Glory (Jude v25)

 After the battle of Gettysburg ,which the South lost, General Lee tried to console one the  South's generals, a General Pickett,this is what he said ,'' General Pickett,you and your men hsve covered yourselves with glory'' Pickett replied ''Not all the glory in the world, General Lee,can atone for the widows and orphans this day made''Often we have an ill-informed  idea of glory. Kenneth  E.Baily points out that there are five applications  for glory in the Bible. (1)The glory of  God ,in His creation  Psalm 19 v1,and 'glory to God in the highest.' Luke 2 v14. (2 ) The glory of Jesus , John 14v1. (3) The glory to be revealed at the end times, 1 Peter 5v1/4, (4) glory and believers1Peter, 5 v1.  Glory in suffering 1 Peter 5v10'. Consider number one  as regards creation,mankind are blind to that ,and continually rob God of His glory. Number two.'The glory of Jesus',at this present time, his glory is hid from us, and of course the unbeliever is blind to it.But one day all will see Christ ,and all will bow the knee and every tongue  acknowledge that He is Lord to the glory of God the Father.Philippians 2v10-11. Number four, 1Peter 5 v1. written to the elders of the churches in Asia Minor reminding them that those who suffer for Christ shall be glorified with Him. Number  five. 'glory in suffering', in Romans 5 v3 ,Paul writes 'We also glory in suffering ,because it produces perseverance.character, and hope, God has a purpose in all His dealings with us.

                                       'Glory to God the father,and to the Son ,and to the Holy Ghost'

Our Helper ( Psalm 121)

 There are 15 songs of  ascents,they were sung by the pilgrims as they travelled to Jerusalem,so let us consider Psalm 121. a firm favourite of many of Gods people.the first two verses  goes  '  I lift up my eyes to the hills- where does my help come from? I come from Belfast and during the second world war,Belfast was bombed,before the bombers came a siren would sound , warning the people of an air raid,we lived of the Castlereagh Road,  which lead to the Castlereagh Hills,and to those hills our family and others would make their way for safety. Now the Paslmist  asks the question ,'where does my help come from?', the answer is very simple,'From the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth'. The universe,planet earth,did not just happen our great triune God made everything ,and He is our helper.Do you need help today ? look to your great God,say to yourself ,'My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth, that means that whatever help you need He will provide protection,provision, He will not fail you,we will fail Him,but He will not fail us,He has given us His word.Someone wrote the following.

                                                   'God keep me safe from harm and sin ,

                                                    Thy Spirit keep; the Lord  watch o'er

                                                    Thy going out,thy coming in,

                                                     From this time,evermore'.

 

If only. ( Psalm 81)

Psalm 81 speaks of Israel being set free  from their slavery in Egypt ,the opening verses commence by exhorting  then to sing and to praise God.God had removed the burden they had been carrying,and when they had been in distress God had rescued them, but He had tested them.and also warned then not to worship other gods but worship Him.But they would not listen and they refused to submit to God,so He left them to their own devices. Verse 13 reads ,' Oh, that my people would listen to Me,that Israel would walk in my ways',oh what  difference that would have made.It is Scroggie who comments,'It is a sad thing  when they who had been delivered from Egyptian bondage go into Babylonian captivity'. Our Lord Jesus lamented over Jerusalem ,in Matthew 23 v37  we read,'O Jerusalem,Jerusalem,the city that kills the prophets  and stones God's messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn't let me'.Israel acted like so many stubborn children that refused to listen to a loving mother and a loving father,and found out to their cost,that they should hsve listened. How many people have listed to the Gospel,and rejected it,and paid an awful price,their lives have been ruined,and their soul lost for all eternity, The safest thing,and the wisest thing one could ever do,is to listen to God and obey Him.

                                             

Dare to stand alone. ( Ephesians 6 v 19 - 20)

Often it can cost ,to stand for what you believe,when Corrie ten Boom and family were arrested for  harbouring Jews,that included their elderly father,they were taken to be imterrogated.A German officer spoke to her father,he said ,''I'd like to send you home,old fellow,if you give me your word that you won't cause anymore trouble'' . The old man replied,'' If I  go home today'' speaking evenly and clearly, ''tomorrow I will open my door again to any man in need who knocks''. So that put an end to that,he was kept in captivity,but he did not live long after that. Most of the disciples suffered martyrdom, and right up to this day millions of Christians have died for their faith,and I'm sure there will be many more who will suffer imprisionment and death for their faith. In the book of Daniel  chap 3 the King  set up an image of gold,and give the order that everyone had to bow down and whoship the gold image,and if they didn't they would be cast into a firey furance.Three young Jews refused to do that,brought before the King they told him ,that God  would deliver them, but even if He does not,they would not worship the image. Their friend Daniel was thrown into a den of lions for refusing the kings command ,all those young men survived,but for many in this world  at this present time are suffering greatly because they are Christians                                                       ' Dare to be a  Daniel! Dare to stand alone!

                                                     Dare to have a purpose firm! Dare to make

                                                      it known'

                                                                         Words Philip Paul  Blis.

Follow Me ( Luke 9 v 62)

 When I young we used to play ,'follow the leader',it was good fun,but in our spiritual lives we must take it very serious. Which leads us to consider Peters experience which we read of in John 21,when Christ sought to restore and  reinstate him.The first thing our did Saviour did  was challenge him as regards his  love for Him ,without love for our Saviour there can be no relationship. Next He instructed him to minister and care for those who belong to Christ,we all have to do that to a certain extempt,but leaders of God's people have a very big responsibility,of which they will be held accountable.Our Saviour also tells Peter  of the kind of death he would suffer,and we believe he was crucified,it would be nice to die quietly in our beds,but for many suffering Christians, death can be very severe.Last but not least  He tells Peter and he tells us personally.'You must follow Me',as our Saviour was talking  Peter  looked around and saw John the beloved disciple, and he said to our Lord,'what about him?'and our Lord replied ,'what is that to you? You must follow me'.Hear this, take this in,have it tattooed on your hearts.No matter who hurts you, be they Christian or non-Christian,we must follow Him.

                                                     ' I have decided to follow Jesus

                                                      No turning back,no turning back.

                                                      Though none go with me;

                                                       Still I will follow.

                                                       No turning back,No turning back'

He must be first, (John 21 v 15-19)

,'Jesus reinstating Peter' (John 21 v 15ff) in these verses we have our Lord speaking to Peter,the one who denied him,the one who chickened out,the one who had cold feet.But now that had passed, and possibly Peter would have been wondering what next?, would there be a next?,of course there would be, He asked Peter three times,' Do you love me?'Those who follow Christ must love Him'.But it goes further ,'Do you love me more than these?  (John 21 v 15) In Matthew 10 v 37 we read,'Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me',The key word there is more,Christ must be first in all things,no one should ever be put in front of Him.Abraham had to learn that lesson (Genesis 22)and we have to learn it,if we don't we are in fact putting others before  Christ, He is not there to play second fiddle. Each time He asked Peter the question,he charged him with a task,'Feed my lambs','Take care of my sheep' and,'Feed my sheep'.Yes Christ  was not finished with Peter, he had a work for Peter to do.Like Peter you may have failed your Lord drastically, but He still will entrust you with a given task.

                                            'Then the word of the Lord came

                                             to Jonah a second time.'

                                                       Jonah 3 v1.

                                                  

Forgiveness, (Psalm 32 v5 0)1

I'm coming to the end of my study of the gospel of John,in my bible there is a heading over Chapter 21 v 15ff,which reads ,'Jesus reinstates Peter'.You possible know how Peter  denied His Lord three times ,he had boasted to the Lord,'I will lay down my life for you' ( John 13 v37)but the Lord knew Peter better than he knew himself,and told him exactly what he would do,that before the morning came he would deney Jesus 3 times.and that's what happened.You would think if he did that ,he would no longer be a disciple,and Jesus would have nothing to do with Him.It is so easy to give up on people,our Saviour didn't,failure does not mean that our Lord  gives up on us,even though it be a very awful failure.With Christ there is always hope,I love the words of that hymn , which reads,'There's a wideness in God's mercy ,like the wideness of the sea'. thankfully that's true,we think not only of Peter,but also David and the awful sins he committed,first he commmitted adultery, then murder ( 2 Samuel 11)but God forgive him. Now we are talking about two believers,yes believers can sin grievously,and we would write them off,but God doesn't,He still loves them,and He will forgive them.if they seek forgiveness and repent of their sins.1 John 1 v 9 was written for a believer here is what it says. .' If we confess our sins,He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousnes'.

Are you being tested? ( 2 Peter 1 v 10-11)

It was the time of the Judges and Israel had not cleared the land of  the i'dolatress nations,God had left them there to see whither Israel would be faithful and obey His commandments and of course they didn't. (Judges 3 v 5-6).  As with  Israel  so God will test us ,there are different ways in which He will do this,take  prosperity ,there are those who preach a so called prosperity gospel.let me warn you ,that prosperity can be a bigger test than poverty .In 'Deuteronomy  8 v 10 -14'. Israel was warned that when they were in the promised land and they were prospering they were not to forget the Lord. In their wilderness journey  Israel faced many difficulties ,God humbled them to see what was in their hearts ,'Deut 8 v 2'.Christ knew what Judas was like ' John 12 v 6',yet he was entusted with the money bag,it was a test would he continue to be same old Judas a thief,or would he give up being a slave to money,he failed the test big time.It is James who writes in his epistle as regards the suffering that the Christians were going through, that it was in order to show that there faith was genuine  Chap 1 v 6-7'. Consider the difficulties in your marriage they can be a test from God , will you be faithfull to your marriage vows,remember them.God brings us into all different siuations,to test us,how are you doing with your test? how am I doing with my tests?.In 2 Peter 1 v 3 we read ,'that God has given us everything we need for a godly life' in other words  God has given us all we need to overcome all the tests we are faced with.In v4 he reminds us of the exceeding great and precious promises,they promise us the grace we need,the strength we need,the provisions we need,the power we need,the protection we need and most of all the promise that He our wonderful Saviour will be with us,we can pass the test.

Pass on a blessing. ( John 5 v 39)

The words of a modern song had these words in it,'You are blest to pass on a blessing', I do try to do that in different ways.One of the ways I would seek to pass a blessing unto others,is to give a  Bible to someone .I have a window cleaner ,he has been cleaning  my  windows for a number of years,I usually give him a cup of coffee when he comes, and we often talk to each other,he knows I'm a Christian,and so we often have discussions,and one day I give him a Bible, I had forgotten all about it,he mentioned recently ,he had given the Bible to his daughter.She was very keen to get it,and she is reading it and underlining it,I don't know if she is a Christian,but the good thing is ,it is a blessing to her. That's one wonderful way we can bless people, I have a dear friend who was an ardent Roman Catholic,his brother was a priest,he himself  entered a religious order for a while.Roman  Catholics were not encouraged to read the Bible,when he was a young lad he asked the  priest why they were not encouraged to read the Bible? he answered,if they read the Bible they will become Protestants.Pass on a Bible to someone,who knows, they may become a Christiasn.

                                                     Psalm 119 v 130

                                    'The entrance of  Your  words gives light'

                               

Your Kingdom Come. ( Colossians 1 v 13-14 )

A friend told me about a man he knew,he said that he and his wife had got involved with the JWs,one day my friend visited him,and give him a scripture,his friend started crying,and cried out,'I don't know what to believe'. The sad end of this story was he committed suicide,yes there is much confusion in the world. In one of my daily readings I read how Satan is a master counterfeiter,the cults proclaim a Christ,but their Christ is not the Christ of the Bible. In 2 Corinthians 4 v4 we read ,'The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ ,who is image of God'.No wonder there is so much confusion in the world.'Satan has blinded , not the emotions,or the will,but the mind of man', writes Paul Barnett.Consider the following words ,'The whole world is under the control of the evil one' (1 John 5 v19) These are very awesome words,how did one very evil man take over Germany,and lead them into so much evil. Germany is only the tip of the iceberg. It is time we began to take serious that there is a devil and the power he has over all humanity,and why there is so much confusion in the this fallen world.There are two kingdoms in this world ,the kingdom of darkness ruled over by Satan, and the kingdom of light  ,in which God rules.Every day I pray what our Saviour told us to pray,' Your kingdom come', (Matthew 6 v 10) The gospel is the key to open the prison in which humanity is held captive,it is  Charles Wesley who wrote the following.

                                                      'Long my imprisoned spirit lay

                                                       Fast bound in sin and nastures night                  

                                                       Thine eye diffused a quickening ray,

                                                       I woke ,the dungeon flamed with light;

                                                       My chains fell off ,my heart was free;

                                                       I rose, went forth,and followed Thee'                                                                                                                                                                     

Go. ( Acts 1 v 8)

 John 3 v16 tells us of God's love for the world with all it's billions of people,in 1 Timothy 2 v1,we are urged that we should pray for all people,and in v 3-4  we read,'This is good,and pleases God our Saviour, who wants all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.' William Carey is known as the father of modern missions.He felt the call of God on his life to go to India ,and when he stood up and expressed that  desire at a gathering  of Christian leaders he was told,'Young man,sit down! You are an enthusiast.When God pleases to convert the heathen,He'll do it without consulting you or me.' Thankfully he didn't listen to him ,and so he went to India,and God used him to accomplish great things. One of the things he said was,'Expect  great things  from God,attempt great things for God. To know the will of God,we need an open Bible and a open map'. When we forget to evangelise,to tell people people the good news of Jesus and His love ,we have lost our way,we cannot take the go out of the gospel.When we have a desire to reach the lost,we are doing what God desires.Consider 'how shall they hear without a preacher ?, the fact is they won't,if we don't tell them. Proverbs 11 v30 tells us,'He that winneth souls is wise'. Let us be wise,people may think you a fool, but don't worry about that,be a fool for Jesus.

                                                       'He that winneth souls is wise;

                                                        In the home beyond the skies;

                                                        There's a crown of Glory,oh, the

                                                         wondrous prize,

                                                         He that winneth souls is wise'.

                                                              Words Elizae E. Hewitt

                                                        

Tomorrow .( 2 Corinthians 6 v 2)

In Revelaton 3 v 14-21 Christ speaks to the church in Laodicea that wandered from Christ  ,to a point that Christ was shut out,the riches of this world had blinded them to the riches of Christ. So Christ speaks to them with  words of love,for He did truly love then, but warns them that He will deal with them,and urges them to repent. In verse 20 we have a picture of Jesus standing at a door knocking,the church is on the otherside,here is what He says,' Here I am!I stand at the door and knock.If anyone hears my voice and opens the door,I will come in and eat with that person,and they with me'.Although He is speaking to the church it is addressed to anyone in that church ,to respond and  open their hearts to Him. The question will they respond? These words are spoken to a Church but they can be applied to anyone,to  the unsaved ,and to the saved.My mind goes back to a long time ago,to an elderly person I worked with, he attended church,heard the gospel many times, and wept,yet kept Christ out of his life.There are those who hear the gospel, and say not now, tomorrow,'And when the morrow came in the words of the poet ,'' they answered still,''Tomorrow''.No matter who we are  be it a Christian or non- Christian ,if today you hear His voice harden not your hearts.

Two roads. ( Revelation 3 v 20)

                                          ' I shall be telling this with a sigh,

                                      Somewhere ages and ages hence;

                                          Two roads diverged in a wood,and I-

                                           I took the one lessed travelled by

                                          And that has made all the difference.'      

This is a verse of a poem by Robert Frost,it the last lines  spoke to me,'that he took the road less travelled ,and that made all the difference'. iIt reminds me of what our Saviour taught in Matthew7 v 13-14 ,which reads of a broad road that leads to destruction ,and that there are many on that road.Then there is the narrow road that leads to life,and only a few find it.   In luke 13 v 23 someone asked our Saviour ,'Lord are only a few people going to be saved',putting the two scriptures together  it appears that the answer is yes,it reminds us of the flood in Genesis  6-8 ,were only 8 people were saved.I believe there will be millions who will be saved,but billions won't be. It is very sad that the majority of people that has ever lived will perish .In Luke 13 v24 our Lord stresses that people should make every effort to get saved while there is still time ,death is coming to all of us ,we must see the importance of trusting Jesus as our Saviour now ,no matter what it cost us,yes, even if it cost us our lives .(Matthew 10 v28)   Our Saviour used a very graphic term to describe the suffering of the lost, 'That they will be thrown  outside into darkness,where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth', CP 'Matthew 8 v12/ 13 v42/25 v30. If people die without Christ there will be no mercy shown, so  very simply, I say to you in Love ,'Believe in the Lord Jesus and you shall be saved' (Acts 16 v31)    

A hymn of repentence ( Psalm 130)

                                                    Words by Horatius Bonar.

                   No, not despairingly come I to Thee; No, not distrustingly bend I the knee; 

                   Sin hath gone over me, Yet this is still my plea; Jesus hath died.

                   Ah! mine inquity crimson hath been,Infinite,infinite,sin upon sin;

                   Sin of not loving Thee,Sin of not trusting  Thee, infinite sin.

                   Lord ,I confess to Thee sadly my sin; All I have been;

                   Purge Thou my sin away,Wash Thou my soul this day;

                                     Lord, make me clean. 

                   Faithful and just art Thou,forgive all; Loving and kind art Thou, forgiving all;

                   Loving and kind art Thou when poor one's call;   Lord, let Thou cleansing blood,

                   Blood of the Lamb of God, Pass o'er my soul.

                   Then all is peace and light the soul within;Thus shall I walk with Thee.the love unseen,

                    Leaning on Thee ,my God , Guided along the road,nothing between.

                                                                     

                  

                                                     

I am home sick. (Colossians 3 v 1-4)

Someone described a former President of America and his wifes new home,as looking like heaven,so if you want to know what heaven looks like,go and look at that home. Well lets come back to reality,I   believe heaven will be a wonderful place,I know that only those who know Jesus will go there,I know our triune God is there,and the angels are there,I know that there will be no sickness or sorrow ,and no death, all suffering will have ceased,no lonliness or fear will exsist,it will be a place of perfect harmony, we will never feel anger, we will be perfectly content,everyone will be our friend,everyone will be our family,it will be truly wonderful.Comparing a building here to be like heaven,is foolishness.There is so much we don't know,but this I do know it will be wonderful beyond description, it will truly be heavenly. As one writer puts it ,Heaven is not simply a polished enhanced and sanitized version of earth,a different and better tune played on the old,familiar instruments. It will be new!

                                                  'Are you going to heaven?

                                                   or are you going to......?

Facing Giants( 1 Samuel 17)

 The account of David fighting Goliath brings to all of us a challenge as we face our adversities, someone has said ,'we may not be facing a Goliath,but we do have our giants'.Consider David, a young man ,why was he not filled  with fear?why was he different?.There are times when  we all feel fear, we have to be honest about that,it does not make us a lesser Christian.But faith is not about feelings,we are not meant to be ruled by our feelings,(Romans 8 v 15), What helped David to be different from Israel?, who were scared out of their wits,was that David knew how God had helped him in the past,and so he believed that He would help in the present. When David  was minding his fathers sheep,he tells of two seperate occasions  ,when a lion and a bear attacked the sheep,on both  occasions he killed them.so he reasoned that if God helped him in dealing with those creatures,he would help him deal with that giant Goliath,and He did. Let us remember that God has not changed,he can help us face and overcome that spirit of fear that is gripping  us. Yes we all  have our gaints and we always will have, but we can always say, 'I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty,and rest assured you will have the vistory.

                                                  'If God be for us,who can be against 

                                                   us......In all these things we are more

                                                   than conquerors through Him who

                                                   loved us'  (Romans 8 v 31/37)

                  

                                                

The wrath of God . ( Romans 1 v 18- 32)

In Romans 1 v 18,we read,'The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth  by their wickedness'.One does not have to go far into the Bible ,to see God's wrath in action,(Genesis 6-7)  Let us never forget that God is never neutral, when it comes to sin.be it in the unbelievers life or the Christians life. The Christians is covered by the shed blood of Christ,and he will be chastised when they sin, and of course forgiveness is given when their is repentance .The unbeliever has no such covering, so what awaits them  is the wrath of God. How would one describe the wrath of God.John Stott says,'The wrath of God describes  His revulsion against sin,He has a deep abhorrence of evil'.As we should , never make light of sin,every sin offends God,he does not categorise sin, they are all equally evil to God,there is no such thing as a venial sin,and a mortal sin, that is saying that some sins are really not very important. God will not overlook them.Read that verse again,'The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness,'See that word ,'All'  ,there are no sins brushed unnder the mat.in Hebrews 4 v13 we read,'Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight.Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account'.He  sees all the skeletons in the closet of our lives,one day everything will be laid bare before the unsaved and they will receive the just punishment they deserve.If you are not saved ,everyday that  you live is drawing you closer to experiencing the wrath of almighty God.It doesn't have to be that way,if we  but believe  in the Lord Jesus we will be saved from God's wrath(Acts 16 v31)    

                                                       'Come every soul by sin oppressed,

                                                        There's mercy with the Lord'.

Thank your luckly stars.( Psalm 20 v 7)

I was at the opticians,and I saw that the optician was wearing a bead bracelet, I know that muslins use prayer beads,they honour their god repeating his name,or for asking forgiveness.So I asked the optician was he a  Moslem he said he wasn't, he siad he wasn't,but I think he may have been, but he said the beads were to bring him good luck. The thing is ,will those beads bring him good luck ?.will a rabbits foot bring one good luck?,it wasn't very lucky for the rabbit. When footballers are going out to play,they often cross themselves,people have a number they consider lucky. There is a saying,'thank your lucky stars',and of course there are things that people believe will bring them bad luck,like walking under a ladder. As I was leaving the opticians ,the optician shook my hand,I  said to him I will not wish you good luck,but I pray the Lord will bless you.As  a Christian I don't believe in good luck,lets face it ,how can beads do anything for anybody?  ,the answer is they can't. The Christian does not buy into the blind superstitions of this world ,their faith is in almighty God. When David faced Goliath (1 Samuel 17) he said,'I come to you in the name of the Lord of  Heaven's Armies'.When Abraham was called by God to leave his home land,we read,' By faith he obeyed ' ( Hebrews 11v 8).Faith, not in meaningless so called luck,faith in God,who alone rules over all things,our going out and our coming in.Let us cast down all the false and foolish idea's that poor blind people hold unto and let us trust in the living God.

                                                     'Trust in the Lord with all thine heart;

                                                      and lean not unto thine own understanding.

                                                      In all thy ways acknowledge Him,and

                                                      shall direct thy paths.'

                                                                   Proverbs 3 v 5-6

                                                      

A closer walk with God. ( Hebrews 12 v 1-3 )

Last time we considered our position in Christ, now let us consider  what Saria said,'She wanted to have a closer walk  with God'. Yes we are children of God, that's our position,but about our walk with God, When a soldier marches on the spot,it's called ,'Marking Time', that means maintaining their position,without moving in any direction. That's not walking with God,if that's all we are doing then we are not walking with God. Jesus said follow Me,it implies walking,no standing still,everyday brings with it the challenge to walk with our Saviour,it is a walk of faith,keeping ones eyes fixed  on Jesus,take your eyes of Him, and you start walking in the darkness.Walking in the paths of righteousness,one cannot walk with Christ  and walk in sin,we must walk in the light,and all that it means,'if we say we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness,we lie'(1John 1 v 6).Our walk must be a walk of love, so easy to forget that,it means loving God ,with all our being and to love others (Matthew 22 v 37) .It must be a walk of obedience, disobedience has a cost with it,consider the terrible price brought upon humanity.Last but not least our walk has a goal in mind we are walking on a pathway towards heaven,

                                                            

Brought near to God. ( John 1 v 11-13 ) 1

Saria came up to me in church and she said,I want to have a closer walk with God,she is a very earnest Christian,and gifted Christian,she is also a very godly person.And yet she wants to have a closer walk with God.I said two things to her the first applies to all Christians,it tells us about our position in Christ. In Ephesians 2 v 13,we read ,'Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to Him through the blood of Christ'.Gatesby Paget wrote the following,

                                    'By nature and by practice far,how very far from God;

                                    Yet now by grace bro't nigh to Him,through faith in

                                     Jesus blood.

                                     So near,so very near to God,I cannot nearer be;

                                      For in the person of His Son,I am as near as He'

                                   

Our security. ( 2 Timothy 4 v 16 -18)

 George Matheson was a minister in Scotland,he was a prolific writer ,even though he was blind,he also composed  a number of hymns.His most well known hymn was ,'O love that wilt not let me go'.It is thought that two experiences inspired him to write that hymn.The first one was as a young man he realised that he was loosing his sight,he was engaged to a girl, and he told her that he was going blind,she didn't take that to kindly,and ended her relationship with him,The next was in relation to his sister,who supported him,and as a blind person he depended on her. His sister came to him and told him she was getting married,this must him affected  him greatly.Following that there was a moment when he felt led by the Holy Spirit to write that hymn,he said it only took him 5 minutes to write it.In writing this song the words from Psalm 139 v 9-10 influenced him, they read, 'If I take the wings of the morning,and dwell in the uttermost most parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me,and thy right hand shall hold me,' It reminds us that God's hand will reach out and lay hold of us,no matter where we are,and what we are going through .He will hold us up and help us to stand.

A new back ( Revelation 21 v1 - 8)

I had being some work and my back was very sore,and I said ,'Lord would you give me a new back,and the thought came back into my mind,'not yet',I had to smile at that,it is in Revelation 21v  5,we read ,'He who sits on the throne said,'I am making everything new'.   In the new heaven and new earth all things will be new, ' for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.`In some ways we are so condition to the here and now, in a world that at times seems to be falling apart, at best all we can do is try to patch it up, unfortionately it seems that the patches are coming apart at the seams.We are continually hearing  what  we should be doing to save planet earth,and yet we hold at the ready, weapons of mass destruction. Mankinds abilities to ravage this world is to say the least is fearful and very disturbing.The days of this world is numbered and God is doing the numbering,and in His time, this old world will cease to be.and He will usher in all things new. I will not get a new back I will have a new body,a perfect body,that will never we're out,no more going to the dentist,optician ,doctor ,hospital,no more taking pills,won't that be wonderful,perfect bodies,and we will live in a perfect environment,no murders,no rapes,no violence of any sort.A place of perfect harmony,peace and tranquility,and we will be with our perfect Lord

                                              'Since ,then,you have been raised with Christ,

                                               set your hearts on things above,where Christ is,

                                                seated at the right hand of God.Set your minds 

                                                on things above, not on earthly things.'

                                                                   Colossians 3 v 1-2.

Words (Psalm 19 v 14)

I wonder if you have opened your mouth ,and wished you hadn't spoken, and you wished the ground would open up and swallow you. It is James who points out how difficult it is to tame the tongue ( James 3 ) no one is immune from opening their mouths and putting their foot in it. Take Moses ,in Psalm 106 v33 we read that he spoke unadvisedly with his lips,or he spoke rashly,he was angry with Israel, who were complaining not for the first time,that there was no water.So God told Moses to speak to the rock and water would come out of it. Moses didn't do that,he said to the people ,'must we bring you water out of the rock', he then struck the rock with his staff,and water came out.In his rashness he said 'we' ,instead of God.God rebuked him and told him he would not bring Israel into the promised land (Numbers 20 v12) Think also how Peter denied his Lord( John 18 ) those words he would always remember with shame.Someone said,'Some words once spoken can't be taken back. Nor the pain that they cause' Let us be careful as to what we say,let our words be words that will bless and not hurt.I leave you with this little  children's chorus.

                                        'O, be careful little tongue what you say

                                          Be careful little tougue what you say,

                                     For the Father up above is looking down in love,

                                            So be careful little tongue what you say.'

                                             

                                             

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Meaning, ( John 1 v 1-18 )

 A  life with Christ means ?, well what do you think it means? it means one has found the meaning of life, that's a precious thing to know.It means we know why we are here, when we know Christ as our Saviour the mystery of life is revealed to us,we see that the universe just didn't happen,that's impossible.The Bible tells us tells us why evil exists ,and its consequences,we look at evil, and we don't have far to look,everyday we are confronted with it,wars and more wars,murders and more murders,rapes and more rapes,and so on .Yes sin brings its consquences, we rightly say no one is perfect,but then you may say,surely in all of history there was one perfect being with no flaws,no faults,no hangovers,there was one exceptoon Christ,yes he was the the only perfect person.This  person whose birth we celebrate every year,who was the same as us,yet not the same,for He was also the Son of God in Colossians 2 v9,we are told 'For in Christ lives all the fullness of  God in a human body'.He who came from heaven born of a virgin,came  to rescue sinners and bring them to heaven.What is the meaning of His awful death on the cross?,it is described as a sacrifice for sin, ( Hebrews 9 v28 ),a sacrifice in which He bore the wrath of God,so we would not have to bear it,when I say we ,I am speaking of those who put their faith in Him as their Saviour,that is the meaning of His coming,until we enter into that personaly ,life will never have meaning,it will always remain a mystery.

                                                    'We will continue walking in the dark,

                                                     until we trust Christ who is the light

                                                      of  the world'.

.

All equal. ( Galatians 3 v 23 - 29)

There's a song from the,'The slave songs of the United States',which at one time was very popular,here is a verse from it.

                                       'Some times I'm up, sometimes I'm down

                                                           Oh ,yes, Lord.

                                        Some times I'm almost to the ground

                                                            Oh ,yes,Lord.

Well if you were a slave you can understand those words,they had good reason to feel like that,it is amazing that many slaves became Christians.At the time of our Lord when Rome ruled millions of people were slaves,and many becames Christians.That give then a new standing in life ,for they became children of God,and in God's eyes they were precious. There are many disadvantaged people in life in so many countries,who are very poor,uneducated,born into a religion that has a cast system,and those in the lower casts are looked down upon.Then there are religions that treat women as inferior to men,which can be very abusive.The good news is this ,God's love is not discriminatory,it reaches out to everyone,and through accepting Christ as their Saviour they become children of God. 

                                             'In Christ nobody's become somebody's'

How big is our God?. ( Ephesians 3 v 20)

 Its so easy to get down, problems are piling up,family problems,lack of money,illness,and so we go on,and we might be like Elijah filled with despair (1 Kings 19),or like Elisha's servant when the enemies of Israel surrounded the city they were in,he cried out in fear,'what shall we do?'Elisha spoke to him ,'Don't be afraid.Those who are with us are more thatn those who are with them'.And Elisha prayed,'Open his eyes Lord ,so that He may see,and the servant looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire'. (2 Kings 6) In Psalm 78 v19 we have these words spoken by a unbelieving Israel.'Can God provide a table in the wilderness?',spoken in unbelief.There is a childrens chorus written by Nigel and Jo Hemming that goes,

                                                'Our God is a  great big God

                                                Our God is a great big God

                                                Our God is a great big God.

                                                He's higher than a skyscraper

                                                And deeper than a submarine,

                                               He's wider than the universe,

                                               And beyond my wildest dreams

                                               He knows me,and He loves me,

                                               Before the world began,

                                               How wonderful to be part of 

                                               God's almighty plan'

Better. ( Romans 8 v28 )

 Ecclesiastes 7 v 8 reads 'The end of a thing is better than its beginning', we can look at this in different ways, we see it in the lives of people in the Bible  like Joseph,think of all he suffered the hatred of his brothers ,being  sold into slavery ,falsely accused of rape,put into prison ,but in God's providence all that changed.Think about David and the trials he  had during King Sauls reign,but again in God's providence it all changed for the better.I know of people who had awful childhoods but again in the providence of God things are better now.Possible you are facing trials now but in God's providence things can change to a better ending.Let us look at another aspect of this verse ,as regards healing, now I speak as one who experienced the lost of my first wife from cancer ,she was a young woman in early 30s,I prayed she would be healed,but in God's will it didn't happen. It makes me very sad when I see these so called faith healers exploiting people financially,they give people false hope,they have a lot to answer for.Let me just say if it is God's will, healing will take place.Let me share a story,about a couple in  Uganda they came to the Kisiizi hospital,the woman looked thin and pale they had attended many other facilities,spending a lot of money with no improvement.She was examined and was told she had advanced cancer  and it was to late for surgery to help.The staff prayed for them and left them alone for a little while,when they returned  to their surprise they found them both smiling.'The couple told them  that nobody had told them the truth as regards her diagnosis,and they had lost their faith.but now they were at peace again ,and trusting in God, knowing that this life is not the end of the story.'

                                                 'For the Christian the end will always

                                                  be better than the beginning'

They need to hear, ( Romans 10 v 14)

I have just finished reading a biography of  Robert Murray McCheyne a minister of the Free Church of Scotland ,he ministered in the 19th century.He did not live very long dying at the early age of 30,his ministry lasted but 7 yrs ,yet in that 7yrs he accomplished so much. He was an evangelical in other words he was faithful to the word of God, he spoke of a perishing world. He had a great burden for the souls of humanity,and if people died without Christ they would go to hell. When one becomes a minister it is vital that one is faithul in proclaiming the gospel of our Lord Jesus .Sad to say there are many who do not do this,but we have to leave that with God ,none of us are accountable for other ministers,we will only be held accountable as to ourselves,it is an awesome responsibility,a minister has.Yet it does not only apply to ministers it applies to all Christians, we are called to be witnesses.Coming back to McCheyne ,before he found Christ he said although he had many ministerial friends he could find no one to talk to him about his soul. No friend who cared for his soul,none to direct him to the Saviour. He said I had no minister to take me by the hand,and say,' come with me , and we will do thee good'.

                                                            'Tell them about Jesus'

To love the unlovely ( Matthew 5 v 43 - 48)

 I was in a restaurant recently,and the person who was taken our order had a mannerism that was off -putting,not pleasing or likable,not a person you would want to give a tip to.I was not the only one in our group who thought that,we commented on her,in a negative way.It was later I felt convicted by the Holy Spirit,and prayed for forgiveness,and asked the Lord to help me love the unlovely.Our Saviour showed love to many unlovely people,in Matthew 8 we read how our Saviour reached out and touched a man,we may  say so what, well it wasn't just any man ,he was a leper.Even today  in some countries there is a great stigma attached to anyone with leprosy.No one would have touched that leper,but Jesus did,and He also healed him.(I am not saying that lepers are not nice people)There are unlovely people everywhere even in the Christian church ,why should we love these people,because Jesus loves them,and He tells us we must love them,He tells us that we are to love our enemies ,and pray for those who persecute us. ( Matthew 5 v 44).It is easy to love nice people,but a real challenge to love those who are not nice,but that's the challenge we face.There are 4 different words for love in Greek, stergein that word  describes family love ,then there is eros that can mean physical love,next there is philia love describes real love that is warm and affectionate,lastly their is agape ,it is to love those who do not love us,it does not mean that we let people do what they want to us but as William Barclay says by God's grace to not strike back or seek vengence.Let us never forget that God loves the ungodly,that was us but He still loved us.

                                                    'Thy foes might hate ,dispise ,revile,

                                                      Thy friends  unfaithful prove;

                                                       Unwearied in forgiveness still,

                                                        Thy heart could only love.'

I'II Walk With God . ( Hebrews 11 v 5-6 )

Let us consider a man  called Enoch we highlight the fact that he walked with God for 300yrs,but it also tells us when he died he had lived 365 yrs( Genesis 5 v 21-24) .So it appears that for 65 yrs he didn't walk with God. So at the age of 65 with the birth of a son called Methuselah ,things changed,and changed for the better, in that he started walking with God.His walk was one that pleased God for it was a walk of faith.Let me ask you a question how would you descibe your walk with God?, is it a walk of faith?is it a walk that pleases God?.The apostle Paul touches on this in 1 Thessalonians 4 v1, he writes,'We instructed you how to live in order to please God'.It involves faith, obedience,love,and holiness,it is not about making a new years resolution,it is about our relationship with God,if that's right then everything else will be right. In this walk we must put God first in all our lives, the totality  of our life,when we forget this then we are not pleasing God.We must always be seeking to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect,that is our aim,but being in this body of flesh we will sin and fail.Enoch was not perfect none of us are,but when we fall we must seek forgiveness and repent of our sins,and that will please God,Someone said ,'The person who abides in Christ,cannot walk in sin' in Proverbs 24 v16 reads,'For though the righteous fall seven times,they arise again'.

                                                'I want to walk with Jesus Christ

                                                 All the days I live of this life on earth,

                                                 To give to Him complete control.

                                                  I want t learn to speak to Him,

                                                  To pray to Him,to confess my sin,

                                                   To open my life and let Him in'

                                                          Words Clive Simmonds

                                                 

 

Happy New Year (Joshua 1 v 1 - 9)

Now its from, 'Happy Christmas', to 'Happy New Year',one thing we do know,that none of us know what the year will bring forth,what changes will come into our lives.The fact is that life will always have an uncertainy about it.nothing can change that.Many people would like to know what lies ahead,but its not possible and mybe that's for best.If we are Christians we are very fortunate,because we have the Lord Jesus with us come what may,and that does make all the difference.Let us consider an Old Testament saint Joshua,Moses had died,he towers over history,one of the greatest men who ever lived.God gave him the task to bring Israel out of Egypt and it came to pass,and so started the journey towards the promised land,the journey took 40 long years.Imagine taken over the leadership from Moses,to say the least it would have been very challenging. So God speaks to him,telling him,'As I was with Moses,so I will be with you' (Joshua 1 v5)likewise whatever the new year holds for us He will not change,Matthew Henry says,'Moses is dead but the Master is not.'As Joshua would lead Israel God says,'Be strong and courageeous.Do not be afraid;do not be discouraged,for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go'(Joshua 1 v 9) As these words were spoken to Joshua ,they are now being spoken to you and to me.

                                                     'Many things about tomorrow,

                                                      I don't seem to understand;

                                                      But I  know who holds tomorrow,

                                                       And I know who holds my hand'

                                                                    Ira F.Stanhill