The word of God ( 2 Timothy 3 v 14-17)

 In the autumn of 1526, Cuthbert Tunstall ,the Bishop of London had a large bonfire in which he burned as many copies of   William Tyndale's NT as he could ccontain.It appears a strange thing to do,why did he do that ?,well there were a number of reasons,such as a 'Fear of heresy  and misinterpretation: Catholic authorities believed that putting the Bible directly into the hands of ordinary people without clerical guidance would lead to false  teachings'.The Catholic Church has until recently discoursged people from reading the Bible.An elderly friend of mine who was a Catholic asked his priest why RC's were forbidden  to read the Bible,he replied ,'When people read the Bible they become  Protestants'.   One may smile at this but there is a degree of truth in those words.  Psalm 119 v130 reads,' The entrance of your words;it gives understanding to the simple',one person comments,'  It makes deep wisdom and guidance to ordinary,teachable,or humble people,regardless of human status or high scholarship'.

                                                         'Read and understand God's word   

                                                          it brings great reward'                                                                                   

The unchaging one (Hebrews 13 v8)

I opened a little book I  had, and read,'God is not the great I was',no he's not,he is the same yesterday ,today and tomorrow.The greatest people are yesterdays people,they are just a memory,we can rattle of their names,their greed, deeds,but they are gone,we can look at their graves, but they are gone, as one day we will be.Let us think about God,In Exodus 3 where Moses had an encounter with God,who spoke to him from a bush,God was sending him. to bring his people out of Egypt.Moses asked God what his name and he replied,'I Am ,who I Am'Tell the people,''I am has sent me to you.'' I  Am' has the meaning of being eternal and unchanging.Yes he is not the great ''I was''.I remember listening on Utube to a Muslim  who challenged those present to tell him when did Christ say he was God. I would like to give you an answer,in John 8 v 53 Jesus was asked by the Jews,'Who do you think you are?',in v 56ff' 'Jesus said,'Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.'they replied,'You are not yet fifty years old,'....And you have seen  Abraham!,and Jesus replied,' Very truly I tell you ,before Abraham was born,I am'.

The Bible ( Psalm 119 v105 )

 There are people who have great knowledge and understanding,now I am not in that catagoria,I could read from an early age ,and we were taught the times tables example,=5and 5 equals 10.I do not remember in having interest in much that was taught in school. I remained through my school days in the lower levels.The result being, it didn't help one in to get a decent job,many were like that in those days, becoming a Christian did change my Life,I found something that gripped me, it was the Bible. As I went on  in my Christian life l studed the Bible,going to Bible college helped a great deal. godly men taught us,and one bought commentaries on the books of the  Bible ,which I still use.My advice to you is, read your Bible, get to know it ,and to understand it. Don't just rely on preachers,good and all as they are, one sermon a week is not enough,get all the helps you can on the books of the Bible,and if you do you will grow in  knowledge of  the Bible,but don't make just a head knowledge,let it touch your heart,and you will grow spiritually.

                                                                  ' The word of God'

                                                               'Read it ,study it,obey it'

Very important words ( Proverbs 4 v 20 -21)

 It was a wonderful wedding,the biggest one I've ever been at,one of my grandsons was getting married,they are  both Christians,After they became man and wife we all sat down for a meal,and then people were called to give a speech.It was lovely to listen to the speeches,many nice things were said,mixed with humour.I was not called to contribute,but if I had I would have said something of very great importance to my dear grandson and his dear wife,in fact it is of utmost importance for every Christian to hear,'Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths' (Proverbs 3 v 5-6 )

The importance of prayer ( Luke 18 v1ff)

How important is prayer to you? is it only an emergence service?,lets turn to the book of Daniel,Daniel was in exile,but he and his three friends were promoted to high office.Let us think about Daniel,after King Belshazzar was overthrown by King Darius,Daniel was promoted to high office ,other ministers sought to  remove him from power.They could find no fault with him,so this is what they did,they went to the King and convinced him to pass a law that forbid anyone to to pray to any god except to the king,for thirty days,it also stipulated that if anyone disobeyed, they would be thrown into a den of lions. When Daniel learned about it, he went to his room,got down on his knees  and prayed, it was his custom to pray three times a day.The other ministers reported to the king how Daniel was praying,and he should be executed, the king could do nothing about it,and reluctantly agreed to it.So let us come back to the question I asked at the beginning,'How important is prayer to you?.

                                                          'We perish if we cease from prayer

                                                           O grant us power to pray'

My way or God's way? ( Psalm 118 v 14)

 Frank Sinatra most popular song was ,'I did it my way',I did read once he was fed up singing it,it is and was a very popular song, it is played at funerals a lot.It could be seen as the national anthem of unbelievers,it is a statement of man's independance from God.It rings very hollow when you hear it often enough,as a Christian I acknowledge my dependance on God,the more we  rest in God the better for us. Jesus said apart from me you can do nothing.  (John 15 v 5) It was the apostle Paul who said,I can do all things through him who gives me strength (Phil 4 v 13)It was God's grace that sustained him in all his weakness,we read these words that God spoke to him ,' My grace is sufficient for you,for my power is made perfect in weakness.' (2 Cor 12 v 9).Think of what he  accomplished in his life time,how ? by relying on God ,he was a man of great learning,but he still depended on God,and so must we,and whatever are calling in life may be,he will be with us, in the fulfillment of it.

Home truths. ( James 3 v 1 -12)

 I'm sure we all have heard the saying ,'Home truths'.it means simply telling someone something they are blind to,or do not want to hear.Some people do it to hurt someone,or destroy them,they don't speak in love to that person,more that likely to humilitate them,it is not the Christian way.In Colossians 4 v6  we read, Let your speech always be with with grace,seasoned with salt,' One comment on these words goes,' Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation,nor put them down, not cut them out'.Someone I admire is John Lennox,who publicly speaks with Richard Dawkins,and Christopher Hitchens in defence of Christianity,he is always very gracious ,not in anyway seeking to humiliate them.It is important to remembering we are not there to win the argument at all costs.The greatest example of gracious speaking was Jesus. They said of Jesus,'No one ever spoke like this man,'( John 7 v 46).And in Luke 4 v22 we read,'So all bore witness to Him,and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded  out of  His mouth'.May we be given grace to be more like Jesus,when we speak.