Love (1 John 4 v 7-12)

 In 1John 4 v 7-12  we have the word love mentioned 9 times ,loves 1 time,and loved 3 times,no wonder john is called the apostle of love.Verse 7 starts with these words,'Dear friends, let us love one another.'It is in his epistle he puts puts a great stress on loving our fellow believers.In fact he says that,'Whoever claims to love God yet hates  a brother or sister is a liar'.( 1Jn 4 v20)How much do you love your fellow Christians?in iJn 3 v16, we read,'This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us.And  we ought  to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters'.He also goes unto to say,'If anyone has material poeeession's and sees  a brother and sister in need  but has no pity on them, how can the love of God  be in that person? Dear Children,let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth' (1Jn 3 v17-18)So three things are emphasised in these verses .( 1) That loving God and hating your fellow believer,makes you a liar,it is going against what  our Saviour commanded  (John 13v 34) (2) Love must  manifest itself by loving kindness,by helping those in need  1Jn 3 v 17-18,it is James who says ,'show me your faith,so John stresses how vital it is by showing our love by helping our fellow Chistians in their times of need,and not just with  empty words.(3)Last but not least,our love is not given out on merit v7 tells us clearly tells us ,what that means,'This is love: not we loved God, but that He loved us and sent his Son as an atoning  sacrifice  for our sins'.

A man called Sinner.( Revelation 20 v11-15)

 There is man called Sinner who is playing at the famous Wimbldon tennis tournament,it appears to me an inappropriate  name,fortunate it is not his first name.Imagine if it was ,people would be thinking what sins has he committed?.But here is something very important God has a name  for all of us,it is ,sinner,yes everyone is a sinner,there are no exceptions,there are people who would be offended if they were told that they were a sinner,but they are,all their protestations would be in vain.Let God be true and every person a liar,to deny our fallenness,is foolishness,and even dangerous,before its to late,and you die and go to a lost eternity.On that great judgement day when we all stand before God,everything will be brought out into the open,the hidden things we did wrong,that we told no one about,will be declared to us by Jesus the great judge,every wrong thought,every wrong word,every wrong deed,will be brought out into the open.You will hear of your fate spoken by Jesus ,depart from me into everlasting judgement.Everlasting means everlasting,there will be no reprive,no escape,no were to turn to,why because you failed to recognise the fact that you are a sinner,it need not end like that,seek the mercy of God ,confess your sin,and ask Jesus to be your Saviour.

His word ( 2 Timothy 3 v 16) 1

 In Jeremiah 23 v 29 we read,'Is not my word like fire,declares the Lord,and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces'. Lets consider the first part,'Is not my word like fire',one commentator writes,'It has the ability to purify,and consume what is false,exposes sin,reveals truth, and brings about spiritual transformation'. As Christians we need to have confidence in God's word.I sometimes look up what famous people have said,and some  of it is very good,but they not the word of God,and will pass into nothingness  eventually. But God's word  will last forever ,consider all those things mentioned, just some of the things the word can do.I thought how the word of God can guide us.When I attended Bible college I worked with a Belfast city missionary,he was a godly man,he was seeking guidance as to a possible move to a church.He said a certain verse kept coming up,indicating he should go,and he did,and the Lord blessed his ministry.We read in Psalm 119 v105,'Your word is a lamp to my feet,and a light to my path',.yes God will guide us by His word

The honours list.( Revelation (5 v 1-14)

Every year we have an honours list,David Beckham a famous footballer received a knighthood not just for being a footballer,but  for the charity work he is involved in.Consider a man who turned water into wine,so meeting the need at a wedding,He fed thousands of  hungry people,He healed many people,He raised the dead,delivered people from evil spirits,calmed stormy sea.Thirty seven miracles are recorded,although he did many more miracles  that were not recorded.Of course one would have thought He would have been honoured by His people,by putting a crown on his head,instead they put on His head a  crown of thorns.You would have thought they would have praised Him but they made plans to execute Him.You would have thought they would have placed Him on an houours list ,instead they placed Him on a cross. But that's not the end of the story ,for He is now in heaven crowned with glory and honour.There is coming a day ,oh yes it's coming, that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow,in heaven and on earth,and under the earth,and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus is Lord,to the glory of God the Father.( Philippians 2 v 10-11)

The Lord's anger and the Lord's mercy. ( Ephesians 2 v 1- 10)

 Nahum prophesied to Niveveh the capital of the mighty Assyrian empire ,we all remember Jonah prophesing against them,they were very wicked , his message was that they were going to be judged by God. It didn't happen much to Jonah's dismay for they repented and God in his mercy forgive them.Now let us shoot forward a century to the time of Naham the prophet and his message like the one Jonah gave ,Nineveh was going to be destroyed.They had forgotten the lesson from their history and slipped back into their evil ways,the Assyrians were noted for their gross wickedness,even against God's people.Temporary repentence be it by a nation or a person can so easily be cast aside. It is Peter writing of such people describes them ,as,'A dog returns to its vomit,and 'A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud'.Nineveh is that dog, is that sow.This time there would be no mercy from God only judgement,the  Babylonians would  conquer them. The wicked will not escape God's judgement if not in this world but most surely in the next.But Nahum in 1 v7-8  tells us two things ,(A) The Lord is good a refuge in times of trouble.He cares for those who trust in Him. Whatever you may be going through remember dear child of God  ,He cares for you and He will be your refuge in your times of trouble,so trust Him, but those  who are unsaved,and unrepenting will face the wrath of God,there can be no escape from that.

                                               'Saved or unsaved which are you?'

                                                 

A biblical veiw of life. ( Hebrews 11 v 36-40)

 What do think of  when you read the following,'Health, wealth,and happiness?',the so called prosperity   gospel .Invented by people who proclaim a false gospel I wonder were they get it from?well I'll tell you were they get  it from , Satan.It was Satan who promised our Saviour he would give him all the splendour of this world,if He would bow down and worship him(Matthew 4 v 8-9)He still keeps tempting people with the same promise, and of course many people believe him,and  suffer the consequnces,for the fact is if you believe a lie,there will be consequences.I have in my possession a little book called,'The Crook in the Lot',it was written by a godly man called Thomas  Boston  ,he was born in  1676 and died 1732, he was a remarkable pastor and scholar.One of the books he wrote is called ,'The Crook and the Lot'. The writer of the  foreword of the book describes the word crook as meaning those unforeseen troubles and difficulties we encounter in life,and one's lot means our lot in life.The book is summed up with the following words,'What to believe when our lot in life is not health,wealth,and happiness'.The writer stresses much on the sovereignty of God,if we leave that out of our thinking we will find ourselves in a lot trouble.Becauae one is a Christian it does not mean we will not have trials,as the writer says 'they are an inevitable part of life', to deney this is deneying the realities of life. As Christians we need spiritual guidance,and grace in a full measure,we need to have a balanced veiw of  life,and not believe that,'Health, wealth,and happiness,is what the Christian life is all about,it's not.

                                                         'Everybody's lot in this world  

                                                          has some crook in it.

                                                          Nobody's lot,in this world

                                                          is   wholly  crooked'.(Words by  Thomas Boston)                                                      

Be faithful ( Acts 20 v31)

 A lady came to me and asked me were in the Bible would one  find the beatitudes.I was surprised at her not knowing this, I consider her a mature Christian.It  makes me think how little some Christians know about the Bible,and how little understanding they have of this wonderful book. In Hosea 4 v 6 we read,'My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge,because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you, as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God , I will also ignor your children'.The blame rests on priests who failed to instruct the people in God's ways. They themselves had turned from God and His word,ignoring His commandments,there was a deliberateness in what they failed to do.Verse seven reads,' the more priests there were the more they sinned.'They exchanged the glory of God for that which was disgraceful,verses 8-13 shows how far they had turned from God.And of course the people suffered,ignorant of God's word and His  ways.The calling to be a minister brings with it a tremendous responsibility,and accountability,it is by no means a light thing to enter into.These priests were soul mrderers, yes, it is as serious as that,the prophet Ezekiel was given a stern warning by God that if he failed to warn the people as to their sinful ways,their blood would be on his hands.(Ez 3 v16-21) Im my first church ,there was a little rug in my pulpit,with these words on it,' Preach the word'.and that is all I have ever  tried to do.

You alone ( Matthew 1 v 21)

 A man asked a very important question,'What must I do to be saved?' (Acts16 v 30),JWs,believe  door knocking witnessing will do the trick. Moslems are required to follow the  ,'Pillars of Islam,'Faith in Alllah,prayer,charity,fasting,and pilgrimage to Mecca(if possible).Many people believe that if they are reasonably good people God will accept them.Does this answer the question,'what must I do to be saved?' no it doesn't ,the answer to the question is this,'Believe in the Lord Jesus,and you will be saved',(Acts 16 v31) Yes faith in Jesus alone can save you,nothing else,it is only through His death on the cross is it possible to be saved.because it is only through His death on the cross that can deal with sin.In Hebrews 9 v22 we read,' that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.'(CP  Lev 8 v15/17 v11) As one writer puts it,'According  to the Bible, forgivenes of sins, is tied to the concept of blood sacrifice'.Christ death on Calvary was a sacrifice for our sins,He alone paid the price for our sins to be forgiven when we put our faith in Him. Matt Redman wrote a song here is what it says.

                                                  'Who,oh Lord, could save themselves

                                                   Their  own soul could heal?

                                                   Our  Shame was deper than the sea,

                                                   Your grace is deeper still

                 You alone can rescue ,you alone can save,You alone can lift us from the grave,

                 You came down to find us,lead us out of death,to you alone belongs the highest praise.

                                                   You ,oh Lord,hath made a way,

                                                    For when our hearts were far away.

                                                    Your love went further still,

                                                    Yes,your love goes further still'

                                                     

Providence ( Romans 8 v28 )

The providence of God is very important, on a world level ,but also on a personal level,it is not easily understood when we are going through difficulties or trials.that's where trust come in and we see beyond the difficulties,to our great loving heavenly Father, that love should inspire trust in all of us.He does not leave us in our trials,for He has promised that He will never leave us nor forsake us( Hebrews 13 v5)So He is with us in our trials and difficulties,the natural person will not see that,and as believers we may not see it, so easy to fall into a state of unbelief,and we may have to confess,I believe help me to overcome my unbelief(Mark 9 v24). There are times when we go for something important and our way is blocked and we become very frustrated,instead of realizing it is God holding us back (Acts 16 v 7)He opens doors and He closes doors,that is something we should praise God for.Looking back on my life I rejoice that He stopped me  often,from going to certain places,let us remember He knows what's best for us,and of course His will is the all important thing.God's way is perfect in His providentlal dealings with us His children.Do not pass judgement on God's ways,don't speak  unadvisedly and as it where bring a charge against God,like Israel did in the wilderness (Exodus 16 )

                                                        'Blind unbelief is sure to err,

                                                        And scan His works in vain;

                                                        God is His own interpreter,

                                                        And Hw will make it plain.'

                                                              William Cowper.

A yellow butterfly ( Psalm 31 v 15 )

 I saw a yellow butterfly in my garden,you may say so what? well I mention this is because I usually only see white butterflies,I tried to get a photo of if,but I was unsuccessful.What I did next was to get on the internet to find out about it,and I read that it's a symbol of joy,happiness,good fortune,a new beginning,and can even be seen as a spiritual messenger.Well you could have knocked me down with a feather, when I read all those things.I just wanted to know it's name,and look what I  got,it's better than a chinese fortune cookie.The thing is this,sad to say many people take what is said about the yellow butterfly serious. This  reminds me how superstitious people are,from knocking over the salt celler,or a lucky nunber ,or a black cat crossing their path,and so we could go on, but we won't.The word of God teaches wonderful truths,as regards good fortune,King David said this as regards God,'Wealth and honour  come from you;'  1 Ghron-  icles 1 v12 and in Psalm 75 v 6-7 we read ,'For promotion cometh neither  from the east, nor from the west,nor from the south. But God is the judge: he putteth one down,and setteth up another.'It is our sovereign God to whom we should look as regards all our affairs,instead of reading the stars,we should be looking to the  one who made the stars, God.

                                                       ' Luck should never be in the 

                                                         Christians vocabulary'

                                                        

                                                  

Such Love ( Isaiah 53 v 10)

 1John 4 v10 reads ,'In this is love, not that we loved God,but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins''The opening words, tells us the kind of love God showed to us let these words sink into our minds,before we came to Christ we did not love God,we may have prayed to him ,attended a church,considered ourselves Christians .Like all of those who are unsaved we did not love God,we loved many things,our families,wives,husbands,sport ,money,and a mulitude of other things,but we did not love God.  Loving God means He must be first in our lives, we must see ourselves as He sees us,in our natural state it is impossible for us to love Him.Too many things get in our way,we wanted to walk the broad road,that leads to destruction,the narrow way was  not for us.We walked with our backs turned to Him,our will was not His .Next we are told,'but that He loved us',yes in our  unsaved state He loved us,amazing,yet it is true,but consider how much he loved us. He,' sent His Son to be  the propitiation for our sins'.There are those who don't like the word propitiation it is found in Roman 2 v17/3v 25,and it means that God had to be appeased by the sacrifice of his Son on Calvary,and in doing that,it meant that we could escape the punishment we deserved ,this happens when we place our faith in Jesus.The verse tells us why God did this,the answer is very simple, yet very profound, He loved us.

                                                       'For God so loved the world,

                                                        that He gave His only begotten

                                                        Son,thay whosoever believeth 

                                                         in Him should not perish but

                                                         have everlasting life'

                                                                     John 3 v16

                                                         

They did not forsake God( Hebrews 11 v 24- 27)

There are four brave men ,men of faith mentioned in the book of Daniel they are known as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego,they were part of the exiles taken from Israel by the Babylonians.They were also part of those chosen to be assimlated into that culture.Daniel was also involved ,the four of them  excelled in this program of assimilation, but they never took on the religion of Babylion.We see how Danilel took a stand in chap one when he would not partake of the food presented to him.He speaks of the God of  heaven  in chap 2 v28  ,and as we read the history of these four men we see how they may to some extent have been assimilated to some extent  in Babylion culture ,but they never forsook God, the threat of death did not weaken their faith. There is a saying ,'when in Rome do as the Romans do',that might be true to some extent,but like those four ,we must remain faithful to God  and His ways,even though it may mean,being  ostracize,being picked on,persecuted ,suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, many dear Chistians  today are experiencing all these things and more,in standing for the Lord Jesus Christ whom they love.

Heaven ( 1 Corinthians 2 v 9 )

There are very powerful telescopes ,yet no telescope can help one to see  heaven,if one could build a rocket that could go endlessly into speed,could one reach heaven?, no.The apostle  Paul  had a vision in which he was caught up into paradise.and the apostle John had a God given revelation of heaven. There are people who profess to have a experience of going to heaven,all I would say about such people, that  heaven is not a tourist destination.It is interesting that the apostle Paul never elaborated on his vision ( 2 Corinthians 12 v 4) So I am very sceptical as regards those heavenly tourist,it appears to me  that it is a way of cashing in from the sale of a book they have written. In Hebrews 11v 16, we read of the saints of old who longed for a better country -a heavenly one,and indeed all Christians should have that aspiration.We are foreigners and strangers on earth but by faith we believe in a place called heaven where God dwells,and  where all God's children will dwell.Yes it is a question of faith  in the eternal,all the unsaved has is what  they  can see or touch,and all that is temporal,and will soon be seen no more.I often wonder what heaven will be like, 1 Corinthians 2 v 9 ,tells us,'No eye has seen,no ear has heard,and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him'. Someone commenting on these words  writes,'These words tell us that the joys and glories of heaven,and the blessings God has in store for us,are so extraodinary that they cannot be conceived or understood by human minds or senses'.As for where heaven is,we will just have to wait and see.

Creation (Genesis 1 v 1/ Colossians 1 v 16)

I have just come in from my garden watching the bumble bees,I found them fascinating the bumble bee does not produce honey,the bee that does produce honey is called a honey bee.The bumble bee collects nectar a surgary liquid that provides them energy whereas pollen is a source of food for developing bee  larvae,They also play a role in pollenating flowers and crops, big time.I am just amazed and filled with awe at God's creation,The poet  Joyce Kilmes wrote ,'Poems are made by fools like me,but only God can make a tree'.Likewise I would add ,'only God can make a bee,and only God can make you and me.'.

                                                  'It all happened by chance,not a chance'

                                                                      R.C.Sproul

Man know thyself( 2 Corinthians 1 v 8 v 10)

 I read these words from a prayer,'Lord save me from myself', yes what honest words they are,spoken by a humble child of God.So many of us do not appreciate our weakness,and as the hymn writer puts it, 'prone to leave the God we love'.It was Socrates who said ,'Man know thyelf',for often we fail to see ourselves as we should,warts an all,Peter foolishly boasted that he would lay down his life for Christ (John 13 v37),and my he blew it big time.We may be saved but the old nature has not  been eradicated(1 John 1 v 8).Samson was a very strong man,but he had his weaknesses,Soloman was a very wise man,but he did evil in the sight of Lord (1 Kings 11 v 6). The apostle Paul was the greatest of the apostles ,but he declared ,that it was through Christ that he could do all things.(Philippians 4 v13)How serious do we take the words spoken by our Saviour ,'apart from me you can do nothing( John 15 v 5) Sennacherib and his great army were threatening Jerusalem ,here is what King  Hezekiah said to the people of God,'Be  strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or  discouraged because the king of  Assyris and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him. With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us to help us and to fight our battles''is the Lord our God.'( 2  Chronicles 32v 7-8) 

                                                     '  Stand up! stand up for Jesus!

                                                       Stand in His strength alone;

                                                       The arm of flesh will fail you,

                                                       You dare not trust your own;'

                                                                 Words G.Duffield

                                              

Waiting time. ( Psalm 37 v7)

 Waiting is a big part of the humam experience, I  wonder how many accidents have been caused,by people being impatient,likewise how many problems have been caused by being impatient.It is said patience is a virtue ,but alas not many have that virtue. In the movie Braveheart ,William Wallace is leading the Scottish army against the English,the English army was larger and more powerful than tha Scottish army. As the English army advances William's army grows apprehensive their enemy gets nearer ,and nearer,but they could hear  William Wallace's  voice cry out,'Hold,Hold,Hold the line.The English army is near upon them,when William cries out,'Now',the line kneels down and picks up long spears,which they used to impale the knights and their horses,and of course they won the battle that day.They would have not won if they had not waited,waiting is very important,especially waiting for that God's moment when He  will act. David was in a horrible situation,but he declares ,'I waited patiently for the Lord;He turned to me and heard my cry'.( Psalm 40 v1)In Psalm 27,David again is facing enemies,but David has put his confidence in the Lord,in verse 13 he declares,'I remain confident of this:I will see the goodness of the Lord in the Land of the Living'.Having said that He declares,for his benefit and for ours,'Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord'.  (Ps 27 v14)

Sowing and reaping.( Romans 1 v 24- 28)

 Our Saviour said,' One  sows and another reaps'(John 4 v 37) which is very true,this is a quotation from the book of Hosea,of what God  said to His own specical people.(8 v7)  They had forsaken Him. choosing other god's,and choosing the sinful pleasures of life.They had sown the wind ,now they were going to reap the sinful conequences of their actions.A certain upperclass man in the Victorian era embezzled funds for a particular cause,and he was sent to prison.When there a friend visited him,he was sowing mail bags,his friend spoke to him,saying I see your sowing,he looked at his friend and replied,'I'm not sowing, I'm reaping'.Whatever we sow in life,there will be a reaping.When Jesus said those words to his disciples ,He was reminding them of those of a former generations who had done the hard work,and it would be His disciples who would reap the benefits.Someoe has said, 'Many ministry succeeds, not by its own force and merits,but because of some saintly man who lived and preached and died and left an influence which was greater in his absence than in his presence'.

That's Paul speaking. ( Proverbs 3 v1-2 / Hosea 4 v6)

 A friend of mine challenged somone about something they were doing wrong from scripture,and the person replied,'oh that's Paul speaking'.In other words it is not God speaking ,it is Paul speaking and we don't have to obey that particular thing.It is Paul in 1 Corinthians 14 v37,declares 'If anyone thinks  himself to be a prophet or spiritual,let him acknowledge that the things I write to you are the commandments of the Lord'.In other words the thirteen letters he wrote is the word of God.Likewise all the books we have in the New Covenant scriptures,are the word of God,likewise all the Old Covenant books are the word of God also. If we start tearing out of the scriptures the pieces we don't agree with ,then we are underminding the word of God.I often talk to JWs,and you say to them Christ is God ( John 1v1 )they will say it dosen't mean that,and that's what will say,with every scripture you show them,it dosen't mean that'.Then there are Christian leaders who  ignor and reject God's moral standards as revealed in God's word,and so undermind the scriptures. Our Christian faith is  built upon all the scriptures,we cannot tear out pages in the Bible we don't agree with,where would that leave us?. 2 Timothy 3 v15-16  reads ,'the sacred writings ,which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.All Scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable for teaching,for reproof,for correction,and for training in righteousness'These words tell us something of the utmost importance,that through the scriptures  we are made wise unto salvation, John Stott says ,'the Bible is essentially a handbook of salvation'.and as one commentator says ,'It will help us grow in spiritual maturity,and holiness, and help us to avoid the many pitfalls in life'.

They are watching us ( John 13 v12 ff)

The early church's had their problems,and so letters sent by the apostles would deal  with these things, one example is the two letters sent to the church in Thessalonica,by  the apostle Paul deals with a number of issues, I will mention three .(1) Those who  refused to work (2 v 6ff) (2 ) False teachers. (2 v2 -4)  (3) Persecutions ( 1 v4)Lets consider the first one,those refusing  to work ( 2  These  3 v 6ff),the believers are told to stay away from them,he uses the term ,'These Loafers',Paul is not writing of those who can't work but those who do not want to work,who as one commentator says,'they  were temperamentally lazy and sponging on the generous members of the church,and others that they had imbibed the Greek disdain for manual labour' There were others who had stopped working because of the belief in the imminence of the Lord's return.'Paul had told them in his first letter to return to work but they did not heed his words.Paul  speaks of such people as being disruptive,he reminds them of what he had told them, that those refusing to work should not receive any food.But then he reminds them how when he and his companions were with them, they worked day and night,so as not to be a burden to anyone,and would not eat anybodies food with paying them for it.'Paul and his friends  practiced what they preached,by their example. Our dear Saviour did the same thing when He washed the disciples feet ( John 13 v2 ff) I remember  somene saying  as to the unbelievers  ,'They are watching us',we may not realise that people are watching us.our children are,,our neighbours are ,and so on.

                                                     'Let us lead by example'

What then? ( Romans 6 V 23)

 As a Christian we have hope that goes beyond this world,the unsaved have not got that hope,what hope what I am talking about? 'HEAVEN'. All their hope is earthly based,that's as far as it goes.There is story about a elderly man who asked a young man what was his aim in life?,well I want to go to college and get an education,the man said ,'what then?'. The young man replied,'well I will get a good job,get married ,have a family,again he was asked  the question,'What then?'.Well he replied I will retire and just live out the rest of my days,and the man replied,'what then?. Yes 'what then', that young man had no other hope other than this world,and that young man will go to a lost eternity, to a place of no hope whatsoever,death is not the end,there are two destinies,one is hell and the other is heaven,it goes without saying that I am going to heaven,I hope that you will be heaven and not in hell.That will depend if you have  asked Christ to be your Saviour,if you don't know Him as your Saviour you will not go heaven and you most certainly will go to hell.What I am writing may appear unfeeling,but it is not,I write it out a deep concern for those who do not know Christ as their Saviour,

Heaven ( Revelation 21 v 1-5)

 Paul writing to the church in Colossae,exhorts the believers,'To set your hearts on things above ,where Christ is'.....Set your minds on things above,not on earthly things; (3 v 1-2)I really don't know what heaven is really like,I know who will  be there,our great triune God,plus angels,and the saints of God.The rest  is hidden from us,the apostle Paul had a great revelation of heaven where he,' heard inexpressible things'Of course John was given a revelation of heaven,which encourages us to press on  towards heaven and home. In that lovely little book,'The valley of Vision', I read the following.'There is no joy like the joy of heaven, for in that state are no sad divisiions, unchristian quarrels,contentions,evil designs,weariness, hunger,cold, sadness,sin,suffering, persecutions,toils of duty. O  healthful place where none are sick! O happy land where all are kings! O holy assembly where all are priests! How free a state where none are servants except to Thee! Bring me speedily to the land of Joy'.

                                                We read of a place called Heaven

                                                 It's made for the pure and the free,

                                                These truths  in God's word He has given,

                                                  How beautiful Heaven must be'

                                                       Words  Gloria Gaither 

Those flies. ( Matthew 24 v14)

     Today we had a few unwanted visitors,flies ,we cannot find out how they are getting into our home,but war has been declared on them.It is not to serious ,but there was a time when it was serious for the nation of Egypt.We have to go to the book of Exodus,I'm sure you  know all about it, how God sent 10 plagues on Egypt for they refused to let His people go,the plague of flies was the forth one,the last one was the worst one,when all the firstborn of the Egyptians died.It need not have been that way,if only Pharaoh had obeyed God and let Israel who were treated as slaves,go. The Pharaohs were ruled but they were considered more than rulers they were seen as god's,just like the Caesars who ruled Rome,and the Emperor's of Japan. The history of Humanity is one of opposing God,this was manifested by a rejection of the only true God,even when He came in the person of Jesus Christ, that shows the extent of humanites depravity.There was a moment when God said,enough is enough,and He dealt with Pharaoh,and so it will be when God will look on this world that has forsaken Him ,and He will say,'enough is enough',Yes it is coming,what I would say to you is this,if you do not know Christ as your  Saviour,it's time you did,before it's to late.

                                                               'The end is near'

His sufferings ( Isaiah 52 v13- 53 :12)

 In Isaiah 53 v 7 we read these awsome  prophetic words,'He was oppressed and afflicted,yet He did not open His mouth;He was led like a lamb to the slaughter,and as sheep before its shearers is silent,so He did not open His mouth.'These words are so profound  so graphic and so majestic.Here we have Jesus the Lamb of God who came to take away the sin of the world,betrayed by on of His followers for thirty pieces of silver as was foretold by Zechariah chap 11 v12.One needs to read  Isaiah 52 v v13ff to grasp the awful brutality afflicted on our Saviour ,we read,'His appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and His form marred beyond human likeness' We cannot sanitise what our Saviour went through,it was awful beyond degree, yet consider His demeanour ,and His bearing as He was lead as a lamb to the slaughter,,'He did not open His mouth',think of the majesty in His divine silence.He could have called legions of angels to rescue Him(Matthew 26 v53,but He didn't. He voluntary bore all that was being afflicted on  Him,for He knew that was why He had come( Matthew 25 v 54) So silently He walked bravely on towards His destiny ,to die on a cross,All that He suffered had a purpose in Gods eternal plan,it was not a after thought,Revelation 13 v 8 reads ,that He was' the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world' Why all this terrible suffering?,it was simply this,it was God's will to crush Him by bearing our sin,he took upon Himself the consequences of our sim , that when we trust Christ as our Saviour the wrath of God is removed from us ,for He bore it on the cross.

                                                     'He took my sins and my sorrows,

                                                      He made them His very own;'

                                                      

                                                                

Being overwhelmed.(Psalm 42)

 Sometimes when trials fall upon us, it is like being engulled by a Tsunami wave that leaves us devastated to the point were all we can see is darkness,each day is a struggle,nothing seems to help. One of the examples of this is Job,his answer to one of friends goes like this,'If only my anguish could be weighed and all my misery be placed on the scales!It would surely outweigh  the sand of the sea'(Job 6 v 1-2) Another example example is seen in Psalm 42,written by the sons of Korah but Spurgeon attributes it to David,it starts with his longings for God ,indeed a holy thirst for God,for the living God,it progresses to a continual time of sorrows and tears.He remembers the good times,and questions himself as to why he feels so sad,yet he declares his hope in God and praises Him.He is discouraged but he did not lose sight of God.He expresses the depth of His suffering and declares,'All your waves and billows have gone over me'yes a Tsunami has gone over him.Yet in it all he acknowledges God's goodness,yet feels forgotten by God.His enemies press him sore,and the end of the psalm finishes with the words 'I will put my hope in God', and a declaration of  faith and praise ,that God will deliver him.

                                           'If I am weak,may I faint upon the  bosom of eternal love;

                                                   If in extremity,let me feel that he can deliver me;

                                                   If driven to the verge of hope and to the pit of despair,

                                                   grant me grace to fall into His arms.

                                              O God,hear me, do for me more than I ask,think,or dream.

                                                                                      Amen

                                                                         (From the valley of vision.)   

God's moral code.( Exodus 20 v3 -17)

 1Thessalonians 4 deals with what John Stott says are the three major human preocupations,'Sex,work and death'. He also declared,' that one of the weaknesses of contemporary evangelical Christianity is our neglect of Christian ethics,in both our teaching and our practice' He goes on further to say,as regards the neglect of teaching,because we are afraid of being branded 'legalists.we are not under  law,we say piously,as if we were free to ignor and even disobey  it. Whereas what Paul meant  our acceptance before  God is not due to our  observance of the law. But Christians are still under obligation to keep God's law and commandments'(Taken from his book on 1/2 Thessalonians in the 'Bible speaks today series) Let us consider one thing Paul deals with,(1)  Sex,lets face it,it is a very big preoccupation in most people lives,the Bible makes it clear what right sex is ,and what is wrong sex,Hebrews 13 v4 tells us that 'Marriage should be honoured by all ,and the marriage bed kept pure'.Genesis 2 v24 reads 'That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife,and they become one flesh'.To go outside marriage for sex is a sin,'For God will judge the adulterer and the sexually immoral (Heb 13 v4) ,and I would add fornication that is having sex outside of marriage .The NIV has sexually immoral,but the AV is better it defines it as fornication which I believe is more clear and helpful.Just to add a keynote  sex is only ligitimate between a man and a woman ( 1 Cor 6 v9 -10)

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The miracle of salvation ( Romans 3 v11)

 It was Charlotte Bronte who said,'I am no bird,and no one ensnares me,I am a free being with an independent will'.We understand what Charlotte is saying,but it leads unto the question have we got free will or do we believe as Martin Luther wrote that our will is in bondage?Yes we all have a will,but the question is how far has our fallen nature affected our will?,do we have a free will?.Romans 8 v7,tells us that the natural man has a mind that is at enmity with God. Romans 5 v 10 tells us of  humanity being enemies of God.an in Romans8 v7 ,we read of our inability to submit to God's laws.Jesus said.'No one can come to the me unless the Father who sent me draws them.(John 6 v 44).He also said ,' Light has come into the world,but people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.( John 3 v19) The problem with most of us we do not appreciate the awesome awful condition of our fallen nature. When we put our faith in Christ it is a miracle of God's grace,it takes God to move in our hearts, to enable us to turn from our ways to His ways.W Pink writes the following,'The sinners is biased towards evil,and therefore is ''free'' in one direction only,namely,in the direction of evil.The sinners will is enslaved because,.....it is in bondage to a depraved heart' ,again he says our will is regulated by our nature. What we have is the ability to make a choice,that is our responsibility,but only by the grace of God  can we make the right choice.

                                      'My will is not my own till  Thou hast made it thine;'

                                                            George Matheson

                                     

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Don't ignore Him.( Isaiah 53)

I was up in London recently ,there were a lot of people about, I noticed a street preacher,ministering warning about their eternal destiny and telling about Christ,no one appeared to be listening. In Lamentation 1 v 12 we read,'Is it nothing to you,all you that pass by?'The context is this Judah had been invaded by the mighty Babylonian army,Jerusalem was destroyed, likewise the temple.Jeremiah survived this ,as he gazed over the carnage,and he speaks those words from 1 v12.It appeared that no one cared  for the awful suffering they had experienced.But lets broaden it out ,and lets us look to the cross,and see Christ dying on the cross ,prophetically  Isaiah described His awful suffering.'His appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and His form beyond human likeness' (52 V 14)That is the degree of His human suffering,I know that there was a deeper suffering,when the wrath of God  was poured out on Him'  The fast number of people in the world  walk on the other side of the road,ignoring His suffering as if it means nothing.If one goes to the national gallery in London,there are many paintings depicting Christ on the cross.I wonder does anyone  take it in His awful suffering?, and why He suffered ,Charles Wesley applies that verse to Christ in a hymn ,it reads.

                                                    'All ye that pass by, to Jesus draw nigh;

                                                     To you is it nothing that Jesus should die?

                                                     Your ransom and peace,your surety He is;

                                                      Come ,see if there ever was sorrow like

                                                                               HIS'

He does answer.(Psalm 27)

 God really does answer prayer,just recently in answer to my prayer God  I found something that was lost.Then I witnessed to someone who was lost and she promised to Trust Jesus,The next answer to prayer was returning somethng to Amazon ,I was finding it  very difficult to do,but God laid me to someone who helped me. Another answer was in relation to my wife's car,and so I could go on,it is not  vain to call on God.He hears and answers according to His will.Have confidence when you pray ,someone once said when I pray something happens,when I don't pray nothing happens.Jesus told us to pray and not to faint,to not give up,in other words keep on asking,keep on knocking,keep  on seeking.Don't give way to despair or unbelief,it was David who wrote in Psalm 27v8,'My heart has heard you say,'' Come and talk with Me! And my heart responds,''Lord I  am coming'',and in verses 13-14 David  declares ,'I remain confident of this;I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.He had confidence that God was going to undertake for him. And he ends with the following encouraging words,'Wait for the Lord',patiently expectantly,then he says,'be strong and take heart',don't loose heart even if the enemy is battering on your door.and then he repeats what he said previously,'and wait for the Lord',

                                                                 'God will not fail us'

God's greatness.(Isaiah 40)

In Isaiah 40 God is speaking to his prople a people privileged,blessed by God,loved by God,and yet a people who often lost sight of His uniqueness,and who would turn to other so called god's,made of stone,or wood.So in Isaiah 40 ,He  challenges them to look beyond their so called god's,to Him ,and his greatness ,in v10 He reminds them that He is the sovereeign God he declares His greatness and transcdence,in comparsion to their impermance v 7-8.As regards the nations they are nothing in comparsion to God v15-17.In verse 21ff God declares his incomparable greatness,in comparsion to  people who are likened unto grasshoppers,and earthly rulers  who are here today and gone tomorrow.He tells them to look up to the heavens and reminds that He created them.In v27 God poses a question as to what his people are saying ,that He really dosen't care for them or what was happening to them,one commentator describes what they are saying was a hideous lie. God is so great and awesome and does not grow tired or weary,He pays attention to those who need Him,if they wait on Him ,he will renew their strength,so much so that they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary,and they will walk and not faint.'

His kingdom come, ( Daniel 7 v 27)

 Is there any Christian countries?,I don't think so,I keep hearing that Hungary is a Christian country,but is it?,the statistics would say it is ,but in reality only one in five attend any Christian services. Let us consider  what a Christian is,it is someone that has trusted Jesus as their Saviour,and when they have done that their sins have been forgiven,without that you cannot be classed as a Christian.When you become a Christian you become a citizen of the kingdom of God,which is ruled by King Jesus.Jesus our dear Saviour made it absolute clear that His kingdom is not of this world (John 19v36). It is imposs - ible to destroy this kingdom,though many have tried,and are trying, there are mulitudes of Christ's who are suffering greatly,and so it will always be.Dictorial goverments want to have absolute control over their population,and will do all in their power to elimanate those who follow king Jesus.They are very serious about that ,and it is very sad and disturbing to hear of the brutality inflicted on God's children. Jesus asked his disciples,'Who do you say I am? Peter answered ,'You are the Messiah,the Son of the living God.on that declaration of the person of Christ,our Saviour replied ,'On this rock ,I will build my Church,and the gates of Hell will not overcome it'.( John 16 v 16-18) John Newton wrote the following     

                                                      Glorious things of thee are spoken,

                                                      Zion city of our God;

                                                      He whose word cannot be broken,

                                                      Formed thee for His own abode.

                                                       On the rock of  ages founded,

                                                       What can shake thy sure repose?

                                                       With salvation's walls surrounded,

                                                       Thou may'st smile at all thy foes'.

                                                       

                      

A white elephant. (Matthew 19 v16- 22 )

 What is the meaning of the saying ,'a white elephant', it speaks of something that is expensive,that causes a lot of money to look after.I think I read somewhere how a Maharaja would give someone a present of a white elephant,it wasn't a kind act,no he meant to punish the person, by making him poor because of the upkeep of the creature.Today I praise God we have got rid of a white elephant,my wifes  car,it was a lovely car for the first two years she had it, but then things started to go wrong,and it was costing us more and more money,yes it was a white elephant.But  today we got rid of the beast, and I thank God,and in its place my wife has  another nice car .I used to say to my dear wife don't fall in love with any car, for it may turn ino a white elephant.There are many things one could class as a white elephant,what is your white elephant?. There is an enemy  called Satan, remember what he said to our dear Saviour ,when he showed our Him all the kingdoms of the world  and their splendour,he said that he would give him all that if He would bow down and worship him,but of course He didn't.If we yield to Satans temptations we will  soon find there is a price to pay,that can cost one ,their very soul,remember the love of our white elephant,can have dire consequences,but Jesus can set you free,turn to Him if we forsake our white elephant.