No one is perfect (John 3 v36)

What are the ten safest countries in the world ,I went down the list,Ireland was one,Portugal another, I will just tell you the safest one ,'Japan'.I hope they all get comfort from being on that list,still as we say there are no perfect people in all these countries,God's law will be broken by everyone of them.Safety does not mean perfection, as regards the safest country,everyone in that country are sinners,and that goes for every country in the world,consider that, and it's implications.There are plenty of nice people in the world,but being nice does not  hide the fact that they sin.There are many people who do a lot of good,likewise this does not hide the fact they are sinners.Recently two young men killed a young ploiceman,he was  dragged 100yards caught up in their car,at their trial they could be seen laughing.Also there is man who killed and raped women,and I get angry  at the terrible things they have done.Lets go further back in history,to what the Nazies done,and the terrible cruel things they committed,they deserve to go to hell,Is that so?, ,yes they do, but going  to hell is not just  for extreme evil people,no it is for everyone,and I mean everyone. King David committed two dreadful sins,adultery and murder,and in his prayer of repentance ,he prayed  'Against you, you only,have I sinned.' Sin is an offence against against God (Psalm51 v 4),yes sin offends a holy God,sin seperates us from God,and brings us all under His wrath.Take this very serious,hell  awaits all  who have not repented of their sin.But here is the good news Jesus died so our sins can be forgiven,so why don't you not ask Him to be your Saviour now,before it is to late.

All Things ( Romans 8 v28 ) 2

We continue to look at one of Spurgeon's daily devotionals,''We know that all things work together for good to them that love God''. 'The Christian does not merely hold this as a theory,but he knows it as a matter of fact. Everything has worked for good as yet; the poisonous drugs mixed in fit proportions have worked the cure; the sharp cuts of the lancet have cleansed out the proud flesh and facilitated the healing. Every event as yet has worked out the most divinely blessed results; and so, believing that God rules all,  that He  governs  wisely, that He brings good out of  evil, the believer's heart is assured, and he is enabled calmly to meet each trial as it comes. The believer can in the spirit of true resignation pray . ''Send me what  thou wilt, my God, so long as it comes from Thee; never came there an ill portion from Thy table to any of Thy children''.

                                        ''Say not my soul,'From whence can God relieve my care?

                                         Remember that Omnipotence has servants everywhere.

                                         His method  is sublime,His heart profound kind,

                                         God never is before His time,can never be behind''.

                                        

All things ( Romans 8 v28) 1

Spurgeon was a wonderful man of God ,a man I believed raised up by God , and who served his generation well,one of the things he left was a daily devotional called ,'Morning and Evening'.I would like to share some thoughts from one of his readings.It starts with a verse of scripture,'We know that all things work together for good to them that love God'. 'Upon some points a believer is absolutely sure.He knows for instance that God sits in the stern of the vessel when it rocks most.He believes that an invisible hand is always on the world's tiller,and that whatever providence may drift,Jehovah steers it. That re-assuring knowledge prepares him for everything . He looks over the raging waters and sees the spirit of Jesus treading the billows, and he  hears a voice saying,''It is I, be not afraid''. He knows that God is always wise, and, knowing this he is confident that there can be no accidents, no mistakes;that nothing  can occur which ought not to arise.''If I should  loose all I have,it is better that I should loose than have,if God wills:the worst calamity is the wisest and the kindest thing that could befall me if God ordains it,''.We will continue this next time.

                                                                         ' God Reigns'

Trust Him. ( Habakkuk 3 v 16- 19)

Let us turn and look at those words  from Habakkuk ,'but the just shall live by faith'(  2 v 4),here was this awful event going to take place the invasion by Babylon.Consider what it would mean,thousands and thousands of people would be slaughtered,plus many other things,can you imagine oneself in that situation.It is Theo Laetsch points out that it was not God's plan to utterly  destroy His people but to correct them.The prophet may have had problems with what God  was going to do,but God is not accountable to the prophet or to any of us,God's way is perfect even in judgement.But God's answer was as Theo Laetch puts it,'Remain faithful,Trust Me,and you shall live'. In God's perfect will ,he will preserve his saints, think of how God preserved his people.I often  quote a verse of a hymn by John Ryland ,'Plagues  and death around me fly;Till He bids,I cannot die; Not a shaft can hit,Till the God of love sees fit'.Whatever situation we may find ourselves in, no matter how difficult it is,we are to trust our mighty God and be faithful to Him.

We all have an option ( Psalm 9 v17 av) 1

 Let us consider the word of the Lord in Habakkuk chap 2 v 4,'But the just shall live by faith',Haabkkuk lived in very difficult times. Many of the people in Judah were acting very wickedly,CP his opening words,wickedness appeared to be abounding everywhere.He was man of God and what are one of the things that godly  men do? they pray.Habakkuk did that ,but it seemed to him that God was not listening.Sometimes we may feel like that ,God does not appear to be listening to what we are asking. Habakkuk was going to get an answer to his prayers and it would not be what he was asking for .God was going to punish Judah for their sins,by sending the powerful war machine of Babylon against them,and Judah would be overthown and would be taken to Babylon.What lay ahead was going to be dreadful nothing can stop it happening Judah was not for turning ,and forsaken their wicked ways,so God who loved them had no other option,but to judge them,and this is what he revealed to His servant Habakkuk. We all have an option ,if we our His people we need to repent of our sins and seek forgivness  ,if not  you leave God no other option but for him to judge  His people.

Christ divine ( Philippians 2 v5-11)

Philippians 2 v 5-11 was an early hymn,I want to quote from William Barclay's writings he wrote many lovely things as regards this passage of scripture,we are told clearly that our Saviour  ,before He came into this world was equal to God,but he made Himself of no reputation,took upon himself the form of a servant. WB wrote . ' Paul  with meticulous care  shows two things-the reality of the manhood and the reality of the Godhead of  Jesus Christ.Commenting on v6 he says ,'Who being in the form of God,thought it not robbery to be equal of God. Paul  describes the of essence of Christ which never changes,and that was essentially,unalterably,and unchngeable God.'WB points out that the word 'form'in the Greek has two meanings,morphe and schema.Morphe is that which never changes, whereas schema is outward form will continually change.WB writes ,'Jesus being in the form of God is morphe His essence,His unchangeable being is divine.However outwardly schema might altar,but He remained in essence and in being divine'.So here we have some of what WB taught and its great, because it is true. But the sad thing is ,this man  in his  autobiography(P49)  clearly becomes very confused when he declares'It is not that Jesus is God' that God was in Jesus,but He was not God.WB changed in many things,but truth does not change,always be discerning,don't be blinded by personalties.

Pray ( Romans 11 v 28- 32)

 While I was out recently I noticed a family of Jews,I knew that they were Jews,as to their dress and their. wringlets.There are not  many of these Jews where I live,in Northern Ireland there are even fewer, although my Pastor in NI arranged for  a group of  us to visit a synagogue.Well there they  were this family of Jews so I felt led to go and speak to them,no I did not witness to them,just a short conversation,and left it at that.It got me thinking how me a gentile is saved and they are not,I believe the true  Israelites are those who have put faith in the Messiah (Romans 4 v3/16 Galatians 3 v29)That family are Old Covenant Israelites,the Church of Christ is the New Covenant Israelites. When Paul declares that all Israel shall be saved Romans 11 v 26 ,it means very simple that all the elect from the Gentiles and from the Jews will be saved as one people  (Romans 11 v25-26)

                                                       'Pray for the Jews,to be saved'