Rest ( Matthew 24 v 13)

 Lets consider another aspect of rest, in Hebrews 4 v11 we read, 'Let us make every effort to enter that rest'. The writer was dealing with those who were in danger of turning back, and the severe consequences if they did,he writes as an example the people in the wilderness who did not enter the promise land,(He calls it rest)they were full of unbelief,so they perished in the wilderness.He expresses the importance hearing and obeying the word of God (4 v 7)What is this rest he mentions?we get the answer in Revelation 14 v 13,'Then I heard a voice from heaven say,Write this; blessed are dead who die in the Lord from now on' Yes says the Spirit,'they will rest from their labour, for their deeds will follow them'. so he is talking about heaven which all true believers will go to. So he writes that they  make every effort to enter that rest,what the writer them and us, there is a need for the Christian to persevere ,a life to be lived out in obedience to our Saviour. James wrote,' Show me your faith', in other words an evidence that you are a Christian,likewise  perseverence is an evidence that we are truly are Christians.                                                                                            

9

Words (Isaiah 6 v 1-7 )

The British rock band ''Deep Purple' met a long time super fan,the Japanese PM,and this is what she said to one of the band,''you are my god''.What a strange thing to say,ah you may say well she really didn't mean he was a god.Well she said it,this is what our Saviour said,'But I tell you that everyone will have to give an account on the day of judgement for every empty word they have spoken.For by your words you will be acquitted ,and by your words you will be condemned' (Matthew 12 v 36-37) There is coming a day when that lady will see the folly of what she said,not only the folly,but the seriousness of what she said,and its consequences.There will be a day when all those who said, '' Caesar is Lord'',will be judged.What people don't realise that God is holy,and everytime they say wrong things like that lady,they offend a holy God,  judgement will follow.

Rest ( Psalm 37 v 7) 1

 In Matthew 11 v 28-30 we see one aspect of rest,where our Saviour says ,'Come to me,all you who are weary and burdened,and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,for I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light'.Jesus spoke to the Jews of His day,to a people who were ruled by a severe religious group of people.Our Saviour in Matthew 23v4  tells us that,' they crush people with unbearable religious demands,and never lift a finger to ease the burden'.Jesus was  inviting people to come to Him and the leagalistic burden would be lifted from them,and they would find rest for their souls.What ever burdens we are being forced to carry come to Jesus and find rest.

                                                  

                                                              'I came to Jesus as I was,

                                                              Weary and worn and sad,

                                                               I found in Him a resting place,

                                                               And He has made me glad.'  (Words Horatius Bonar)

                              

                                                                                                                          

                                         

                                          

Sometimes He was a man of few words ( Matthew 9 v 32 )

I was visiting a friend in hospital,and as I got into the lift a large bed was pushed into the lift,and on the bed was an old lady,she had a tube coming from her nose.I said to her are you Christian? she said yes,and I said to her ,'the Lord is with you,you will be alright 'I could see that helped her.Our dear Saviour often spoke just a few words to people and they left a mark in peoples lives. To those who hated them he said ,'Father forgive them ,for they do know not what they are doing' (Luke 23 v 34) In those profound words ,we are reminded that there is no limit to his forgiveness,we often put limits on our forgiveness,I know people can really hurt us, yet in the area of forgiveness their is no get out clause,we have to forgive.Then let us consider what Jesus said to the stormy sea,' Quiet! Be still'( Mark 4 v39) and they obeyed His voice,for we read,' The wind died down and it was completely calm'.Jesus is still the same,be it elements,or in our lives ,often we can feel stormed tossed.The hymn writer wrote ,'The winds and waves shall obey my will! Peace! be still! Whither the wrath of the storm-tost sea,or demons,or men,or whatever it be,' Our Saviour  spoke to a man hanging beside Him on the cross,  ''Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise''  (Luke 23cv 43) this man was in the throes of death ,he was a thief,all hope was gone for Him,not so ,today that man is in heaven.It is never to late to call on Jesus,There is a poem that goes ,'Between the stirup and the ground, I mercy sought ,and mercy found.' A word of caution,don't leave it to late.

Just for today ( Proverbs 27 v1)

Mother Teresa said,'Yeterday is gone.Tomorrow has yet to come. We have only today,Let us begin.' It reminds me of  a song with the following words, 'One day at a time,, yesterday has gone,tomorrow may not be our's.It is only this day we can do some good, so let us not miss the opportunity to do some good,don't judge the beggar on the streets, put you hand in your pocket,don't just give them your loose change surpise them with your generoity.Go that extra mile in helping someone,dont live with the regret ,thinking I wish I had helped that person,do it while you have the chance, and do it as unto the Lord,keep it to yourself. Here is what our dear Saviour taught as regards worrying,'Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own (Matthew 6 v34 )We are to get our priorities right each day,'seek first God's  kingdom and His righteousness,and He will supply what we need'. (Matthew 6 v  33)

                                                           ' I don't know about tomorrow

                                                             I just live from day to day,

                                                             I don't borrow from its sunshine,

                                                             For its skies may turn to gray,

                                                             I don't worry o'er the future,

                                                             For I know what Jesus  said,

                                                             And today I'll walk beside Him,'          

                                                             For He knows what is ahead.'

                                                                ( Words  Ira F. Stanohill)

Have Thine own way Lord. (Matthew 26 v36-39)

We have considered  that God would grant the serenity to accept the things we cannot change and courage to change the things we can change,and then it is summed up in the following words'And the wisdom to know the difference.' My first wife I went and to Bible college,we believed that we were called to be missionaries,but it never happened we prayed for God to open a way, to know avail,but for other students it did happen.But I did become a minister and I got comfirmation of  that,in the morning we set of to come to England God give me scripture which read,'Behold ,I send an Angel before you to keep in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared' (Ex 23 v20) There was a lady called Adelaide Pollard she lived in 19th century ,she wanted to be a missionary in Africia but it didn't happen.which upset her,but one night a lady in a praye meeting prayed ,'It doesn't matter what you bring into our lives Lord,just have your way with us'.From that experience she went on to write a lovely song,here are some of the words from it.     

                                          (1)  'Have Thine own way ,Lord,have Thine own way;

                                                Thou are the potter,I am the clay;

                                                Mold me and make me after Thy will,    

                                                While I am waiting, yielded and still.

                                          (2)  Have Thine own way, Lord,have Thine own way;

                                                 Search me and try me,Master, today;

                                                 Whiter than snow ,Lord,wash me just now,

                                                  As in Thy presence humbly I bow;

                                           (3)  Have Thine own way, Lord, have Thine own way;

                                                  Hold o'er my being absolute sway;

                                                  Fill with Thy Spirit till all can see

                                                  Christ only, always ,living in me'

                                                  

                                                 

A request ( Psalm 46)2

 The last time we considered change but we never touched on the initial words of the prayer,'God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change',  This is not a one of thing he is talking about,no this is something permanent ,it's not going away like Pauls thorn in the flesh,it is not something you want ,but God has said no. There was a philosophy of stoicism in the Greek world that you should grin and bear it,no that's not what he is asking for,rather he is asking God for an an innner calmness.The words of a hymn come to mind they read,'

                                                   'Drop thy still dews of quitetness,

                                                    Till all our strivings cease;

                                                    Take from our souls the strain and stress,

                                                    And let our ordered lives confess

                                                    The beauty of Thy peace'.  ( Words John Green Whirrier)

                                                     

He is Sovereign ( Ephesians 1 v 11)1

There is a hand that guides all our destinies and that hand is God's .All our times are in His hands,the hymn writer wrote,'His decree who formed the earth,fixed my first and second birth;parents,native place,and time,all appointed were by Him'.He is the one who rules over all of the affairs of our lives'.He is Sovereign,and He does something that applies to all of His children,we read about it in Romans 8 v 28,this is what it says,' And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him,who have been called according to his purpose'.All things ,the good things,the hard things,the hard to understand things,the painful things. Many Christians do not grasp this, good things yes, but not bad things,terrible things, take Job he lost all his children,all his possessions,and his health.Christians die of cancer,Christians are not promised a pain free life,but they are promised that all things  will work together for their good.I knew a girl a girl called  Sheila, I remember hearing her speaking at a meeting,she quoated a verse of a poem,'I'll that he blesses is our good ,and unblessed good is ill,and all is well ,that seems most wrong,if it be His sweet will' (Frederick William Faber) Let me just add,she died of cancer,leaving a husband and Children.

                                                        'Blind unbelief is sure to err,

                                                         And scan His works in vain;

                                                         He is His own interpreter,

                                                         And He will make it plain.  (William Cowper)

 

Two contrasts ( Psalm 1)

 Let us consider the first psalm,it is a psalm of two contrasts,the godly man,and the ungodly man,verse one  reads ,'Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,nor standeth in the way of sinners ,nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful'. This sets the tone of the psalm. The word blessed means happy the ungodly yes are happy but they have no meaningful sense of spiritual well being. The godly are called to be seperate from the ungodly's sinful ways.The godly take great delight in God's word meditating on it continually v2,how much do we value God's word?. Verse 3 tells that the godly man will be like a fruitful tree bearing fruit,CP  Galatians 5 v 22ff.In verse 4 we are told ,'The ungodly are not so,instead of being secure ,he likens them' unto chaff which the wind drives away'Spurgeon writes,'death shall hurry them with its terrible blast into the fire in which they shall be utterly consumed'. Verses 5-6 tells us that in the day of judgement 'they will not have a leg to stand on'(Derek Kidner)He finishes by telling us that God knows the way of the righteous,yes He is watching over His children.But he ends on a very solemn note, 'The way of the ungodly shall perish',hell is every unsaved persons destination.

Never (Psalm 42/43)

Psalms 42 /43 te writer is a spiritual man in verses 1-2 he expresses his great thirst for God,he thinks of his past spiritual experiences,but now he is overwhelmed ,he feels oppressed by enemies and those who mock him. He is struggling feeling cast down, and he does something that we all do,he talked to himself, challenging himself.Yes the most godly people struggle at time feel overcome to the point of despair,in 2 Corinthians 1 v8 we read how Paul and his companions we're in such a situation that they despaired even of life.So here is what the psalmist said to himself,'Why ,my soul,are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me?Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him,my Saviour and my God'.His adversaries had  chided him,''Where is your God?''When my dear first wife died,her father who was not a Christian pointed mockingly at a plaque with words that read,'Jesus never fails' I never felt that Christ failed me,nor did the psalmist,and nor should you child of God.Let us all put our hope in our loving God who will never fail us.

Change ( John 3v30)1

•  Sitting on my desk there is a little square stone with words on it ,here is what it says,

                                                                                                                                                              

                                                   ' God grant me the serenity

                                                    to accept the things I can-

                                                    not change,the courage to

                                                    change the things I can and

                                                     the wisdom to know the

                                                    difference.'

In my long years,I have discovered there are things that I cannot change no matter how much I prayed, it took along time to accept that truth, There are so many things in life that can effect us and we find that so hard to accept, what I struggled with is different at to what you struggle with. We must not lean on our own understanding that's a trap we all fall into,no we must trust in our sovereign God,the hymn writer wrote the following words,

                                             'Every joy or trial falleth  from above,

                                             Traced upon our dial by the Sun of love.

                                             We must trust Him fully.

If God is sovereign which He is ,then there is a  purpose in those things in life which we cry out in tears for Him  to change,and yet He doesn't,why ?,well that very  thing which we want Him to change, is the very thing He is using to change us. 

                                                    ' Jesus you are changing me,

                                            By your Spirit You're making me like You'

God ( Matthew 28 v 19)

God knows His children no matter where they are,we are told that,' The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,and His ears are attentive to their cry.' ( Psalm34 v 15). His children are not out of His sight, the word 'Omnipresent' relates only to God meaning that He is everywhere at the same time. He see's all things,nothing is hidden from Him,when it comes to God there is no hiding place. Not only is God  omnipresent He is'Omniscient',which means that He is all knowing,there is nothing He doesn't know,He knows every thing about us, and everything about this world , after all He made it,God is infinite in His being .Who can we compare Him to? the answer is no one, He has no begining ,He always has exsisted  and He always will,He is unchanging, He is holy,He is just ,and He is love.He is a triune being,Father, Son,and Holy Ghost,three but one,and one but three.All three are mention in the scripture as being God, there is no other way to explain them. God is awesome,and mysterious who made us in his  image,one commentater writes the following,'When God made us we reflected Him,  we were given an unique status,a divine dignity as human beings.The fall effected that I'm not sure to what degree,but in eternity that will be restored completly (Romans 8 v 29)   

He-who-Must not- be-named ( Matthew 9 v13)

In the Harry Potter movies the arch enemy was Lord Voldemort,he created a spirit of fear,so much so that we read,He-who-Must-not-be -named. I wonder why'Well could it be that,that even as Christians we never mention the devil,in many pulpits he is never mentioned,I want to mention three things about him. In 2Corintians 11 v14 we read , 'For Satan himself  masquerades as angel of light '. in other words he takes on many forms,he first appeared as a snake that could actually speak  (Gen3,) and look where that landed humanity.Things have not changed ,he comes at mankind in so many different ways,and humanity  believes his lies,to their destruction. Next verse 1Peter 5 v 8 which reads ,'Be alert and of sober mind,your enemy the devil prowls around  like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour'He hates us the most ,so he will do everything he can to destroy us.Take those words serious,because he is very serious,he will will leave us in tatters,so be on your gaurd. Next verse John 8 v 44, 'He was a murderer from the bginning,not holding to the truth,for there is no truth in him.When he lies,he speaks  his native language,for he is a liar and the father of lies' John Stott writes 'The devil disturbs the church as much by error as by evil.When he cannot entice Christian people into sin,he deceives them into false doctrine'.

The Bible ( Luke 4 v 14- 19)

Spurgeon said,''The Bible is our standard authority;none may turn from it,Others may worship science, reason,and their own judgements,but the God we worship is the God of the scriptures''.The Bible is unique ,what makes it so? because it God's word,when we read it God is speaking to us.Other religions have what they call holy scriptures,but they are neither holy or scriptures,They believe in gods who are not God's for there is only one God  the God of the Bible (Roman 3 v30).How do we get to know this God? read the Bible,hear the word of God proclaimed ,for faith cometh by hearing God's word. (Romans 1,0 v17)In the Bible we find the meaning of life read the first chapters of Genesis ,how this universe and earth came into beimg,and and how humanity came into being.At that time there was no sin in the world,everything was pure and holy until that moment when the greatest  catastrophe in all human history took place.The jewel the crown of God's creation did the unthinkable,they sinned,and that brought us under a curse,we were never meant to die that has changed,for the wages of sin is death,so we all die ,but we have a soul that will never die,and in that condition we will spend eternity in hellThat is the dark. side,it must be taken serious,God does,but He has provided a way to be saved.

                                                    A man once asked the question,

                                                    what must I do to be saved,he 

                                                    was told,'Believe in the Lord 

                                                     Jesus and thou shalt be saved.  (Acts 16 v31)

The great prophet (Isaiah 6 v 1ff)

One of the greatest of the prophets was Isaiah through him we have outstanding prophetic utterances,  in chapter 39,he told king  Hezekiah that the mighty army of Assyria would not conquer Jerusalem,not only that ,their king would return to his land,and that came about (Isa 37 v 21ff) In chap52-53 we have the  suffering of our redeemer Jesus proclaimed,in such graphic details ,it is as if Isaiah sat at the foot of the cross. No wonder we call the utterances of Isaiah,' the gospel according to Isaiah'.There are many other utterances made by this wonderful man, yes he was a man a very godly man, not a perfect man,it is not me that's says this,he says it himself,when he was called to be a prophet (chap 6 ),,and had a vision of God and of God's holiness ,and he cries out,'Woe to me!  I cried,'I am ruined! for I am a man of unclean lips,'We honour such people as Isaiah,but He needed a Saviour,just like you and me,he needed his sins forgiven,and in verse 6 ,we read that his sins were forgiven. If a great prophet had to have his sins forgiven,how much more do we need our sins forgiven.

                                                        'Thee are no exceptions to the rule ,

                                                         we all need to kneel at the foot of 

                                                          cross,and ask Jesus to be our 

                                                                          Saviour

The Holy Spirit. ( Ephesians 3 v16)

 As Christians we have the Holy Spirit ,we are told our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6 v19-20),it is He who bears witness with our Spirit that we are God's children (Romans 8 v16). He also helps us in our weakness Rom 8 v 26, what are you facing today?, difficulties, temptation,tasks that seem to be beyond you, so let me repeat what I have said,the Holy Spirit will help us in our weakness. In that same verse we read ,that He will help us in our prayers, it tells us,'We do not know what to pray for,but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans'.John  Murry writes,' Christ is our intercessor in the court of heaven,while the Holy Spirit is our intercesser in the theatre of our own hearts'. Just a few more thoughts on the Holy Spirit,He empowers us Acts 1 v8, He guides us John 14 v26,and produces fruit in our lives ,Galatians 5 v22-23.

                                          'The Holy Spirit is here ,where saints in prayer agree,

                                           As Jesus parting gift He's near,each pleading company.

                                          He dwells within our soul,an ever welcome guest;

                                          Our bodies are His shrine,and He the indwelling Lord;

                                          All hail, Thou Comforter divine,be evermore adored.

                                                                  Words C H.Spurgeon

The man who got side tracked. ( Luke 15 v11 ff)

 I don't know much about baseball ,but I watched a movie of the life of Rob Hobbs,one of the all time greats. From an early age he loved basball and he was very good at it.But he got side tracked, went away from the game,but later on he came back to the game,and the rest is history.The Bible tells us about a young man, we read about in Luke 15,we don't know his name ,he had an older brother.Like a lot of young people he got side tracked,when the father died,they would both receive an inheritance ,but the young boy was impatient,he wanted it now,so he went to his father and said ''give me my share of the estate'',and the father did that.He went of into a far country and squandered his wealth on wine ,women and song, and to crown it all there was a severe famine,and he couldn't pay his way.Things got worse and worse and nobody would help him,he had hardly any cloths,and was  barefoot.He hired himself out to a pig farmer, and it was them he stopped and thought,my fathers servant are better of than me yet here I am starving .I will return to my father beg his forgiveness and asked him to make me like one of his hired servants.So of he went and you just can imagine what was going through his mind,Well his father father saw him coming he threw his arms around him and kissed him,the son asked his fathers forgiveness and that he was no more worthy to be his son.But the father called his servand to bring the best clothes,and sandals to wear,and a put a ring on his finger,and prepare a great meal, and said,For this son of mine was dead,is alive again,was lost and is found.We will finish there with these words you may be like that young been side tracked,and your life is a total mess,return to  Jesus and he will put you back on track.

                                                   'I've wandered far away from God;

                                                    Now I'm coming home;

                                                    The paths of sin too long I've trod;

                                                    Lord, I'm coming home.' ( Words William J. kirkpatrick)

                                                  

                                                    

Looking at things differently ( Philippians 4 v 8-9)

When we become a Christian,we enter a new relationship with Jesus,we are now children of God, and from that point onwards ,we look at life differently,we are guided by God's moral boundaries.We are not to look at the fair sex as being just sex objects,they are to be respected,When a person is raped,the rapists is treating that person purely as a sex object,likewise those who indulge in pornography,this also applies to prostitution.God did not create woman to be sex objects,to be abused,He made them to be coequal with man. The commandments and our Lord's teaching, plus not forgetting what we are taught in all scripture  become the norm of our moral boundaries.If God's word tells us something is wrong,we must not cross His moral boundaries,if we cross that line we are sinning.King David did and paid a price,if we do we will pay a price also,it will be hard to live with a guilty conscience.Remember we are called to be a holy people,thats the meaning of the word saint .The word saint is used 67 time in the NT,every child of God is  referred to as being a saint,one set apart for God's special purposes.

Changed ( 2 Corinthians 3 v 18)

 I remember one message I was preaching and I said God loves us but He does not love us as we are,after the message a lady came to me,and she was upset,at what I said.I tried to explain to her what I meant but to no avail.Now what did I mean? first let me say this,God's love is unmerited,undeserved,He loves us,but there are many things He doesn't love,and so a work  by God's Spirit begins, to transform us,to be more like Christ.(Roman 8 v 29)It's a process called sanctification ,where those unchristlike aspects of our lives are dealt with. In 2 Corithians 3 v18 we read ,'that we are being transformed into His likeness' it is not our physical likeness it is a Christlike charcter, that inner man,that needs changed. Galatians 3 v 22-23 spells it out,instead of being filled with sexual immorality, impurity,lustful pleasures,idolatry,sorcery, dissension.division,hostility,quarreling,jealousy,outburts of anger,selfish ambitition,dissension,division, envy, drunkenness,wild parties,and other sins,like these.These will be replaced by love,joy ,peace,patience, kindness,goodness,faithfulness ,gentleness,and self control.' Charles Wesley wrote,

                                                      'Finish then Thy new creation,

                                                       Pure and spotless may we be;

                                                       Let us see Thy great salvation

                                                       Perfectly restored in Thee!

                                                       Changed from glory into glory.

                                                        Till we cast our crowns before Thee,

                                                        Lost in wonder,love and praise.'

!

I have become a Christian. ( Matthew 18 v 3)

It was 8am and my phone went,and to my surprise our eleven year old grandson was phoning ,it was the first time he had ever phoned.This is what he said,'I've become a Christian ,what a wonderful thing to hear that,I have many grandchildren,some are Christians some are not,sad to say to many are not,but still it was  wonderful to hear my grandson saying he had become a Christian,his name is Oliver,do pray for him. I trusted Jesus as a young boy,and although I did not always follow Him that always stayed with me.Let us never forget that children have a soul,and need a Saviour.There is no age limit as to when a person can become a Christian. You remember when the parents brought their children to Jesus so He could bless them, and how the disciples told them off,but Jesus intervened and said ,'Let the little children come to me,and do not hinder them'.  (Matthew19 v14) They are at a greater advantage they possess  that which adults generally don't have Jesus speaks of it in Matthew 18 v 3,which reads ''Unless you change and become like little children, you will nevrr enter the kingdom of heaven'.One person comments on this verse ssys,'Jesus taught that to enter the kingdom of God one must possess ,the  humility , trust, and openness of a child'.

Forgiven ( Hebrews 9-10 v 1-18)

I have a friend whom I visit, he is housebound ,he is aged 91,I have known him for a long time,he has a wonderful testimony of how God saved him many years ago in Dublin's fair city.He was brought up in  a Roman Catholic family, most people in Dublin in fact in Southern Ireland were Catholic's.His brother became a priest,and he himself  joined a religious order for a while.He went to Mass and confession regularly, but for all his religiosity he had no peace,no assurance of his sins being forgiven.Let me digress and ask  why he had no assurance of salvation.The Mass is seen as Christ being sacrificed  again and again,so it goes on unending.Christ came to put an end of continual sacrifices.In Hebrews 10 we are told that they were only a shadow of the good things that were coming through Christ .The sacrifice of animals God did not  desire they could not effectively deal with sin,we are told that God had no pleasure with blood offerings and sin offerings.So Christ in obeying the will of God,offered Himself up as one sacrifice for sin never to be repeated again. (Hebrews 9 v 27-28)So it was as my Friend read the scriptures he realised that Christs one time offering would effectively deal with His sin.

                                                              'Not all the blood of beasts, 

                                                               On Jewish altars slain,

                                                               Could give the guilty conscience peace,

                                                               Or wash away the stain.

                                                                But Christ the heavenly Lamb,

                                                                Takes all our sins away;    (Words  Isaac Watts)

If only ( James 1 v 22)

How meaningful are those two words,''If only'',we turn to Isaiah 48 the context is Babylon that super- powers reign was coming to an end (Chap 47),that would mean Israels captivity was coming to an end,they were going home. So God speaks to remind them that all the suffering they had experienced need not have happened,'If only' (48 v18) you had paid attention to God's commands.It is as simple as that,God had sent prophets to them  to warn them to turn back to God, sometimes they did but often they didn't. If only they had obeyed God they would have been indestructible,no power be it ever so great would have conqueror them.God's patience has it's limit its.and so God would turn against them,Our Saviour summed it up in Matthew 23 v 37,'Jerusalem ,Jerusalem,you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,how often I longed to gather your children together,as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings,and you were not willing'. Let us all learn from Israels experience that there will be consequences in forsaking God,is God saying to you or me?,''If only''.

Love ( 1 Corinthians 13)

 We hear the word love often mentioned in songs,an old song comes to mind the words ,'Love is a many splender thing, it's the April rose that only grows in the early spring'.That's based on romantic love,that  St Valentine's love,I still give my wife a Valentine's card,and some chocolate,she bought me rose's.There is nothing wrong with doing that,but we should know that love goes much further than that.Love is vital in our relationship,it should be the glue that holds our marriages together.One sometimes hears of a loveless marriage that's unfortunate, we should not be surprised if such a marriage does not last.Paul stressed the importance of love,he wrote if we have not love no matter about our sacrifices,or our spiritual gifts,or our faith that can remove mountains, we are nothing.To manifest Christian love is not optional,there is no get out clause ,we have to love.that means we have to forgive,because someone has hurt you deeply,or hurt someone you love.It is challenging to me as I write this,what if,yes ,what if,will I still love them?. You may be saying to God I can't forgive that person they have hurt me so much,what is the answer? Well we must look at the cross,the cross is the greatest act of love ever manifested,God could easily have said I've had enough , but He didn't, He chose to love us,how do we know that? just look at the cross,dear Christian this is the moment for you to pray and say as you forgive me, so I will forgive that person who has hurt me.

Hope ( Psalm 42)

 Spurgeon said,'Hope itself is like a Star- not to be seen in the sunshine of prosperity,and only to be discovered in the night of adversity'. When difficulties arise I turn to God in prayer,when a young lady recently told me about her problems,I said, let us have a little word of prayer.When a man in the church told me about a procedure he was going to have in hospital,I said I would pray for him. When I witness I remember that person in prayer,why am I saying this? to be boastful ? no, I am reminding myself and reminding you to look beyond ourselves to God. Romans 4 v 18 reads ,'Even when there was no reason to hope,Abraham kept hoping- believing that he would become the father of many nations'. I like those words ,'Abraham kept hoping', My son who knows a bit of Spanish ,said that in Spanish  the word hope and wait,mean practically the same .

                                                                    Psalm 43v 1

                                                         'Why am I discouraged?

                                                          Why is my heart sad!  

                                                           I will put my hope in God!

                                                           I will praise Him again-

                                                            my Saviour and my God'

He had not changed.( 2 Corinthians 5 v17)

 'We are all going to need a lot of forgiving on our way to our final rest',(B Webb/BST),it was written about Christians,that may sound strange,but the fact is,as Christians we still sin,in word,in thought,and in deed. That is a fact that cannot be denied, a certain famous Christian said I'm not a sinner,even though the Bible says,''If we claim to be without sin,we deceive ourselves,and the truth is not in us''(1 Jn 1v8) We must remember that,but John does not stop there in chap 3 v 6, we read,' No one who lives in  Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen Him or known Him'.It is John Stott who writes the following,'It is not the isolated act of sin which is envisaged, but the settled habit of it, indicated by the verb poiei ,to do or to practice'. In v9 we read,'No one who is born of God will continue to sin', again we turn to what J/ S writes ,'' He is not able to sin habitually''.If there is no permanent change in a person's life,and they persist in their sinful ways,then they are not Christians.I knew someone  who was a abuser,sent to prison ,professed to be saved was baptised,but it was obvious he had not changed.

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Have you a hero? (John 13 v 37 -38)

My son Brian  spoke of the man who was his hero,and so now in a sense he is villian,he has fallen of his pedestal I think it's a foolish thing to put someone on a pedestal and call them your hero.I'm sure many people put king David on a pedestal,by all acconts he was a good looking person,he was very brave,won many battles,and so we could go on ,yes he was a very great man,but then he fell of his pedestal.Take Lord Nelson ,a very brave man,he won so many battles,but he fell of his pedestal,he committed adultery,with Lady Hamilton.Putting people on a pedestal and making them your hero is leaving yourself open, to disapointment.It may seem that I'm being cynical,I'm not, I have friends and I love them,and I admire them,but they are not my hero's,I don't put anyone on a pedestal.When Peter was talking to our Saviour ,he looked at John and he said,what about him?,and Jesus said ,'You must follow Me' (John 21 v 21-22),and in Hebrews 12v2,we are told to 'fix our eyes on Jesus'.If we do that we will never go wrong,we will never be disappointed.

Choose. (John 21 v 21-22)1

In John 6 v 66 we read,'From this time forth many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him'.They did this because they misunderstood something Jesus said,people turn back from following Jesus  for many reasons,the list is endless . My son Brian tells in his book ,'Be Still' how a friend and him went through a time when they were let down by a particular leader in his church.They were disappointed and disillusioned, it was someone they admired ,but he had done somethings that was wrong,Brian said he was his hero ,he waned to be like him,but he let him down,they were both in a crisis of faith.Brian phoned his friend one evening to ask him how he was,he said,'Sometimes I sit on the end of my bed and think is this all worth it,and then I choose to believe. Sometimes Brian,we just have to choose to believe even if we don't feel like it'.

Honesty the best policy ( Numbers 32 v23 )

I found ten pounds recently lying on the floor of a shop,so I was faced with a decision,do I keep it?,after all it's only ten pounds.but I handed it into a worker ,who reported it to her superior,and that was it.Not really I shared with  the shop worker how there time in the past when I had little money,if I would find money I  would hand into the local police station  I knew if it wasn't claimed in a certain time it would become mine,I must confess I hoped no one would claim it,times were hard. I do believe honesty is the best policy, after all on one has to live with one's self,and who wants a guilty conscience?I remember reading about Maria ,Hudson Taylor's wife, in case you don't know Hudson founded the' China Inland Mission', it is worthwhile to read about him.Back to Maria she served with her husband in his work.She died aged 33 of Cholera,one the things she said before she died,that there was nothing between her and God.What she meant was,that was no sin between her and her God. On confessed sin even in the believers life ,it will not affect your standing before God,but it will affect your relationship with Him.So what's the answer? well it is John who tells us,'If we confess our sins,He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness'.( 1 John 1 v 9 )

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Legalisim (Matthew 23)

 As I get older I get more emotional and can cry easy,our dear Saviour  was an emotional person,we read how he wept,I'm sure He must have laughed , In Mark 3 v 5,we read that he became angry at the Pharisees ,it all happened when our Saviour visited the synagogue,there was a man present who had a shrivelled hand. There were Pharisees present,they watched Him closely to see if He would heal the man, for it was the Sabbath.I must confess that one writer says this about the Pharisees.'They were good religious men and we should feel sorry for them,Jesus was not sorry for them,we read ,'He looked around at them in anger and was deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts,or their hard hearts.No He didn't feel sorry for them,and He did not let them,stop Him from healing that poor man. Jesus was not breaking the law, He was challenging these so called law keepers,who had added unto the law,and in doing that they destroyed the true essence of the law. There are so many religions that are legalistic and they make life terrible for people.As Christians we must keep the commandments,but we must not add on those things that  we become like those Pharisees. Let me just add, we are not saved by the law,but we must live by moral boundaries that God has laid down.

Jesus the only hope ( Revelation 2 v1 - 8)

Raymond Brown in his book on Hebrews writes ,' Jesus has come into the world into the world to show us what man is like in God's original purpose and what man can be through Christ's effective work'. As we look at this world as it is,we see how far we have deteriated from God's original creation.The deluded evolutionist tells us that we have evolved from a lower to a higher species.No ,man was created as perfect human beings, but the sad fact is ,we are not improving as human beings, one would think that we some how would have learned that if we keep on the way we are going, it will be disasterous.From hopelessness to a message of hope,think of what Raymond Brown said,that 'what humanity can be through Christ's effective work'.God's purpose in Jesus coming is good news for us sinners,.His death on the cross, means our sins can be forgiven,and our lives can be transformed.and we can live eternally.no longer are we headig for hell,no we are heading for a new heaven and a new earth and we will be with Jesus,and we will be like Jesus,perfect.

                                                              'Despair not ,hope in Jesus'

Healings ( Luke 18 v 27)

 I was visiting a friend,who struggles with life,even more so .as he grows older, he has been a Christian a long time. He often says why do we not see miracles now,I'm sure there are reasons ,there are who believe that the miracles we read in scripture ,have ceased.I'm reluctant to say that,but it is true that we don't see miracles ,and I don't have an answer.I am very reluctant to give people false hope,but it is obvious that God can heal .As I write this I remember a friend who had an illness,that no one survives from,he was healed,and showed me the before and after x-rays,the before showed how the illness had affected his lungs,and the after  showed that it was all clear. All I can say if it is God's will He will heal,he will answer our prayers and even heal people.1 John 5 v14-15 reads,''This is the confidence we have in approaching God;that if we ask anything according to His will,he hears us.And if  we know that he hears us,whatever we ask,we know that we have what we asked of Him.''

Why oh why? ( Philippians 2 v5-11)

No one likes being humiliated ,when I was in the army as a boy soldier,there was an occasion when a certain corporal was giving us drill and he called one of the young lads out.And he berated him saying this is what we have to face the Russians with, the cold war was still a reality.That young lad must have felt humiliated ,it is not nice to be humiliated,no one likes it,one feels a sense of shame.The word of God tells us this about our Saviour,that before he came into this world He had equality with God, In other words the angels worshipped Him (Hebrews 1 v 6),by Him all things were made (Hebrews 1 v2),just to remind you that God is a triune being,Father,Son,and Holy Spirit, they are not three gods,they are one, and they work in harmony with each other.But this is what God the Son did,He left aside the trappings of His deity, and  did something incredible,he took up the humble  position of a slave and became human.And then He humbled Himself in obedience to God,by dying on a cross. Those who put Him on that cross hated Him, during his three and a half years of ministry,they hated him with a vehemence that reached a transcendo of viciousness and cruelty,when they arrested Him they sought to totally humiliate Him. Why oh why did He go through all that?,the answer is simple but profound ,to bring salvation to a lost world,to save you, and to save me.

There is hope ( Luke 23 v 39- 43)

I heard these words recently ,' You may not know it ,your not beyond redemption'.the apostle Paul called himself the chief of sinners,and then he added,''Of whom I am worse''.  ( 1 Timothy 1 v 15) In Romans 5 v  6 we read ,'Christ died for the ungodly'.In the Gospels the religious people appeared not to offer any hope of salvation to those they thought were sinners,inspite of the fact that their greatest king sinned greatly and was forgiven,we speak of David who committed adultery and murder.Many people today are a bit like the Pharisees they don't hold out much hope for people being forgiven. The reason Christ came was to save sinner,no matter how sinful they  are,no matter how wicked they have been. The nation of Israel so often in their history sinned against God who is holy,yet God said to them,''Come now,let us reason together,''Says the Lord,''Though your sins are like scarlet,they shall be as white as snow; Though they are red as crimson,they shall be as wool'.(Isaiah 1 v18) Forgiveness is offered no matter if you are a deep died sinner,you can be forgiven if you turn to Jesus in repentance and seek forgiveness you will be saved.

         

                                                     'The vilest offender who truly believes,

                                                      That moment from Jesus a pardon receives,'

                                                                   Word F J.Crosby

He knows what He's doing ( 1Corinthians 1 v26-29) 4Gideon

Lets consider another lesson from Gideon when he was he was faced with an army of many thousands and he had only three hundred soldiers, to the natural eye,it was absurd ,and yet those three hundred won the victory.Remember David and the giant,in 1Samuel 17,and how David little more than a boy won the victory over that giant,God knows what He is doing.His ways are not our ways,in  Isaiah 55v  8-9 we read,'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts' God chooses nobodies and make them somebodies,that's God way ,He knows what He is doing,so trust Him and obey Him.

Trust (Psalm 37)

Someone wrote as regards something that happened ,'That it was not a coincidence but a God-incidence'. a very insightful statement.David as an old man wrote the 37th Psalm and in verse 23,we read ,'The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord',it was very appoberiate that this godly old man wrote those words.As an old man myself I look back on my life I can trace God's hand in all my life. Of course it is sometimes hard to see that at the time,if only we could it would save us a lot of worries,a lot of pain. Out of his experance  he wrote this Psalm , in three verses we have the word trust, what are you facing today? difficulties , disappointments ,'discouragements,dangers,'Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding'.Think upon  those words ,That it was not a coincidence but a God-incidence', do you doubt that?,why not replace doubt with ,'Trust'.David experienced so many difficulties ,he lost two sons,and his dearest friend,King Saul hunted him like a wild amimal,but his God who is our God brought him through ,the poet wrote,

                                                           Sovereign Ruler of the skies,

                                                            Ever gracious ever wise;

                                                            All my times are in Thy hand,

                                                            All events at Thy command,   (Words John Ryland)

To God be the glory. ( Titus 3 v5-7)3

 Let's consider a lesson that Gideon had to learn,in Judges chap7 Gideon prepares for war with an army of  thirty two thousand. But God speaks and tells him to reduce the army ,why ? the reason being  Israel would boast that they got the victory, and would rob God of the glory.The army was reduced to ten thousand,but God was not finished, He reduced the army to three hundred.Israel had to learn the lesson that we  also need to learn,He must have all the glory.When it comes to salvation the apostle Paul writes,' For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this is not from yourselves,it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast'. ( Ephesians 2 v 8-9)Likewise in Romans 11 v 6  we read,' And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would be no longer grace.So in relation to salvation and all things we must give God all the glory. 

                                            'To God be the glory! Great things He hath done!

                                            So loved He the world that He gave us His Son,

                                            Who yielded His life an atonement for sin

                                            And opened the life-gate that we may go in.'

The relucant One ( Luke 14 v 25-33) 3

Following on from yesterday, we read Moses was filled with fear and then God spoke to him,telling him that He had heard the cry of His people and would rescue them from their suffering, and take them to the promise land.I'm sure it sounded good to Moses,but then he heard God say, So now go.and bring  His people out of Egypt.And so started a whole conversation,Moses say's who am I that I should go Pharoah and bring the  Israelites out of Egypt? God's answer was simplicity itself ,' I will be with you', Then began a toing and froing which went on for quite a while,God was very patient with him seeking to reassure him.Then Moses said to God he was not a very good speaker and that He should send someone else,God got angry, but that passed,and He pointed to Aaron his brother who was a good speaker. Moses again spoke that  he was not up to the task.but God went on to say that he would help both of them to speak,and told him to take his shepherds staff so he could perform the miraculous signs that God had shown him.Just a couple of comments God is always with us,and He will be with us,and if neccessary he will give us a Silas or a Timothy to assist us and he will equip us for the task that he has called us to do.

Called by God (Exodus 3) 2

Moses was wonderfully called by God,but it would not take place for forty years,he had left Egypt,after he had killed an Egyptian who was beating one of his people. He hid the body in the sand thinking that no one had seen what he did,but word got around, Pharaoh sought to find him and put him to death, so he ran away and ended up in Midian,there he came into contact with a priest who had seven daughters Midian invited him to stay ,he accepted and he married one of the daughters,and he ended up in being a shepherd looking after his father-in -laws sheep.He did this for forty years until that fateful day when minding the sheep,he saw  a bush burning and yet it was not burnt up. Curiosty got the better of him,and he heard the voice of God calling him and he answered ,'Hear am I'. God warned not to get to close,and to take of his sandals off, for he was standing on holy ground.Then he said that He was the God of his father,and the God of Abraham,Isaac,and Jacob'.We will just finish with a few thoughts.God can meet us in many ways not just in a church building,but in the midst of a crowd,in an areoplane in a boat,or even in the belly of a great fish Who  knows ?,but you will know.

Wonderfully Preserved ( Psalm 31 v 14-15)

Moses life can be divided into three periods,born in Egypt were he was wonderfully preserved by God, then he was wonderfully called by God,then he was wonderfully used by God.He lived in Egypt for forty years,40 yrs in Midian forty years ,and forty in the wilderness.Let us consider how he was wonderfully preserved ,Egypt was ruled by a very wicked man, wicked people do wicked things,they fear neither God nor man.He was worldly wise   Exodus 1 v10, James describes such wisdom as being unspiritual ,demonic,we can think of many people who were full of such wisdom,there were many through out history,what they concocted was trully demonic,I mention but one ,Hitler.Pharaoh oppressed the people of God on a false pretext Ex 1 v10. crushing them with hard labour.It didn't stop there ,he gave orders to cull them ,like we do with animals everyone had to obey,with but one couple hid there new born babe. But when they could not hide him anymore,the wife made a basket coated it with Tar and pitch,and  placed it among the reeds along the banks of the river Nile.The rest is history,he ended up being adopted by Pharoahs daughter.Yes he was wonderfully preserved by God.People often ask a very eldery person  what is the secret of living so long,the answer is God,it was He who preserved Moses,no one else,only God,and he will preserve you.

What God see's (1 Corinthians 2 v1-5)

I am going on 82 but I still try and look my best, often people pay me compliments,which I appreciate but of course ,I know that clothes doth not make the man.Our suits do not give any indication of a persons character,it may impress people,and if one is chasing a boy friend or a girl friend we want to look our best. If one is going for an interveiw fo a job one should try to look one's best.I am talking on the horizontal level,what do I mean by that?  Well it is illustrated in the account of the prophet Samuel who was sent by God to annoint Israel's new king,We read about it in 1 Samuel 16,God had already chosen who it would be, so all Samuel had to do was annoint him.Samuel was directed to the house of Jesse,who had eight son's,but there was only seven present when he arrived.Samuel saw the first one  and thought he is the one,but no he wasn't,and God spoke to him and said to 'I have rejected him.The Lord does not look at things people look at, people look at the outward appearance,but the Lord looks at the heart'.And the one who was appointed  to be king ,was David,a man after God's own heart. (1 Samuel13 v14/Acts 13 v22).

                                               '

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Why ( John 3 v36)

The suffering of Christ was absolutley awful,it is Isaiah who gives us a graphic picture in chap 53v13-15and the whole of Chap 53.  Here are some things we read'His appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being,and his form married beyond any human likeness'' He was lead as a lamb to the slaughter.That was the phyisical suffering ,but of course his suffering went beyond that ,for we read,Yet it  was the Lord's will to crush him,why?right through chap53 we told ,'by his wounds we are healed,that's nothing to do with phyisical healing,sin is a sickness,by his death we are healed of that sickness.Jesus as a priest was offerring himself up as a sacrifice for sin ,and the fact that He would take the punishment for sin is clearly shown right  through this chap,'And the Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all,for the transgression of my people he was punished,these words  should take our breath away,'Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him' .The poet puts it like this,'

                                                  'The wrath of God that was my due

                                                   Upon the Lamb was laid'.

When it's gone it's gone ( John 14 v 1-6)

 Mikhail Bakunin said ','Everything will pass, and the world will perish, but the Ninth Symphony will remain'',He is referring to Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. The question is, will it be true?the answer is no,but this part is true,'Everything will pass,and this world will perish,for we are told that 'the dayof the Lord will come like a thief . The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elsments will be destroyed by fire,and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare'' (2 Peter 3 v10) Everything not just the earth but heavens ,and all the great works of art ,great songs ,the beauty of this earth will be no longer.Sin could be seen as a plague of momentous proportion,no human knows or grasps its effects on the whole of creation.The very heavens are going to disppear,and be relaced by a new heaven and a new earth, the difference being,sin will no longer exsist, that new earth will be filled God's righteousness. And who will live in this new creation ? the answer is all those who have trusted Jesus as their Saviour,they are called God's new creation (2 Cor 5v17)

                                                        The question is this ,were  

                                                         will you spend eternity? 

                                           

                                                

Am I willing? ( Revelation 3 v 8)

I watched part of an French and Ireland rugby match,and the French played really well and won the game. It  appears to me they will be hard to beat,unless the other teams adapt a system that will aid them in beating them.My son spoke recently at a large church ,they had three services on a Sunday,God be praised. But unfortunately many churches are closing ,and many people are perishing,many large denominations are no longer large, unfortunately many in their pulpits,are denying  Biblical truths ,and the moral boundaries,that God  has laid down in His word.Many people are rich in comparison to former generations, but they are spiritually bankrupt. There are millions who dream of becoming millionaires ,and never give a thought for their souls.The challenge is how can we reach the lost? or maybe I should say why are we not reaching them? I ask the question can we not be guided by the Holy Spirit in ways to reach the lost?. I believe he will but the next question is this,am I willing to be willing to adopt to God's ways?

Something fine for Christ. ( Matthew 25 v3 -46)

 There is a French tale which tells how a veteran French soldier came in a desperate situation upon  a young recruit trembling with fear. ''Come,son'' said the veteran,''and you and I will do something fine for France''.There are many Christians I know of who have done many fine things  for Christ ,the list is endless.There are many and I stress many who are laying down their lives for Christ.There are many who are ministering to the poor and sick.Let me example of a man called David  he was head of a school,his father told him about the suffering of many dear children in the world,and he challenged his son to do something.The son took it to heart,and took it to God,and He led him to start up a ministry with children. It was a challenging task,but with God's help,many thousands of children have been rescued out of poverty,out of abuse,and hopelessness.Today they work in eight countries,the work is called, ''Stand by Me'' many of those dear children have come to know Christ as their Saviour. Remember there is always some fine thing we all can do for Christ.

The will of God ( Matthew 26 v 39)

                                                    Jesus,all for Jesus                                       

                             (1)     All I am and have and ever  hope to be

                                                    Jesus, all for Jesus

                                       All I am and have and ever hope to be

                             (2)      All of my ambitions,hopes and plans

                                        I surrender these into your hands

                                        All of my ambitions,hopes and plans

                                        I surrender these into your hands.

                              (3)    For it's only in your will that I am free

                                       For it's only in your will that  I am free

                                                      Jesus,all for Jesus

                                       All I am and have and ever hope to be.

This is a lovely song,and it emphasises the importance of God's will in our lives, if we are living contray to his, then we are failing.Being in God's will is freedom indeed.God's will must be a priorty in every aspect of our lives,there must be no closed doors to God's will.

                      

                                                           

                                    

When I get home. (John 14 v1-6)

 I attended a funeral recently of a dear Christian brother,I've known for many years,he was 92 and had been a Christian  for 70 yrs,he worked till he was 86.He touched many peoples lives,He was very musical,he could play three musical instruments and yet he couldn't read music,plus he had a good singing voice,and he was also a preacher.We heard of his acts of generosity,and how people got saved through his prayers..A lady told how he had prayed for her daughter to be saved,the girl was living a life out of control,and the day the man died, the girl phoned her mum to tell her that she had trusted Jesus as her. Saviour.A godly life leaves its mark, were ever it is lived.As the service ended they played a recording of him singing ,it was a blessing hearing  him singing,here are some words from that song.

                                                ' I shall wear a golden crown, when I get home,

                                                  I shall lay my burden down, when I get home;

                                                  Glad in robes of glory, I shall sing the story,

                                                  Of the Lord who bought me,when I get home!

                                                   I shall see my Saviours face, when I get home,

                                                   Sing again of saving grace, when I get home;

                                                    I shall stand before Him,gladly I'll adore Him,

                                                    Ever to be near Him, when I get home.'( Words C A.Miles)

                                                

One body. ( Romans 11 v33-36)

Isaiah 52v 13-15 and chapter53are as one puts it,' the jewel in the crown of Isaiah's theology'.As one reads those scriptures it's amazing that the Jewish people,do not embrace what they mean.The apostle Paul gives a reason in Romans 11 v25 ,which reads 'That blindness in part has happened to Israel',other translations reads,' Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts'.Of course God still loves them'(Romans 11 v 28)and there will come a time when they will turn to the Lord,not as a separate entity,they will come with the Gentiles as that new covenant Israel. (Revelation7 v 9/Ephesians 2 v11-20) In this new covenant Israel there is neither Jew nor Gentile,neither slave nor free,nor is there male and femail,for you are all one in Christ Jesus If you belong to Christ ,then you are  Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise'. (Ga;atians 3 v 28-29) God's ways are far beyond our ways ,His thoughts are beyond our thoughts.

Wisdom (James 1 v 5)

The book of James has so much to tells us, but first let me ask you what is one important thing we need? 'Wisdom', yes wisdom,there is a whole book on wisdom,Proverbs,written by a very wise man. It is a manual on wisdom ,in chap 4 v5 we read two words,'Get wisdom'. How are we going to do that? ,read the book of Proverbs,and learn from what it tells us. Turning to what James tell us,'If any of you lack wisdom, 'you. should ask God,if you do,you will receive ,ask in faith and don't doubt. (1 v5-6)In  3 v13ff James tells us that there are two types of wisdom 'earthly wisdom, heavenly wisdom'. The earthly wisdom  includes harbouring bitterness,and indeed selfish ambition ,these lead to wrong practices.Whereas the heavenly wisdom is,'pure;peace-loving,considerate,submissive, full of mercy,and good fruit,impartial and sincere.Enough said , let us all get the heavenly wisdom.

Only Jesus. ( Revelation 14 v 13)

A dear friend has died recently,he was just over 90yrs,he was a fine Christian man,I visited  him on a regular bases,he told me a number of things about his early days, and how God saved save him.After he got saved  his mother commented how she never heard him swear any more.He was very musical ,played the according,the guitar,and the penny whistle,and yet he could  not read music.His wife was a lovely singer,and he and his wife sung together .He preached the word of God and would witness to people showing neither  fear or favour.He was a bright child of God and now he is with the Lord,that whom  he trusted many years ago,tell me have you trusted the Lord to be your Saviour?.Yes we can say many good things about that brother and rightly so,but none of those things saved him,for there is nothing we can to do to save ourselves,only Jesus can save us.

Are you thirsty? ( Matthew 7 v 7)

 In John 4 our Saviour was going through Samaria when he arrived at a town called Sychar,were there was a well known as Jacibs well.He was on His own ,his disciples had gone to buy some food. He was tired so he sat down,it was about noon.As He sat there a Samariitan woman came to draw water,Jesus asked her for a drink of water,she was surprised and asked Him,'you are a Jew and I am a Samaritan. How can you ask me for a drink?.But Jesus did not reply to what she had said, instead He said to her,'If you knew the gift God and who it is that asks you for a drink,you would have asked Him and he would have given you living water'. There are so called Christian preachers who offer good health,wealth,and prosperity, instead of telling them about the the gift of God through our Lord Jeus Christ.Then He says ,'Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. But who drinks the water I give them will never thirst.Indeed ,the water I gave them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life'.

                                                   'Only Christ can meet our deepest needs'

Be on your ( Galatians 1 v 6- 10)

A  friend told me how he had attended a funeral service and at the end of it the minister dismissed the idea of an after life,now he was supposed to be a Christian minister. This is very sad and it is nothing new, for sometimes the greatest enemies the church has is not those outside the church,but those within the church. It is the apostle Paul,in a farewell talk to the Ephesian elders said,'I know that as soon as I am gone,   vicious wolves are going to show up and rip into this flock, men from your own ranks twisting words so as to seduce disciples into following them instead of Jesus .So stay awake and keep up your guard. (Acts 20 v- 29- 31) Paul writing to Timothy said that there will come a time when they will not endure sound doctrine (2 Timothy 4 v 3).So what can we do?we must hold fast to what the word of God teaches.We must always be on our guard,be vigilant, be strong,be uncompromising, Martin Luther said,'I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right or safe. Here I stand,I can do no other,so help me God'.

Mr Facing-Both-Ways ( Matthew 6 v 24)

 In John Bunyan's book Pilgrim's Progress one character's name is ,'Mr Facing-both -ways ,his name indicates someone who was hedging his bets.When the apostle Paul was in Athens he was distressed to see that city was full of idols,and he noticed an altar with an inscription on it which read,'To an unknown god.' they were hedging their bets like Mr Facing-Both-Ways,a  sort of better being safe than sorry.He was a person who was in fact going nowhere ,he was always trying to play it safe.He would not agree that Jesus is the only way to heaven,he would say ,what about those other religions?, they can't be all wrong,but they are.Jesus said so (John 14 v6) ' 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes unto the Father except through me'.Mr Facing-Both-Ways, will not accept this,that means he will be excluded from heaven,for all eternity.

                                                      'You must choose'

Fear Him. (Psalm 23 v 4)

 Why are we surprised at death,that which shall not be named,could it be that we consider it to morbid to mention?. During a Roman triumph, a slave accompanying the victorious general in his chariot  would whisper ,''Momento Mori' meaning ',remember you will die'. Inspite of his great success,it was to prevent him becoming too arrogant or believing himself a god,reminding him of his mortality. Jesus was always conscious of death and how important it  was to be in a right relationship with God.Jesus knowing that many of those who would follow Him,would suffer death,but not only death but very violent death,sought to reassure them,and this is what He said ,''Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.''(Matthew 10 v 28) One commentator writes,'Save your fear for God,who holds your entire life-body and soul in His hands'.

                                                         'Trust Jesus to be your Saviour'

A spiritual journey (Galatians 4 v 4 - 7)

I was with a group of people and someone spoke of a person  who did something very  noble,he looked after his dying wife. He called it the man's spiritual journey, I hope that I can speak to him about what he   meant by those words.There are many dear people who do good works of one sort or another, I don't believe that they are on a spiritual journey. I doubt if they even think that ,why should they?, man's sinful condition means that they never really give serious thought  as regards the true and only God.There are many who do a lot of good in the world in many religions,Gandi for one,he did think about God,but that was as far as it went,he admired our Saviour,but he would not accept Him. Whatever journey he was on ,it was not a spiritual journey ,he was a natural man,the spirit of God was not in him. Jesus stressed that we needed to be born again,' for only those who are lead by the Spirit are the children of God' (Romans 8 v14 ) And that Spirit  himself testifies with our spirit  that we are God's children (Rom 8 v16).The spiritual journey only begins when we trust Jesus as our Saviour, the moment that happens our Saviour says follow me on your walk into the eternal glories that shine afar.

They wouldn't bow ( Hebrews 11 v 32-40)

Thomas Watson wrote.'Faith knows there are no impossibilities with God, and will trust Him where it cannot trace Him'.There they were 3 young men,we remember them as  Shadrach,Meshach,and Abednego, They were friends of Daniel, exiles in a foreign land. The four of them were promoted to ministerial positions,  they in turn would experience life threatening situations. Although they were in foreign land,and had their name changed, they still remained faithful to God.In chapter 3 of Daniel ,we read how Nebuchadnezzar had a image of gold erected and everyone had to bow down to it.They refused and when the king was told of this,they were brought to him, he told them  if they didn't bow to the idol ,they would be thrown into a blazing furnace. This is what they replied, 'If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it,and he will deliver us......But even if He does not.......we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up'.These young men knew their God they knew of the miracles he performed in delivering Israel from Egypt and that there are no impossibilities with Him, but they also were prepared to trust Him where it could not trace Him.

                                         'O for a faith that will shrink,though pressed by many a foe;

                                  A faith that shines more bright and clear,when tempests rage without;

                                       That when in danger knows no fear,in darkness knows no doubt;

                                        Lord give me such a faith as this and then,whate'er may come,

                                        I taste even now the hallowed bliss of an eternal home.

                                                                  Words William Bathurst