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

Troubles ( Psalm 91)

When I lived at home in Belfast we had a period of conflict,it became known as the troubles,things have settled down,the bombing and shooting are finished, Yet people will still have troubles ,it is part of lifes experience,for the Christian and the non-Christian.   It is important that we remember that being a Christian does not mean we won't have troubles,we will have ,Jesus tells us not to let our hearts be troubled,so what should we do in our troubles? Let us consider Psalm 91 v15 where the Lord says,'When they call on me ,I will answer; I will be with them in trouble, I will rescue and honour them'.He tells us when troubles come, why do they come ?  in Deut 8 v11 we read,'Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God',I recently said to a man,who is a Christian,who is neglecting to meet with God's people,'Don't slacken the reins'. Troubles often drive us to our knees .Next He tells us,'When we call on Him,He will answer', James 4 v2 reads ,'You do not have because you do not ask God',so ask Him.And then we  read', 'I will be with him in trouble',in all our troubles He will be with us,we are not on our own in our troubles,and He is not passive,for we are told ,I will deliver him,and then he adds,'and honour him'.Read the Psalm and you will see the honours He will shower on His children .

Ask Him (Acts 16 v31)

 I was talking to the Lord and I mentioned to Him that I had not witnessed to anybody recently,and asked Him to lead me to someone ,I forgot about it,but later on in the day I was in a shop,I paid for the items I was buying. I then made my way out of the shop.But I turned back and spoke to the lady,and asked her if she was Christian?. well it turned out that she wasn't,and so started a conversation .Her two sons  she said they were Christians ,and added that they met on Saturday instead of Sunday. I mentioned  that they may have been Seventh-Day Adventist.And I know that their are aspects of their beliefs that are contrary to the Bible.Hoekema published a book called ,' The four major cults' and one of them was,'The Seventh-Day  Adventist ,I did advise caution .I went on to ask her what Christianity meant,and she answered in a very educated way.I shared with her that what I had said to my neighbour, when you go home tonight  ask Jesus to be your Saviour,a simple prayer.,and I left it at that. God had answered my prayer and with tears I thanked Him. If you are a Christian ,pray for that lady, and if you are not a Christian,why don't you just bow your head and ask Jesus to be your Saviour.

Rescue the perishing ( Luke 15 v7 )

Recently I visited a dear friend I have known for many years,he comes from Dublin,I come from Belfast, now he is housebound , can't walk very much .On my visit he shared  his experience as a  hospice chaplain ,he told of two people  he had led to the Lord .One was a Jewish lady who came to know her Messiah, the next was an old man who was very afraid of dying, my friend spoke to him about Jesus,his son was present and  became annoyed with my friend told him not to talk to his father about Jesus,but his father told him to keep be quiet and let his pastor speak.He said to my friend that he didn't know how to pray, my friend said he would tell him what to pray,and so he trusted the Saviour.My friend spoke to his son saying that his father would soon close his eyes in death, and then he would open his eyes in heaven and he would see Jesus.I was really blest listening to what my friend said,he told me when he had finished,he went back to his office ,knelt down and wept tears of joy.

                                                                

                                                            'He that winneth souls is wise

                                                            In the home beyond the skies,

                                                                   

Nothing is to hard,( Luke 15 v 11ff)

Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah;  I am the Lord,the God of all mankind.is anything to hard for Me' ( Jeremiah 32 v27).I'm sure when you read those words you think  of  so many things,that God would perform a miracle in your life ,or in someone you know, or of some situation,yes there is nothing to hard for the Lord to do.It is always important to see the context to what is said,to see the context of  this scripture we need look at the whole chapter.The Babylonian army was besieging Jerusalem,and the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, telling him that Jerusalem would be given into the hands of the invading army.Yet the Lord tells Jeremiah to buy a portion of Land,this he did and it was puzzling what was the purpose of it? In Jeremiah 25v11-12 ,God told  Jeremiah that Israel would go into captivity for seventy years .The buying the piece of land was a  covenant sign that Israel would return them to there land.The nation had forsaken God and went after other gods  (2 v11-13),they had done nothing but evil in God's sight (32 v30)God suffered long with them (35 v15) but all to no avail,so now they must be punished. Like Israel of old if we persist in sin then we will be judged, but there is always a way back to God if we repent,He can restore to us the years that the locust have eaten (Joel 2 v 25)

                                               '  I've wandered  far away from God;

                                                 Now I'm coming home;

                                                 The paths of sin too long I've trod:

                                                 Lord ,I'm coming home'.

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Soul thirst ( 2 Timothy 4 v2 )

 While visiting my youngest son and family,we went to see our grandchild performing with other children it all very well.But during it my mind wondered to a dear friend of mine who is very ill,so I started to pray for him, my prayers were mingled with my tears,As we walked  into the auditorian I looked at the people, gathered,and thought if only I could preach to them and tell them about Jesus.Now coming back to me praying for my friend I also started praying that God would use me to be a winner of souls. I remember reading of a preacher known as ,''Praying Hyde'', who was remembered for his famous cry,''Give me souls,O God, or I die',and I prayed that in my prayers.Psalm 126 v 6 reads ,'He that goeth forth and weeping, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing,bringing  his sheaves with him'.

                                                        'Dear Lord give us a hunger and

                                                         a thirst for the souls of men and 

                                                         women,who are perishing.

  

Make the right choice ( Luke 14 v 15ff)

 Can you remember when you first prayed to God? I remember one of my earliest prayers ,I was very young  and I was in bed. My mother and Father had separated, so this was the background to my prayer.I spoke to God about not having  father but I had Him as my Father.It has always been so precious to me ,it was not that I followed Him all my life at times I did not,but God did not give up on me ,and wonder of wonders He brought me back to Himself 61 yrs ago. I suppose there is to a degree the essence of the story that our Saviour told in the parable of the lost son in my experience.God has given us the ability to make a choice.I  remember so clearly a moment when I turned away from my loving Heavenly Father,I regret that but I'm so grateful that He drew me back to Himself . Everyday we make choices,that may appear obvious,but some choices are more important than others . If you are not saved,you need to make the most important choice in all your life.You may be a good living person but you are still a sinner and you are on the broad road that leads to destruction your destination is Hell,accept Christ as your Saviour.Then like me you may have wandered away from your loving Heavenly Father,for whatever reason,He has not given up on you, He still loves you,make the right choice now.

Love (1 John 4 v 8)

The Beatles sang a song with the words ,'All you need is love', it was a world wide hit with six hundred million records sold . But love without truth ,or love without morality ,or love where God is excluded?  The  world loves many things,gods who are not god's,  People love their country, their pets,their cars, their families ,and so we could go telling what people love, and yet do not love God.One has not to be carried away by a wave of sentimentality,God loved the world by giving His Son,their response was they nailed Him to a cross.Of course many non Christians do loving things,and we applaud them for that,but they do not love the Son of God. We cannot cut God out of the picture, multitudes, do,as if to say He doesn't matter, He should take first but He is left out in the cold.Ask them this question would they be prepared to die for God,  The apostle of of love John wrote the following,'This  is love; not that we loved God,but that He loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our Sins.

                           'Such love!Such grace!Makes the pieces  come falling into place,

                           Breaks through the darkness, turns on the light,

                           Making blindness give way to sight, your love has conquered,

                            Has set us free to become all You've called us to be,

                            Healing the wounded,making us stand,bringing  peace and a sword in your hand.

                            And no power in the universe can separate us from the love of God.

                            We're Yours forever with nothing to fear,

                             Willing slaves to the love that brought us here.'  ( Words Dave Bryant)

Be discerning ( 1 Corinthians 16 v 13)

 I have just read an article in a news paper on a man called Bear Grylls's he has written a book that has become very popular.Im interested in a number of things he said.As a Christian we must be discerning,and judge all things which by God's word.This unchanging revelation must be our guide,take one of this mans statement about Jesus  he speaks about Jesus being on the wild side and being a 'savage warrior' .That is not what He was,he never was out of control and as for being a savage warrior,nothing could be further  from the truth,He was meek and lowly of heart  Matthew 11 v29,As regards politics He never involved Himself once in politics, He said his kingdom was not of this world, John 18 v36. Then this man said something which I have heard people say to me many times,'you don't need to go to church.'he appears very ignorant as to what the church is ,it is,not a building,the church is the people of God,In Ephesians 5 v25 we read,'Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for it'.The church is all Christians, they are our family, he writes that he doesn't go very much to church saying that God is not found there.Here again he is equating the church with a building, instead of God's  people,and has not read what Jesus said, in Matthew 18 v20,'For where two or three gather in my name,there I am with them'.As regards sexuality,he clearly thinks that Jesus had no problems with peoples sexuality, but he did for he told the women caught in  adultery,'go and leave your life of sin' John 8 53ff. Because Jesus didn't mention many different sins it is clear  that there are moral boundaries that God has set up ,and if we Igor them ,we are sinning,

No boasting ( James 4 v 13 -16)

 Proverbs 27 v 1 reads,'Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring',so wrote Solomon. Who are the boasters?,they include everyone.Unfortunately, even Christians do it,yes we do. we all seem to ignore the obvious,the uncertainty of life,yet we rush on in our blindness, confident that we do not need to acknowledge God in all our ways to direct our paths Proverbs 3 v6.The poet Robbie Burns wrote,'' The best plans of mice and men go awry'' (amiss)As the Titanic was sailing on its maiden voyage, someone said that it was ''Practically unsinkable''.The fact is life holds no certainties,ignoring that  brings dire consequence, Charles Bridges wrote as regards our eternal destiny,and our neglect of our souls, ,'Heaven and  Hell are no trifles.Tomorrow   presumed upon today neglected,ruins all. Standing on the brink of a precipice,how precious the moment  for prayer,ere the door of mercy is closed for ever!  We can make our plans ,but make them prayerfully, acknowledging our dependence on our God and so glorify Him.

                                                              'Run not before Him'

There is a cost' ( Matthew 16 v24- 25)

 There are many examples of what it cost to follow Jesus,I mention a married couple who were members of the church that I attended in Belfast,their names were Fred and Ina Orr,he was known as Freddy. They were very gifted people,I was not at the church when they attended,later on I did meet Freddy,and was blessed through his ministry.They both felt the call of God on their lives,and ended up being accepted by the 'Acre Gospel Mission',to go to Brazil. When travelling to their destination in Brazil, Ina became unwell and died, Fred became unwell also but survived,He was advised by a doctor to go home,but he stayed,and for the rest of his life he served God there.Yes there is a cost in following Jesus,everyday I pray for many people,who are suffering greatly  because they are followers of our dear Saviour.

                                              'Remember it is the way of the cross

                                                               that leads home'

Remember ( Psalm 119 v11) Dec 28th

                                        I want to highlight three things we should remember

                                                                               1

 Remember what Paul said in Philippians 3 v13 ,'But one thing I do :Forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead.And Paul lived that out in his life,and so should we.We cannot change our  failures,our past hurts, and disappointments, we have all have them,let us not become a slave to them,I believe the essence of what Paul is saying is don't dwell on them,put them  behind you, if we don't it will hinder our present efforts,and our future progress.

                                                                              2

Remember what David said,' I was young and now I am old,Yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread'.I remember saying to a person,'The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want'(Ps 23v1),he laughed at me,but it is true.The God of David ,is my God,and he is your God, 'our Saviour said 'do not worry 'Mt 6 v25,and then He repeats it again ,'v31 'So do not worry', He is telling us that our heavenly Father will care for us.

                                                                              3

Remember what our Saviour said,' I am the light of the world.Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness,but will have the light of life.'This is a dark world and there is much darkness all around us,remember Jesus will be with us ,He will be the light in our  darkness,his presence will be with us,and His word shall also be with us,let that word be a lamp for our feet,and a light on our path.(Psalm 119v105)

                                                                              

You are not listening ( Matthew 7 v 24-29)2

 Why did Israel  get into so much trouble? what does God say was the problem? 'But you have not listened to me',(  Judges 6 v6)yes God did speak to them,but they did not listen.It's like what a wife say's to her husband',you don't listen to me.' We may laugh at that,and identify with it ,likewise when a parent speaks to their children,we can identify with that if you are parenting,and they do not take it seriously , they don't listen. How much more should we listen to God when we read His word,or hear his word ,if we did, them we would avoid so many things that would harm us. Let us ask us ourselves the question, am I listening to God ? am I obeying what He says?,Are you in trouble,could it be that God is saying,the reason you are in trouble is because you did not listen to me.Be humble enough and ask forgiveness,put it right with God, now.

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Offending God's holiness ( 1 Peter 1 v 14-16)

 In Leviticus 10 v 10 Aaron is instructed that he and his sons must distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean'. These words were spoken after Aaron's sons had disobeyed God 10 v 1-2 ', fire came from the presence of the Lord and consumed them\, and they died before the Lord'You can imagine that many liberals will cry out against what God did ,and they will say that's the  God of the OT,they appear to forget that Christians believe in  only one God, Malachi 3 v 6  tells us 'For I am the Lord I change not'. James 1 v 17  speaks of the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows' And in Hebrews 13 v 8 we read,'Jesus Christ is the same yesterday,today,and forever'.these words affirms His diety.The verses in Lev 10 v10 tells us that  God is not neutral as  regards sin,and there are many passages in the NT  show this.The sons of Aaron  disobeyed God (Exodus 30 v 9 )When anyone disobeys God they are sinning,even if you are a Child of God. Aaron's sons offended God's holiness,the reason why they were possible drunk (cp Lev 10 v9) Drunkenness has caused a lot of misery,drinking alcohol is not a sin (1 Timothy 5 v23) but being a slave to it is  ( 1Corinthians 6 v 9 -10)

The wrath of God ( Isaiah 53)

 Let us consider the wrath of God we apply it mainly to humanity ,but lets consider it in relationship to Jesus.All humanity is under the wrath of a holy God ,there is nothing we can do to change that , so where does Jesus fit in this?,let us consider Him,first He was truly human but was also God manifest in the flesh. in Matthew 1 v22 we read,'They will call him Immanuel which means God with us,He is the one  Isaiah wrote about in 9v6 as being the Mighty God,everlasting Father', there are other OT references to Christs diety ,Psalm 110 v 1/ Psalm 45 v7/ Isaiah 7 v1. There are many other scriptures that declare Jesus to be God in the NT,so why did He come and as Charles Wesley wrote ,'How the incarnate Deity; Our God contracted to a span'?because He loved this world (John 3 v16) a world where every human being is lost, judgement awaits.The good news is this 'He will save his people from their sins',the next question we need to ask is how was He going to do that?It is in Hebrews 9 v 22  we read 'the law requires  that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness' Cp Lev 16 v14.So it is in Hebrew 9 v27 we read,'so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many. Jesus would have to die that also included taken the punishment for our sins ,He became our substitute bearing the full wrath for the sinners sin.In trusting Christ  we are no longer under the wrath of God for Jesus bore the wrath of God for us' Cp Isaiah 53 v 10.

Compassion (Lamentations 3 v 22-23 )

What do you think when you hear the word compassion? there are a number of meanings ,'a feeling for those who are suffering,and for many that's were it stops,just a feeling.I read the following description of the word compassion,'It is a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering'.A  strong desire to do something,it is illustrated so wonderfully by our Saviour ,in Matthew 14 v 14ff ,He saw a large crowd,He had compassion on them and healed those who were ill,he followed it up by feeding them .In Luke 7 v11ff,He witnessed a funeral procession,a widow woman had lost her son,we read,'His heart went out to her'then he raised him from the dead,a  wonderful  description of compassion.Someone said that compassion is a verb,a doing word.Of course you may say I can't perform miracles,that's right but we can do something,if we have the where with all ,we can do something,it is not always about  money,When my son had to have an operation for cancer,  people from his church brought meals for his family.

                                                    'Let us turn our feelings of 

                                                     compassion into action'

Walking in their shoes ( 2 Corinthians 1 v 3-4)

I listened to what a person was saying at our home group,the conversation had arisen as regards a person in our fellowship who is married ,he and his wife had lost a son whom they had looked after for 40 yrs,the son had special needs.Coming back to that person he could not understand why the brother was still grieving over his loss.As a person who lost a young wife many years ago, I still remember her and am sad at times,I know that grief can be long lasting,time eases the pain,but we never forget,nor should we,it doesn't control my life,for I know she is in heaven,and that's the most important thing.That person who could not understand why that brother had not got over his sons lost, had not walked in that brother shoes, but one day he will understand,so let us not judge people,let us pray for them .

Heed the warnings ( Hebrews 10 v31)

'' Beware of the ides of March'' is a famous warning from Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar,telling the Roman dictator to watch for danger on March15th. The day he was famously assassinated .The warning was added by Shakespeare,it never really happened,but if it had been uttered would he have heeded it?,we will never know. Many people have ignored warnings,of real dangers,and have suffered the consequences. One of the most well known warning in the Bible was given to Lot and his family,just before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah,they were told ,'Flee for your lives! Don't look back' (Genesis 19v17) Lot's wife for whatever reason looked back,and suffered the consequences,but there were other people in this chapter who were warned Lots sons-in-law, but they treated the warning as a joke,but soon found out that it was no joke. When God gives a warning we ignore it to our cost,the preacher is given a solemn responsibility to warn people of the dangers of ignoring God's warnings,They have to warn people of the dangers of sinful behaviour,not to cross God's moral boundaries,and the consequences if they do . This is a challenge not just to the unsaved, but to the saved,when it comes to  sin God will act,heed the warnings.

                                                     

                                                  

                                                        

Preach the gospel. ( Romans 1 v 16)

There are those who say  as regards the Gospel you can't preach the gospel every time you preach,the sad thing is many so called ministers never preach the gospel. As regards those ministers who don't preach the gospel they will be held accountable, I remember being at a funeral service at a crematorium and  I   was so sad that the minister had not really spoken about Christ, and afterwards I spoke to him and I challenged him. All Christians have a responsibility to  be witnesses  for Christ,but a minister should be a minister of the gospel, God has entrusted  us with that responsibility, of telling sinners about Jesus Christ. Responsibility brings with it accountability. We must be not be intimidated ,showing neither fear or favour,but be faithful,to the charge that has been given unto us.People need to be saved,saved from what?,there fallen condition and its consequences.. What is their condition? they are sinners ,I include myself in that,and what do sinners need,they need their sins forgiven ,what is the consequences,so many peoples lives are in ruin because of their sinful ways,only Jesus can break the power of sin,and set people free. But there's more , in the novel 'the Scarlet  pimpernel,the question is asked,is he in heaven? is he hell?. It is very clear that  if one dies without Christ you will go to hell,if you trust Christ  you go to heaven.

New life ( Romans 6 v 1-14)

 I heard recently of a minister who refused who to baptise a man ,many people knew this man by reputation that he was a scoundrel who had not repented of his sins .It was John the baptist who challenged the religious elite whom he felt were very wicked,that they should bring forth fruit in keeping with repentance (Matthew 3 v8) John spoke of another who would baptise with the Holy Spirit and  fire,the one he spoke of  was Jesus .Cp  1 Corinthians 12 v 13 which reads,'For we were all baptised by one Spirit so as to form one body whiter  Jews or Gentles slave or free and we were all given the one Spirit to drink'.Water baptism is not for the unbeliever,but for the Christian,it is a personal confession  of ones faith in Christ. It is saying I have died with Christ,my old life is gone,  and as Jesus was resurrected and so I am also resurrected to live in newness of life,dead to sin but alive in  Christ Jesus

                                                          'I give myself to Thee

                                                          My Saviour and my God,

                                                          To be Thine own for evermore

                                                          O help me to renounce      

                                                         The hateful works of sin,

                                                         The empty vanities of life,

                                                          The flesh that strives within.

                                                              Words Emily Symons