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

It's impossible ( Genesis 1)

 It is Matthew Henry  who writes ,'atheism is folly,and atheists are the greatest fools in nature.For they see there is a world that could not make itself, and yet they will not own that there is a  God who made it.'. I am not a scientist ,so what do I know?,why should I question,those learned people?, because it dosn't make sense to say it just happened,it is impossible.Think of all the different species, from the smallest to the greatest.How many species are there in this world? well it is very impressive,we don't know the exact number,but there is reckoned to be at least 8.7 million eukaryotic species (organisms) that includes plants, animals, fungi,but excludes, bacteria,all this just happened. Could all these species just come into being ,by themselves? ,it is impossible,for to long this belief has had the high ground.The media runs with it, creation is excluded never mentioned,the torch bearers of evolution have the stage, robbing God  of  His glory..The Message commenting on Gen 1v1 writes,'The earth was a soup of nothingness,a bottomless emptiness,and inky blackness'.It could do nothing for its self. 'All there was,was dead matter, but God speaks, and out  of that disorder and confusion,this world came into place'. (Matthew Henry)

We would see Jesus ( Matthew 5 v 14-16)

 In a recent Medical News Network  report I read the following,'In some of the projects we support,we cannot evangelise openly and it is often in those places where our doctors and therapists are living testimonies.'They went on to use a quotation by St Francis of Assisi who have said ''Preach the gospel  at all times,and when necessary,use words'' They go on to say,'the importance of living a life of such Christ- likeness that it makes the world stop,think, and enquire about the Jesus we serve'.I remember reading a book about David Livingstone and his search for the source of the Nile.How his gentle softness had a great influence,in dealing with native tribe's.Peter in his epistle gives this advice to women married to  unbeliever's,he tells them ' that even if  some refuse to obey  the Good News,your godly lives will speak to them without any words.They will be won over by observing your pure and reverent lives'  ( 1 Peter 3 v 1-2)

                                                           'May our lives reflect Jesus'

Sin ( Romans 6 v23)

 Ralph Venning in his book,''The plague of Plagues'' lived at a time when the bubonic was prevalent,but it was not such a plague he is writing about, no he describes sin as the worst of evils and the plague of plagues'. It is book that highlights the all encompassing of sin ,as the Bible tells us,'that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Romans 3 v23. I am convinced that most people even Christians do not fully grasp what that means.It means the highest the lowest in the land  are sinners,a baby is not a practicing sinner but it is born with a nature that is sinful,for we are told in Romans 5 v12,'When Adam sinned ,sin entered the world.Adam's sin brought in death,so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned'.Many people are living longer now,but death will catch up with us all.I am going to die,you are going to die, that is inevitable,Now God loves humanity,so in love He did something wonderful ,as the first Adam brought death,so Christ the second Adam would bring life,not just life but eternal life. Christ would die on the cross, sin must be punished ,if you are not saved the wrath of God abides upon you now John 3 v36. But Jesus on that cross would bear the wrath of God for all those who believe on Him for the forgiveness of their sins.

                                                             Believe on the Lord Jesus

                                                             Christ and you shall be saved

                                                                         Acts 16 v31

God is love.( Romans 8 v 35- 39)

It was the apostle of love John who wrote those words ,'God is love', ( 1 John 4 v 8)  one man wrote the following ,'We do not believe in a mocking and capricious God,or in a blind and iron determinism'. His love reaches out to a wounded broken world with a heart of love.His love is always motivated towards what is best for us.Romans 8 v28 tells us,'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'.It does not say that all things are good but as one writer puts it,'It promises that God orchestrates all circumstances positive or negative for the ultimate spiritual good for believers'. Browning wrote the following,

                                                    ''God, Thou art love! I build my faith on that,

                                                      I know Thee who has kept my path and made

                                                      Light for me in the darkness,tempering sorrow

                                                      So that it reached me like a solemn joy.

                                                      It were too strange that I should doubt Thy love''

  

Be not frightened (Psalm 46)

 I have just listened to a politician and what he said would have put fear into people as to what he forecast, in the hope that people will vote for his party. Our dear Saviour spoke of a coming time when there will be wars and uprisings, then He adds,'Do not be frightened'.As one reads history we see a world of unending warfare. The first world war was not the war to end all wars,no it would be the beginning of more wars. Yet Jesus ,says do not be frightened (Luke 21v 9), I am sure many people feel like saying ,' stop the world, I want to get of'. We understand what they mean,they want to to escape from this war torn planet,but the question is where can they go to?,there is no escape,from all that life throws at us,that's at a horizontal level, hear those words spoken by Jesus ,'Do not be frightened'. Let the words of Psalm 46 take root in your soul,'God is our refuge and strength,an ever present help in trouble.Therefore, we will not fear,though the earth gives way,and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though the waters roar and foam and the mountings quake with their surging'. Remember the God of the OT is the God of the NT,and the Christ of the NT is the Christ of the OT,and our great triune God says to us,

                                                        'Be still and know that I am God;'

                                                                      Psalm 46 v10

He still loves. ( Song of Solomon ( 8 v 7)

One writer said that after Cain killed his brother the world became a slaughterhouse,never a truer word spoken,man has being against man continually,wars and more wars,and nothing has changed.Be it Genghis Khan or  Hitler they had no concern for human life.Here is what Stalin said ,'One death is a  tragedy,a million a is a statistic'. Napoleon in his failed attempt to defeat Russia with an army of 655,000 in which 370,000 died,only 85,000 made it back to France. He was reputed to have said that he didn't care about the lives of a million men.God had to punish mankind because of their sin but he has not done that with any pleasure,here is what He declared in Ezekiel 33 v11,'As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord,I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live'.In Lamentations 3 v44 we read,'For He does not willingly bring affliction or grief to anyone'After the fall God continued to show mercy to,but generally they have spurned His love killed prophets and missionaries, The more Jesus spoke to people the more they hated him,and would not listen to Him,and then to crown it all they murdered Him by nailing Him to a cross and in this awful act they were declaring we don't need God.yet the wonder of our great God is this , He still loves and loves,and loves .Here is the verse that says it all.

                                        

                                                'For God so loved he the world ,that 

                                                He gave His only begotten Son,that

                                                whosoever believeth in Him should 

                                                not perish,but have everlasting life.'

                                                            John 3  v16 

Pray,pray,pray.(Hebrew 4 v16)

 Some people find it hard to pray,even though they are Christians,but we must not judge them,God knows why.Others find praying hard not knowing  what to pray about,they may pray the Lords prayer everyday,and that's it or they pray some other set prayer. Prayer is a very intimate thing,and if they  have been abused then intimacy is very hard,even with God. That may seem strange to most people,but as I said don't judge them,you have not walked in their shoes. Some people stop praying because it seems to them God did not answer their prayers,and they think what's the point of praying?is that valid reason to stop praying? No it's not, I know a man who prayed for a door to open into Christian ministry as a missionary,and it didn't  happen,it was a very great disappointment.But many years later  that person's son travels  all over the world as international directer of 24/7.And as for that man ,God opened a door through a ministry on the internet that goes all over the world.Often as regards God answering our prayers we have to take the long view. One writer mentions of those infected by the modern passion for quick results,God said  to Habakkuk as regards what was going to happen to Israel,'Though it tarry wait for it' (2 v3)

                                                    'What various hindrances we meet!  

                                                     In coming to the mercy seat!

                                                    Yet who,that knows the worth of prayer 

                                                    But wishes to be often there'    

                                                             William Cowper                                                                                                            

                                                    

He knew (John 12 v 27)

 Our Saviour must have had a sense of humour,we do not read this in scriptures,but we do read ,'That He was a man of sorrows,and acquainted with grief (Isa 53 v3),the question is why?well He knew the human situation ,and fallen human nature( Jer 17 v 9),  He could see it all ,and He could see the effects of that fallen human nature,and the eternal consequences.He knew all this before He came to earth,so nothing was a surprise to Him.And He knew what humanity needed,they needed a Saviour and He was that Saviour.And He knew the only way to save them,would be to offer His life as a sacrifice .The cross would be that altar ,hanging there nailed to that cross,'His appearance would be so disfigured beyond that of any human being and His form marred beyond human likeness'.( Isa 52 v4) But that is not all ,for the fiery wrath of God would be poured out on Him,for our sins. Jesus knew what was coming to Him ,He knew,yet He set His face as flint,a steely determination,nothing and no one would stop Him from going to die on the cross for our salvation.

                                                           'Give me a sight,O Saviour

                                                            Of Thy wondrous love to me,

                                                            Of the love that brought Thee  

                                                             To earth,To die on Calvary.

                                                             O,make me understand it,

                                                             Help me to take it in,

                                                             What it meant to Thee,the Holy one,

                                                             To bear away my sin.'       ( Words Katherine  Kelly)

                                                              

9

Precious promises ( Luke 1 v 37)

 I was feeling anxious and troubled about a number of things,and then I read the following scriptures,'You will keep him in perfect peace,whose mind is stayed on You because he trusts in you .( Isa26 v3) Cast your burden on the Lord,and He will sustain you;He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.(Ps 55 v22) Be anxious for nothing,but in everything by prayer and supplication,with thanksgiving,let your requests be known unto God;and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard  your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus'( Philippians 4 v6-7) There were other scriptures the result was my heart was quietened,and  I felt a peace,These are not just nice words ,or men's promises,no, these are promises from God ,given to us to look beyond frail men,look beyound our fears,knowing that He will be faithful, and for us not to be unbelieving,but to simply trust Him to fulfil His word,to you His child.

Nobodies. ( 1 John 3 v1)

 Abraham  Lincoln said,' God must have loved ordinary  people because there's a whole lot of  them'. Yes there are many ordinary people,of course God loves everyone. When the New Testament was written there was a very sharp divide between the rich and the poor,between those who were free and those who were slaves.They were seen as property with no rights,they could be treated very badly,suffered torture  or being worked to death,or even being put to death.Moving into Victorian times the ordinary people had a very hard time,it was Charles Dickens who highlighted the plight of the poor,the underclass were the ordinary people. But the good news is this God chooses ordinary people .In 1 Corinthians i v 26ff  we read the following,'Brothers and sisters,think of what you were when you were called.Not  many of you were wise by human standards;not many were influential ;not many were of noble birth,but God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise;God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things  and the despised things'. He chose the nobodies and made them somebodies, children of God.

                                                          

O God our help, ( Psalm 121v 1-2)

 Isaiah 36 records a pivotal point in Israels history,as they are threatened by a super power Assyria,they had conquered all before them.If they succeeded,in conquering Israel it may have been the end of Israel.(v10) Assyria was notorious for their cruelty,Hezekiah had tried to buy them off ,but that didn't work,so the game was up. Sennacherib the king sent his commander to spell out what would happen if they resisted.He starts by saying 'on whom are you basing your confidence'.followed by,'On whom are you depending',he asks is it Egypt?they will not be able to help you.He throws scorn on Hezekiah for telling his people that God will deliver them,after all none of the other nations god's had delivered them. Barry White writes the following,'On whom are you depending?  It is a question which the book of Isaiah forces us to ponder again and again,and with good reason,for our response to it will determine the whole shape of our lives' (Bible Speaks Today p 147)

                                                    ' On whom are you depending on?'

0

A promise from God ( Ephesians 3 v20)

 I wonder if you have ever been to the 'Giants Causeway',it is in Northern Ireland,and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Well I have ,there is a formation in the rocks it is called a wishing seat,yes I did sit down and made a wish,did I get my wish? no ,nobody has died and left me money. It was the apostle Paul writing to Timothy who said ,'Think over what I say,for the Lord will grant you understanding in everything'(2 Tim 2v7).It is John Stott who states,'What Paul here expresses is a promise,it is  not merely a wish'.A promise is something that we should take serious,on our currency there is a promise given to the bearer the sum of whatever, we take that very serious. Of course people cannot always keep their promises for one reason or the other.But when God makes a promise He will always keep it,He will never break His word,if a promise is truly of God then we must exercise faith.The great example of that is when God promised Abraham that he would have a vast number  of descendants, we read,'Abram believed the Lord,and He credited it to him as righteousness' (Genesis 15 v2 ff.) Although his faith was tried ,we read ,'Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations,just as it had been said to him'.

                                                           'If God gives you promise

                                                           hold unto it like grim death'

Don't be shut out ( Matthew 25 v 1-13)

In the church that I am part of  were meeting for prayer,we split up into groups,the group that I was in had three children,and each member of the group prayed including the children.One little boy prayed for the old people in the church,he prayed about then going to heaven and having a good time,it made me smile,but of course everyone who has trusted Jesus as their Saviour, will have a good time. Let me ask a question,will you be there?,You can be, if,yes ,if, you trust Jesus to be your Saviour. It's as simple as that.but here is what you have to consider,what will eternity be like for those who are without Christ. Here is what the prophet had to say in Isaiah 8 v 22,'they will be thrust out into utter darkness.' There will be no welcome sign for them, that well known singer Bob Dylon wrote a song with these words in it,'Knock, Knock,knocking' on Heavens door',if you have not trusted Jesus as your Saviour,no amount of knocking, will do any good, if you die without Him you will be shut out.

Neutral you cannot be. ( Luke 18 v 18ff)

 On my car I have a neutral bottom on my gear stick,so when I put it in neutral it is not going forward nor reversing.  Switzerland was neutral during the 2nd world war, in others words, it didn't take sides.There was a moment in Israels history ,which we read about in 1 Kings 18 v21 when they were faced with a choice. Elijah was the prophet,and he had brought the people together,there were also 850 false prophets present. Israel were worshipping the God's of the false prophets,but they would also be worshipping Jehovah. So Elijah ushered a challenge to Israel, here is what He said,'How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal is God, follow him'.He was telling them ,'that they  cannot have  their feet in two opposing camps',and that is what they were doing,Elijah told. them they had to make a choice.Let us move on to Marks account of Jesus before Pilate ,he saw that Jesus  was not guilty of any offence ,and it came to a point when the people had a choice,between  a murderer and Jesus ,the crowd wanted the murderer set  free.Then Pilate asked them,'What shall I do,then ,with the one you call the king of the Jews?' their reply was 'Crucify Him'. (15 v12)When confronted with Jesus there can be no neutrality we must make a choice.The words of a hymn by A B.Simpson reads,

                                                         'What will you do with Jesus?

                                                          Neutral you cannot be,

                                                          Someday your heart will be asking,

                                                          What will He do with me?'

A man on a mission ( Isaiah 6 v8)

 It  was said that by the end of Paul's life,it is estimated,he had travelled some ten thousand miles,this may not seem much when you compare to the 250,000 miles that John Wesley covered.But they are significant for travel was more arduous , and he faced so many dangers in his travels,in 2 Corithians 6 v3ff he leaves a record of the hardships he faced,here is a list of those things he suffered,'Troubles, hardships and distresses,beatings,imprisonments,riots,hard work,sleepless nights and hunger, Read also 2 Cor 1 v 8-9,  he also had to cope with a severe ailment, 2 Cor12 v 7ff.What drove him?well he had an unique encounter with the risen Christ,we read about it in Acts 9 . He was on a journey to Damascus on a mission to persecute Christians, when a light flashed around him ,and he fell to the ground,and he heard a voice saying,'Saul.Saul, why do you persecute me?,he asked ,'Who are you Lord?,the reply was,'I am Jesus', whom you are persecuting'.from that moment on he was a man on a mission to the then world .He no longer saw Jesus as a false Messiah, but the real Messiah,a Messiah that had not come with an army to defeat Israels enemies,and to reign over them, but a Messiah not just for Jews ,but as a Saviour  for this world.The flood gates were wide open, and so Paul went forth to bring the message of Salvation .There are very few Paul's about,but we all have our part to play in spreading the gospel. 

                                                       ' Here I am,Lord,Is it I Lord?   

                                                        I hear you calling in the night,

                                                       I will go Lord,if you lead me,

                                                      I will hold your people in my heart.'

                                                                  Words  Dan Schutte.                                              

Abide with me (Luke 24 v 28-29)

 During the Second World War,an army sergeant  called Pat Mc Guinness who fought in North Africa  ,used to get his men to sing,to soften the hatred caused by war.He would finish his sing-song with the hymn.''Abide With Me''.written Rev Francis  Lytie'',sad to say he was killed by a young sniper. The hymn is still sung every year at a major sporting event. I remember reading it ,at a funeral I once took ,it is so meaningful, The first verse stresses ,'That when other helpers fail and comforts flee,Help of the helpless,O abide with me. The next verse highlights the transience of life.Verse three emphasizes how much we need God's presence every passing hour in the light of all we as Christians have to face.Verse four declares that with God's presence,we can face whatever comes, in fact we can triumph over,our last great enemy even death. I will leave the last verse with you.

                                                 Hold Thou thy cross before my closing eyes,

                                                Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies;

                                                 Heaven's morning breaks and earth vain shadows flee;

                                                 In life,in death,O Lord,abide with me'

Be an encourager ( Isaiah 41 v10)

The Duke of Wellington's cook gave notice and left him. He was asked why he had left so honourable and well paid position. His answer was,''When the dinner is good the Duke never praises me,and when it is bad he never blames me;it was just not worth while''.Looking back at my school days,I can't say any any teacher actually give me any encouragement.In fact I was told later when a friend told the principal that I had become a minister,he replied that he never thought I would amount to anything. Many a life has been changed by a word of encouragement, we need to encourage others,early in my Christian life I had a dear friend called Pat Kitchen,he was a lovely Christian man he encouraged me so much. While my wife and I were at Bible college, there were people who helped us financially,one lady let us use her caravan ,for a holiday.But most of all I was encouraged by God's promises, and for most of my Christian life ,I had a devotional called 'Daily light,'it is just full of scripture .When we as a family set off  from Northern Ireland to come to  England,I read these words,'Behold ,I send an angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared' ( Exodus 23 v20)those words encouraged me so much.

                                                                 'Lets be encouragers'