God is merciful ( Psalm 103 v 8)

It truly was the worst of times for Israel,their world had crashed down upon them, sad to say it was self afflicted. Consider the following words spoken by the prophet Jeremiah from the Lord   2 v 5,'They followed worthless idols,the 'leaders  rebelled against me',// ' the prophets prophesied by Baal,following worthless idols'.( v8) .Then a question arises,'Has a nation ever changed its gods?(Yet they are not gods at all)'  But my people  have exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols.'(v11)There is so much more one could say of the state of the people of Judah spiritually.Jeremiah would prophesy for 40yrs or more,but things didn't get any better,rather it got worse.God tells them how he continually exhorted them to turn from their evil ways,but they refused (Jer 35 v15)When God offers mercy and you reject it,then mercy will be withdrawn,and so it came about,the result was that an awful judgement  came in the shape of the Babylonian war machine,and they decimated the country slaying most of the inhabitants , a small number who survived were taken into captivity in the land of Babylon.It was truly the worst of times,but it would not be permanent .God is merciful in  Psalm103 v9,we read that God does not retain His anger forever,their captivity would last for 70yrs (Daniel 9 v 24/ Jeremiah 25 v 11 -12) and so it came to pass (2 Chronicles36 v22-23) Inspite of all their wickedness and evil ways ,God showed mercy and grace to Israel,and returned to their land.As it was for the Jews so it can it be for any nation and any individual,if they but  turn from their sinful ways,and seek the Lord  Jesus ,mercy will be shown to them,for God is  full of mercy

The least we can do. ( John 21 v15)

Some people are driven,George Mallory climbed mountians , but one mountain above all else was his obsession,'Everest',no one had done it before ,he and another friend on the 9th of June 1924 set out to conquer it,but they both died ,failing in their attempt.George Mallory was once asked ,why did he climb mountains,his reply was .''because they are there''.Is that worth loosing one's life ? Many Christians throughout history have suffered greatly,often laying down their lives,why?and the answer is very simple ,because of love, not just love but the love of Jesus. In 1John 4 v19 we read .'We love Him because He first loved us'When our Saviour spoke to Peter the one who denied Him ,he said to Peter three times,'Do you love me ?',in the end he showed that he did,  when he died a matyers death. Polycarp was Bishop of Smyrua (120AD) .He like many Christians refused to accept Caesar as a god,The authorites said if he would acknowledge Casear was Lord ,he would be spared ,but he refused,saying,'For 86  years I have served Him,and He has done me no wrong.How can I blaspheme my King and my Saviour'.  1 John 4v19 reminds us that that before we came to Christ we were ungodly and enemies of God. In that state He showed love to us by giving Christ to die for us.(Romans 5 v 6-8)We often sing ,'love so amazing so divine demands my soul,my life my all'.Peter,Paul ,Polycarp,and mulitude of others led down their lives for love of their Saviour,it is the least we can do.

                                                       'And can it be that I should gain

                                                       An interest in the Saviour's blood?

                                                       Died He for me,who caused His pain?

                                                       For me , who Him to death pursude?

                                                       Amazing love! how can it be

                                                      That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?'

                                                                    Charles Wesley

                                                       

 

Are you sleeping?( Matthew 25 v 1- 13)

In Washington  Irving's Rip Van Wnkle, he slept for 20 yrs,the story goes that he escaped to the mountains to get away from his wife,who wanted him to do work on their farm. In Romans 13 v 11 ,Paul gives a wake up call to the Christians  and so he declares  the possible of the coming of Christ at any moment.he is not saying that Jesus is coming  at that time, for no one knows when He is coming (Mark 13 v 32).The main thing is to be ready,our Saviour said about His coming,' Do not let Him find you sleeping when He arrives without warning,I say to you ,what I say I say to everyone; Watch for Him'.  (Mark 13 v36)Yes He is coming 'soon' 'We must be watchful and alert, because we do not know the time.' It is as John Stott says,' as regards the coming of Christ,that there is a tension between the' now already' of Christ's first coming and 'not yet ' of His second.' Our  Saviour said,' The night cometh ,when no one can work',(John 9 v4) Until that day comes we must be up and doing ,somone said,'The Christian life is not a sleep, but a battle.' 

                                                   'Waiting for our Lord 's returning,

                                                    Be it ours His word to keep;

                                                    May  our lamps be always burning;

                                                    May we watch while others sleep.

                                                    We are children of the light.'

                                                                Thomas Kelly.

What think ye of Christ? ( John 20 v24 -28)

D L.Moody asked this question in a sermon He preached,'I want to ask you not  what you think of this or that church,nor what you think of this creed ,nor what you think of this denomination or that denonomination.The question is not what you think of this belief or that belief,but,''What think ye of Christ?''. So much depends on how you answer that question,if you get it wrong that's very serious. John Newton wrote the following in one of his hymns,

                                                       'What think ye of Christ? is the test

                                                        To try both your state and your scheme;

                                                        Ye cannot be right in the rest

                                                        Unless you think rightly of Him,'

Jesus asked His disciples.....'Who do men people say I am? they replied,''Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others,one of the prophets.'  But what about you?' he asked.'Who do you say I am?' Peter answered ,' You are the Messiah''(Mark 8 v 27 -29 ) Who do you thing Christ is,a good man ? yes He was that,a prophet,yes he was that,a teacher, yes he was,Many believe that's all He was, they relegate Him to be just like one of us,they do not see him as God which He was,or as Saviour which He was,or as one who died so our sins would be forgiven,they take exception to the fact when He said,' I am the Way,the Truth,and the Life,and that no can come unto the Father but by Him( John 14 v6 ). So who do you say Christ is?

                                                                

                                                           

                                                       

Just imagine. ( Hebrews 13 v 3)

  As a Christian I have never  experienced persecution for my faith,but in many countries they do, most of them are law abiding people.Imagine going to bed and you fall asleep,then you are awakened by someone banging on your door.So you  get up and go to your front door opening it,and you are faced with the police,they rough handle you and then they take you and push you into a vehicle,and take you to their headquarters.When you arrive there you are interrogated for the rest of the night,they  might use violence, but  whatever,it will be unremitting, When morning comes they  bring you before a judge, and you will be  charged by whatever they can drum up out of their own inventions, and then sentence is passed you have been found guilty,and so you are going to prison for 10yrs.  This is going on continually in so many countries,by  religious authorites ,or political authorites, they do it out of fear, fear of being overthrown. Oh yes it can happen,we have witnessed,many cruel leader being overthrown.Although we do not encourage rebellion, we do need to pray for those who are suffering,or we can write to  them and encourage them.Prayer will make a difference, so keep praying for our dear brothers and sisters,that God will strengthen them, and that they may be released, if  that does not happen pray that God may help them to  be faithful even unto death (Revelation 2 v10)

                                         'Blest be the tie that binds our heats in Christian love;

                                         The  fellowship of kindred minds is like that above.

                                         We share our mutual woes,our burdens bear,

                                         And often for each other flows the sympathising tear'

                                                              John Fawcett.

God the Son. ( John 5 v 16-18)

The promise had been given ,and the promise had now been fulfilled,the Messiah had come,for the next 33 yrs the Messiah would make his journey to His destiny.Most of his life was hidden from us ,we have a brief glimpes of his childhood when at the age of 12 he went to Jerusalem  with his parents for the festival of Passover.(Luke 2 v 41ff) We read how He was left behind ,his parents assumed that He was with his other relatives and friends.When they discovered he wasn't, they went back  to Jerusalem to find him,they did eventually find Him in the temple courts sitting among the teachers listening to them,and asking them questions.They were amazed at His understanding and his answers, his parents were upset and his mother said to him,'your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.All Jesus would say to them was this,' why were you searching  for me?' 'Didn't you know that I had to be in my Fathers house?,but his parents did not understand what He was saying'.Let us remember Joseph was not Jesus father,He was reminding them that he was the Son of God and so it was natural to Him that he would be in His Fathers house.There was a sense that Israel would have considered God as their Father in a general sense, but when Jesus spoke of God being His Father,He was claiming to be divine John 5 v17,He was not just a child prodigy or a child of Joseph , He was the Son of God, God manifest in the flesh.

                                                                                 

                                               'Who is He in yonder stall,

                                               At whose feet the shepherds fall?

                                                 

                                               'Tis the Lord !O ,wondrous story!

                                                'Tis the Lord,the King of Glory!

                                                 At  His feet we humbly fall-

                                                 Crown Him!Crown Him,Lord of all!

                                                          Words B R. Hanby

                                               

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What we owe to God ( John 3 v16)

So it has come,Christmas day,and we rejoice in all it means,love manifest to humanity,a love that's beyond our comprehension. This world has so much pain in it, so much suffering,and into this world a child is born,a child called Jesus,it is God showing us that He loves this fallen sinful world,a world that is broken and full of so much pain. The hymn writer wrote,'There is no place where earth's sorrows are more felt,than up in heaven',and God's answer is love, a love of that's beyond words in it's fullness. Again as the poet wrote,'The love of God is greater far,than tongue or pen can ever tell.It goes beyond the highest star, and reaches to the lowest hell'. It is a love offered to all,to the best of men and the worst of men,a love that will show mercy to those who come  in all their need,and if they do,mercy they will receive .That mercy involves the forgiveness of our sins,let us never underestimate the awfulness of our sinful condition,and its consequences.That babe in the manger came for a purpose,and it would involve so much pain,beyond words.That little babe would have the shadow of the cross hanging over Him all his life,he marched to it despising it's shame ,and terrible pain ,and paid the price for our salvation.

                                                     'Tis not all we owe to Jesus

                                                      It is something more than all;

                                                      Greater good because of evil,

                                                      Larger mercy through the fall.

                                                                  F W. Faber

Jesus, God's gift. ( Romans 6 v 23)

 A friend of mine was attending a carol service in London,and there was a very young boy in front of her,and she asked him,what is Santa going to bring you?.The little boy spoke to his mother and then said to my friend,'It is not about Santa ,it is all about Jesus'.  If only more people would realise that,how better and more meaningful Christmas would be,and indeed life would be if Christ became the center of their lives. One of my sons held a carol service in a pub,he did it last year and the owner of the pub, invited him to do it again,and so he did,and he told me the place was  full to overflowing. A great deal of those people were not Christians and so he was able to tell them ,what that young child said to my friend,that Christmas is all about Jesus. Yes He is the reason for the season, and taking it further,without Him there is no reason, no meaning to life itself,when Christ finds  you and you find Him,all things our changed for the better. When you find Him your sins are forgiven, and you loose the burden of guillt,you also loose the power of sin over your life,for when  the Son sets free you are free indeed.You also receive hope,so many  have no hope,but with Jesus you have hope to face the here and now,and the hereafter.We live in a world  with so much conflict in it,so much to make us afraid,here is what Jesus said ,'Peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth'( John 14 v27)

                                           ' Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift'

                                                             2 Corinthians 9 v 15

So send I you. ( Acts 1 v 8)

 There they were doing what shepherds do, looking after sheep,most commentators tell us that they were a despised class,it was just like any other night, but that would soon change,for it would turn into a night that they would never forget.It reminds us that God can break into lives,when one least expects it,sixty years God broke into my life when I least expected it.A great example of that is the apostle Paul who was filled with hatred towards those followers of this false messiah. In Acts 9 we read of Paul travelling to Damascus to root out any who belonged to the way,( A term used for early Christians) and take them back as prisoners to Jerusalem ,yes he had his plans,but the Lord had other plans for him. In a moment everything changed,he changed,because he met with that so called false Messiah Jesus.When a person meets Jesus and embraces Him as their Saviour, let me repeat it again,they will be changed, be they despised shepherds,or religous fanatics like Paul,or a thief hanging on a cross.God is sovereign he can use any means to bring people to Himself,but most of all He uses the likes of you and me ,yes, you and me, to witness to them ,so that's the challenge,that we must all take up,we are meant to be the finger of God pointing sinners to a Saviour who is Christ the Lord.

Darkness and Light .( John 3 v 35-36)

 December is a very dull month,not a lot of sunshine,but as it is December it is time  when many homes have string  of lights displayed outside their homes,I think they are great, also in most homes there are Christmas trees with lights on them. All these light displays help to chase away the gloom of this gloomy months. But of course this is the month in which we celebate the birth of Jesus, why did He have to come?,well our Saviour gives us the answer,'people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil .Everyone  who does evil hates the light , and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. (John 3 v19-20) They displayed that evil in all its fulness when they took Him who is the light of the world and nailed Him to a cross,hoping to extinguish the light,so they could remain in their darkness,but they didn't succeed.We thank God for that, for it obvious that humanity needs Him who is light of the world more than ever.There are so many false religions,and false prophets who are giving birth to 'Satan's spawn'', committing the most awful evil.We may not commit awful evil,but we are still sinners,failing to embrace Him who is the light of the world our Saviour , who said the following,

                                                      ' I am the light of the world.

                                                       Whoever follows me will

                                                        never walk in darkness,but

                                                         will have the light of life'

                                                                John 8 v 12

Be prepared. ( Matthew 24 v36-51)

 A  Christian minister has published a booklet called,'How to Prepare for Christ's return', I have not read the booklet,I wonder what your  advice would be as regards being ready for Christ's return?.There are two things I would say in answer to being prepared for Christ's return,the first one is,you need to trust Him as your Saviour,because it will usher in for the unsaved judgement , 2 Thessalonians 1 v 8.-9 we read,'He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out  from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His might'. That does not mean they will not exsist ,no, the soul will exsist eternally,some describe it as eternal ruin,another  calls it eternal exile.( CP Luke 16 v 19-31).If you are not a Christian take it serious ,please ,I urge you trust Jesus as your Saviour,before it is to late.Next we look at the position of Christians,how do we prepare for Christ's return?.live in the light of His coming,some foolish people make rash statements as to when Christ is coming again,in spite of not taking it to heart that no one whoever they are, knows when Christ is coming back again, Matthew 24 v36 reads,'But about that day or hour no one knows,not even the angels  in heaven,nor the Son,but only the Father'. Spurgeon writes,' Even Christ, in his human nature,so voluntarily limited His own  capacities that He  knew not the time of His second advent'.Yes He is coming again ,what is important is that we live in the light of that,live each day each moment in the light of our dear Saviours coming. Peter writes ,'You ought to live holy and godly lives'.

                                      'At His call the dead awaken,rise to life from earth and sea

                                      All the powers of nature,shaken,by His looks prepare to flee;

                                      Careless sinner, what then become of thee?

                                       But to those who have confessed,loved and served the Lord below,

                                        Hw will say ;come near,ye blessed,see the kingdom I bestow;

                                        You forever shall MyLove and glory know'   (Words John Newton)

True Hope.( 2 Timothy 1 v 12)

 It is said that there are three types of hope in the NT, 'No hope','False Hope',and 'True Hope'. In  Ephesians 1 v12  the apostle reminds the Gentile Christians of their former state ,that they were ,'without hope and without God',this applies to all who have not trusted Christ as their  Saviour,it's as serious as that. Next you have ,'false hope',in Matthew 7 v 21-27 we read of those who will say on judgement day ,''Lord,Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out deamons and in your name perform many miracles?Then Jesus said I will tell them plainly,''I never knew you. Away from me,you evil - doers!'' Next we consider 'true hope',  every true believer in Christ has true hope.it is described as an 'anchor,firm and secure' (Hebrews 6 v19)John Bunyan was arrested  for refusing to abstain from preaching ,he was filled with thoughts of uncertainty,he said this''Everyone doth think his own religion rightest, both Jews Moors and Pagans; and how if all our faith and Christ and Scriptures should be but a 'Think so'too?'' But when the light broke he ran out, ''Now I know! I know'', the Christian hope is different from wishful thinking,it is based on the word of God,and the Christ of the word of God.

                                                  'Min e!Mine!Mine! I know Thou art mine;

                                                  Saviour,dear Saviour,I know Thou art mine'

                                                                     Anna Hudson

                                                              

He always keeps His word.( Psalm 121)

It is sad thing  to say that people don't always keep their word,there are many examples of that,likewise goverments break promises they made before they were elected.But when it comes to God He always keeps His word ,God cannot lie,it is in fact impossible Hebrews 6 v18,'God is not human,that He should lie, not a human being, that He should change his mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfil?.' Numbers 23 v 19.When He says He will help us ,He will do just that,what He promises He will do it.The hymn writer wrote,

                                             ' Standing on the promises that cannot fail,

                                               When the howling  storms of doubt and fear assail,

                                               By the living word of God I shall  prevail ,

                                               Standing on the promises of God'

                                                                  Words  R. Kelso Carter

We live in a very insecure world,so many people feel under a threat,everyday many people are afraid of loosing  all their money by the scammers,wars and rumours of war abound. Are you over whelmed by life,failed marriage,loss of employment,loss of health,in the end you just feel lost. I went to bed last night I woke early,could not get back to sleep,worrying about a certain thing.This morning  I read from one of my daily readings,'Be anxious for nothing,but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving,let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God ,which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus'.    ( Philippians 4 v 6-7 )    

                                                   'Don't be afraid,for I am with you.

                                                   Don't be discouraged,for I am your God.

                                                   I will strengthen you and help you.

                                                   I will hold you up with my victorious

                                                  right hand. ( Isaiah 41 v10)

                                                  

                                                            

Perfect timing,planning ,and purpose. ( Isaiah 46 v 9 - 11)

When the angel appeared unto Mary to tell her she was going to have a baby,he said,'For no word from God will ever fail' (Luke 1 v 37). What God says will happen,nothing can stop it happening,in Isaiah 7 v14 we read ,' Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign; the virgin will conceive and give birth to a  son'.The prophet Isaiah prophesied from 739-681 BC, the word He gave came to pass,time does not weaken God's promisies,and so it came to pass.Why the delay? why did it not happen sooner? ,because it was not God's time, Ecclesiastes 3v1 reads,' There is a time for everything,and a season for every activity under the heavens'.Why was I born in 1944? it was God's time,why was I born in Belfast? it was God's place.Why was Jesus born at that time,it was God's time. Galatians 4 v7  reads,' But when the fullness of time was come,God sent forth his Son'.This was a God initiative event ,some people see that many of the things in place when Christ came would enable the spread of the .Gospel.The maiden Mary was God's choice,the place of His birth was God's choice,and the place h His of death was God's choice,and the instrument of His death was God's choice.Our Sovereign God is working out all things in keeping with His will, (Ephesians  1 v11) and let us not forget,it's not over yet.,remember Jesus said 'I will come again'.

                                           

Free indeed. ( Ephesians 2 v 1-10)

 Christmas is hastening on,in many ways it is a lovely time,when we as Christians rejoice at the birth of our Saviour.When the great event happened all those years ago,angels appeared ,wise men and shepherds came.We have lovely Christmas cards with the nativity scenes on them ,it is all very idyllic,but very soon dark clouds would appear over the birth of this child,that caused his parents to leave Bethlehem to escape the murderous  intentions of the paranoid king Herod. Herod give an order that all the children in Bethlehem under 2yrs should be murdered.If Herod had succeeded in killing the Christ  child think of the awful consequences for mankind,to say the least it would have been absolutely awful for all mankind.We must look beyond the Herod's of this world to someone beyond our natural sight,but his works and evil are manifest everyday,he is god of this world,and has many followers and disciples. There are two kingdoms in this world ,the kingdom of the devil and the kingdom of God.John writing of the kingdom on darkness and its power declares,'That the whole world is under the control of the evil one( 1 John 5 v19) David Jackson writes that,'This world is dominated by the devil, who controls it with tyrannical authority,organizing and orghestrating its life and activities to express his own rebellion and hatred against God'. Read the newspapers, listen to the news,read history,that should convince you.But into this world  was born a child called Jesus , which means Saviour,and it John who tells us that,'The reason the Son of God  appeared was to destroy the devil's works'(1 John 3 v 8)No wonder he tried to murder our Saviour, but praise God he never succeeded,and so the gospel goes forth,and men and women who accept Christ are set free from the power of the evil one and brought into the kingdom of God.

                                                         'So if the Son sets you free,

                                                          you will be free indeed.'

                                                                    John 8 v36

                                                  

Let us pray. ( Luke 18 v 1 )

 In 1 Thessalonians 5v17 we read,''Pray without ceasing'',I read an article on the internet,I thought it was very helpful.''Pray without ceasing'','in these words we are being encouraged as believers to maintain a constant connection with God throughout their day. It doesn't mean praying constantly in a literal sense, but rather to be in a prayerful state,and to frequently speak to God''John Piper says''Pray without ceasing means, to stay steadfast, and never give up praying''.Next we read of some ways to help us in our prayer life.

                                                      'Be aware of God's presence.

                                                      Seek God's guidance.

                                                      Express gratitude.

                                                      Offer petitions,praise and

                                                      thoughts to God.

                                                      Pray in the morning.

                                                      Center prayer around meals.

                                                      Focus on Joyful prayer.

                                                      Pray after making a mistake 

                                                      or error.

                                                      Pray at the end of the day.

                                                      Learn to listen to God'.

What is your mindset? ( 1 Kings 18v21 )

 In Romans 8 v 12-14, we are being instructed,' that we are under no obligation to do what our sinful nature urges us to do'.Our sinful nature will always be with us to the end of our days,you can bet on it. Unlike the unsaved we are indwelt by God's Holy Spirit so that gives us a great advantage,but we still have to resist evil urges,there is no let up ,in overcoming evil.King David unfortionately did not resist his sinful urges,and we know the consequencs, but he recognised what he had done and repented.(Psalm 51).  John Stott  writes of people having a ,'mindset, the' unsaved  In both cases their nature determines their mindset, the unsaved, and their mind will be set on so many  things ,and God won't be part of their lives,they do not to live to glorify God,Often it is to glorify themselves , their mindset is solely taken up with the things of this world,and God is shut out' This has irrespective of earth;y successs, dire consequnces,as one man comments,it is spiritual suicide. Now the Spiritual controlled life has a mindset on things above, of pleasing God,resisting ,not swept along with the goals of this life,they say that there are four main Goals of life,happiness,meaning,success ,and integrity', 'Happiness 'is a very elusive thing..'Meaning', without God there is no meaning, 'Success' ,it was Alexander the Great,who wept that there were no more worlds to conquor,cp Ecclesiastes 1v 12-18.'Integrity'' yes we need people of integrity,but it will not save anyone,standing on our integrity can be a source of pride,that can blind us to our greatest need,Christ.

                       Someone wrote the following' It still remains true that the Spirit-controlled,

                       Christ-possessed man is on the way to life; death is but an inevitable interlude

                       that has to be passed through on the way'.

Who is this Jesus ?( Isaiah 9 v 6)

John 1 v1 reads,'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,and the Word was God'. Who is this Word John was writing about?.We have to turn to John 20 v 31,there John  tells  why he wrote his gospel,''that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God,and that by believing you may have life in his name'. The  term Son of God is equivalent to saying He was God CP John 5 v 18,and in this chapter we have a clear declaration  by Thomas who confessed that Christ was His Lord and His God v28. There are seven wonderful 'I Am's',in John's gospel ,spoken by Jesus which points us back to what God said to Moses Exodus 3 v 13-14.So now let us turn to John 1 v1.there we read the term the ,'Word' this is referring to Jesus v 14 where we read ,'that the Word was made flesh and made His  dwelling among us'.   Verse 1 begins,In the beginning was the Word,and the Word was with God'Hendriksen writes,'This is snother way of saying that Jesus existed from all eternity' , 'Luke's  gospel  starts at the nativity,but John's starts with eternity,' ( Bruce Milne),in John 17 our Saviour is praying to God His Father He says,'And now Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began'. Next we read,'and the Word was God'.nothing can be more clear than that, as regards to our Saviours divinity, but John does not stop there he goes unto to say.'He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made'v 2-3.

                                                     'The great Creator became our Saviour'

He paid the price. ( 1 Peter 1 v18 -19)

 There is a saying ,'Nothing 's free in life' everything comes at a cost, there is an exception if you are a Christian, the gift of God is eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ(Romans 3 v23). We have the word gift mentioned, one does not pay for a gift,if you had to pay, it would no longer be a gift.But there are conditions we must repent of our sins,if we are to be forgiven, and if we are sincere we will be forgiven through Jesus  who died on the cross to save us.On God's side His Son Jesus had to pay the price for our salvation. Think what it cost Christ to come into this sinful world, what he had to gave up,the Bible tells us that He was rich ,yet for our sakes He became poor',(2 Corinthians 8 v 9),none of us would like being poor,but Christ choose to be poor.Now we are not talking about earthly riches,but rather all the fullness of His exsistence in heaven.His coming to planet earth, meant that he choose to humble Himself,not only by taking upon Himself the form of a servant, but by dying on a cross.Yes our salvation is free,but it cost Jesus everything,when on that cross the wrath of God was poured out upon Him.Although He was the sinless one ,His suffering was on our behalf  and .that we do not have to suffer God's wrath,when we trust Jesus as our Saviour. Just think if you are a Christian,you will never  have to suffer for your sins,heaven not hell is your destiny.

                                                   'When I think of all He's done

                                                    and for me the guilty one,can

                                                    you wonder why it is I love 

                                                    Him so'

                                                                                    

                                             

                                 

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Not make believe. ( John 20 v24- 29)

 Yes Christmas is coming,and the shops are full of so many thjings that have nothing to do with Christmas,but we will come to that later.One of my sons and his wife were visiting us, and I said to my daughter -in -law,ask me do I believe in Santa Claus,well she asked me,and I replied ,'I'm an agnostic'. well just a bit of fun.Who was Saint Nicholas?,it is thought that's were we get the idea of Santa from,it is thought that he is buried in Ireland, but others say he was buried in Italy(But he had an Irish passport in his pocket,again just a bit of fun).Lets stop all this Tomfoolery for its all make believe. One my young grandsons  had a revelation ,he told his parents that there was no such a person as Santa Claus,I realise that there are no faries at the end of my garden.In the midst of all the Christmas cheer unfortionately the true meaning of Christmas gets lost,and every year people will come to our carol service, and we hope that they will find the true meaning of Christmas,we keep praying that this will happen,don't give up, keep praying, that it will happen.Christmas will soon be over, but let us continue to make the gospel known,telling people the the true meaning of Christmas,and the reason for it ,which is,that he shall save His people from their sins ( Matthew 1 v21)The moment He came into this world his sole aim would be to die on the cross,for our sins.His coming was not an after thought,no God had a plan,for we read in Revelation13 v 8 that He was 'the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world', God in His sovereign purposes would provide a sure and certain means to save sinners,and so it came to pass.

                                                         'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ      

                                                         and you shall be saved.'

                                                                     Acts 16 v31

                                                         

                                                          

                                                             

Locked out.( Matthew 25 v 41)

 There we were just about to set off ,to see our family,it was very wet ,and windy, I went to lock the door,and I couldn't, because I had left the key in the other side of the lock,it meant we could not get back into our home. I must confess I was very upset, but we managed to get someone to come and solve the problem.He had to drill through the old lock,and replace it with a new one,so the problem was solved. It's not nice to be locked out of one's home,but there is a more serious aspect to this event. It reminds me of the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25 told by our Saviour, it is about a wedding,it was something different from modern weddings ,a lot of things went on before they were considered married,the bride would be  waiting for the bridegroom, not sure when  he would come.The 10 virgins mentioned in the story had be waiting  likewise for the wedding group to show them the way into the marriage celebrations.  Five of the virgins had no oil for their lamps and so it meant they had to go and buy some,but by the time they got back,they were not permitted into the marriage celebrations,they were locked out, unlike the other 5 virgins who were in and enjoying the wedding celebations. The story was aimed at the Jews  who should have been prepared for our Lords coming but were not,so they were locked out.Yes the foolish virgins left it to late,it is a reminder to all of us to be prepared to meet our God, before it is to late.When Mary of Orange was dying her chaplain sought to tell her the way of salvation.Her answer was;'I have not left this matter to this hour'.

                                                   ' I tell you,now is the time of God's favoir,

                                                     now is the day of sakvation'

                                                               2 Corinthians 6 v2.

Don't ignor Him. ( John 1 v 12)

 When one thinks of how God has spared this world up to now,we may wonder why,when one considers humanities track record.The awful wars that continually go on and on and on.We could point out mankinds fallenness,showing a disregard for God's ,morality,or for God's  ways.When the promised Messiah came,we are told that they did not receive Him (John 1 v 11),they of all people should have recognised Him but they didn't.But they are not one their own, for we read,' He was in the world, and though the world was made through him,the world did not recognise Him'.(John 1 v10 ) The effect of humanites fallen nature is very severe,and dark, even to this day His own people still won't receieve Him,and likewise the world does not recognise Him. Consider the month we are in ,its the month in which Christmas falls,the very name Christmas will be heard by millions of people who will receive cards,and Christmas presents, but they will not receive Christ. God the Father sent Jesus into this world because He loves humanity (John 3 v6). Someone has said would it be different if He came again?,Studdert-Kennedy in His poem 'Indiffernce', wrote the following,

                                       'When Jesus came to Birmingham they simple passed Him by,

                                       They never hurt a hair of Him, they only let Him die;

                                        For men had grown more tender,and they would not give Him pain,

                                        They only just passed down the street, and left Him in the rain.

                                                                    'Ignored by the many

                                                                     Received by the few.

                                        ' But in this world of sin, where meek souls will receive Him still

                                                                   The dear Christ enters in'.

                                                                           Words P.Brooks

                                      

                                                                  

Blindness ( John 9 v 39)

I recently had my eyes tested ,and the optician told me that my eye sight was near the point where I wouldn't be able to drive. It is consider ,if you cannot read a number plate at 29 meters you are not fit to drive ,and so I would loose my driven licence.Like a lot of old people I needed cataract surgery,and so I was referred to a hospital to have the problem dealt with. I have had one eye done the worst one,and will have the other one done in a short time.So today I went out and looked at some cars number plates and without my glasses on ,with my operated eye I could see them clearly. Let us consider a spiritual application, the unsaved man is blind to spiritually (1 Corinthians 2 v 14). I thought of Israel who have not accepted Jesus as their Messiah? ,yet they have the scriptures that clearly show that Christ is their  Messiah.The Apostle Paul had a great burden for his people the Jews that they would be saved,he tells us that blindness in part has happened to them, (Romans 11 v25)other translations calls it a hardness.This is a judgement by God (Romans 8 v18).As one writer comments,'it is as if a veil lies over their hearts and minds'. But lets broaden it out to all of mankind,they are spiritually blind,blinded by Satan (2 Corinthians 4 v 3-4),and by their hard hearts,like Pharaoh of Egypt,( Ex 7 v 13) Remember God is sovereign and He will show mercy to whom he will show mercy (Romans 9 v 18) There is hope for we read in 2 Corinthians 3v16 'But when-ever anyone turns to the Lord ,the veil is taken away'.

                                                       'I once was blind but now I see

                                                       by God's mercy and grace,

Holiness ( Psalm 139 v 23 - 24)

 What do you think of holiness? it is seen by many non-Christians as a kill joy, some Christians may even agree with that.It is emphasised in God's word a lot, because it is of the utmost importance.But first of all let us consider, the Bible calls God,''The Holy One'' over fifty times it is mentioned in the Bible ,and the Spirit God,''Holy Spirit '' ''ninety times. Christ is called the ''Holy One of God''.The hymn writer declared,'OnlyThou art holy', God is absoluetly holy,it is hard for us to grasp this truth.In our unsaved state we could not look upon such holiness,we would be burnt to a frazzle.Moses was told,'you cannot see my face ,for no one may see Me and live' (Exodus 33 v20),it will not be until we stand in glory will we be able to look upon God. R.C.Sproul said,''When we understand the character of God, and when we grasp something of His holiness, then we begin to understand the radical character of our sin and hopelessness'.The unsaved person does not grasp this,but will ,one day.Through Christ death on the cross God has made for us, away to know God , as our Father.Through Him we can come boldly into God's holy presence. (Hebrews 4 v16) As Christians we are set apart by God to be holy,it is obivious that while we are accepted by God now,yet we  still are imperfect,and so God declares to us Christians,'Be holy ,because I am holy' ,(1 Peter 1 v16/Lev 11 v44)These words are a challenge to all of God's children,of course we will never be fully holy here,but we must daily strive after holiness,long for that goal,until we are in glory.

                                                       'Robert Murry Mc Cheyne said,

                                        'Lord make me as holy as a pardoned sinner can be'.

Finish. ( Luke 9 v 62)

 It was the apostle Paul who wrote ,'I have finished the race' (2 Timothy 4 v 7),and it was our Saviour on the cross who cried ,'It is finished'(  John 19 v30) When it comes to the Christian life it is important, I would say vital to continue in the faith,I know so many people  and they gave up following Jesus,The term backslider is what they are called,they once ran well,but there was a time when they stopped running and turned back. One of the companions who went with Christian (in Pilgrims progress) on their way to the celestual city,Ignorance turned back when he was so near to entering into the city Christian declared,' Then I saw that there was a way to hell,even from the  gates of heaven,as well as from the  City of destruction!'Lots wife looked back and she perished,so it is if we turn back we will be lost. In Matthew  24 v 13 we read,'But the one who stands firm to the end will be saved'.The question we may ask ,were they not Christians?did not Jesus say.'I give thm eternal life and they shall never perish'(John 10 v28) So why did our Saviour say what He did? because their will  be those who like Judas who was a disciple yet was not a true believer.It is John in his first epistle  who writes  as regards those who turned away from Christ,'They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. for if  they had belonged to us,they would have remained with us; But their going showed  that none of them belonged to us.' I would just add the backslider can be restored if they turn back to God , I did.(1 v 19).Sir Walter Raleigh prayed the following prayer.

                            'O Lord God ,when you give your servants to endeavour any great matter,

                             grant us also to know that it is not the beginning but the continuing of the

                             same to the end, until it be thoroughly finished,which yields the true glory;

                             through him who for the finishing of your work,laid down his life,our

                             redeemer,Jesus Christ.'

Shine (John 5 v 14-16 )

 There is a hymn with the words'this dark world of sin' yes it is a dark world,be very sure about that,and it is in John 8 v 12,our Saviour said,'I am the light of the world',when we trust Jesus as our Saviour,we are translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light.That means that we will no longer  walking in darkness,I witnessed to two people recently and the things they were saying, and it revealed to me,the darkness that they were in. We  see clearly the darkness people that people are in so many aspects of life it is very sad,and very serious in its consequences. We are not to despair as to the darkness ,no, we are to shine,our Saviour has gone to heavem and he has left us a task,we read about it Matthew 5v16,He said ,'You are the light of the world' and He goes on to say,'Let your light shine before others,that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven' there are two ways in which we can witness to people by our words and by our lives.It was Nietzsche the philospher said, 'Show me you are redeemed, and I will believe in your redeemer'. I read of a family in China who had a daughter who had special needs her name is Abigal.Her parents took her to a Christian education project, called ,'Well of love',she came after dark as her father was ashamed of her, but things changed for the better, Abigail made great progressed,this had an effect especially on the father,so one day he appeared at the centre and asked if he could know the God who had so changed his family's life. I leave you with a verse from a children's hymn.

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

                                                     Like a little candle burning in the night,

                                                     In this world of darkness,so we must shine,

                                                     You in your small corner and I in mime.'

The call of God.(Joshua 1 v 9)

 What had Moses,Gideon,and Jeremiah in common? ,they all felt weak and inadequate,and yet God called the three of them to serve him.Moses was called to lead Israel out of Egypt. For Moses it started in a strange way,while out looking after his father in laws sheep,God spoke to him from  a bush, why a bush?ask God. Moses replied  to God's call,that he was an inadequate speaker,he also requested God to send someone else.I knew a man who when he was young had a stutter,God helped him to overcome that, and he went on to establish a Christian mission. (Exodus 3 -4 v 1-17) When God called Gideon he said to God,'Pardon me,my Lord......'but how can I  save Isreal? my clan is the weakest in Manasseh,and I am least in my family.'Your background is no hindrance in relation to the call of God, many of God's sevants came from a poor background.William Carey was a cobbler by trade and God used him mightly in India.Next Jeremiah ,when God called him,he said a similar thing as Moses, but he also said ,'I am to young' ( Jeremiah 1 v 6) one of the greatet minister in England was C H.Spurgeon, he became a minister at 19. God said to Moses,'I will be with you( Exodus 3 v12) God said to Gideon ,'I will be with you' (Judges 6 v16) God said to Jeremiah ,'I am with you'( Jeremiah 1 v 8).When God calls us to His service,He will be  with us.

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New sight. ( Psalm 146 v 8 )

 A dear friend of mind recently had a cataract operation,a cataract is a clouding of the  lens of the eye, he mentioned  the tremendous improvement in his sight.He could see things so much better,sight  is a very precious gift.Our Saviour healed the blind ,it is hard to take it in how they must have felt.Now there is another type of blindness that is spiritual blindness,our Saviour called the religious leaders blind guides Matthew 23 v19.and speaking of the non-Christian  the apostle Pual writes that they walk  in the futility of their mind,having their understanding darkened,being alienated  from the life of God , because of the ignorance that is them, and the blindness of their hearts',John Newton wrote that he was once blind ,but now he could see.When Christ becomes your Saviour,you see things with new sight and new  understanding ,George Robinson wrote ,'Heaven above is softer blue,earth around is sweeter green something lives in every hue Christless eyes have never seen; birds with gladder songs o'erflow,flowers with deeper  beauties shine,since I know as now I know, I am His and He is mine' Yes when Christ becomes our Saviour we see things change.We see Christ as he truly is, we see the importance of  obeying God,we see the importance of  walking in newness of life, we see that God's will must always take first place in our lives.

                                                     'I once was blind but now I see'

We all underestimate. ( Romans 3 v 23)

 The more I read the history of the 20th century,and the terrible wars that took place,it really makes me think how true what the word of God says about human nature.It is summed up in 10 words,hear they are', 'The heart is deceitful above all things,and desperately wicked'.(Jeremiah 17 v 9) There is a line that follows these words,which reads,'Who really knows how bad it is?' I catch a glimps of the wickedness of my own heart so often, and I must confess it frightens me, I read of a soldier who wrote a letter to his loved ones, in it he wrote of the love for his family,and eulogised of the beauty of a sunset. Then he went on to describe how he participated in a massacre of many civilians during which he clubbed a baby against a tree'.Because of our fallen nature we all can commit things that our unthinkable.I mentioned before that I and a number of boy soldiers,listened to an adult soldier, boasting how he and another friend raped two women,I thought he was a nice person,but but he showed no awareness of the evil he had committed.Our fallen nature manifests itself in different degrees, but we all need to be saved ,God who is holy is offended by any degree of sin,there are no exceptions ,without Christ saving you, you will suffer the wrath of God just as much as that soldier I have mentioned.

Hope beyond. ( Revelation 21 v 1 -5 )

  We're born,we live, and we die, so that's it?,for most people that's it, but of course we were never meant to die,but the moment sin entered in ,death entered ,in Romans 5 v12 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, because all have sinned'.I spoke to a man recently, I brought death into the conversation,I asked him what happens when you die,he pointed downwards,I said to him it does'nt have be ,trust the Saviour and it will be upwards. As a minister I have to remind people about death ,I know that man didn't want to hear about death,but it is important that he did hear,not just about death,but after death. He pointed down,he may have indicating that was it,but of course its not ,there is a heaven and there is a hell,that's something else he didn't want to hear,like most people,and sad to say most preachers don't mention it.Why ? that's a good question.  I visited two dear Christians,both are very elderly,the man had  Parkinson,he has died since ,his dear wife is wheelchair bound.None of  it is very nice,in my prayer time  I wept for them,Yet during the visit  to them I read from Revelation 21,it speaks of eternal glories,how God will be wth them,and that God will wipe away  all tears,and there will be no more death or mournng or crying or pain, for all those things will have passed away'.What a wonderful  word of  comfort,to God's children,yes there is hope beyond the awfulness of death,when you trust Jesus as your Saviour.

This far the Lord has helped us. ( I Samuel 7 v 2-14 )5

                                                             Psalm 37 v 25.

                                           'I have been young and now I am old,

                                           yet I have never seen the righteous

                                           forsaken or their children begging 

                                           bread.'

Here we have David and he is old, and this is what he testifies,that he has never seen the righteous forsaken,or  their children begging bread. Of course there will be exceptions when God's children will know hardships and difficulties,but they will not be forsaken.Whither it be fair weather or stormy weather God  will never forsake them.As regards our needs God will provide,that is my experience, I have mentioned a time when my first wife and I lived by faith,when we attended college ,God supplied our needs.During that time I told a lady how we were living ,and she said we were begging,but we weren't, I never in my life begged of anybody, nor has any of my children. God  honoured our faith and our needs were met.If we read Davids life we see that there were two times that he asked people for help ,the first one was of the priest Ahimelek (1 Samuel 21) the second one was when he asked Nabal(1 Samuel 25). We should not box ourselves into a corner,sometimes it is permissible to go to someone for help, sometimes God would be using  you to test them,to see if they will give. God is faithful and will provide for  his peoples needs,and His chilldrens needs,

                                             'Begone unbelief ! my Saviour is near

                                              And for my relief will surely appear.

                                              By prayer let me wrestle and He will perform;

                                              With Christ in the vessel I smile at the storm.

                                                                 John Newton

 ,