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

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?'

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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'

Hallelujah ( Jonah 2)

Leonard Cohen wrote a song that has become very popular ,it's call Hallelujah which means 'Praise the Lord',it's about love,loss,faith and the human struggle.and the last line reads'It' a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah'.I can't identify with the words of an old song which reads,'Now I'm happy all the day',because I'm not happy all the day.I think we need to be very honest  to ourselves and to God.I visit people ,an old lady a lovely Christian who was married for a long time,and then her husband died.She has good support, but when evening comes,she is on her own. Another man I visit suffers from mental illness,he is a lovely Christian,but he struggles, We all struggle at times,we wish we didn't but we do,so what can we do?, we can offer up the sacrifice of ' a broken Hallelujah', for we are told,'The sacrifices of God  are a broken and contrite heart,these O God, you will not despise'  (Psalm 51 v17)

This troubled world ( Psalm 42 v 5)

 In John 14 v1,we read ''Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me''. A dear friend of mine,speaking about the trinity said,'when we speak one we speak to all' So it is when we are in difficulties and we call on Jesus,the triune God becomes involved. Jesus was going to leave them ,so He speaks these wonderful words ''Let not your heart be troubled;you believe in God, believe also in me''.They would see their Saviour crucified,but as God lives,so He would live,and all that would mean. Matthew  Henry had this say as regards the words Jesus uttered.'They could not follow  were Jesus was going deep sorrow would fill their hearts.He commands down those boisterous winds and waves, saying.''Peace be still. Let not your heart be troubled.  Though trouble surrounds you on every side,yet be wise,be watchful, and keep trouble from your hearts, And that you may do so, believe in God, and in His providence; believe also in Me,and in my grace . And you will be kept from fainting by believing'', ...And those who believe in God need not be cast down and disquieted , as those have reason , be who are strangers to Him, who have no dependence on Him or communion with Him'.The unbeliever who is without God has no hope,the believer has a sure and certain hope,so let not your heart be troubled in this troubled world.

Two momentous events.( 2 Thessalonians 1 v 5- 10)

 Christs coming was momentous.but there is another momentous event that is coming,in Revelation 22 v12-13 reads .' Look ,I am coming soon! My reward is with me,and I will give to each person according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega,the first and the last,the beginning and the end'. These words are  spoken by Jesus as regards Himself,that He is the Alpha and the Omega these word are to be found in Revelation 1 v8 and 21 v6,, there it is God applying that to Himself, the other reference is Jesus speaking, claiming unmistakingly that He is God'. The JWs claim that William Barclay says that we are not sure who is speaking,it is clear that they have not  read what William says ,for in his Daily Study knows notes he says,that Jesus makes two great claims that He was coming soon with His reward, then he says ,'I am Alpha and Omega.the beginning and the end They don't only distort what the word of God says,they  distort what William Barclay says.The next  momentous event is the coming of Jesus,for the Christian it is a blessed hope(Titus 2v 13)when we will go to be with Him, in the 'new heaven and a new earth' (Rev 21 v 1) ,much is hidden from us CP 1 Cor 2 v9. /2 Cor 12 v 4,but it will be totally wonderful.But alas for the unbeliever it will be gastly,awful beyond words,eternal doom, eternal anguish,eternal sorrow,all those who enter eternal hell will  have to pay the price for their sin.I urge you if you are not a Christian flee from the wrath to come,believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved .(John 3 v16 /Acts 16 v31)

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Be careful ( Romans 8 v 26 -27)

 The story is told of King Midas a wealthy but greedy King,who was granted a wish by Dionysus and foolishly asked for everything he touched to turn to gold. While initially thrilled,he soon faced starvation when his food turned to gold,and heartbreak when his daughter turned into a statue,forcing him to beg to reverse the curse'There are a number of things you can say about this ,(1) Be careful what you wish for,you may get it and regret it for the rest of your life. ( 2)Don't make an idol of anything , be it gold,sport or whatever for you will end up worshipping it,and that's very serious,only God must have our worship. (3 ) Be careful what you pray for, that it is in keeping with God's will. 'James 4 v3'.  Psalm 106 v15 reads 'And He gave them their request,But sent leanness into their souls' One commentator writes the following,'He  gave them exactly what they asked for but along with it they got an empty heart'.

                                                                 

                                       

Not a myth. ( 2 Peter 1 v 16 - 18)

There was a custom that two coins were placed  over the eyes of a dead person,there were various reasons,the weight of coins kept the eyelids closed which would be less disturbing to the mourners. Another custom put the two in the mouth or over the eyes ,as payment to the Kharony(Charon) a spirit of the underworld,he would transport them to Hades the Greek god of the underworld.The latter comes from Greek mythology,that's were the word myth came from,it is something that is made up.The fact is that all religions are but myth's except one.I do not apologise for saying this,the Bible is the word of God and is full of real people and real historical events,Christ was a real person,an unique person,for he was truly human,yet sinless, and truly God,The miracles He performed really  happened,His dying really happened,likewise His rising from the dead really happened.He is now in heaven,and He will becoming back again when all of God's children will be gathered to Him,and those who are not His ,will experience being cast into eternal darkness.

Why me ( Romans 11 v 33-36)

Many Christian hymns are written out of that persons experience,John Newton wrote Amazing Grace out of his experience,you just have to read his background to realise that. George Matheson the blind preacher wrote the words of,'O Love that wilt will not let me go', after being rejected by the one he loved.Most of the Psalms were written by David out of his experience ,we all have sung the 23rd Psalm. Kris Kristofferson tells of his experience in becoming a Christian,and out that experience he wrote a song called,''Why Me'' here are the words of that song.

                                 'What have I ever done to deserve even one of the pleasures I've known ;

                                  Tell me Lord what did I ever do that was worth loving you?or the kindness 

                                  You've shown.

                                  If you think there's a way I can try to repay all I've taken from You; May be,

                                  Lord, I can show someone else what I've been through myself on my way back

                                  To You.

                                  Lord help me Jesus,I've wasted it so, Help me,Jesus, I know what I am;

                                  But now that I know that I've needed You so,help me,

                                  Jesus,my soul's in your hands'

                                   

Debt ( Psalm 51 v 3-5 )

Sin is seen as debt CP Matthew 6 v 12, where we read,'And forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors',Luke 11v 4 reads,'Forgive us our sins,for we also forgive everyone who sins against us'.Charles Dickens father served time in the debtor's prison,one did not get out of the debtor's prison until the debt was paid,someone did pay his fathers debt ,and so he was released In our unsaved state we were in the debtor's prison,in other words we were all jail birds,Thomas Watson wrote,'A debt arises upon non-payment of money.....We owe to God exact obedience,'The Bible says all have sinned,and everytime we sin our debt to God increases ,if we remain in that condition and our debt remains unpaid,(TW) 'we are bound to eternal death'. No human agency can pay the debt for us,and we have no means of paying this debt. .Sin by far is the worst kind of debt because every sin grieves a Holy God,again as TW writes 'Every known sin strikes at the Godhead.the sinner would not only unthrone God,but ungod him,which makes debt infinite'.Every time we sin the debt keeps mounting,no one knows how many sins they have committed,but God does ,all will be revealed when judgement day comes.The good news is when we trust Jesus as our Saviour the debt is wiped out,all our sins are forgiven