Persecuted Christians. ( Hebrews 13 v 3 )

 Religious  persecution is not a new thing,why are people persecuted?,there are many reasons,one of them being,the belief that Christ is the only way to God.There are vast numbers of people who worship other god's.and Christians seek to evangelise them , and if  they leave their religion,they see their religion under attack.And when people in their family turn to Christ ,they are not very pleased,in fact they are very angry.,to the point to that even want to kill their children. Another reason is that many countries identify their religion with there country,and so to challenge to their religion , is seen as an attack on their country. Christians are being persecuted,and it can become relentless .So today let us all pray for our brothers and sisters who are suffering for Christ,a Pastor Avedian and wife who are serving long prison  sentences in Iran,there are also 120,000 Armenian Christians who have had to flee the land they lived in. Around 45,000 believers have been killed by Islamists since 2009 ,mainly in the North and Middle Belt of Nigeria.These are just some examples of suffering Christians, I an not advocating revolution, that's the last thing we want,no I am asking you to pray for them, to intercede for them,support those organisations that support our persecuted family.Our Saviour said to the early disciples,'I am sending you out like lambs among wolves'.(Luke 10 v3 )in some ways nothing has changed,Jesus told it as it was and how it would be . He said ,'In the world you will have tribulation', but then He adds.'but be of good cheer,I have overcome the world'.  (John 16 v 33)

The Messiah. (Isaiah 53 )

 1Corinthians 1 v 23 reads,'But we preach Christ crucified; a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles '. The Jews as most of us know believed in a coming Messiah,an anointed one who would set up an earthly kingdom,and would bring in a glorious era of peace,it is all featured around the Jews,he  would be a conqueror a liberator. There were many who claimed to be the Messiah at the time of Jesus but they were nationalistic .The Jews saw Jesus as the most damaging of the false Messiahs , a crucified Messiah was seen as ludicrous. The word Christ means anointed one,when Jesus read  from Isaiah 61 v1ff in His home towns synagogue ,the words ,'The Spirit of  the Lord is on me,because He has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor',He was claiming to be the Messiah.But he would not be the kind of Messiah the Jews thought or wanted,for it was not to set up an earthly kingdom,a Messiah not with sword but with the cross.John Stott writes ,The Romans regarded  crucifixion with horror ,so did the Jews ,though for a different reason'.They made no distinction between a tree and a cross, and so between a hanging or crucifixion, a person came under a curse  (Deut21v 23 ) The Jews could not bring themselves  to believe that God's Messiah would die under a curse,strung up on a tree'. None of it made sense to the Jews,for the Messiah they wanted  had nothing do with salvation,nothing to do with sin, The Christian glories in the cross because on that cross mankind's greatest need would be met,and our greatest  need is to have our sins forgiven,only through Christ and Christ alone ,can this happen.

                                                      'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ

                                                       and you shall be saved'.

                                                               Acts 16 v31.

The Psalms ( Ephesians 5 v 19)

 I love the Psalms, I wonder how you would describe them?,I see them,' as the heart beat of man connecting with the heartbeat of God'. Often it is a man crying in desperation,to the only one who can help ,God, and how He responds,by delivering,comforting,and reassurance. Often the Psalmist is in a place where there is no one to help him ,and so he cries unto one who says ,'call upon me in the time of trouble and I will deliver you'. God is faithful and will come to aid his children.He lifts his gaze toward Him who cannot fail,will not fail,the one who never fails. He looks up and sees Gods handy work and His glory  the one who made all things(Ps 121),as he speaks of the heavens declaring that glory.A voice that can be heard every day.so we could go on and on,And in those wonderful Psalms we have Christ in so many ways proclaimed and especially His death and resurrection.I leave you with by far the best  known Psalm, don't let familiarity rob you of the  preciousness of it .

                                                               Psalm 23

                                    The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want

                                    He makes me to lie down un green pastures;

                                    He leads me beside the still waters,He restores my soul,

                                    He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name sake.

                                    Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

                                    I will fear no evil; for You are with me;

                                    Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

                                   You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

                                    You anoint my head with oil;My cup runs over,

                                    Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life;

                                    And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.

                                    

                                     

                                            

Amazing.( Romans 11 v33-36 )

 I am just home from visiting a dear friend, who is older than me by 10years,we talked about different things, before I leave him I usually read the word of God and pray.Today I read from Romans 8,there are tremendous truths within that chapter,let me highlight some of them. .It begins by telling us.'Therefore ,there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus',the 'therefore points them back  to the truths he has covered ,in other words in the light what they have read ,something has happened that brought them into a position of forgiveness, freedom,and peace with God , that means they have been accepted by God through faith in Jesus.It's truly amazing what God  has accomplished  through the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.  And its amazing that he brought a man called  Saul,who became Paul ,into His kingdom, who became the greatest of the apostles, a man of untiring zeal in his missionary activities activities, God would use him to bring  countless numbers into the kingdom.  .A man who wrote those wonderful epistles ,explaining the wonders of the gospel ,God used him revealing to him ,the scope of the gospel that it was for all,for all are sinners,and all need a Saviour, the Jew could no longer be considered an elites group,they were sinners like everyone else,what Paul desired for the Jews was that they might be saved,for they were  on a par with the gentiles and they all needed to be born again .The middle wall of partition had been broken down,now the gentiles were fellow citizens with God's people,No longer Jew or gentile,slave or free,male or female,we are all one in Christ Jesus,that means we are Abraham's  seed  and  heirs according to the promise. When you consider the wonders of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ,it takes ones breath away.                                                                                                                                                          

Be an example ( 1 Timothy 4 v12 )

 I looked down at the floor in my living room, and I noticed something very,very small, it turned out to be  a very ,very small spider ,it was minute.So small ,so insignificant.The thought struck me,God created it, why? I don't know,he didn't consult me.On the serious side , God's creation  is awe inspiring, in Zechariah 4 v 10 we read,'Who dares to despise the day of small things',When I was born ,a neighbour cried when she saw how small I was,one day a father saw his friend smiling at his new born baby , and he asked him ,what he was smiling at,his friend answered,'the child is so little', The father replied,''he's little- but he will grow''.Someone has said,'In every child there are infinite possibilities for good and ill'.Remember if you are a parent,a Sunday school teacher,or whatever,remember your influence,your input can make a great difference,to that child ,you have  contact with.As Christians we can influence them for Christ by our example,a young child spoke to a missionary ,and asked him',are you Jesus?.' Let us remember that our dear Saviour ,not only influenced people by what He said,He also influenced people by His example,and I am sure the mothers and the children would always remember the famous Rabbi who unlike the disciples who showed a bad example and how He took the children in His arms and blessed them.(Mark 13 -16 )

Without God ( Psalm 124)

Thomas A Kempis wrote,'There is no holiness,if you withdraw your hand .  No wisdom is of any use,if you no longer guide it. No strength can avail if you do not preserve it. No purity is safe if you do not protect it, No watchfulness on our part can affect anything unless your holy vigilance is present with us.If you abandon us ,we sink and perish;but if you come to us we are raised up and we live'. Consider the three tenses,'Past,Present,and Future'.Lets consider the past when we knew not Christ as our Saviour, it took  the grace of God to open our minds eyes to the fact that there was nothing we can do to save ourselves,yes absolutely nothing.The word of God tells us ,'For it is by grace you have been saved,through faith- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works,so no one can boast.  (Ephesians 2 v8- 9). Now the present,our dependence on God has not ceased,for our Saviour tells us that without Him we can do nothing (John 15 v 5)We are not to be independent builders as Psalm 127  tells us, 'Unless the Lord builds the house,the builders labour in vain'. Next the future,it can be a bit frightening and overwhelming, all will be well as long we rely upon the  Lord,and we discover that He will bring us through to our desired destination.,heaven and home.

He made no reply. ( 1 Peter 2 v23)

Sometimes I get angry  ,especially if anyone hurts someone  I love,I remember years ago when a neighbour acted unkindly to one of our children  ,and my then wife became angry with her.That was it, no that Sunday as a family we went to go to church, there she was waiting and called us all sorts of things thankfully we didn't respond,we just went on our way.I know that was the best way ,it would be easy to retaliate, word for word.I have done it sometimes but it doesn't help. Spurgeon wrote the following,'Calm assurance answers some questions infinitely more conclusively than the loftiest eloquence.. The best apologists for Christianity in the early days were  its martyrs,The anvil breaks  a host of hammers by quietly bearing the blow'. It is Isaiah  writing prophetically of our Saviours suffering wrote,'He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth,it says the same words again (53 v7)What an awesome example he left us,when we are unfairly treated,or when we are being persecuted, it  is contrary to the natural man,Our Saviour said ,'Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth'.(Matthew 5 v 5), and so they will.

Unique ( Psalm 139v 13 - 18 )

Stop comparing yourself to others,you are unique ,when God made you ,yes you,He broke the mould, as one has said ,'God crafted you to be one of a kind,and of all the billions of people alive right now on planet earth, no one is just like you'. I have just heard that one of my granddaughters has had a baby boy,10lbs 3 oz, he is unique. Identical twins may look the same but they are different,their personalities will be different.In some families some parents make more of the bright child,so undermining the not so bright child,and they grow up with an inferiority complex.I have 5 sons they are all different, some are gifted academically, others are not but they all have special gifts, different strengths,and different personalities,and to me they are all precious. Today stop comparing yourself to others be yourself,be the person God made you be. Of course as Christians God has a plan for His children that they would be conformed to Christ image (Romans 8 v 29)but we are not being made clones ,we are being made Christlike, perfect in everyway.

Safe and Secure, (Deuteronomy 33 v 27)

 It is so easy to feel insecure in this world,and also to feel fear, the list of Phobias could fill a book, here are some ,fear of heights,flying,water,storms,closed spaces,crowds,etc.There are many people who  suffer from panic attacks,brought on by stress.Very few of us could say ,'I will fear no evil', even though the Lord is with us,let me say this,we will all feel fear,it is how we react to it, that is important.I believe God can give us strength to go forward,in spite of our fears. When I passed my test many years ago,my legs were like jelly,but by faith I still went ahead with it. As I grow older at times I still have my fears,real and imaginary,but God has been faithful,and I have no reason to think that will change.I admire the apostle Paul,in his writings he tells how he felt in troubles.he wrote of a time when he and others faced great dangers,he speaks of being crushed and overwhelmed not expecting to survive. So what did they do, they turned from self to their Saviour who rescued them from mortal danger (2 Corinthians 1 v8 -10) Thomas Brooks wrote the following,' Our safety and security lie not in our weak holding upon  Christ, but in Christ's holding us fast in His everlasting arms. This is our glory and our safety,that Christ's left hand is always under us,and his right hand doth always embrace us'.

We all have a choice.( Isaiah 55 v 6-7 )

I have been  diabetic for quite a number of years, I am not on medication, and it has never caused  me any problems. In some cases it can be very serious if you do not watch your sugar intake,a neighbour of mine ignored  the warnings,showed no restraint,well he had an injury on his leg,he neglected to have it treated,gangrene set in, and then he died.I do try to watch what I eat,one think I always liked was apple pie,recently I was in a supermarket,and saw apple pies for sale,oh I would have loved to have bought one,but then I heard myself saying,'Yield not to temptation',and I didn't. One thing God has given us is the power to choose, yes we do have a choice when faced with being unfaithful to the one we are married to,we do have a choice between telling the truth or telling a lie, when we yield to sinful temptations,we sin ,and that's very serious.It might be in a major thing or minor thing, but sin is sin, there is no such thing as a venial sin or a mortal sin ,God does not differentiate  as regards sin. My neighbour choose to ignore the consequences of what he was doing,and he paid the price, if you are not saved,remember  there will be very serious consequences as regards  your sin, don't yield to the temptation of thinking that God will not judge you,He will, make the right choice and seek forgiveness by trusting Jesus as your Saviour.

He knows. ( 1 Peter 5 v7)

 Things happen and one cannot do much about it,three years ago we purchased a car for my wife,it was I who choose the car. Before we bought it I spent much time reading up on different models,one particular model stood out,it was very impressive,everything seemed right about it.The mileage was very so we eventually went and saw it ,and we liked it,and we bought it.Of course we prayed about it asking God to guide and direct us,and I believe He did. So for the next three years my wife enjoyed the car,it was lovely, but then my wife said she could heard a noise,and so we arranged to ia having a diagnostic report,when that was done they told us  it needed a new engine,which involved a good bit of money..The point is, it still has a low mileage,yes things happen,had we not prayed about it,so why had this happened?,the answer is very simple,I don't know,but here is what is important, God knows , and we can rest assured that it will work out for our good,and His glory,all things are in His hands,be what they may.I am conscious that there are those of you who are reading this ,who may be facing far more  severe difficulties,dear child of God remember He knows,yes you may not know,and you may be asking why?, I just want to encourage you to trust your loving heavenly Father,who loves you,and will never cause you ,His child to have a needless tear.

Let us magnify the grace of God. ( Galatians 6 v 18)

 I am 80,and have been following the Lord for 60 years,and as I look back on my life the words penned by John Newton come to mind,' Through many dangers, toils and snares,I have already come; Tis grace has brought me safe thus far,and grace will lead me home'. Those words speaks volumes,reading the life of John Newton one can appreciate why he wrote then,but they ring true for all of  God's children. I often hear  people who live to  a very old age, when asked  ,'what is the secret of your long life?,'and they give different reasons,but I don't think I have ever heard one say,'by the grace of God'.  I have been driving for many years,Like all of us I am not a perfect driver,how have I survived? ,by the grace of God. How  have I survived morally?,yes morally, I have no other explanation, than the grace of God.Then what about the trials that have come into our lives? things we never expected, most certainly never expected.You may have thought this should not be happening to me, even though our Saviour told us, 'that in the world we shall have tribulation,(John 16 v33) How have we come through those trials? 'by the grace of God'. I am told that there are 5 graces of God,' saving grace,sanctifying grace,strengthening grace,sharing grace,and serving grace'. As regards coming through trials  we highlight ,'strengthening grace', that grace has never dried up,and never will. Yes its true.'His grace has brought us safe thus far,and grace will will lead us home'.

Obedience ( Acts 4 v 1-22)

One of the things Hitler brought in,was for the Wehrmacht ( German armed forces) to  take an oath to God of unconditional obedience to Hitler. That came back to bite them eventually,there are those who say that oaths were for the old covenant and that Jesus taught that we of the new covenant should not take oaths (Matthew 5 v 33-37,well it is something to think about.No one except God should be given absolute or unconditional obedience,whither in marriage,employment,or the church.We see what it led to in Germany and in so many places , I want us to consider leadership within the church,looking back on church history we see the evils perpetrated by so called leaders and their followers. and the errors that were introduced by a leader who claimed to be infallible in relation to truth. Thankfully we have the example of  the apostle Paul who challenged Peter in what he was doing,as he slipped momentarily back into the old covenant (Galatians 2 v 11-21) Yes when leaders in the church are slipping into error or immorality,it is important that they should be challenged.I am not trying to stir up a revolution ,but simply to stress that we have a God given right to challenge the idea of unquestionable obedience to any human being or system.

The Gospel. ( 1Corinthians 6 v 9 - 11)

 I was watching an old movie ,in which it showed a building being erected,,and over the entrance were the following words,'Gospel Church'.Wonderful words,every church should be a Gospel church,but unfortunately its not so,many so called churches have lost their way. I read this,'The word gospel reflects the Greek word for.'' good news''. The good news is what God has done in Jesus Christ,supremely in Jesus' life,death,and resurrection. This God did in fulfillment of all that he had promise ,((Luke 24 v44) to reconcile  lost and guilty human beings to Himself,powerfully transforming them by His Spirit in anticipation of their resurrection  existence in the new heaven and the new earth'.Yes the gospel does all that,yes it is good news,we live in a world were there is so much bad news,it is great to tell people the good news of the Gospel,it is the apostle Paul who wrote,'For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ,for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes'.  (Romans 1 v16),I say this with great sadness many are ashamed of the gospel,they don't like the word sin, and what it means.I read this recently,'Nowhere  does the Bible refer to our sins as mistakes, bad judgements, and slips',The Bible tells us  clearly that when we do wrong it is a sin, because it concerns us and God.If you want to get to heaven, then your only option  is to confess,and forsake your sin ,and  trust Jesus  and the good news is this, you will be forgiven'Not only will you be forgiven, Christ will break the power of sin in your life.

                                                           'Now that's good news'

Fixed on God. ( Philippians 4 v 5 - 7 )

 There is one thing I do not like is buying a car,usually a second hand one,experience tells me there may be troubles ahead,and often there is. Not only is it picking a car for myself my wife drives as well and she needs a car for her job.When I purchased my present car a person told me,' those cars are dreadful,very unreliable,I must confess I had heart palpitations,but it turned out to be a lovely little car,no ongoing problems.There are so many things that can cause us to worry and loose our peace,they can be little things,not so little things,or major things.Things that keep one awake at night ,gnaw at us, so here is a word for us all .

                                              'You will keep in perfect peace,

                                               all who trust in you,

                                               all whose thoughts are fixed on you!

                                              Trust in the Lord always,

                                               for the Lord God is an everlasting rock'  (Isaiah 26 v 3-4)

Jesus says come.( Luke 8 v26 - 39)

In  the first chapter of Isaiah Israel is challenged as to their hypocrisy,yes they went through the motions of following God, but He calls them a sinful nation,the description of them paints a very dark picture  right at the beginning judgement is forecast.He likens their condition to a person  as a  physically wreck.It is obvious that God is angry with them and it was coming to a point of no return,judgement was coming, and did come  95 yrs later, they never improved ,they only got worse CP  Ezekiel 8. Yet judgement was'n't inevitable ,here is what God said,''Come now, and let us reason together'', Though your sins are like scarlet,they shall be as white as snow;  though they are red like crimson,they shall be as wool. (1 v18 ) God is holding out to them His hand of forgiveness judgement need not fall, God declares'As surely as I live says the Sovereign Lord, I  take no pleasure in the death of wicked people.I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live (Ezekiel 33 v 11) This applies to a nation ,but it also applies to the individual,that no matter how wicked we are, no matter what sins we have committed, there is forgiveness by God who would have all men to be saved,we are told that the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all  sin(1John 1 v7)

                                                ' Come,ye sinners,lost and hopeless,

                                                  Jesus blood can make you free;

                                                  For He saved the worst among you,

                                                  When He saved a wretch like me.

                                                      (Words Anna W. Waterman)

When hate and love collided'.( Colossians 1 v 13 -14)

What is the opposite of hate? 'love,' there is a song the title being,'When love and hate collide', I don't have to tell you there have been  many wars fought,but the greatest war  ever fought took place on a hill far away were three cross'es stood,and on that middle cross a great battle took place.Hell in all it's awfulness aided by fallen humanity collided with love personified in the person of Jesus .That love defeated the enemies of God, now there was hope for the hopeless,death died a death, eternal life beckoned for mankind,eternal glory in heaven awaits all who embrace Christ as their  Saviour .Peace with God could become a reality,no longer would we be shut out from His presence,from being lost to being saved,to have a hope that will surly endure after the passing of time.When Jesus cried ,'It is Finished', it was a cry of victory ,hate and love had collided,and love had won the victory.

                                                     'On the cross Jesus won the victory for us,'

                                                                           ' Hallelujah'

Paradise. ( Revelation 21 v1 -8 )

 It was John Milton who  wrote a book called ,'Paradise Lost',God placed our first parents in an earthly paradise,then the unthinkable happened,in a moment paradise was lost because our first parents sinned,and everything was changed,not for the better,it was catastrophic a terrible disaster,of monumental proportion, the very universe must have give a shudder. It would affect the whole of humanity ,but it would also effect creation ,( Romans 8 v 19- 22),the earthly paradise would now have a curse upon it ,( Genesis 3 v 17-19).We are at odds with creation and creation is at odds with us. Daily we hear of the damage being done to our planet and so it continues and its not improving, Finbar Furey sings a song that only partly  tells the damage being done to our home planet earth.here are some of the words from it.

                                           Look at our world now,she must have been beautiful

                                           When her rivers ran clear and her skies were so blue.

                                           Blue jewel in the sky,so precious to all of us

                                          The oceans are choking the rain forest's almost gone,

                                           How could you destroy what you didn't own.?

Yes it is very  depressing what is happening to our planet,but God has a plan ,and you can be part of it,John Milton touches on it when he wrote another book 'Paradise Regained', a new heaven and a new earth( Isaiah 65v17/2 Peter2 v13/Revelation 21 v1 ) .It is for a new people ,who are part of God's new creation( 2 Corinthians 5 v17) they are those who have trusted Christ as Saviour, their sin has been dealt with,the result  will be for them,'Paradise Regained'.

]

Ethics ( James 5 v 1 -6)

 My wife's car has a problem,the garage said it would need a new engine, and the cost would be very high, I told a friend who is a mechanic,one of his suggestions was just trade it in,without revealing that there was a problem.I told him I would not do that. We went to see the garage that said it needed a new engine, one of the things they said was trade it in,and I told them the same answer.The point is it would be ethically wrong to do that as a Christian,or even if your not a Christian. So many people are acting unethically, one of my sons is a salesman,and he tells me that so many unethically practices go on,as a Christian he tries to be ethical. If as a  person you do not have ethics,then anything goes,a mam I know had a position in his job ,and he said that before he became a Christian he was really bad,in other words he didn't treat people fairly.Again a man I know who had a very high paid job in a bank ,he told me that a number of years ago,many people were given mortgages they couldn't afford to pay back,someone raised that issue,he was not liked for raising that issue as many people were making a lot of money out of it.Where there are people who are in charge  who  can't be challenged ,be it in politics.business, then ethics will not count.There are people who are very successful  the questions it raises,'How many people did they walk over,how many lies did they tell,how many times did they break their word?. It is not just business I'm talking about ,I know of ministers who did not act ethically,the wealth and prosperity people do not act ethically.,a Christian should always aim to act ethically.

The light shines into our darkness. ( Romans 1 v16)

 When will it ever end,my dear wife is with a friend from our church,her daughter has cancer,she is in a hospice, she is waiting on a phone call,need I say anymore .Forty years ago I was in that position,my dear wife had cancer,need I say anymore.Every human that is born is going to die one way or the other,it is to say the least not very nice. We were never meant to die ,John Calvin writes the follow as regards our innocent states,'Adam was wholly free from  death,his earthly life truly would have been temporal; yet he would have passed into heaven without death,and injury'.It makes one realise what he lost and what we lost,for we read,'Therefore just as sin entered the world through one man,and death through sin,and in this way death came to all people'(Romans 5 v 12) John Calvin further states,'Death,therefore,is now a terror to us;first, because there is a kind of annihilation,as it respects the body; then, because the soul feels the curse  of death,namely,alienation from God'. Into all this darkness we have the light of the gospel blazing forth bringing hope,for we read in Romans 5 v 19,'For just as through the disobedience of one man the many were made sinners,so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous'. Yes the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord'.(Romans 6 v23)

                                                    'Sin changed everything for the worse,

                                                  Calvary changes everything for the better'

Faithfulness ( Exodus 20 v14 )

 I buy a newspaper once a week,it's consider an up market newspaper ,but I have noticed recently that they have a liberal agender ,as regards the sanctity of marriage..Time and again  I read articles on people who have extra marital affairs,hear's an example,'Are you in a 'tolyamorous' marriage?',that means turning a blind eye to infidelities within one's marriages,so they give examples of married couples who supposedly don't mind their husbands /wives having other sexual partners .One so called expert states,'I think we are starting to recognise  that you can have a really beautiful , fulfilling relationship and nourishing relationship,but it may not be openly exclusive,and if you can make peace with that,then  that's going to be OK'  ,is it?, no, far from it ,these articles don't take into account the carnage that infidelity brings into multitudes of families, the children especially suffer the most.When we go against God's order there is always going to be  consequences,people suffer ,society suffers.Many still take vow's and say ,'Till death do us part'. God expects us to keep our vows, God expects us to be faithful, of course the people I am writing about are not Christians,but even if you are not a Christian being faithful is important, of course it does cost,marriage is not a fairy tale,it brings it's challenges,but in spite of everything, it is worth being faithful in your marriage.

Moral values ( John 3 v 36 )

Moral values have changed in society ,there are things today that were unthinkable when I was younger ,but now they are acceptable. Years ago living together and not married would have been considered a sin,and for Christians it would have been totally unacceptable.In churches we don't hear much preaching on morality ,even though God's moral standards have not changed.We do not want to  be like the hardened Pharisees,but it is important that we grasp the reality that God has moral standards ,that we must live by. In Ephesians 4 v 17 ff we are told a number of things,that we are to be different than unbelievers,to be honest ,to not let any unwholesome talk come out of our mouths..To get rid of all bitterness,rage and anger,brawling and slander,to be forgiving. In chapter 5 we are told that there must not be even a hint of  sexual immorality,no obscenity,foolish talk or  coarse joking.God does not look kindly on sinful behaviour His wrath is revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness.Look on the cross,look on Jesus, suffering untold agony for our sin,He bore the wrath of God that was our due,that when we trust Jesus as our Saviour, we are free from that righteous wrath of God.no longer will we face eternal suffering,instead we can look forward to the eternal glories of heaven,where Jesus has prepared a place for us. In that lovely hymn ,'Beneath the cross of Jesus',by Elizabeth C. Clephane, we read the following words,as regards the cross

                                             ' There lies, beneath its shadow,but on the farther side

                                        The darkness of an awful grave,that gapes both deep and wide;

                                        And there between us stands the cross,two arms outstretched to save;

                                           Like a watchman set to guard the way from that eternal grave.

                                            

Hasty words and actions. ( 1 Peter 2 v 21- 23 )

 There was a very popular song in Victorian times,called ,'After the ball',written by Charles K. Harris, about a man who lost his sweetheart,and it should never have happened ,His young  niece asked him why he was lonely,had he no sweetheart?,well he went on to tell her the story,of the sweetheart  he had,and lost. He went to a ball where he was to meet his sweetheart,when he arrived ,he saw her being kissed by another man, well that finished the relationship,he would not listen to anything his sweetheart said,He still loved her but it was finished,years passed and she died it was then he received a letter from the man who kissed his sweetheart,it was her brother.It was king David who acted in a very hasty spirit because someone  offended him,but fortunately a lady called  Abigail stopped him.(1 Samuel 25)  A person I know spoke in haste and lost his job,hasty words and hasty action can cause us great deal of trouble,The wise words of James comes to mind,''Be swift to hear;and slow to speak'', (James 1 19 )

                                           '  The evil of haste under a worldly 

                                              impulse is truly fearful'.

                                                      'Charles Bridges'

Unlearn. ( Isaiah 43 v 18 - 19 )

I think one of the of the hardest things to do is to unlearn,many churches are filled with people who will say,' we always did it that way.' They resist  doing things another way, even though the church is dying on it's feet.There ears are closed to any suggestion that means doing things differently,examples there are in plenty.Many businesses are closing because they have not learned to unlearn, the words of a songs which goes.I done it my way is not always the best way to go,We accumulate  so many habits in our lives,habits that are not helpful,holding us back ,The apostle wrote to a church who were doing things in a wrong way,and he said ,'I want to lay out a far better way for you' (1 Corinthians 12 v31) Many battles have been lost by generals who were unwilling to unlearn ,unwilling to change,we don't use a quill  to write with.The book of judges could be summed up in the following  words ,'everyone did what was right in his own eyes', and time and time again that brought them into conflict  with God,That habit prevailed throughout Israels history,what about your history and my history?on a personal note,one of the things I have to  unlearn is the bad habit  of failing to acknowledge God in all my ways,its on going ,we easily slip back into our old ways.

                                                   'For to long it's been our way,let us

                                                    unlearn,and do it God's way'

Time and chance ( Romans 11 v 33 )

Hear are a few thoughts that came to me,'Even the strongest Oak tree will fall,even the biggest giants will be defeated,even the wisest man will act foolishly, and even the most successful businessperson can go bankrupt' The writer of Ecclesiastes 9 v 11 writes,'The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong,nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favour to the learned;but time and chance happen to them all'.One writer puts it like this,'Unexpected and unpredictable circumstances are a part of life and often interrupt the predictable flow of events.We cannot  control ,understand, or perfectly anticipate what life has to answer'.Most us our unprepared for the unexpected,try as we may,James reminds us of the foolishness of boasting about tomorrow,(4 v 13ff) simply because we do not know what a day will bring forth. I believe that God is sovereign,each day we awake we step into the unknown, but it is known unto God.I believe that God in his providence  is watching over His own. Derek Kidner  writes of,'providence acting in secret', it is only in hindsight that we come  to some degree an understanding of God's providence,eternity will reveal a fuller understanding.1 Corinthians 13 v 12.

                                                           'Blind unbelief is sure to err,

                                                           And scan His works in vain;

                                                           God is His own interpreter,

                                                           And He will  make it plain'

                                                                 Words W,Cowper.

Show no mercy. ( Colossians 3 v 1 -10)

 Even though I  am a senior citizen, I still like the character Winnie-the Pooh or Pooh for short, by A.A Milne.He had many friends,the main one being Christopher Robin. He is described as a bear with very little brains,but he was also a little bear with a big heart. Ah but he was not a perfect bear ,he had a weakness,honey, and at times he over indulged in it,the result was he got stuck in an entrance of a tunnel. The only way he was going to get out of  that ,was to loose weight,and that meant he had fast(I don't think he prayed),eventually he succeeded in freeing himself from that situation.It is a nice little story ,yet let us ask the question,what are our weaknesses?,we all have them,I wonder does one particular weakness get us into trouble, even into sinning,a sinful weaknesses .Not all weaknesses are sinful but they can be,and they can lead into sinful practices,into which we are trapped. Our weaknesses don't only affect us but can effect our family,our parents,our friends.Pooh's answer was to stop eating,our answer if we are Christians ,is to stop indulging our weaknesses .We must not pamper our weaknesses,we must deal with them with the severity they deserve show them no mercy. Colossians 3 v 5 reads.

                                      ' Put to death,therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly

                                       nature; sexual immorality,impurity,lust,evil desires,and 

                                       greed , which is idolatry.'

My Witnesses. (Acts 1 v 8)

 I was out spending my birthday money\,big decision were made,should I buy it or shouldn't I ?,well I did,and as I paid for it I witnessed to the person serving me.Here is how the conversation went,'Are you a Christian? well she replied,''I don't go to Church,'' I said, 'I didn't ask that,''I replied,in a nice way.Then she replied,'' yes I believe there is someone out there'',I stressed the importance of knowing Christ,She mentioned,''that will give me something to think about'', The conversation ended with me saying,'' it would be the most important thing she could ever think off''.

                                                            'A Prayer'

                                                'Lead me to some soul today

                                                Help me Lord to know just

                                                what to say,friends of mine

                                                are lost in sin and cannot

                                                find their way.'

                                                              Amen.

Doing one's own thing.( Matthew 16 v 24 - 26 )

R.T.Kendall writing on two of Aarons  sons, Nadab and Abihu who were priests whom God struck down dead because they offered up unauthorised fire (Numbers 3 v 4),quotes a Jewish Rabbi as to what they did ,'The simple meaning is they were ''doing their own thing''. Yes instead of doing what God said,they did their own thing ,He expects obedience,He expects us to do His thing,His bidding.King Saul likewise did his own thing and lost his throne,he offered sacrifices to God, he was not qualified to do that,The prophet Samuel told him,'To obey is better than sacrifice',(1 Samuel 15 v22)No matter how sincere we may be it will not give you the right to disobey God. Let none of us be fooled into thinking God will overlook our disobedience,He won't.David was favoured by God greatly,he was described as a man  after God's heart.  (1 Samuel 13 v 14) But that didn't last ,instead of being a man after God's own heart ,he became a man who followed the lusts and violence of his own heart,(2 Samuel 11-12 )in other words he did his own thing.In our society there are laws,many  ignore  those  laws,drinking and driving, taking drugs,yes there are many other things one could mention,but it all comes  under doing our own thing.The world on the whole are doing there own things,they reject God's way, Jesus ,Provers 14  v12 tells us about them it says ,'There's a way of life  that looks harmless enough; look again- it leads straight to hell'

God ( Numbers 23 v 19 )

 What can God do?,we are told with God all things are possible, (Mark 10 v 27) this our God who created all things out of nothing CP Romans 4 v17/Hebrews 11 v3 /,but its impossible,but not with God. He spoke and it came into being.So what can God do for you?,what difficulties are you facing? again let me stress with God all things are possible,what difficulties are you facing? God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think (Ephesians 3 v 20)

What will God not do?,in fact it is impossible for Him to do ,He cannot tell a lie ( Hebrews 6 v 18), it goes against His holiness, He is the God of truth,when he speaks he only speaks the truth,unlike us he will never deviate one iota from the truth. So when we read  His word we are reading the creation miracles,promises we are reading the truth,the whole truth,and nothing but the truth.My mother used to say ,'you cannot trust a liar', you can trust God.Also He will not act contrary to His will,prayer will not change that,we must always bow in humility to the will of God,no matter how painful it is

What will God do?,on the big stage He will bring an end to this present world,He will bring judgement upon it,just as He did at the time of Noah (Genesis 6 - 7) but the next time the world will be consumed by fire (2 Peter 5 v 7 ).This will happen when Jesus comes back again (2 Thessalonians 1 v 7) What will God do for His children?as we have trusted Jesus as our Saviour it means we are not appointed unto wrath (1 Thessalonians 1 v10). Until that day comes He will preserve us unto his heavenly kingdom.(2 Timothy 4 v18 )

The unwanted guest ( James 1 v 13 - 15)

I have a dear friend who is nearly 90,and he shared with me how he still feels tempted with lustful thoughts,and that is distressing him. The fact is no matter what age we reach, 90 or a 100 ,temptation will still knock on our door,let me remind you being tempted is not a sin,it is when we yield to it,then it become a sin. There was man and he invited a friend into his home ,in spite of the fact he came with a bad reputation,but he liked him ,he was good company,he was good at telling jokes ,he was a grand fellow.But soon things changed,things went missing,not only that ,the man was very overbearing.One day the went out leaving his  guest on his own,and when he came back,he could not get into his own,his guest had taken it over. I tell this little story just to illustrate the danger of letting temptation into you life as a guest,for if you do you will regret it,it will take over and there will be dire consequences. The wisest king who ever ruled Israel  invited temptation into his life,and it took over his life and brought judgement upon  the nation,his name was Solomon,the wisest man who became an utter fool ,it all started when he invited temptation into his life. (Read 1 Kings 11 v 1 13 )