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?.