ultimate purpose in life, the answer being ,to glorify God. C.T.Studd (missionary )  wrote ,'Only one life;'twill soon be past,only whats done for Christ will last', it will last ,if we do it for the glory of God and that alone.

The glories that shine afar. ( Hebrews 12 v 1 - 3 )

Most of us have heard of the Olympic games,but there was another similar event called ,'The Isthmian Games', which included ,chariot racing,wrestling, boxing,music,and poetry.Now you never knew that music,were considered a sport.It is recorded that Nero took part,by singing,the singing lasted hours,he by all accounts was not a very nice singer,and no one was allowed to leave while he sung, yet he won,by bribing the judges. The city of Corinth was about 10 miles from were it was held,it was very popular. On an ancient monument there was found the following epitaph of a boxer,'Here he died boxing in the stadium,having prayed to Zeus, for a wreath or death,aged 35 farewell'. Winning was everything ,the prize was a wreath made out of celery or pine.It was the Apostle Paul who wrote to the Christians at Corinth ,he wrote the following as regards those who partook in the games,''They do it to win a prize that will fade away,but we do it for an eternal prize''(1 Cor 9 v 25) Paul is not saying that salvation is based on what we do,but the Christian life demands effort, discipline C P  Philippians 3 v 10 - 14.Jesus  for the glory that was set before him endured the cross Hebrews 12 v 2,so we must not shrink back,the things of this life are but a wreath of celery no matter how they are dressed up,keep your eyes on Jesus, and the glories that shine afar.

Be faithful ( Proverbs 20 v 6)

 I shot a prayer up to God,it was a question,'What do you want me to do Lord?,',and the thought came into my mind,'be faithful'.What will Jesus say when  we stand before him?,''Well done good and faithful servant'  (Matthew 25 v 21 ). I hope we will all hear those words.,faithful,one of the qualities of God is His faithfulness 1 Corinthians 1 v 9 , tells us ,'God is faithful.',simple and plain, praise God that he is faithful,without his faithfulness where would we be?. In Proverbs 20 v 6,we read,'Many claim to have unfailing love, but a faithful person who can find'.?.Is the writer being to cynical? I am sure we would all like to think that we would always be faithful,we would protest if someone said we where not.Consider that awful night when they came to arrest our Saviour,we read,'Then everyone deserted him and fled'(Mark 14 v 50),yet earlier that evening they had all, not just Peter,  said that they would never do that v 31,I wonder would you or I have acted differently?. Yet our faithful Lord challenges all his followers to be faithful,it is a massive challenge,consider the following,in relation to being faithful in marriage,. I have been married twice, my first wife died,so I have a good idea,what it takes in any marriage . I do not consider my self an expert,so here is a few words from Charles Swindoll,''The married life is hard,yes, healthy marriages can bring love,joy, fulfillment,and excitement, all at a high cost of production. '' He goes unto to say ,''That far too many young couples who rush passionately into  a marriage commitment without fully understanding that the marriage life is hard work''.Hard in all, as it may be,the Christian is called to be faithful. 

Works ( Matthew 7 v 21 v 23 )

  The Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox ,believe that we not saved by faith alone,but by faith and works.But this would contradict what we read in so many places in the  Bible,they both stress what James wrote in his epistle, which appears to support their views. There is an old hymn with the following words, 'What can wash away my stain?,nothing but the blood of Jesus',The thief on the cross was saved without works,by simply believing in Christ,he went straight to heaven,( Luke 23 v 42 - 43.).So what can we say about the teaching of James,in that he says that works and faith justify us.In v 18 of chap 2, we have these words,'Show me your faith',in other words ,prove to me you have faith,manifest the reality of your faith,as Abraham and Rahab did.Jesus said by our fruits we are known, John says ,'So how can we tell who are children of God and who are the children of the devil. Anyone who does not live  righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God'( 1 Jn 3 v 10 ).The English Standard Version, puts it like this,'It is evident',in other  words these are proof ,that we have been forgiven. . Luther said ,''We are saved by faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone''.

Faith ( Ephesians 2 v 8- 9 )

 The great missionary John .G.Paton , struggling to find a local word which would translate 'faith' and failing to find one,was interrupted by someone in great trouble and needing help.'Please, may I come and lean heavily on you?' he said.Commenting  on this Alec Motyer says ,'Faith is leaning heavily upon Christ; not labour but cessation of labour, not doing,but ceasing to do; simply leaning the whole weight of our needs upon him, and finding in Him acceptance before the presence of God, and a righteousness which could never be ours by our own works'. We are saved through faith in the finished work of  Christ there is no plus,the finished work of Christ and that alone saves,believe on the Lord Jesus and you shall be saved   ( Acts 16 v 31 )

Greatest moment. ( Philippians 2 v 5 - 11 )

 A lady called Merry who came in third  in the Olympics held in Sydney Australia in 2009 ,spoke how 49 seconds changed her life, because the winner of that race was an native Australian Cathy Freeman,who won the gold,and it had a positive effect on the whole of Australia. I believe that when Winston Churchill became Prime Minister,it changed the course of  history,for many were in favour of negotiating with Hitler, Churchill said no. When Susan Boyle appeared on TV, in the talent  show ,'Britain's Got Talent',it changed her life. I'm sure we can look back in our personal history,and say such, and such a thing, changed our lives, meeting the person whom we married,getting a particular job.Fifty six years ago ,I came back to the Lord ,  without a doubt that was the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me.If you where to ask me what is the most important event in all history,I would have to say the coming of Jesus, because his coming had consequences for all mankind,The greatest problem ,which no human being can solve,is sin,Jesus is God's answer to that problem,for it says that Jesus will save his people from their sins.

Christian ( Galatians 6 v 14 )

I love John Bunyan's,' Pilgrim's Progress' ,he was reckoned to be a wonderful preacher,of course he spent a   great deal of time in prison for that very thing,but he never gave up.He was a man with a wonderful imagination. The people in' Pilgrims Progress', have all sorts of names,here are a few of them, Mr Worldly Wiseman  ,Mr Pickthank,Mr Blindman,Mr Malace, Mr High-mind,Mr No-good,all these names depict people of the world,their names tells you everything about them.The main character is Christian,who fled from the city of destruction, and was directed by Evangelist ,to the place were the heavy load he was carrying could be removed..There were those who tried to stop him,his wife and children,cried to him ,to return,but he didn't ,he kept on going.Two of his neighbours ran after him,their names were,Obstinate, Pliable,they caught up with him and sought to reason with him, but Christian reminded them that they lived in the city of destruction,he told them he sought an endless kingdom,Obstinate left, but Pliable stayed on,and Christian spoke to him of Heaven,that place where there would be no more crying ,for the owner of that place will wipe all tears from our eyes. They set off but because of the the difficulties they experienced Pliable went back,but  Christian went on,he met other difficulties,but eventually he came to a cross,and as its shadow fell across him,the burden on his back fell off,his sins had been forgiven.He was overwhelmed with joy ,and he spoke,''Blest cross,blest  sepulchre,blest rather be,the man that there was put to shame for me''. If you are not a Christian ,you are living in the city of destruction,flee from the wrath to come,as it sure will,flee to Jesus who died on the cross that you may be forgiven, trust Him as your Saviour.

Show a little kindness ( 1 Corinthians 13 v 4 )

 A young famous footballer called Marcus Rashford  received a letter from a 7 yr old boy,thanking him for all the good things he is doing in helping children through the hard times. It was a nice letter that the little boy wrote,Marcus  said the letter made him smile,and added,''Kindness makes the world go round'' At a time of so much gloom it is nice to read things like that, I don't know about kindness making the world go round,but I do believe, as I am sure you do, that kindness is very important.I often think that people have a picture of God,as some harsh severe person ,of course He is Holy,of course He will judge ,but we are told that God is love (1 John 4 v 8 ),and He loves this world ( John 3 v 16 ),we also are told that He is merciful  ( Ephesians 2 v 4),and in Luke 6 v 35, we read,' that God is kind',,and then it adds,'to the ungrateful and wicked.' It was Frederick William Faber, who wrote,' And the heart of the Eternal is most wonderfully kind'. Consider the life of Christ,how kind he was, as he went about doing good,he was kindness in person, the world needs kind people,Jesus said,' follow me,how?',well here is one aspect of following him,be kind in the words we speak,and by helping others,yes let us show a little kindness.

It is not easy . ( John 16 v 33 )

 Charles Swindoll has  said,'There can be no crown without the cross, no ecstasy without agony, no exaltation without humiliation'.Everyday many Christians are suffering,some are beat to death,some are hacked to death,you get the picture.We can go on to describe the harassment they live under,the fear they live under,it is hard for to us who have never known any persecution to fully appreciate what that means.When the other followers of so called gods are challenged with the gospel ,they will not stand by and let it happen. Enemy territory cannot be conquered without casualties, it will not change,till Christ comes back,and the challenge for all Christians is to follow in the footsteps of our crucified Lord.  Luther maintained that three things make a good minister, prayer,meditation,and suffering.It is sad to read of a so called prosperity gospel it runs contrary to the teaching of Gods word,in preaching the word of God,we have to make it clear that there is a cost in following Jesus,that challenges an easy believism.Billy Graham said,''The Gospel is easy to believe in one sense,yet the call to follow Jesus is difficult, in fact, Jesus ,''If anyone would come after me, let him deny  himself  and take up his cross and follow me (Matthew 16 v 24 ) Which brings us   back to were we started,,'There can be no crown without a cross,no ecstasy without agony,no exaltation   without humiliation'.

His sweet will. ( Matthew 26 v 36 - 46 )

I was talking to a friend who said when he younger in the faith ,he was going to convert the world,now he didn't mean that literally,but you get the idea. Great evangelist like Billy Graham did not do that,although God used him in a mighty way.Someone has said ,'We are not called to reach the whole world or to minister to every need'.But he goes unto say,'There is a specific work for us to do, and in finding and doing that specific thing to the limits of our our powers lies our fulfilment,and our peace'.I feel very strongly about this blog which I do everyday,as a young Christian I thought it would nice to do a thought for today on the radio,it didn't happen. Later in my walk with God I sought to go to be a missionary,it didn't  happen,remember it is appropriate to give thanks to God for the things that didn't happen, the shut doors ,are just as important as the open doors,always bear in mind it is the will of God that counts,in all things.I repeat a verse ,that has meant a lot to me,'I'll that He blesses is our good and unblest  good is i'll,and all is right that seems so wrong ,if it be His sweet will'.