Times long past.( James 2 v 26 )

 In Belfast were I was brought up,I remember my mother and others going out on old years night,to a monument called the Albert clock,to celebrate the end of another year.I suppose on the final stroke of the old year ,everyone would start singing, 'Auld Lang Syne' that famous song written by Robert Burns.Most  people who will be singing that song,will not know the meaning of that song. The title gives us a clue,' 'Times Long Past', it is reminding us not to forget the good old times,and the companionship during that year. A worthy celebration,I do thank God for the good things in the year that's gone by,I have not  gone hungry, I am not in debt,I have enough to live on,and so one could go on,I thank God also for friendships. and family. But many are not as fortunate as me,I appreciate that,I hope in the year that is gone I have helped someone,by a word,deed or even just a smile,the following song sums it up.

               'If I can help somebody as I pass along,if I can cheer somebody with a word or a song,

               If I can show somebody he is travelling wrong, Then my living shall not be in vain.

               If I can do my duty as Christian oft,If I can bring back beauty to a world up wrought,

               If I can spread love's message that the Master taught,Then my living shall not be in vain.

                                                   'Then my living shall not be in vain

                                                   Then my living shall not be in vain!

                                                    If I can help somebody as I pass along,

                                                    Then my living shall not be in vain'

He is coming again. ( 1 Thessalonians 4 v 13 - 18 )

 Our  Saviour told his disciples that He was going to prepare a place for them,and of course that includes all Christians,but He also said  He was coming back to take them ,and all Christians to be with Him in glory. (John 14 v 3) All Christians believe that Jesus is coming again, how do you feel about that? It is Peter writing to believers,tells them that in the last days ,there would be those whom he calls scoffers ,who will say,'where is this coming?',( Read 2 Peter 3 )On the second coming Alec Motyer writes ,'We do not gaze into the future in order to satisfy the, 'horoscope' mentality.The promise of His coming is given without date so that we may live daily preparing to meet our Lord.( Luke 12 v 35 - 48)Life in the present is motivated by awareness of the future. Indeed,Paul opens his discussion of the future coming with a present tense',for we are told that our citizenship is in heaven, (Philippians 3 v 20).Christians are even, now ,citizens of the commonwealth of heaven, and this  is our status as we wait for our Saviour. We belong  to a far of homeland and wait for the King of that land to come and fetch us.Our names are on the citizenship  roll there ,and our place  is secure, but while we wait  here we must live as if we were there .'

                                                 'He's coming soon,He's coming soon,

                                                 With joy we welcome His returning;

                                                  It may be morn,it may be night or noon,

                                                  We know He's coming soon'

                                                       Words Joshua Aaron

                                                                      

Brain washed. ( Titus 3 v 3 -7 )

A man got saved,and he spoke to his mother about Christ,and she said to him,'' you  are brain washed'',and he replied ,'mother ,if you knew what was in my brain,you would be glad that it has been washed'.Our brains are wonderful,I remember one of the characters from the ,'Wizard of Oz', and he hadn't got a brain.Well we all have a brain,it is a marvel.Recently I was having a conversation with a friend,we were trying to remember the name of a famous sports person but we couldn't so we left it, at that.We continued our conversation,then suddenly the name came into my mind,I was unaware that my mind searched,and found that name.It is a amazing thing that our brains have this memory box,stores so much. Our brain takes in so much,it does not decipher what is good or bad,and of course when its in our mind ,we can't get rid of it.So much uncleanness ,the prophet Jeremiah  said that our nature is deceitful and desperately wicked.This is not an exaggeration ,it is a fact,so often we don't recognise this.That person who was accused of being brain washed,did recognise this,and he trusted Jesus,and he received a cleansing.even of his mind.There should be a change when one trusts Jesus,we will by God's grace not run with the evil that's within, and we will resist the evil that is within.

                                                   'If anyone becomes a Christian

                                                    they will become a new person.'

The school of unlearning. ( Proverbs 3 v 5- 6 )

 There is a very popular book called,'The Boy,the Mole,the Fox,and the Horse',written by  Charlie Mackesy', it is full of many meaningful quotations,here is one ,''I wonder if there is a school of unlearning''. As a Christian I have had to unlearn many things,in relation to sex,money ,violence,forgiveness,love and obedience.There are many other things one could mentions,' leaning on one's own understanding'.As a non - Christian so often that's what I did,like most people, unfortunately our own understanding is very flawed,and causes us to be judgemental critical,and make wrong decisions. The word of God tells us to,' Trust in the Lord with all our heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding'.( Proverbs 3 v 5 ) These words are very important, it is not telling us to stop thinking,but submit our thinking to God.Before we came to the Lord ,it was all us ,King 'I' reigned,we did it our way,but it should not be that way now.The verse starts were we all should start,'Trust in the Lord',the American dollar has the words,'We trust in God',on it,but how many Americans do?, .those words means nothing to them they trust in so many things, other than the Lord. Words are not enough,we must go beyond words,and exercise trust in God,that's what we are  told to do,are we prepared do do that?,yes we all have a lot of unlearning to do if we are honest.

Seize the moment. ( Isaiah 1 v18 )

 It is W. Barclay who highlights the following,'The tragedy of the unseized moment',consider how many people heard Jesus speak,saw the miracles,felt moved,but that is as far as it went.I worked with an old man,I used to talk to him,he used to go to church were Ian Paisley was the minister, Ian was a great gospel preacher,many came to Christ under his ministry.That old man told me that he was in tears as he listened to the gospel,but he never seized the moment.He was almost persuaded,almost,the gospel must be acted upon,everything depends on that,we have to seize the moment. Many are in hell who heard the gospel yet never responded,I wonder do they ever think ,'if only',if only I had seized the moment,,and trusted Christ. Life at best is very brief,and very uncertain,none of us known when we are going to die,even though we know that everyone is going die,there are no exceptions,none. Seize the moment, if you re not a Christian, your greatest need is Christ,to die without him is to go to a Christless eternity, don't believe that there is no hell,don't wait to find out.I can assure you there is a heaven and there is a hell,where will you spend eternity, seize the moment trust Jesus as your Saviour ,now.

He lives. ( Acts 9 v1 - 18)

So that's it ,the long promised child had come,and for Mary,Joseph,life would never be the same, a young man met a friend one day,and he said to him ,'you've changed',and his friend replied,yes,I know,'I have met Jesus'. You cannot but be changed when you meet Jesus,and that change will always be for the better, Christmas cannot change anybodies life, only Christ can do that,it is nice to receive gifts ,but the greatest gift one can ever receive is the gift of God which is eternal life,through our Lord Jesus. (Romans 6 v23 ).His coming has changed millions of lives,and so it goes on,and on, and on, it will never stop, how is that possible?, because He lives in the power of an endless life.The great religious leaders ,they all died, their teaching has influenced many people,likewise powerful leaders,Lenin's body has been preserved ,but he is dead, nothing can change that,but Jesus is alive,

                                             'I serve a living Saviour, He's in the world today;                                          

                                              I know that He is living , whatever men may say;

                                             I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of Cheer,

                                             And just the time I need Him He's always near.

                                             He lives,He lives, Christ Jesus lives today!

                                             He walks with me, and talks with me,along life's narrow way,

                                             He lives,He lives, salvation to impart!

                                             You ask me how I know He lives,He lives within my heart'

                                                              Words  A.H. Ackley.

Don't miss the meaning. ( John 3 v16 )

So this is Christmas, a time to rejoice  and praise God, like the angels all those many years ago,for Jesus,the gift beyond words. From the moment He was born, He would have one thing in view,fulfilling the will of God. It is was William Holman Hunt who painted a pictured which is called ,The shadow of death', it depicts Christ as a carpenter in His workshop,He is shown stretching His arms after sawing some wood,the sun is shining on Him. The shadow of His outstretched arms fall on a wooden spar on which carpentry tools hang,creating a shadow of death, prefiguring the crucifixion. His mother  Mary is depicted behind Him kneeling,gazing at the shadow.The cross was always there, His journey began as it were in a cradle and would end on a cross,that's why He came.An old friend recently died, she was a Christian,after the funeral,family and friends gathered at  a local church ,most of them are not Christians.One of the hymns we sung was about the cross,I have ministered in song during my life ,I put all my heart into singing this hymn, it is called ,'Beneath the cross of Jesus', here is a verse from that hymn.

                                       'Upon that cross of Jesus, mine eyes at times can see,

                                       The very dying form of one,who suffered there for me;

                                       And from my smitten heart with tears,two wonders I confess;

                                       The wonders of His glorious love,and my own worthlessness.'

                           

                                

Our only hope. ( Ephesians 2 v 12 -22)

' Once upon a time', that's how Fairy Tales usually begin, I am concerned that when it comes to Christmas and presenting it ,it becomes like a Fairy Tale. But even many Fairy Tales have a dark side to them, as regards Christmas it was not written by Hans christian Anderson, it is based on a real event,based on real people.There is the miraculous in it,Mary the mother of Jesus was a virgin,the child was God manifest in the flesh.Even though it is true,we cannot stop there,if we do then we are leaving out the meaning of the event,the why it all happened. What is the clear answer to the why question? ,humanities lostness ,sinfulness,as I read history, especially the 20th century,I am struck by the unremitting violence. I could  include so many other things,that is very frightening,and it leaves me in no doubt as to mankind's sinfulness, and their desperate need  of a Saviour. If we forget this we will be held accountable by God,the Christ coming into the world, is not a Fairy Tale.it is Gods only answer for humanity to be saved, without it ,there is no hope, and we need to let everyone know that.

                                                   'Child of the stable's secret birth,

                                                   The Fathers gift to a wayward earth,

                                                    To drain the cup in a few short years

                                                    Of all our sorrows, our sins and tears-

                                                    Ours the prize for the road He trod;

                                                     Risen with Christ; at peace with God.

                                                               Timothy Dudley- Smith.

Our heavenly home. ( 2 Timothy 2 v1 )

 I came out of the supermarket, got into my car,and as I drove off ,I prayed,'Father get me safely home',driving is potentially very risky and dangerous. All of a sudden those words took on a different meaning,and I uttered them again to God my Father,for I was thinking of my heavenly home.From the moment we become a Christian we are on journey,to heaven,we are foreigners and strangers on earth,and we have a longing  for a heavenly country.(Hebrews 11 v 16)On this journey to heaven we face many difficulties, I stress many, the hymn writer ,wrote of the many dangers,toils,and snares, he had come through. John Bunyan wrote ,'Pilgrims progress', about a man called Christian,who on a journey to that Celestial city,faced a giant and many other dangers.But by the grace of God he reached his destination,our responsibility is not to give up, it is called the perseverance of the saints.It goes without saying that we cannot do it on our own strength, Jesus said ,''without me you can do nothing'. (John 15 v 5) We need to keep , looking and depending on Him,and like Him who for the joy that was set before Him,  endured the cross, scorning its shame,so we must follow in his footsteps,and as we do,our great God will bring us safely home.

                                                     'Since ,Lord, Thou dost defend

                                                      Us by Thy Spirit.

                                                      We know we at the end

                                                       Shall life inherit.

                                                       Then fancies flee away!

                                                        I'll labour night and day 

                                                        To be a pilgrim.

                                                                 John Bunyan

Shine. ( Matthew 5 v14 )

Bruce wrote ,' An empire founded on violence,plunder and exploitation is like a jerry-built house. It is bound to collapse because it has no inner coherence. The  various, parts of the structure, the walls and the beams, stand in perpetual tension with one another instead of providing mutual support. At last ,the tension becomes too great and the building crashes in ruins'.Consider ,Hitlers Third Reich,that  supposedly  was to last for a thousand years it lasted 12 years. The Soviet Union founded by Vladimir Lenin  lasted 69 yrs, both these governments,were founded on wickedness,millions and millions of poor souls suffered dreadfully.  In Proverbs 14 v 34 we read,'Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people' The question I ask , are there any righteous nations?,it is a good question ,it appears to me that all nations are living on borrowed time,and I believe that when evil has reached its zenith,the end will come,only God knows when that will be.The important thing for the children of the kingdom of God, is to live godly holy lives,to walk in the light,in fact to be a light,in this dark world of sin.

                                               ' Jesus bids us shine, with a clear pure light,

                                                 Like a little candle burning in the night,

                                                  In this world of darkness,we must shine,

                                                  You in your small corner,and I in mine.

                                                             Words Susan B, Warner.

The devil. ( 1 Peter 5 v 8-9 )

We don't hear much about the devil these days,even from the pulpits, I wonder why? In the novel.' 'The  brothers Karamazon,'one of the characters says the following,'  I think  the devil doesn't exist,but man has created him, he has created him in his own image and likeness'.But the devil does exist,his footprints and fingerprints are everywhere.A Charles Baudelaire said the following,'Do not forget, when you hear  the progress of wisdom vaunted,that the cleverest ruse of the devil is to persuade you he does not exist'. The devil is not just and inactive spectator no he is very much involved in this world we live in .Dr Lloyd Jones said,'I am certain that one of the main causes of the ill state of the church today is the fact that the devil is forgotten'.The word of God says,

                           Put on the full armour of  God, so that you can take your stand against the

                           devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against

                           the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and

                            and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms'.

                                                        Ephesians 6 v 10 - 12.

Sunday- only. ( Matthew 6 v 24 )

It is  David Prior who writes about a ,Sundays-only  faith',a double life Christianity,it is to some extent, illustrated by song I heard years ago written V.F.Stewart ,it goes s follows.

                                                       'I go to church on Sunday,

                                                        The vows that I make,

                                                        I break them on Monday,

                                                        The rest of the week,

                                                        I do as I please,

                                                        Then come Sunday  morning,

                                                         I pray on my knees'.

It is not about preaching to people,it is about living for Christ every day,Christianity is a 24/7 relationship with God,that cannot be ignored,we cannot  leave Him out of our lives,or do things that effects that relationship.In the work place ,we are not meant to leave our Saviour at home,likewise in the home we are not supposed to be abusive or a tyrant.As a Christian we should take time to have a time with God in prayer,and in reading His word.It would surprise many of us to find out how many Christians are involved in pornography. A Christian is not meant to lead a double life,or have a Sunday only faith, none of us our perfect,but we must make perfection our aim. ( Matthew 5 v 48 )

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Who knows?. (Joel 2 v 1 - 17)

I read the following words in three places,Esther 4 v 14/Jonah 3 v5/  Joel 2 v14,there may be other times its mentioned.We read how Mordecai is pleading with Queen Esther to intervene with the king in order to stop the wholesale  slaughter of the Jewish people. He tells her,'who knows' but that you come to royal position for such a time as this?.  ,he wasn't certain but he felt that it may be so,and indeed it was.The other two occasions ,are mentioned in respect to God judging,Nineveh was told by Jonah that God's judgement was going to fall on that wicked city.The king took it very serious,and gave orders for  the people (and animals) to fast,and for the people to call on God,and to forsake their evil ways.So the king says,'Who knows ? God may relent  and with compassion turn from His fierce anger so that we  will not perish', so it came to pass.Next  Joel, disaster was coming ,Joel the prophet  exhorts the people to totally repent of their evil ways,then he says ,'who knows?,God  who is gracious, compassionate,slow to anger,and abounding in love may not judge them.Yes who knows,we should not take that for granted,a man called Renan said,' God will forgive, its His business', no it is not as simple as that, one cannot presume on the mercy of God. David Prior writes,' One of the balancing acts in-Christian prayer is to combine faith with humility, to ask with confidence but to refrain from insisting on what we want'.

Our character. ( Acts 4 v 13 )

  I  read this recently,'It's easy to value our lives based on our career success when what matters most is our character'. The rich are envied because of their wealth,their possessions,and so often they put it all on display.You see them in the up market magazines, the men posing with their beautiful wives ,in  their beautiful homes.What we don'e see is the real them, their character,people can hide behind so much that's empty and shallow,not just the rich and famous.We rejoice in a Saviour ,what can we say about Him?, well there is so much we can say about Him,consider His character,it was perfect, He did not indulge in any dubious behaviour, we must see that this is important,their were no skeletons in the cupboard.One of the main religions in world was founded by a sexual deviant,the founder of many of the cults had dubious moral characteristics,not so Christ.We often say that no ones perfect ,that's not true,there was one who was, Jesus,He was without sin.Along with His sinlessness ,there was love,compassion,kindness, gentleness,the perfect human being, This loving person came from heaven for the supreme purpose  to save  you and me, on the cross in which He died,He died that we flawed sinful human beings might be forgiven,and from that moment we trust Him , our character will begin to change for the better.

A crime scene. ( Romans 5 v 1-11)

 I recently read of a kidnap victim, called Stephanie,she was held captive for eight days, handcuffed,  gagged and blindfolded, put into a coffin like box, locked a wheelie bin.The perpetrator had previously kidnapped an 18yr old girl,whom he murdered.He raped Stephanie,but he set her free,near her home,she struggled to her door and it was opened by a liaison officer.Her father rushed to to comfort her,and what was dreadful,he was refrained from doing that ,and she was taken away into another room. The reason given was that they needed to get information from her,so they questioned her ,a police surgeon came, made her strip down,not in a very private place,there was no empathy,or gentleness shown to her,to them she was just a walking crime scene. I was so angry and saddened when I read this, she was a victim twice over,and I thought  to myself, she was not a crime scene, nor was she statistic,she was a fellow human being.The message of Christianity is this,that God loves the world ,( John 3 v16),that does not mean He overlooks the  sinfulness of humanity,it means He offers them (you and me),forgiveness,through Jesus Christ, because He would have everyone to be saved (1 Timothy 2 v4 ).If you not a Christian,don't reject His offer of love,Jesus sacrifice on that cross, don't turn Him away.

Old age. (2 Timothy 4 v 6 -8 )

Old age is a time when physical problems,of one sort or another kicks in. The writer of the book of Ecclesiastes describes the ageing condition Chap 12 ,the writer of the Message  puts this way,' In old age,your  body no longer serves you so well. Muscles slacken,grip weakens,joints stiffen.....You can,t come and go at will. Things grind to a halt.....Hikes to the mountains are a thing of the past. Even a stroll down the road has its terrors. Your hair turns apple -blossom white. Adorning a fragile and impotent matchstick body'.Yet I believe we need not despair because of this,there are advantages,the Lord is still with us ,He does not forsake us when we are old. our infirmities drives us to God,to lean more upon Him,we are more depended on Him. Dependence on God is a beneficial experience, and that can bring us into deeper experience with our God. And when death comes we need not fear the valley of the shadow death, for Christ will  be with us,what an advantage we have,heaven is assured,because there was a moment in our experience we trusted Christ as our Saviour.

                                              'When all my labours and trials are o'er

                                               And I am safe on that beautiful shore,

                                               Just to be near the dear Lord I adore,

                                                Will through the ages be glory for me.

                                                 O that will be ,glory for me,glory for me,

                                                 When by His grace I shall look on His face,

                                                  That will be glory,be glory for me.'  (Words Charles H. Gabriel)        

          

  

I don't understand. ( Proverbs 3 v5 )

In Hebrews 11 v 6 we are told,'And without faith it is impossible to please God,'in that chapter we have many people mentioned,and they all had this in common,they were people of faith.Not only is it impossible to please God without faith,it is impossible to know God without faith,but let us define that a bit more ,many people would say that they believe in God, but that is not not enough ,if  one has not put their faith in Christ,they do not know God. No matter who they are,it not just about knowing  that there is a  God, but rather about knowing Him personally,knowing Him as your loving heavenly Father. CP John 1 v12.That all comes about through knowing Jesus as one's Saviour, when one has done that, it becomes a living,personal, relationship,with God,a faith walk.There will be things on our faith walk,that we do not understand, let me stress this,'faith goes beyond our understanding'. Take the statement ,'In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth',Genesis 1 v1.its impossible ,but faith says it is possible,and not only that,He did it in six days,and so people turn from a belief in God to a just happened theory ,now that really is impossible .The path of the Christian must be a path of faith,faith that goes beyond our understanding,oh yes there will be things we will understand ,but many things we won't,and that's were faith comes in.

Amazing. ( Isaiah 1 v 18 )

I have just finished a study on the book of  Micah, Micah was a prophet during the reign of 3 kings of Judah,although his message was to both Judah and Samaria, who were morally and spiritually at a very low level.Injustice was the order of the day,the ordinary people,were being treated dreadfully 3 v1 -3 describe their treatment in very graphic terms, these words where spoken to the leaders and prophets,here is the charge brought against them.'Should you not embrace justice,you who hate good and love evil;who tear the skin from my people and the flesh from their bones;who eat my peoples flesh strip of their skin and break their bones in pieces; who chop them up like meat for the pan, like flesh for the pot'.Eventually judgement would come upon them, their wickedness knew no bounds.One would think that God was finished with them,but not so, there is always hope if  they would call upon God repenting and forsaking their sinful  ways, God would have mercy upon them. Nothing has changed for God who  forgive Israel will forgive anyone no matter how wicked they have been if they call upon Jesus,forsaking and repenting of their sins,for whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

                                                   'Who is a God like you, who pardons sin'

                                                                  Micah 7 v 18

A precious promise. ( 1 Samuel 17 v 45 - 50 )

 The promises of God are very precious,they encourage us,and comfort us,there is a promise in the book of Isaiah that has been a blessing to God's people throughout the ages,it is in chap 41 v 10,it reads.

                                                  ' Fear thou not; for I am with you;

                                                    Be not dismayed,for I am your God.

                                                    I will strengthen you,

                                                    Yes I will help you,

                                                     I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.'

Israel was a small nation, but they had one vital thing in their favour. they had a big God,they would be preserved not by their military might, but by their God.Often they forgot that and suffered for their folly,but in spite of this God was faithful,and when during the reign of Hezekiah the Assyrian  super power came against them,right to the gates of Jerusalem,boasting what they would do to those within the city,God miraculously delivered them. CP chap 37 v36 -38. Many dear Christians live in places of great danger,threatened by political ,and religious powers,could it be, it is like that where you live?.These words are for all of Gods children,who feel threatened and overwhelmed by so many things. The words given to ancient Israel are for you and me today, God  is with us do not be dismayed He is our God,He will strengthen us,He will help us,and uphold us.

                                                              'He will not fail us'

                                                

Add- on's. 2 ( 2 Peter 5 -8 )

 We will continue as regards the add- on's,what are they?,  there are several in the New Testament. CP Rom 5 v3-5,2 Cor 6 v 4 -10,Gal 5 v22-23,Col 3 v 12- 14,1 Tim 4 v12,4;12;6;11. So let us consider 2 Peter 1 v 5 - 8,the first one is ,'goodness,in v3 ,as we look at Christs life we see goodness  personified,so much badness in the world,as Christians,goodness should be characteristic of our lives.Next ,'knowledge',John Brown writes,'This knowledge means making a distinction between what is true and what is false but also between what is right and what is wrong'. Next ,'self control',so many things it seems are out of control in this world, consider our Saviour, He always displayed self control especially in His suffering. Next ,'perseverance',it simply means not giving up,no turning back,as the old song goes,'Keep right on to the end of the road'. Next, 'godliness', in word ,thought and deed.Next,'brotherly kindness',remember what our Saviour said,' By this  everyone will know that you are my disciples,if you love one another'. John 13 v 35,Last but not least, 'love'but it means more than our Christian family,it means loving  those as Dick Lucas  puts it,'outside the family circle'. How are we to manifest these qualities? the answer ,the Spirit of God.let us depend on Him.

                                                      'And every virtue we possess,

                                                      And every victory won,

                                                      And every thought of holiness,

                                                      Are His alone.'

                                                             'Words Harriet Auber'

Add- on's. ( 2 Peter 1 v 5 - 11) 1

 When it comes to salvation, there are no add- on's,Jesus our beloved Saviour  paid the full price for us to be saved.We cannot add on to what He has done,if we do,we cant be saved.We are saved by faith and faith alone,but in our development as Christians,and being more conformed to Christ ,add- on's are important. We read in 2 Peter 1 v 3ff , we are told that by Christ's divine power we have been given everything we need to live a godly life. Let me just emphasise we are called to live a godly life,the moral values of the world run contrary  to godliness,we are to be different.We cannot do this in our own power,we are not meant to,our power comes from God the holy Spirit. We also have been given  great and precious promises,these can enable us share His divine nature,' and so escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.'( D. Lucas)Let us remember that Christ has set us free, but not free to sin,we are to abstain from even the appearance evil.(1Thessalonians 5 v 22) In v 5-7 ' Peter gives us a list of virtues in which we are to grow',(D.Lucas), yes the Christian life is on going,our quest for holiness ,and Christlikeness ,must continue until we get to glory.We will continue this next time.

Where is your God? (Psalm 42)

 Contrary to what many think, the bible has much to say about hope, it relates to those who are God's children,it does not only deal with the here and now,but also for the afterlife. In Psalm 42 v 11 and 43 v5, we have these words. 

                                                  'Why,my soul, are you downcast?

                                                  Why so disturbed within me?

                                                   Put your hope in God,

                                                  for I will yet praise Him,

                                                  my Saviour and my God'

Here is a man of God downcast,and yet a man who was searching for  God (Ps 42v 2) people are asking him,' Where is your God?' (v3). A teacher of atheistic outlook wrote on the blackboard- 'God is  nowhere,' at that moment the class finished, for lunch,the words remained on the blackboard. When they came back from lunch, someone had altered the words on the blackboard,it read,' God is now here'. Frederick W, Faber  wrote,

                                                  'Thrice blest is he to whom is given

                                                  The instinct that can tell

                                                  That  God is on the field,

                                                  when He is most invisible'

                                             'Jesus said,'' I am with you always''

                                                      'Matthew 28 v 20'

Waiting . ( Psalm 40 v 1 )

They  say timing is everything ,In an old devotional called ,' Springs in the valley ', Mrs . Chas. E. Cowman writes the following,'God always hears, and He never forgets, His silence does not mean that He is not listening and is not planning. Probably it means that the best time of deliverance has not come yet, and that He is patiently waiting for the moment  to arrive when He may prove His love and His power. Cromwell  said to His soldiers just before a great battle; ''Know ye soldiers all,that God always comes to man's  help in the nick of time''. Yes ,God is always in time; never behind never ahead. Happy is the man who learns to wait as he prays, and never loses patience with God. Let us wait His time ; ''He that believeth  shall not make haste''. God's time is the best time. ''When a great issue is in the balance and the path is obscure, wait; but with thy waiting shirk not the work that lieth before thee, for in that task may be the solution of thy problem'

                                                                Romans 4 v 18.

                  'Even when there was reason to hope,Abraham kept hoping  - believing that he would 

                   become the father of many nations.

The land of uncertainty. ( John 14 v 1-6 )

 Sometimes there will a dark cloud hanging over us,and it can be in regards to our families,our employment,a breakdown within our marriage,health issues,bereavement and many other things.The uncertainty in relation to all those things is hard to cope with,they fill our vision ,blotting out the sun.We may not feel we can share what we are going through with others,and this makes us  feel very isolated. It all sounds very negative, what can we do? it is a good question,I don't want to give a trite answer,if we are a Christian,yes a Christian, listen, God understands how we feel,He is not critical of you,and He would say to you,'let not your heart be troubled',and those words go to the heart of the matter,our hearts.Jesus spoke those words to his disciples,for soon they would be in the land of uncertainty.They would witness an awful thing ,the most  devastating thing in all their lives,Jesus would be arrested ,and be tried by a kangaroo court that ignored recognized standards of law and justice. They thought that He would deliver Israel,instead Israel delivered Him unto death,this drove them into the land of uncertainty.But Friday is called good Friday  ,and so it was,and that death was followed by Sunday,and thereafter all uncertainty vanished,and certainty came flooding in, and granted unto all who trust Him a sure and certain hope.

                                          'Through the Love of Christ our Saviour

                                                      ALL WILL BE WELL

                                                       

We all have problems. ( Job 5 v 7 )

 It was Billy Graham who said,' I've never met a person who hasn't got a problem', so very true,I am sure that most of you have problems,I have at this time medical problems, I wander whats your problem?.They come in all shapes and sizes,some are complex ,some are on going,you get the picture.The question is how do you solve problems?,there are many ways,get advice, if its debt there are organisations that can help you,one I know is 'Christians against poverty'.Recently one of my sons told me about a problem he was having,I said I will pray about it,after all God is expert in solving problems, He does it in different ways usually through an individual.As regards mankind we are sooner or later faced with a problem we cannot solve, death,yes we can with the help of science live to a ripe old age,women usually live longer than men But the fact is we cannot beat death,it is a problem,but here is good news, as a Christian ,we can know victory over death,because Jesus conquered sin, death ,and Satan, when we trust Him as our Saviour even though we die we shall live  (John 11 v25 ),problemed solved.

It may happen.( Job 13 v15 )

From it may never happen,to it may happen,The fact is bad things happen to the most godly of people,there are many examples of that in the Bible,many,and there are many examples in life,or even in our experience of that happening. And so we come back to the statement,which we asked ,'I don't know where you are going with this Lord'. Let us remind ourselves that our times are in God's hands,the good times,the bad times,the sad times,the happy times.No one  if they had a choice would choose the sad and bad times,no one, including my self, but the fact is they happen,whether we like it or not.The challenge comes to us ,are we prepared to trust the Lord?,or turn away from Him?,or even run away from Him. Yes we have a choice,let us not give up,a better time is coming, if not in time,then most surely in eternity.

                                                'Though ''the reason why'' we cannot see,

                                                 Our Father knows-'tis enough we 

                                                 But trust His love, when our eyes are dim.

                                                 Look up! Hold fast! though the fight is grim.

                                                           We shall not be overcome!

                                                               Mary E. Thompson.

Don't anticipate. ( Genesis 27 v 41/ 33 v 1ff)

 A man watched his friend a sculptor working on a piece of marble,and he said to him,'I don't know where you are going with that', his friend said to him,'' in time you will''.It was Peter who was told by our Saviour, ''you do not realise  now what I am doing,but later you will understand''.(John 13 v 7) It was the apostle Paul who wrote,'Now I know in part; then I shall know fully' (1Corinthians 13 v12)Life being life, throws so many challenges at us,that  we cannot understand,and we may think where is God taking me in what I am experiencing ?. First let me say ,don't  anticipate the worse, the sky is not going to fall on you , the evil you fear may not happen, I remember reading of a man who had invested money for his company,and he lost it all. Later he was called in to see his boss, and before his boss had time to speak ,he  blurted out,I am sorry about that money that I invested,that went wrong. His boss looked at him and said,''don't worry about that,I have something else I want to talk to you about''. Remember it may never happen.

                                                 'Ye fearful saints ,fresh courage take,

                                                  The clouds ye so much dread

                                                   Are big with mercy, and shall break

                                                   In blessings on your head'

                                                         William Cowper.

Sent by God. ( Matthew 25 v 31 - 46)

Ann was looking after  her husband who had Parkinson disease,he was in the latter stage of his illness, needing total care .Ann is a retired nurse,and both her and husband were fine Christians ,it was a very emotionally and physically time as you can well imagine.She tells there was a day in which she could not cope,her husband needed changed,and she just did not have the strength to help him,they both wept.Then just at that moment the door bell ,two lovely Christians were standing there,they said that they felt they should bring two ready meals for them.But when they discovered what what was happening,they got to work,the lady had worked as carer one time,so she got Ann's husband sorted out,  and did what necessary in the home.I read the following,' Be happy when God answers your prayers,but  be more happy when God makes you the answer to someone else's prayer'.

Strong reasoning. ( Isaiah 41 v 21)

 I read the following story ,about a Christian called ''Holy Ann'',who lived in Canada,she lived to be one hundred years old.    When she was young she worked for a family ,for a very small wage,they treated her very badly.They made her carry water for a mile up a steep hill. At one time there was a well near were she worked,but it had dried up.One night she was very tired,and she fell on her knees and cried to God; and while on her knees  she read these words,''I will open...fountains in the midst of  valleys; I will make the dry land springs of water.''. ''Produce your cause,saith the Lord; bring forth your strong reasons''So Holy Ann produced her cause before the Lord. She told Him how badly they needed water and how hard it was for her to carry the water up the hill; then she lay down and fell asleep. The next morning early she was seen  to take a bucket and start for the well.She was asked by someone where she was going, she told them she was going to the well to draw water, but they told her,that the well was dry. But Holy Ann carried on,and  when she got to the well,it was full of water,and the well never did run dry after that. We can't command God to answer our prayers, but we can reason with Him and use arguments, strong reasons,why He should answer our prayers.

He is able. (Ephesians 3 v20-21 ) 2

We continue to look at Ephesians 3 v 20 ,and John Stott's comments,he writes on the words ,'according to the power that worketh in us'. 'The infinite ability of God to work beyond our prayers,thoughts and dreams is by the power at work within us, within us individually( Christ dwelling in our hearts by faith) and within us as a people  (who are the dwelling place of God by His Sprit) It is the power of the resurrection, the power which raised Christ from the dead, enthroned Him in the  heavenlies, and then raised and enthroned us there with Him. That is the power which is at work within the Christian church. Because of this power there are no limits to what God can do. The power comes from Him; the glory must go to Him'.

                                      'More powerful than all the dark and mighty powers

                                       let loose in the world, more powerful that anything

                                       else, is the power of prayer set ablaze by the fire of 

                                       God and cast upon the earth.'

                                                                   (Torrance)

He is able . (Ephesians 3 v 20- 21) ( 1)

 Ephesians 3 v 20 - 21 ,reads,'Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh within us,Unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus through out all the ages, world without end. Amen.I want to quote John Stott on these verses. He lays seven stages in relation to these verses.

(1)He is able to do or to work,for He is neither idle,nor inactive,nor dead.

(2) He is able to do what we ask,for He hears and answers prayer.

(3) He is able to do what we ask or think,for He reads our thoughts,and sometimes we imagine things for which we dare not and therefore do not ask.

(4)He is able to do all that we ask or think, for He knows it all and can perform it all.

(5) He is able to do more......than( beyond) all that we ask or think,for His expectations are higher than ours.

(6) He is able to do much more,or more abundantly, than all we ask or think, for He does not give His grace by calculated measure.

(7) He is able to do very much more, far more abundantly, that all we ask or think,for He is a God of super- abundance.

God cannot be bought off. ( 1 Peter 1 v 18-19 ) 1

 The first sermon I preached in England was from the book of Micah chap 6 v 8 , it reads ,'He has told you,O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you. But to do justice, to love mercy,and to walk humbly with your God'. Micah ministered during the reign of 3 kings of Judah, 'Jotham , Ahaz, and Hezekiah. Bear in mind that the nation of Israel split in two under the rule of Rehoboam ,Solomon's son, it was  a judgement caused by the sin of Solomon.It is to these two nations that Micah spoke to, telling  them God's judgement was coming, and it did. but their was also a degree of hope,things would change eventually.Micah answers the question,as to what the Lord required from the nation.would multitude of  sacrifices be the answer?, the answer was no. David Prior writes ,' This notion of atonement by means of costly gifts,of virtually buying God off , dies very hard in the human heart'.The Roman Catholic church sought to do this in the selling of indulgence,the more you give the less time you spent in purgatory.a man called Simon in Acts 8 thought the gifts of God could be bought with money, he was rebuked severally by Peter. There is a saying everyone can be bought,but let me assure you, God cannot be bought off.Peter sums it up like this ,'You were not redeemed with corruptible things,like silver and gold,from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ,as of  a lamb without blemish and without spot', (1 Peter 1 v 18- 19)

Are you blind? ( John 3 )

 Have you ever wandered why when you talk to JWs, Mormon's, that no matter what one says from the scripture,they refuse to accept it. Also why did the religious leaders failed to recognise Jesus for whom He was,their Messiah  .In present Israel there is a group of Jews called Hasidic Jews,and most of the men spend their days studying the Torah ,the first five books of what we Christians call the Old Covenant scriptures,they also  fail to  recognise their Messiah?.What is obvious to the Christian, ,is not obvious to them, why can't they understand,why?,but they don't.Paul writing to the Christians at Corinth declares,' And we have received God's Spirit (not the worlds spirit), so we can know the wonderful things  God has freely given us (1 Cor 2 v 12)then he follows it up by saying,'But people who aren't spiritual can't receive these truths from God's Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can't understand what the Spirit means'. (v 14).Our Saviour was faced with people who like the Hasidic studied the scriptures, the Pharisees,the separated ones, the defenders of the Law.This is what Jesus said to them,  You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the scriptures point to me. Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life'.(John 5 v 39- 40). The fact is,it is not enough to know the scriptures,you must know the Christ of the scriptures as your Saviour.

/

The best thing you have ever done. ( John 11 v25 )

Are you a rational person? most people are rational to some extent, some people choose not to be,for whatever reason .They ignore reality,and they do foolish things with dire consequences,they  do the lottery ,instead of paying into a pension scheme.They refuse to be vaccinated even though it has a proven record of being an effective means of protecting one from certain illnesses.People still smoke even though it is potentially very dangerous, instead of being rational and saying no ,and of course we have the flat earth society,very rational, I think not .Many people who are Christians,stop believing certain Christian beliefs because they seem irrational.Doctrines like the deity of Christ,hell ,certain moral things,they may even reject the resurrection of Jesus,in fact an awful lot of non- Christians,believe when your dead that's it. In spite of the fact that Christ rose from the dead,so many people will not believe, because they do know of anyone who was truly dead and come back  to life.There are those who believe that the body can be resuscitated,  so they have their bodies frozen..As to Christs resurrection Jesus foretold that He would rise again Matthew 27 v 62 - 63 ., and the fact is He did, after his resurrection he was saw by over 500 people 1 Corinthians 15 v 3ff,the result is, all who put their faith in Christ,even though they die they shall  live again,with a new body in that place that Christ has gone to prepare for all who believe in Him. It will be best thing you have ever done,and the most rational thing,if you would believe in Him.

Shedding blood. ( Exodus 20 v13 / Joel 3 v19 - 21)

When Cain murdered his brother Abel,the Lord said,'What have you done?, Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground.'.This followed by these words ,'Now you are under a curse  and driven from the ground which opened its mouth to receive your brothers blood from your hands'. Genesis 4 v10- 11. It is said that visitors to Babylon ,and to other Chaldean towns and cities, saw unrivalled magnificence and grandeur. They were hugely impressed by what they saw, but all they could see was splendid buildings. God looked at the city and saw bloodshed'.Think of all awful violence perpetrated in the history of mankind,,the innocent blood that has been shed. David Prior writes,' Human blood has a voice. When it is shed,it speaks,its voice cries out to God,God responds to human bloodshed with a curse on those He would prefer to bless. The voice of every victim cries out to God.Their agony rings through the streets and squares,through the marketplaces and corridors of power. They reach the throne-room of heaven and rend the heart of God. He, therefore,  decrees that all such enterprises will be doomed to frustration and to failure'.

                                                                 ' Jesus said'

                                    'All who take to the sword will perish by the sword'

It is finished ( John 19 v 30 )

 The last words our dear Saviour spoke before He died on the cross was ,'It is finished', John 19 v 30,some say it was His triumphant cry,or it is accomplished.In other words He had completed His Father's  will,  the work of salvation was complete,nothing can be added, nor should be added to it,yet people do. Some of the epistles reveal that there were people who wanted to add to the gospel, the book of Colossians dealt with people who said ,yes you have trusted Christ, but you need something else. CP  2 v 16 - 23 ' . Many great artists are never satisfied with what they do,likewise we may be perfectionist,our best as we see it,is flawed,we always want to do better, we may think that what we do is good ,but we are not satisfied. Christ came into this world to do the Fathers will,to keep the law of God perfectly,and to die on the cross ,that was the will of God for Him,and He did it perfectly,it is blind folly to think you need to do your bit to be saved, you don't,why because Jesus paid it all.

                                                    'But God  forbid that I should boast

                                                    except in the cross of our Lord Jesus

                                                                     Christ.'

                                                               Galatians 6 v 14.

                                                 

Our substitute. ( Romans 8 v 32 )

 I just read yesterday that Jerusalem was built on Mount Moriah, in fact Solomon constructed the first temple on it.It is also believed to be the place where Abraham at the command of God took his son Isaac to sacrifice him ,we read about it in Genesis 22.Abraham laid him on the altar and was about to kill him,when an angel intervened, and told him not to do it,it had been a test, Would Abraham obey God?,did he fear God?,the answer was yes,God is to be feared and reverenced ( Matthew 10 v 28 ),and indeed obeyed. On the way to be sacrificed Isaac asked the question,' where is the lamb for the burnt offering?', Abraham replied ,'God  himself will provide the Lamb'( v 8), and He did, for just after God stopped him offering  Issac,Abraham saw a ram caught in a thicket,Abraham took that ram and offered it as a burnt offering instead of his son .The ram became a substitute,it took the place of Issac,it is in Romans 8 v 32,we read something God did,'He did not spare His own Son , but gave Him up for us all'. In your mind look on the cross were Jesus died,on that cross He took the sinners place,He would bear the punishment for us sinners,so that we would not have to bear it. One could say much on this,but what I would say,God in love gave His Son Jesus ,that you might be saved from going to hell,believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,and you will be saved.

                                               ' By his death Jesus paid our dreadful debt'

                                                                Wm.S. Plumer

Hosea ( Psalm 81 v 7 - 16 )

Hosea the prophet had a bad marriage ,he married a promiscuous woman, Hosea loved her dearly,but it made no difference.God was in it all.The loving husband and the unfaithful wife has a deep spiritual meaning,it illustrated God's faithful love, to the unfaithful nation of Israel. Time after time God forgive Israel,and time after time they did the same wicked thing,turned from Him,to other god's and wicked ways.Thy suffered greatly for their sinful ways,they never appeared to learn to be faithful,and to walk in holiness .They had only themselves to blame, Derek Kidner writes ,'Sin not only alienates ; it saddles one with guilt,and guilt is written all over this nation, not only by the shamefaced looks that normally betray it, but by the very brazenness that would deny it.' One has said that God knows the worst about us,and yet persists with us'.  God is merciful,but there will come a point that is if mercy is  spat on, it will give way to judgement,only God knows that point, it will happen, Genesis 6 v 3. The last verse in the book of Hosea reads,

                                           'Who is wise? Let him realise these things.

                                            Who is discerning? Let them understand.

                                            The ways of the Lord are right; the righteous

                                             walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them'

                                                            Someone wrote.

                                                 'To turn aside from Thee is hell,

                                                  To walk with Thee is heaven '

Rituals { Galatians 5 v 1 - 6 )

 Bruce Milne writes the following as regards the rituals of non- Christian religions,here is what he writes ,' Whenever people depend upon fulfilment of ritual observances to alleviate their consciences before God. These  rituals of the non- Christian  religions cannot cleanse the heart. Jesus alone is the way to God, empty ritual, however, can arise also in the context of the Christian faith. Receiving baptism( by whatever mode), taking communion( in whatever church) attending worship (with whatever regularity), offering prayers (of whatever length ), giving money(  of whatever amount), in themselves, do not, have not,will not, and cannot save us from our sins and their inevitable judgement.' None of these things can save us,only Christ can do that.

                             ' Not what my hands have done, can save my guilty soul,

                               Not what my toiling flesh hath borne, can make my spirit whole.

                               Not what I feel or do,can give me peace with God,

                               Not all my prayers and sighs and tears, can bear my awful load.

                               Thy work alone O Christ, can ease the weight of sin,

                              Thy blood alone,O lamb of God,can give me peace within.'

                                                          Horatius Bonar.

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Temptation ( 2 Timothy 3 v 18 )

 In  2 Corinthians 10 v 4, we read,'The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary , they have divine power to demolish strongholds.'  As Christians we are in a warfare against ,the world ,the flesh , and the devil,it is important to remember that.The good thing is we have a powerful helper,God,His word,and prayer, we have not been left to cope on our own,we have been given  everything we need for a godly life  (2 Peter 1 v 3),Christ has not left us orphans,we have the wonderful Holy Spirit within us,He can help us to overcome all those things arrayed against us.The devil is ever active,24/7 yes he does not have a day off so we must be on our guard.The devil is our enemy remember that,and so it is important that we know our enemy,in 2 Cor 2 v11 we read in regard to Satan,'we are not ignorant of his schemes'.He came to tempt Jesus when he starving Matthew 4 v 2, so he tempted Him on that ,Jesus reminded him that we need more than bread,we need Gods word.He tempted Eve as regards what God said Gen 3 v 3-4,so many people who are Christians are believing his lies\,remember the Devil is a liar.indeed the father of lies,( John 8 v44.).We need not be overcome by this tempter, we are told that we can resist the Devil (James 4 v 7),but to do that effectively we must submit ourselves to God ,that means depend on Him,be obedient to Him,in other words ask the Saviour to help you,He is willing to aid you,He will carry you through.

Temptation 3 (Isaiah 41 v 10)

Now we have been considering something that we all experience, when we are faced with temptation,the question is,will we yield to it or resist it?  The words of a hymn come to mind ,'Yield not to temptation for yielding is sin'.When we give into it,we sin,and that that effects our relationship with God,and it is vital that we repent of that sin,and confess to God ,and if we do God will forgive us ,no matter how awful that  sin was,he will forgive and restore us to fellowship.( Isaiah 1 v18/ 1  John 1 v 9). Again we consider the words a hymn,  'Ask the Saviour to help you......He is willing to aid you,He will carry you through'. Remember God is only a prayer away,His ear is open unto your cry and He will help you, also the effects on you and others if you yield to temptation, you will be remembered by people not for the good you have done,but for the wrong you have done. Also if we sin ,having yielded to temptation,we have to live with a guilty conscience,and live in fear of being found out,it can be very painful. It is not inevitable that we will yield to sin,God can withhold us from sinning  (Genesis 20 v6 ).

                                                'Yield not to temptation, for yielding is sin,

                                                 Each victory will help you some other to win;

                                                 Fight manfully onward ,dark passions subdue,

                                                 Look ever to Jesus,He'll carry you through.'

                                                                 Horatio R. Palmer.

Temptation.2 ( Genesis 3 v1-7 )

 Now let us consider the source of temptation,I will let Jame answer first of all.' Let no one say when he is tempted, ''I am being tempted by God'',  for God cannot be tempted by evil,and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. ( James 1 v 13 - 14) The word tempt literally means to prove or to test, one writer puts it like this ,' Let no one who is tempted (to sin) say that he  is tempted by God,'' God does not tempt anyone to sin.'James points out that our fallen nature which we all have ( Jeremiah 17 v9 ) is one of the root causes of us yielding to temptation..James puts it like this we get,'carried away and enticed by our own lusts.'  'Even as Christians we can give house-room to our evil desires, in the Lords prayer we have the following words,' Lead us not into temptation'( Matthew 6 v 13),but alas so often we run blindly into temptation,did not Judas do this?,the answer is yes.Now the other source were temptation comes is from Satan ( Matthew 4 v3 / 1 Thessalonians  3 v 5) He is a heartless being who is described as being like a roaring lion who wants to devour us.( 1 Peter 5 v8 ) The devil is not  seen by the world as a real being,but to us Christians we are in no doubt that he exists. We will continue this next time.

Temptation 1( Matthew 26 v 41)

Every day many people pray,'Lead us not into temptation',whither we pray those words or not,the fact is we will all face being tempted,that means everyone,of every age,of every colour, of every nationality. Temptation does not go away,it will be with us till the day we die,it is only then will we get rest from it.There is no place were you won't be tempted,Adam and Eve were tempted in  paradise,one can tempted when one is praying,or sitting in church. There are no,no go areas,as regards temptation,going into religious order is no guarantee,that you wont be tempted.If you were a castaway on a desert  island you would will still be tempted.Ministers of God ,religious activity will not shield them from temptation,that may make them more vulnerable.I want to stress this very important point,being tempted is not a sin, no matter how wicked and evil it is,it only becomes a sin ,when one yields to the temptation. We will continue to consider  this subject next time 

Galway (Ephesians 2 v 1- 22 ) 1

On the west coast of Ireland there is a city called Galway, it is an old city,the meaning of the name Galway means ,    'Town of  foreigners,', I suppose it goes back to when it was a town.I suppose the fact that I come from Northern Ireland and now live in England I could be classed as a foreigner,although I have never felt that I am foreigner,Writing to the Christians at Ephesus Paul reminds them of their former condition as Gentiles, that like all the unsaved , they were spiritually  dead in their sins,and all that meant. It didn't stop there there for he goes on to say as regards their position, 'that they were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the  covenants of the promise,without hope and without God in the world'. There was deep hostility between Jews and Gentiles ,especially on the Jewish side ,who considered them no better than dogs created by God to be fuel for the fires of hell.So they were alienated  from  God's people Israel. Unfortunately Israel forgot to their shame that they were meant to be a light to the nations,the kingdom of God was never meant to be an exclusive club, we will continue looking at this next time.

God requires. (Micah 6 v 8 ) 2

We looked at what God required from Israel,not sacrifices ,but a life manifesting godliness , Barns in his commentary says this,' Trouble not thyself as to any of these things, burnt offerings, rams,calves, without thee. for God seeketh not thine,but thee; not thy substance, but thy spirit; not ram or goat but thy heart'. Micah mentions three things God requires from us ,' To act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God'.(Micah  6 v 8) . Consider the first,'To act justly',the bible has so much to say about justice,and how important it is,a number of years ago the Bible society published a Bible which highlighted those scriptures that stressed  justice. If we have not shown justice to others,the result will be that God will not show mercy to us,God is a just God,He will never act in an unjust way,and He expects the same from us.Likewise,mercy,God is merciful,he expects us to be merciful,in fact He says ,'Blessed are merciful for they shall receive mercy',(Matthew 5 v 7).Last but not least ,we are ,'To walk humbly with our God'. Pride is a sin,pride of race, pride of possessions,pride is a sin. To be followers of Christ, we must walk as He did, CP ,Philippians 2 v 5-11. Let us not forget that our lives must manifest the reality of our salvation,the evidence that we are truly Christ's.

The greatest treasure. ( Matthew 13 v 44 -46 )

  'You may take away from me my life, but you can never take Christ from my heart',these words were spoken by a Korean martyr before his execution by the communists'. These words  bring such a challenge ,it reminds us were our true treasure lies,Christ, when you have Christ you have the greatest treasure in the world.The vast majority of people are blind to that fact and value the things of the world,to the exclusion of  Christ,and are poorer,for all that.What have the billionaires got?,many envy them,but the poorest Christian is richer than them,Our beloved Saviour said,'what does it profit a person if they gain the whole world,and  loose their soul?, Judas was a disciple of Christ,Christ considered him a friend,but Judas loved money,and that destroyed him,in Christ he could have had it all,the eternal blessings of heaven,but when he betrayed Christ he lost all that.When you have Christ you need never fear death, for we are told when we come to go through that dark valley He will be with us,and like that dear Christian who was martyred,even death cannot rob us of Christ.A young man said to me,if you have food and a roof over your head ,then everything else is a bonus, that's true  but the biggest bonus is to know Christ,He is the greatest treasure anyone can possess.

The walking wounded 2 ( James 4 v 11 - 12 )

 There are many Christians who one could class as the walking wounded,yes they have had their sins forgiven , by trusting as their Saviour, so they are saved. But that does not ,mean that they don't carry hurts from the past, caused by many things,or even hurts since they became a Christian. First of all very it is very important, we do not judge them. Some Christians do judge people, the best example of that is ,Jobs friends, Job  was suffering tremendously ,he was bereft of all his children,he experienced the loss of all his wealth, and lastly he experienced physical suffering. His friends judged him saying  he must  have sinned,yes like of us he was a sinner,but his suffering was not for any particular sin he had committed,yet they judged him,instead of comforting him, they made him more uncomfortable, instead of  easing his pain,they increased it.Sad to say we Christians sometimes treat the Christian walking wounded, with little sympathy,understanding, and love.If we are like that, let us resign from that club,and let us do all we can to support them, they may find healing, they may not,like dear old Paul,so do  not judge them for lack of faith,consider in spite of their woundedness they are still going on with the Lord,and trusting Him in spite of their difficulties. The poet William Cowper who wrote many wonderful hymns, suffered from bouts of serious mental illness,wrote the following in one of his hymns from the book of Habakkuk.

                                  'Though vine nor fig tree neither, their wonted fruit should bear,

                                  Though all the fields should wither,nor flocks or herd be there,

                                   Yet,God the same abiding, His praise shall tune my voice;

                                   For, while in Him confiding,I cannot but rejoice',

The walking wounded. ( Isaiah 61 v 1 -3 ) 1

Bruce Milne in his commentary on John gospel writing on the words Christ said,' He  is the Lord of the mission and is to be found still at the frontiers where his people confront and minister to the wounds of the world'. We live in a broken world,all around us our broken wounded souls,their wounds are hidden from us, we who are Christs are called through Christ to minister to them, These wounded souls are two fold the non-Christian, and yes, to the Christian,yes both need to be ministered to.The non-Christian needs the medicine of the gospel,you remember in Mark 2 v1ff were four men carried their friend to Jesus ,He was in a house,but large numbers of people prevented them getting to Jesus. The men carried their friend unto the flat roof,they  took up tiles from the roof and let their friend down to were Jesus was ,and it says ,when Jesus saw their faith,He said to the sick man,'Son your sins are forgiven'. He then went on to heal the man,one can do all sorts of things to help people ,and we should,but we must never loose sight that the greatest need of mankind is Christ, who alone can forgive sins. If Christ had only dealt with his physical condition, it would have only been temporary,for eventually he would have died like all of us,and he would not gone to heaven. Fanny Crosby wrote a hymn with these words ,'Pass me not ,O gentle Saviour, hear my humble cry, heal my wounded,broken spirit,save me by your grace'.That is the healing that the walking wounded need.

OUR warrior King. ( Revelation 6 v 1-2 )

 It is remembrance  Sunday in which we remember those who fought and died in many wars,my grandfather was wounded in the first world ,my uncle was a prisoner of war in the Korean war,and my oldest brother fought in Sarawak against communist. But let us remember the greatest war that has ever taken place,and the greatest sacrifice ever made was Calvary.There was so much at stake ,mankind enslaved by sin and Satan,prisoners  ,without hope and without God,hell beckoned ,heavens doors were firmly closed.The answer ,the only answer to that situation was for Christ to come forth and do battle,with sin ,Satan,and death.There was no one else that could do it,and so our courageous Saviour went forth and won the victory,a victory that brought hope to a fallen race,a victory that brought a way back to God from the dark paths of sin,and opened a door in which all could go in.

                                          'There is a green hill far away ,outside a city wall,

                                           Where the dear Lord was crucified ,who died to save us all.

                                           We may not know, we cannot tell, what pain He had to bear,

                                            But we believe it was for us,He hung and suffered there.

                                            He died that we might be forgiven, He died to make us good,

                                            That we might go at last to heaven, saved by His precious blood.

                                            There was no other good enough to pray the price of sin,

                                            He only could unlock the gate of heaven, and let us in.

                                            O dearly, dearly has He loved,and we must love Him to,

                                            And trust in His redeeming blood,and try His works to do.'

                                                                'Words by C.F.Alexander'

Persecution ( John 15 v18 - 25 )

I receive information as regards the persecuted church,people being murdered ,one minister wrote the following\, 'In our country death has become a daily meal'.What sorrow fills those words,but it reminds us what our lovely Saviour said,'If the world hates you,keep in mind that it hated me first......I have chosen you out of the world, That is why the world hates you........ if they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.  John 15 v 18 - 19. Bruce Milne  writes of the Christians in the early church  suffering in the most appalling ways , slaughtered by the thousand,at times with a refinement of cruelty which numbs the mind. He also writes of one church leader who said,' So much popular Western evangelical  religiosity is so shallow and selfish. It promises so much and demands so little. It offers success, personal happiness,peace of mind, material prosperity; but it hardly speaks of repentance, sacrifice, self denial, holy lifestyle, and willingness to die for Christ'. BM writes ,' Following Jesus is not a game.' I will leave you with words from a poem by Amy Carmichael.

                                 'Hast thou no scars? No hidden scar on foot , or side or hand?

                                 Hast thou no wounds? Yet I  was wounded by the archers , spent,

                                 Leaned me against a tree to die; and rent by ravening beasts that

                                 compassed Me, I swooned.hast thou no wounds?

                                 No wound? no scar?  Yet as the Master shall the servant be,

                                 And pierced are the feet that follow Me;

                                 But thine are whole; can he have followed far,

                                 Who has not wound  nor scar'

                                

                                

                                  

The holiness of God.(John 1 v 29 )

It appears nigh impossible for us to fully grasp the holiness of God,because we also can't grasp the seriousness of our sin .In God's eyes all sin is repulsive, He abhors it,He hates it,He detests it.Often we  just  think  of sin on its own,but sin and  the sinner go together,you cannot have one without the other. It is not possible for any one to have a relationship with God if their sin has not been forgiven,that means heaven is shut to you,whoever you are,it makes no difference. In Romans 1 v 18,we read ,'The wrath of God is revealed against all the godlessness and wickedness of people'.This means that the wrath of God  rests on everyone whose sins have not being forgiven.(John 3 v36 )Sin and holiness can never go together,they are at odds with one another. Our attitude to God's holiness should be one of fear,as Bruce Milne points out as regards the terror of the holiness of God,even as a Christian,we should always walk in the fear of a holy God,because you are saved don't think God will overlook your sin. CP John 13 v10.God will chastise His erring Jesus.(Hebrews 12 v 7ff, and yet one will still be saved,because of the cross of Christ, If you are not saved then as I pointed out hell awaits, there is hope,for God in His mercy has provided a way for you to have a relationship with Him by having your sins forgiven through faith in Jesus Christ.