Suffering and the will of God.( 2Corinthians 4 v17-18 )2

Let us follow on  from last time and consider 1 Peter 4 v 19 which reads,'So then ,those suffer  according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful creator and continue to do good'.Consider the first part of this verse,'Suffering according to God's will', one may say,that cant be right, yes it is,God's purpose for Christ was suffering,our Saviour knew that, The hymn writer wrote ,'Every joy or trial, falleth from above',we like the first part as to the joy,but not the last part,the trials,but this is what we are being told can be the will of God for us.If we end up in prison for Christ ,we must see beyond the persecutors,to our sovereign God,and accept that it is part of His will for us.What should we do when we suffer according to God's will,we should do what our Saviour did, He glorified His Father ( John 17 v 1-5), we are to glorify God in everything,yes even in suffering.There is something else we should do,commit ourselves to our faithful creator,and continue to do good.A great example of that is seen in life of Joseph, when he ended up as a slave in Egypt,we read,'The Lord was with Joseph',(Genesis 39 v2) ,and when he was thrown into prison prison,we read,'The Lord was with Joseph',(Gen 39 v21)and he continued to do good. If we in the will of God are suffering,unjustly,we must not think He has left us,no He is a faithful creator,He is with us,and bear in mind that the suffering we may be experiencing are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us ( Romans 8 v18 )

                                                       'Every joy or trial falleth from above

                                                       Traced upon our dial, by the Sun of love

                                                        We may trust Him fully,all for us to do,

                                                        They who trust Him wholly,find Him wholly true'.

                                                                    Words Frances B. Havergal.

                                                        

 

Suffering ( John 15 v18 - 25 ) 1

In 1 Peter 4 v 18 -19 ,we read ,'if it is hard for the righteous to be saved. what will become of the ungodly and the sinner. So then, those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their Creator and continue to do good'.The church that these words were written to,were suffering  ( 4 v12 -13) So lets consider them,what these verses mean,'if it is hard for the righteous to be saved,'Edmund Clowney writes the following,' The word for hard means ' with difficulty'; it does not imply uncertainty of the outcome but the difficulty of the road that leads to it.' There is a refining process taking place in every Christians life ,through the sufferings and trials which they will experience.(1 v 6-7 / Job 23 v 10), In  4 v 12,Peter tells them,'Do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you'.Every day on Planet earth many of God's people are experiencing severe suffering,I read this recently ,'Around 45,000 believers have been killed by Islamists since 2009 in the North and middle belt of  Nigeria'.If your a Christian in many countries you suffer, and that's a fact. Our Saviour said, 'in the world you should have tribulation,' (John 16 v 33) That word for tribulation can involve a multitude of things that comes to us in life,it comes with the territory,but our dear Saviour said,'But take heart! I have overcome the world'.In Romans 8 v37 we read,'In all these things( trouble,hardships or whatever) we are more than conquerors through Him(Jesus) who loved us'.

                                                     'Through many dangers ,toils and snares

                                                      I have already come;

                                                      'Tis grace has brought me safe thus far

                                                       And grace will lead me home'.

                                                             ( Words John Newton)

Thy will be done. ( 1 John 5 v14 - 15 )

In Charles R. Swindles book .'The Mystery of Gods will  ,there are two quotations , the first one is by Arthur Ashe a former professional tennis player who died from Aids he contacted  during a blood transfusion, he was just 49,here is what he said,'' God's will alone matters, not my personal wants or needs.When I played tennis, I never prayed for victory in a  match.I will not pray to be cured''.The next one is by Henri Nouwen which reads,'In many ways ,you still want to set your own agenda. You act as if you have to choose among many things,which all seem equally important.But you have not fully surrendered yourself to God's guidance. You keep on fighting with God over who is in control.' As a  person who lost a young wife who died of cancer, I did pray that she may be healed,and so I  hoped against hope she would be, yet I received a scripture just before she died ,that indicated she would die.The disciples did not believe that Jesus was going to die,even though He told them,but He did ,because it was the will of God.It is not wrong to pray for a particular thing,as long as we bow to the fact ,in the words of our Saviour,' Thy will be done'.

                                                   'He always wins who sides with God;

                                                    To him no chance is lost;

                                                     God's will is sweetest to him

                                                    It triumphs at His cost.

                                                    I'll that He blesses is our good ,

                                                    And unblest  good is ill;

                                                    And all is right that seem most wrong,

                                                    If it be His sweet will.'  ( W B, Faber)

Flee. ( Revelation 20 v 15)

In some stores  one can read a notice which tells you,'When its gone its gone',it is referring to a sales item,if you want it, buy it now,for you wont  be able to buy it at that price anymore. I have a favourite pair of shoes they are stylish and comfortable,I wear them occasionally,for the same shoes are no longer available,yes when its gone,its gone.Now let us consider something far more serious,in Psalm 90 written by Moses,we have these words, 'So teach us to number our days,That we may apply our hearts unto wisdom',(v 12) In this Psalm it deals with' our sin,life's brevity,and God's wrath'.(Scroggie) Lets consider those three things,first sin, a word that has gone out of fashion,in a secular country were mankind's moral values  take first place,not God's.Sin is anything that is contrary to God's moral law,all unrighteousness is sinful,no matter how it is dressed up.The word of God makes it very clear what sin is, and as we will see,its has consequences.Next the brevity of life,we are told to consider how very important that is. we will all die sometime,Moses lived to 120 yet life at best is still very brief. Next let us consider God's wrath,  many do not want to consider it,but it is a fact,heaven is real, hell is real.The word of God says after death there is judgement. ( Hebrews 9 v 27) In Ps 90v11 we read ,'Who can comprehend the power of your anger? Your wrath is as awesome as the fear you deserve', Nome of us can grasp God's wrath and its fulness ,it is something we need to fear (Matthew 10v 28)The only way we can escape God's wrath is by trusting  Jesus for salvation, if we die here  without having our sins forgiven,they will not be forgiven or overlooked by a holy God,only judgement awaits the unforgiven ,of that we can be sure.Likewise if we trust Jesus  heaven awaits us

                                                     'The soul that sins shall die!

                                                      My awful doom I heard;

                                                       I was forever lost!

                                                       But for Thy gracious word,

                                                       That ; whosoever will believe

                                                        Shall everlasting life receive.'

                                                                Words  A T .Pierso

                                                         

No guarantees. ( John 11 v25 )

 A lady who is tetraplegic who broke her neck in a riding accident in 2010, writes a column in a news paper every week gives an honest record how she copes,she's very brave, and one has to admire her,and of course I pray for her,she is not a Christian ,but who knows,yes who knows.Here is part of what she wrote in her column recently.'Like most people, when I was healthy,I  happily wrapped myself in expectations. You assume you will at least live as long as your parents, that you will remain happy and active until at some great age you will slip away in your sleep,brains and joints fully intact.But there are no guarantees. ' The heading on her column reads,' Just let me get to 70,please, and l'll be ever so grateful'. Yes there are no guarantees,that she will reach 70,there are no guarantees for anyone ,our days are numbered and it's God who is doing the numbering.Psalm 31 v 15,declares,'My times are in your  hands'. It is Spurgeon who says on this,''My times are in Thy hand ''- the hand of my Saviour' .These are wonderful words ,Herbert Lockyer wrote,'How slow we are to learn that His hand holds all our times!'I often take encouragement from the words of a hymn by John Ryland, 'Plagues and deaths around me fly; Till He bids,I cannot die; Not a single shaft can hit,Till the God of love sees fit'.It is wonderful to  know that when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death we need fear no evil,for Christ will be with us whenever that will be.

The word of God. ( 2 Peter 3 v 1 -14 )

 Have you ever wondered what it is like to be a fugitive?,well if one studies the life of David you will get the idea.It all took place during the reign of king Saul Israel's first king, His reign started well but he began to act in  ways that didn't please the prophet Samuel or God.In 1Samuel 13 v 14,we read that he was going to be replaced by someone else,he was not told who that would be.So you can imagine how he felt ,he must have always been looking over his shoulder,thinking is he the one .God's replacement was to be David ( 1 Samuel 16)When David came on the scene he became a super star,and it came to a head when his fan club started to sing,with words that pierced Saul's heart Cp  1Samuel 18 v7. Saul has slain his thousands,  and David his tens of thousands'.Immediately Saul became angry and suspicious that this young man David was going to replace him, and he was right,and so began the reason that David became a fugitive .Saul was not going to give up his throne,from that moment on he sought to kill him David.He never would succeed although he would try time and time again to do so ,God's word would be fulfilled,David would become king,Gods word will always be fulfilled,nothing can stop the purposes of God. Before our Saviour died and rose again,and ascended to heaven,He declared to His disciples,'I will come back and take you to be with me'.(John 14 v 3),we do not know when,but it will happen, let us live in light of that great and wonderful event.

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

                                               With joy we welcome His returning,

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

                                                We know He's coming soon.'

                                                     Words  Thoro Harris.

Don't run away. ( Psalm 50 v 15 )

 Scroggie calls, Psalm 55'An Ode of the Oppressed' it is a Psalm by David, who is in dire straits, so David did what he often did, turned to prayer. It was a desperate prayer for a desperate situation and it is in those situations the prayerless pray, there is some  truth in the saying,'There are no atheists in  foxholes'. But David wasn't an atheists he was a man of God and a man of prayer,well how does he feel in  this desperate situation?.After all he was a mighty warrior, a man after God's heart, we have a very honest record as to how he felt.Here are some of the words that describe how he felt, 'troubled ,distraught,anger,anguish ,horror,trembling'.In light of that, he says,'Oh ,that I  had wings of a dove, I would fly away and be at rest',and more words to that effect.Let us take our eyes of even godly people,and let us be honest  there are times that we are overwhelmed by the problems we face,and we just cry like David,I want to be out of this,I need a rest I can't bear it no more.But then David  changed his focus, and bringing  to his God all those who were causing him such pain. Yes it may seem easy to flee,but as Scroggie says,'it is rarely noble'.So he stands his ground,an example to all of us,to not give up the fight,and tells us to do this very important thing,'Cast our cares on the Lord,and He will sustain us; He will never let the the righteous be shaken'v 22. He ends the Psalm with these profound words,' But as for me,I trust in You'.

                                                       'What a friend we have in Jesus,

                                                       All our sins and griefs to bear;

                                                        What a privilege to carry .

                                                         Everything to God in prayer.'

                                                               Words Joseph Scriven.

Simple Faith. ( Galatians 2 v 11-21)

 I wish I could say that my blog is perfect,but I know its not,as much as I try it never will be,in my time I have played two instruments a trombone and a guitar,not at the same time of course ( I joke) I was far from perfect,in fact I was very imperfect.In football one could  say of a certain player,he is a perfect player, yet he won't always give a perfect pass,and make the perfect tackle. It must be very frustrating for a person who is obsessed with being a perfectionist , There are 10 commandments is it possible to perfectly keep those commandments?, the answer is no,it is impossible, because it is not just keeping the letter of law, we must keep the spirit  of the Law,and that is impossible.(Matthew 5 v 21 -22 / 27 - 28). The rule for being perfect is what God requires, it must be up to His standard,not ours,we call our moral imperfections just being human, God calls them sin.and sin has very serious consequences,in fact someone has said it has double consequences ,'Temporal and eternal punishment.  It is Beasley -Murray who writes the following,' It is quite clear from the Word of God that those who die in their sins do not pass into nothingness and forgetfulness. There is time beyond death,time for the dammed as well. And it is because there is such a thing as time beyond that hell is so terrible'. Let me just add, the law was not given to save us,for by no deeds of the can one be justified,No our failure to keep it should turn to the only way we can  be justified, by simple faith in Christ.( Galatians 2 v 16)

                                                   'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ

                                                    and you  shall be saved.'

                                                             Acts 16 v 31

The Cross (1 Corinthians 1 v 18)

 In Galatians 6 v14,the apostle Paul declares,'May I never boast except in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ'.He did not always think like that, there was a time when he hated the cross and the Christ who died on it.He writes about it in Philippians 3 v 4-6,in his nations eyes and I suppose in his own eyes,he was a man of standing,he had it made.Keeping the law was everything,being a Israelite was everything,and he literally hated any other way, and he showed that hatred by persecuting Christians ,the followers  of the  crucified Messiah. Until one day as he was on the road to Damascus going  to persecute Christians, an amazing thing happened , suddenly a light from heaven flashed around Him, he fell to the ground,and he heard a voice say to him to Him ,'Saul,Saul, why do you persecute me? .He then asked a question ,'Who are you Lord?and he received this answer ,' I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting'.Now all things were changed,from Saul the persecutor,to Paul  the proclaimer of Jesus,from one who sought to save Himself,to the only one who could save Him,the Christ who died on the cross, that which he despised he now gloried in it, till his dying day.

                                                    Without the cross there is no hope,

                                                     Without the cross there can be no heaven,

                                                    Without the cross we are lost,

                                                     With the cross there is hope,

                                                     With the cross there can be a heaven,

                                                     With the cross we can be saved

                                                            ' 

Emotions ( John 15 v 12 )

The Pastor of our church in one of his messages spoke about the importance of being authentic, meaning not false or copied.It is hard to be authentic ,in other to be ones self,there was a famous preacher in Northern Ireland ,he had one of the largest Bible classes in the country,his name was Willie Mullen,there were many when preaching mainly young, tried to imitate him,so it was said there were a lot of Willie Mullens running about.When I am preaching I try just to be myself,recently while leading the church in prayer I was very emotional,for I prayed for a couple in the church whose son had died,but by God's grace I got through the prayer.We cannot always keep our emotions bottled up, nor should we,our Saviour wept outside the  tomb of a man called  Lazarus who had died.(John 11 v 35) The word of God says we are to weep with those who weep(Romans 12 v15),and even weep for those who weep, after all our fellow Christians are our family,the hymn writer puts it like this.

                                                      'We share our mutual woes;

                                                       Our mutual burdens bear; ( Words John Fawcett)

Sorrow is a heavy burden to bear,tears flow,words are so inadequate,so let us bear each others burdens even the burden of sorrow and in so doing we are fulfilling the law of Christ,showing love. (Galatians 6 v 2)

                                                      

                                                

No Exemption.( Romans 8 v 18 )

 Recently I received two leaflets through my letter box,one was a gospel tract,I was delighted with that,someone  was seeking to reach people for Christ,praise God.In my time I have given out gospel tracts,we don't appear to be doing that now,still there are many ways of witnessing.Then I read the other leaflet,it was a brief introduction to a church,times of services, address were the church building was.It was called ,'Winners Chapel International',very impressive,it spoke of coming to Christ and finding rest,but then it went on tell us something that really disturbed me, hear is what I read,'Christ desires for you to live a life exempted from sickness and lack and every form of hardship,he desires to take those burdens away'.My goodness I was really upset when I read that, because the word of God  does not promise that whiter it is in the OT or NT.When man sinned death entered in Genesis 2 v 17.and so we all die and let me tell you the process of dying can be pretty awful,whiter you are a Christian or a non-Christian ,none of us are exempt from that or from the sorrow of bereavement.As regards suffering Paul suffered 2 Cor 12,and no amount of prayer could change that,and at the very beginning of his Christian life he was told that he would suffer Acts 9 v 16, and he ended his days by having his head cut off. The greatest of the prophets John the Baptist suffered the same fate.In Philippians 1 v 29 ,the Christians are told, that is was given to then not only to believe on Christ,' but also to suffer for Him.'No exemption there,.Every day I pray for dear children of God  who  are being persecuted,facing hardships that are dreadful. It is said, it is the way of the cross that leads home.and rightly so.

Faith (Hebrews 11 v 6 )

Some days stick in our mind ,likes ones wedding day,graduation day,and Valentine's day,I mention Valentine's day for it takes me back to the time many years ago,when something very important happened.It was the day I passed my driving test, I say that because of what led up to that moment .My then wife and I were living by faith,we had very money,and that time we had three children.I couldn't drive, the means of transport was my bike.We had a little bit of money to spare,not a lot,my wife Eileen suggested that I learned to drive,and so I booked 10 lessons each lasting an hour. when the lessons were coming to an end ,I put in for my test,cause we could not have afforded any more lessons.I told my instructor what I had done,his reply indicated  what I knew myself,I was not really up to it,he suggested that I shouldn't take it,and one could get out of it by sending a sick line,but I declined.When I went to do my test I was very anxious,and as I was taking the test my legs were actually shaking.Yet the examiner spoke to me and encouraged me,and lo and behold I passed. Much prayer had gone into this event ,my wife and children had been praying during  the test, and I had been praying also. Looking back I see how important it was for me and my family to pass that test,in so many ways. It  was for me a step of faith , yes I was anxious and my legs were shaking,but I still went forth in faith and I believed God honoured that.

                                                     'God honours Faith, not feelings.'

Not knowing our way. ( Hebrews 11 v 8 )

I remember well the evening I graduated from Bible college,I had just completed three years,it was  quite an achievement to get through my time at college.I did not do so well at school so I had no qualifications,but God helped me. My wife and I had to depend on God to meet our needs,that was challenging, but God was faithful .My then wife had also attended a one year course at another Bible college. Although we had applied to a missionary society they didn't accept us, so we were in a position of not knowing where we were going. But I do remember what the speaker ,spoke on ,it was from Acts and the arrest of Paul in Jerusalem ch 21  which tells of him being rescued by the Roman soldiers and being taken into custody,and so started a time of testing when the Jews tried to have him put to death. It was during this time God spoke to Paul telling him that he would testify in Rome ( 23 v 11),this did not happen immediately,( Acts 24 v 27)All the time the Jews were trying to have him executed but God preserved him,Paul as a Roman citizen appealed to be tried before Caesar( and this was granted .Eventually he set of for Rome under guard,during the journey they experienced a terrible storm,and the ship sank.but God preserved everyone on board.It is  in Chap 28 v14,we read ,'And so we came to Rome'. My wife an I didn't know were God would lead us,but we had obeyed the call of God eventually God called me to be minister in England and as we sailed toward England God spoke to me,He said,'Behold , I send an Angel  before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared'. (Exodus 23 v20) and so it came to pass ,the journey had been difficult and testing but like Paul we reached our destination.

                                               'God's will we obey not knowing our way'

A Cert. ( Psalm 119 v 42 )

 There are those who gamble and they put their money on a horse that appears to be  a cert to win.and it doesn't win, I remember years ago Cassius Clay who later became known as Muhammed Ali, was going to fight the boxer Sonny Liston known as the ,'Big Bear', his record was very daunting,of his last 35 fights he  had won 24 by a knock out,but to every one''s surprise Cassius won.The point I want to make is this, there is no  guarantee in life , that the so called cert will win.No, life on planet earth can be very uncertain  but as a Christian we have a hope that is sure and certain,that nothing and no one can destroy. Consider  the words that Jesus spoke to His disciples,and indeed to everyone who puts their faith in Him, 'My sheep hear my voice, and I know them,and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them,and they shall never perish', and no one shall snatch them,out of  My hand. My Father who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and mt father are one'.  (John 10 v 27 - 30).There is something that our great triune God can't do,indeed it is impossible for Him to do, 'to lie',what He promises to do is certain to be fulfilled. (Hebrews 6 v 18/ Titus 1 v 2/ Numbers 23 v19)

                                                                    'Trust Him' 

       

Hypocrisy. ( Matthew 23)

 There is a saying  that goes,'Do what I say, don't do what I do',  I had an uncle who visited one of his sons in hospital,and he told him off for doing things that caused his stay in hospital.I loved my uncle,but his son said his dad was guilty of the same things that he was accusing him off.I knew a person  who had a friend who had a gambling problem. He told me  about his friend and how wrong it was , yet later on  I discovered he had a serious gambling  problem. In Matthew 23 ,our Saviour  warned the people against hypocrisy,He was speaking of the religious leaders of  His day, He summed it up by saying,'They do not practice what they preach'( v 3 )During the Covid  outbreak a certain politician would come on the television,and told us what we shouldn't  do,it turned out later we discovered that he didn't practice what he told us. Hypocrisy wherever one finds it is wrong, be it in the pulpit or politics ,or in the everyday  person in the street. As Christians may our lives correspond with our words, and deeds,with what it means to be a Christian.

                                                     ' Let us practice what we preach'

He shall choose.( Acts 16 v 6 -10 )

There are three verses that have been very helpful to me  Psalm 47 v 4,'/ 75 v 6-7. the first one reads,'He shall choose our inheritance for us.The second  reads,'For promotion cometh neither from the east,nor from the west,nor from the south.But God is the judge; He putteth down one, and setteth up another'. These verses tell us a wonderful truth that our sovereign God rules over all the affairs of our lives.I want to transfer you back in time to the mighty powerful nation of Babylon,and a mighty King called Nebuchadnezzar he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon.This is what he said,' Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence,by my mighty power and the glory of my majesty?'.Immediately a voice from heaven spoke challenging what he said ,he would be smitten with insanity live in the fields like an animal until he would acknowledge that God ruled over all and it was Him who promotes and demotes whom He will.(Daniel 4 v 28ff.Yes on the grand scheme of things, kings ,Presidents,and all those in power are raised up ,promoted by a Sovereign God.And what applies to them applies to all of us, I wanted to be a missionary a noble aspiration, but mission after mission turned my wife and I down,sometimes without even given us an interview.It was a very great disappointment,but it was not God's will,but eventually God promoted me to be a minister.Fret not if doors shut,the way is closed to you, our times our in His hands,whither it is promotion or demotion, as for God His way is perfect ,trust Him.

Be Still. ( Psalm 46))

 Scroggie  points out that,'Psalm 46 is a Psalm for every time of trouble',it commences with these wonderful words,' God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble',then he goes unto elaborate,'Therefore we will not fear,if the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,though the mountains tremble at its swelling'.Michael Wilcock comments 'Fears  increase; yesterday it was the nuclear winter, today it is global warming, tomorrow it will be some  newly discovered threat from our unquiet earth.Does faith increase to cope with them?'. It is thought that the Psalm was written at the time of King Hezekiah,when the Assyrian army  were besieging Jerusalem they had a vast army,but God intervened and delivered the city and the land.(Isaiah 36-37)so many times God delivered His people from powerful armies and nations,He has not changed, He is the God who rules, He makes wars to cease to the ends of the earth,v 9.And so God declares,'Be still and know that I am God', ( v 10)  In many places the Church is under attack,God will preserve His church rest assured of that.In our own personal lives there are many things that can threaten us and cause us to fear,hear those words again, 'Be still and know that I am God'.

                                                'Be still  my soul,thy God doth undertake

                                                 To guide the future as He has the past,

                                                 Thy hope ,thy confidence, let nothing shake;

                                                 All now mysterious shall be bright at last.

                                                 Be still, my soul, the waves and wind still know

                                                 His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below'

                                                                     Words K A.D. Von Schlegel

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Overwhelming thing.( Psalm 61 v 2 )

 I read the following in one of my daily readings,'Irish missionary Amy Carmichael knew what it was to live through life's storms; poverty,illness,chronic pain,persecution. Having weathered so many hardships with God's help,she reflected,''God is God of the waves and the billows,but they are still His when they  come over us;again and again we have proved that the overwhelming thing does not overwhelm''.Let me say there is no prosperity gospel in that account, but there is an honest account of the real life that can easily overwhelm us,if we let it.We all have a choice ,we can give up,we can turn away from God.we can give up in despair,we can turn back,or we can turn to God,it is our choice. It is like standing at a cross roads,not knowing what to do?.George Stiffler wrote the following.

                                          'Is your life full of heart-aches and sadness?

                                           Are your dreams all shattered and torn?

                                           There is one who through mercy and suffering

                                           For you every sorrow has borne

                                            Do the threads of your life seem so tangled

                                           That you wish you had never been born?

                                           There is one who is willing to help you

                                            He knows every sorrow you've borne.

He's the healer of broken hearts,He'll mend your shattered dreams,He'll pick up the threads of a broken

life,and weave them together again,To your soul He'll bring peace and joy,a friend in life He'll be The

healer of broken hearts,is Jesus of Galilee'.      ( Words Ceorgia Stiffler)

                                            

I was a shoplifter. ( Romans 3 v 23)

 I was coming out of a local supermarket when I heard someone shouting,I looked to see who it was,as I looked a young man was running towards me with a security person running after him. The security person gave up the chase, and the young man run off. I can only assume that the young man was a shoplifter,a lot of it goes on,sad to say.But it brought back a memory of myself that when I was a very young  boy, I attempted to steal something but was caught. As I said I was a very young boy,yet I knew that what  I was doing wrong,it bears out this fact, that our fallen nature can manifest itself at a very early age. It was David who declared,' Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me' ( Psalm 51 v3 ) Likewise in Psalm 25 v 7 he prayed,'Do not remember the sins of my youth,and my rebellious ways'.People speak of mankind's inherent goodness,the word of God teaches mankind's sinful nature. When  Adam sinned his nature changed, before he was sinless, but it also changed for all humanity (Romans 5 v12),for that sinful nature is passed on to every new born child. But God had a plan a new Adam would come in the person of Jesus,and through His death on the cross , all who trusted Him to be their Saviour  would be forgiven all their sins and they would receive a new nature and would be able to live a new life,an eternal life.( John 11 v 25 ) 

                                                  'Christ is the only hope for you and for me' 

But God promised. ( Hebrews 6 v18 )

 Daniel Defoe was born 1660, died 1731,he is remembered as the author of ,'Robinson Crusoe', he was a wealthy person,one of his activities was being a spy. He lived in London,and lived during the great plague in1665,when this happened there was absolute panic,with hoards of people fleeing London. Daniel was faced with a dilemma, he had servants to consider and all his business interest.His brother with his family were leaving the city,but Daniel remained uncertain. There were many  gullible people being taken advantage of by an army of astrologers,charlatans and quack doctors offering false promises of hope,Daniel was a Christian and prayed the following prayer, 'Well ,I know not what to do; Lord, direct me', He had his Bible with him,and he kept turning over the pages, he stopped at Psalm 91,and began reading it ,here is just one of the verses he read .'v3,'Surely He will deliver you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence'. On the bases of what he read he decided to stay,even though his brother was not sure, but as God promised, Daniel lived though that great plague.(  I would encourage you to read that Psalm)

                                               'When God gives us assurance through His 

                                                word ,He will keep it,rest assured of that.

The Cross. ( Luke 23 v 32 -49 )

                                                           Romans 5 v 8

         ,                         God demonstrates His own love for us in this;

                                    while we were still sinners,Christ died for us.

One of the Puritans wrote,'Lead me to the cross , and show me His wounds,the hateful nature of evil, the power of Satan.May I see there my sins as the nails transfixed Him. The cords that bound Him,the thorns that tore Him. Help me to find in His death the reality and immensity of His great love'.

                                         ' I sometimes think about the cross,

                                          and shut my eyes and try to see

                                          the cruel nails and crown of thorns,

                                           and Jesus crucified for me.

                                           But even could I see Him die,

                                           I could but see a little part

                                           of that great love, which ,like a fire,

                                           is always burning in His heart.'  Words W.W.How.

Two different aspects of looking on the cross,many see a cross, or a crucifix, and it means nothing to them.it is only when one comes to the foot of the cross,as a sinner, we declare in the words of Isaac Watts,'Love so amazing so divine ,demands my soul ,my life, my all.'

                                    

                       

And you shall receive power.(Acts 1 v 8)

 As I write  this I hear the wind blowing outside, John 3 v 8 .reads,'The wind blows wherever it pleases,you hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit'.Bruce Milne writing as regards the wind says,'While today we have better knowledge of its origin and nature,we have no better mastery of its direction. Essentially therefore  the new birth is from God,it is supernatural beyond human control or exhaustive human knowledge.'   One speaks of  being born again of the Spirit of God (John 3 v6) Great preaching cannot save anybody, no it is the power of the holy Spirit that makes it happen. It is that same power that changes and transforms lives,Corinth was a place of  great immorality,but the gospel was proclaimed in that place the result was God moved by His Spirit in that evil place and lives where changed.The apostle Paul and others ministered in that place many got saved.Later Paul wrote to the church and he pointed to those  who inherit the  kingdom of God,he goes unto say,'Do not be deceived; neither the sexually immoral  nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanders nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God'.so we stop there? no, for he goes unto to write,'And that is what some of you were.'  now, they were changed, how?, by the Holy Spirit working in their lives and bringing them to Christ.( 1 Corinthians 6 v 9 - 11 )

                                                                   A prayer

                           Dear Holy Spirit,as we witness to people convict them of sin and of their 

                           need of Jesus, in His name we ask this Amen.

Noise. ( Mark 6 v 31 -32 )

We live in a very noisy world,it is hard to escape it,airplanes flying overhead ,traffic outside ,and you may be unfortunate to have noisy neighbours. And sometimes Christian fellowships can be very,very noisy,a number of years we gave permission to a group of Christians to use of our Church premises, when we were not using it.It was not a very large building,but they brought in loud speakers and musical instruments,to say they were noisy was an understatement,the neighbours complained,it was really bad,and in the end we had to ask them to leave.I sometimes think that in some churches the voice of God is drowned out.I love singing hymns and spiritual songs,but they don't all have to be  overwhelming loud.We all know the term,' quite time,' when we get away from hustle and bustle,to meet with God,how we need that,it may be difficult, even costly,but it is important.Then in our quite time we may just hear that still small voice of almighty God.

                                   '  O God, '     Drop Thy still dews of  quietness

                                                        Till all our strivings cease 

                                                        Take from our souls the strain and stress,

                                                         And let our ordered lives confess

                                                         The beauty of Thy peace.

                                                         Breathe through the heat of our desire

                                                         Thy coolness and Thy balm;

                                                         Speak through the earthquake, wind and fire,

                                                         O still small voice of calm.

                                                              Words John Greenleaf Whitter.

                                                                   

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He never give up. ( Hebrews 12 v 1 - 3 )

Although Jesus endured much in His life and in his death He never give up,it is in the Old Testament we  see clearly the agony of His suffering.Those who put Him to death meant business, in their blind hatred they never give up. Evil in this world is persistent,the cruel leaders hold on like grim death to power,not caring for the pain and hurt they are causing.Many abusers never give up,moving from one victim to another,and if they are not caught they will just keep abusing. The devil who knows his time is running out will continue in all his wicked ways,destroying  humanity, delighting in all his evilness.But in eternity God saw it all,saw the wickedness, perpetrated by fallen humanity.and the blessed triune God  devised a plan that He would rescue sinners,and he would destroy Satan's power (1 John 3 v 8 ) .So Christ came leaving the glories of heaven and entering the place we call earth,  a fallen world. He who was rich became poor,He who was sinless would bear  the penalty for our sins so that we could be forgiven,that was His task,facing  humanly speaking was insurmountable,and He never gave up,He kept right on  going, until on that cross He cried out ,'it is finished'. And so ushered in the fulfillment of God's redemptive plan,so that all who call on the name of the Lord would be saved. There is an old  saying it goes like this,'The perseverance of the saints',perseverance means to be persistent in spite of the difficulties that one may face,it means not giving up but pressing on by God's grace, it means no turning back

                                                'It matters not how the battle goes,

                                                         The day how long;

                                                         Faint not! Fight on!

                                                   Tomorrow comes the song'

Safe hands (Psalm31 )

 In Psalm 31 v 15 ,we read ,'My times are in your hands', again it is David ,' who is experiencing a  hard time,feeling under threat,he uses the following words to express the seriousness of what he was going through,'affliction,anguish,distress,sorrow, grief,groaning ,weak, lastly alarm'.What would you do or what  would I do,if we were in Davids place?.Everyday day I pray for people who are under threat for their faith,many people are in prison,serving long sentences.Of course life being what it is means we all will experience different trials,they come in different levels of severity, but they will come.It is William .Plumer, commenting on v 15 writes,' The whole of life,with all that threatens it,with all that continues it, is in the hand of the wise, good, powerful, perfect ruler of all things'.Our times are in His hands,Someone said the following,All my life's why's and when's and where's and wherefore's are in God'hands'.Henry F. Lyte wrote the following.

                                           'My times are in Thy hand; My God I wish them there;

                                             My life, my friends, my soul I leave Entirely to Thy care.

                                            My times are in  Thy hand,Whatever they may be;

                                            Pleasing or painful,dark or bright,as best may seem to Thee.

                                            My times are in Thy hand,Why should I doubt or fear?

                                            A Father's hand will never cause His child a needless tear.

                                            My times are in Thy hand,Jesus the crucified;

                                            Thy hand my cruel sins have pierced,is now my guard and guide.'

How far should love go? ( Philippians 2 v 5-11)

 How far should love go? very challenging question, I am convinced that many of us, have a great deal to learn what that means.What limits did our blessed Saviour put on love?, I believed that He had a heart of love for everyone,yet he died on the cross.Which reminds us that there is often a price involved in loving  people, that is the challenge,are we prepared to accept that challenge?.Martin Luther king Jr,said,'We love men not because we like them,not because their ways appeal to us,nor even because they possess some kind of divine spark. We love every man because God loves them..' Humanity can often manifest a depravity that is worse than wild beasts,and often it is dressed in religious garb.We would not be short in showing many examples of this,the crucifixion of Jesus is the greatest example.Every human being manifests a degree of their fallen nature,there are no perfect people,  no one cannot escape the  coming judgement of God the righteous judge.Yet , while they still live ,the love of God continually reaches out to them ,till their dying breath  ,that's how far the love of God goes.So it is, we must not give up on people,yes even the worst of people, that's how far love should go. Ivan Karamazov said that,'In every man ... a demon lies hidden,'.Or one could say that in every man  their is a Jekyll and Hyde.But here is the positive ,Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners, 

Onward . ( 2 Timothy 4 v 7-8)

 Becoming a Christian is by faith and faith alone,in the Lord Jesus,when we exercise that faith we are forgiven,and become a child of God  ( John 1 v12 ). Let me now say that being a Christian is the one of the biggest challenges one will ever have to face.Before we became a Christian we did it our way,and we were to some extent influenced or even controlled by the devil.We had a nature that was opposed to God and his ways,no matter how nice we appeared, we had a heart that was deceitful and desperately wicked (Jer 17 v9).But now we have been forgiven and set free,not freedom to do as we like ,for that is going back to our old ways the broad way that leads to Hell,when we travel on the narrow way,that road is difficult (Mt 7v13-1) .Although it is called the narrow way that simply means we are closed into God's  way of  freedom,joy,peace,love,hope ,and our final destination is Heaven,and all the wonder, of what that means. .On that narrow road we are called to walk in newness of life,and all that means,but what about when we fail?. Of course we will fail but we must still press on. Let's illustrate ,when I drive my car I try to stay within the speed limit,but I don't always achieve that,but I keep trying. So it is on our walk with Christ there will be times when we will fail,but we must press on and not give up,and by God's grace we will succeed.

                                                     'Onward  then to glory move

                                                     More than conquerors  ye shall prove;

                                                     Though oppressed by many a foe.

                                                     Christian soldiers, onward go'

                                                      Words H.White/F.S. Colquhoun.

Troubles.( 2 Corinthians 1 v 8 - 11)

 Scroggie writing on that wonderful 31st Psalm says ,'The psalmist's spirit rises and falls', he experiences,hope and fear ,gloom and glory..It is a Psalm written by David,if one reads the life of  David ,we have a man, who led a very challenging life,consider all he faced during his time.While minding his fathers sheep he fought a bear and a lion,then he fought a giant,then the Philistines,then King Saul tried to kill him,later on his own son tried to kill him.So one could go on, yes a very challenging life.So one can understand the emotions he must have experienced. How would any of us feel if we had to face what David faced?,how did he get through all these things  v14 tells us,'But I trust in you,Lord; I say, 'You are my God',yes God was his hiding place,shield,his protector,his strength,his everything..Scroggie writes the following,'Trials and troubles are not to keep us at a distance from God, but are designed to bring us near and keep us near',

                                                   'Wherefore ,in never- ceasing prayer,

                                                     My soul  to Thy continual care

                                                     I faithfully commend;

                                                     Assured that Thou through life shalt

                                                     save

                                                    And show Thyself beyond the grave

                                                    My everlasting Friend.' 

                                                         Words Charles Wesley. 

                                                    

  

Don't give up. ( Matthew 13 v 3 - 23 )

 In Matthew 13 our Saviour told a parable about a farmer sowing seed,in those days they did it by hand, being an agricultural country most people would be acquainted with what Jesus was saying. What was He saying?the answer was very simple . It relates to those who hear the word of God,and how they react to it,the seed sown falls on 4 different types of ground , only one of  the four mentioned respond in a positive way. The parable has much to teach all those who proclaim the word of God,especially in proclaiming the gospel.Take the seed that fell on the pathway,  Barnes says ,'The gospel is preached to men hardened in sin,it makes no impression,it is easy taken away ,and it never takes root. Then you have the seed fallen on stony ground,this is people who show a degree of enthusiasm ,but its not lasting,for when trouble comes or persecution they fall away,they were not in it for the long haul,they were only rice Christians,they didn't sign up for the hard and difficult times. Next we have the seed that that falls among the thorns.They represent those who give up ,there is always reasons to give up, in their case the cares of life,and the lure of riches.Last but not least the seed that fell on good ground,they are those who are the true followers of Christ.  I hope you will be numbered with them,and as we witness let us remember,as one writer puts it,'It is our task to sow the seed,and, without discouragement ,to leave the rest with God'.