Not a change for the better ( Ephesians 5 v3-7)

 The times they are a changeing,I buy the times newspaper every Saturday,and I have read articles on peoples sexual behaviour,the latest one is about a cruise ship that caters for sexual deviants.I found it very sad how distubed these people are,anything goes, it was the Rolling Stones who sang a song with the words,'I can't get no satisfaction,Gonna Try,and I try ,and I try'.The pleasure one gets  from sex is not lasting but for many it's all consuming.Joy Davidman wrote, nobody  can reaonably expect  happiness from an insatiable appetite.God granted us the gift of sex so there is nothing wrong with that. The problem is the gift has taken over peoples lives,in an unhealthy way.Marriage for many is an after thought.We must remember God is a moral being who expects his people to abide by his morality,to go against His morallity is a sin that does not just mean sex,read the 10 commandments 

How could He love me.? ( Ephesians 2 v1 -10)

 We speak of  the Old Covenant Israel being God's special people,and they were,so why did He choose them? In Deuteronomy 7 V 7-8 we read,'The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples,but it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors'It ws not their choice it ws God's choice,Raymond Brown writes,'It was not that God lacked compassion for other nations or cared nothing for them......He deliberately chose Israel...to be a special instrument of his purposes in the world'His purposes was and is redemptive.Once that redemptive  purpose was fulfilled in Jesus the call for the new covenant went beyond that of a nation but to evangelise the world (John 3 v16/Acts1 v 8)We Gentiles who are now part of  the new covenant Israel but there was nothing good in us,Christ died for the ungodly He loved us while we were still sinners,not because we loved Him, but that He loved us.(1John 4 v 10)

                                                           'I stand amazed in the presence

                                                            Of Jesus the Nazarene.

                                                            And wonder how He could love me,

                                                            A sinner,condemmed, unclean.'

                                                                    Words  C H.Gabriel.

Dangerous divergence (Matthew 6 v 19 - 24)

 In Deuteronomy 5 v32 reads,'So be careful to do what the Lord your God  has commanded you;do not turn aside to the right or to the left',how people need to hear these words.Let me illustrate something from 'Pilgrims Progress',Christian is on his journey to the celestual land,he had a companion with him called Hopeful. As they journeyed they met a person called Demas who shouted out to them;'Turn aside!There's a silver mine here!With very little trouble,you'll be rich.' When gold was discovered in 1896 in Canada in Klondike gold fever took over and 100,000 people joined the gold rush,some succeeded,but many didn't.Back to Christian and Hopeful,Hopeful when he heard said ,'Let's go and see he said hopefully,but Christian  said he wasn't going ,for he had heard of that place,and it was dangerous' thankfully Hopeful listened to Christian ,and on they wemt on their journey .Let us listen to godly friends instead of rushing on into trouble and bringing our soul into mortal danger ,don't turn aside for anything.

Our Faher (Matthew 6 v 9)

When Egerton first preaced to the native Americans in Saskatchewan,the idea of the fatherhood of God  fascinated people who had hitherto seen God only in the thunder and lightning and the storm blast. An old chief  said to Egerton Young,'Did I hear you say to God''Our Father''?' I did',said Egerton Young.'God is your Father? asked the chief.'Yes',  said Egerton .'And', continued the chief,he is also my Father? 'He certainly is,'said Egerton. Suddenly the chiefs face lit up with a radiance. His hand went out,'Then', he said with the tone of someone making a dazzling discovery,'you and I  are brothers'.

                                                                'Behold, what manner of love

                                                                the Father hath bestowed upon us,

                                                                that we should be called the sons

                                                                of God' ( 1 John 3 v1)

Lest I forget ( Psalm 62 v10)

Are you forgetful I am,its not deliberate,there is nothing I can do about it,but it does concern me,in Deuteronomy 6 v10 ff,Moses was instructing God's people.He reminded them thatGod had promised the land to His people,in fact he swore an oath to Abraham,Isaac,and Jacob that the land would be theirs,it took a long time to bring it into being.God always keeps His word,and although it tarry it will happen,has God promised you something, He has not forgotten his promise to you.You can imagine how excited the people were,their own land, no more being slave in a foreign land.Yet although that is true the Land ultimately beglongs to God,they were but the tenants.Everthing we have from God is just loaned to us,and we will beheld accountable as to our stewardship.Moses tells how they will prosper in this land,in light of that warns them,to not forget that the Lord brought them out of Egypt,out the land of slavery,what he has said  needs to repeated to us all,when you prosper don't forget Calvary.

Your prayers (Colossians4 v2-6)

Often when I visit people,and they share things with me, difficult things,I don't have the answer,the problems are beyond me to solve. Before I leave them I usually pray with them but I assure them of my ongoing prayers for them.I read this recently,'We must spend time with people in order to to understand their problems,and to spend time with God in order to solve them'.So often we fail to do that and we spesk unadvisable to people.Most of us need more wisdom in dealing with people,and also praying for them,we must take prayer very serious,never underestimate the importance of your prayers,let us realize more and more that our prayers can make a difference whatever it may be for.When we say to a person that we will pray for them,let us mean it.I read something recently in one of my daily devotional,it was about Fanny Crosby,'She told of a time when she had run out of money ,and needed five dollars,there was no time to call upon her pubishers,so she simple prayed for the money.Later on that day a friend called,they had a nice time together,but as she was leaving,her friend pressed something into her hands,it was a five-dollar bill.When her friend left,she got on her knees and thanked God'.Out of that experience she wrote that lovely hymn.

                                                        'All the way my Saviour leads me;

                                                        What have I to ask beside?

                                                         Can I doubt His tender mercy,

                                                         Who through life has been my guide?

Nothing hidden (2 Samuel 11 v 27)

 There was an entertainer called Dan Leon he was considered the funnst man in all the earth,yet Marie Lloyd a well known entertainer  said this about him,'Ever seen His eyes?the saddiest eyes in the whole world'.I think about Judas Iscariot it appears that none of the disciples had an inkling that he was going to betray Jesus,they knew that he was a thief (John 12 v 6) .Those three and a half years he followed Jesus, the seriousness what he attended to do was hidden from them, but not from Jesus ( John 13 v18ff) He knows all about us the hidden man,and our hidden motives. We read that Adam and Eve hid from the Lord,you cannnot hide from Him . Think how many murders have not been solved,we dont who did them,but God does,and all will be revealed in a coming day.Our Saviour said ,'For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed,and nothing concealed that will not be brought out into the open.(Luke 8 v17)You may have thought that you got away with whatever,not so.the great judgement day is coming, there is no escape from it,but we can escape the consequenes,by confessing our sin and asking Jesus to forgive us,and to be our Saviour

Stop your wandering (Luke 15 v 11ff)

 Before Isreal were about to enter the promise land,Moses spoke to them we read about it in Deuteronomy which means'second law' '.It is not another law but rather a faithful repetition and more detailed amplication of God's word that was given at Sinai'(The Bible speaks today)In  chap 4 v9,  Moses says ,'Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live'. 'He knows that,in their prosperity,they will quickly forget Him;only  adversity will bring them to their senses.When they have everything,they ignore the God who has filled their hands with innumerable blessings.Only when they have nothing will they value what they have lost.Despite the warnings, they will forget God; (Jer 2 v11- 13) yet despite their sins,He will not  forget them.Even when we forsake God,He does not fail us'. (B S T)  

                                                    'When I would  wander from the path astray,

                                                      Then He will draw me back into the way'

                                                                        'Words  Leonard Weaver'

Suffering and sin. (John 9 )

 In John 9 we read how our Saviour and His disciples came upon a man blind from birth,and his disciples asked the Lord,'Who sinned,this man or his parent,that he was born blind' and the Lord replied ,'neither this man or his parents',There was a reason the disciples asked that question, here was a man blind from birth,it appears some Jewish theologians  had a stange notion of prenatal sin,in other words he sinned in the womb.so Jesus cut across that thought.What about his parents ? Jesus cut across that thought also.It is interesting that Hindu and Buddhist religions believe in moralistic cause and effect,that an individual is personally culpable for their current station in life,whether incurred in this life or one previous.I heard a young who had cancer being told that the reason he has cancer, was because he had sin in his life.I know that sin can cause us suffering because it has conquences.But this does mean in anyway that we have sinned,it does not mean that because one is born in poverty,dire circumstances disabilities etc,that it is beause we have sinned.,not so.But as regards sin we all sin everyone of us, yes that blind man was a sinner nothing to do with his blindness,Jesus did heal him of his blindness ,and even greater news,as a sinner he trusted Jesus as his Saviour,why don't you do that .

More ( Luke 12 v15)

A poet called Horace who lived in the early period of the Roman Empire, said ,'We are just statistics,born to consume resources'.I think it is so true,we live in a consumer society, yes even as Christians,But is that all we are ,statistics? we read of our Saviour,who became poor,He chose the opposite way than most of us. Do we really  believe the poor are blest?,or that it is more blessed to give than receive ,is our Christian life costing us anything? We recently sang a hymn in church  with these words in it,'Take my silver and my gold,not a mite would I withhold;'I thought,do I really mean that,?Did a slight shudder go through the congregation did they really think  about what they were singing.?Im not taking the high ground,but I don't want be a statistic ,born just to consume goods,our Saviour does not want us to be like that.It is something we must think and pray about.

Leprosy ( Isaiah 1 v18)

When I think about Leprosy ,which I rarely do,I relagated it to the Bible ,we read about the laws on Leprosy in Leviticus 13 ff,and how God said it should be controlled v45-46.'Anyone with such a defiling disease must wear torn clothes,let their hair be unkempt,cover the lower part of there face and cry out,Unclean! Unclean! As long as they have the disease they remained unclean.They must live alone;they must live outside the camp'. It is known as Hansen's disease,and it is thought to be transmitted via droplets from the nose and mouth,it is very contagious.I read this  recently in South and South-East Asia,about 200,000 new cases are diagnosed annually,yet there are millions as yet undiagnosed. The good news is it can be treated successfully, a drug was discovered in 1944 ,it was improved in 1981 so it can effectively cure this awful disease.Before that there was no cure,it developed slowly,and gradually ravaged the body.No one would dare touch a leper,or go near a leper,but in Matthew 8 v1-4,Jesus did, and when He did. the leper was healed.Michael Green writes, 'Never has there been a condition that so illustrated the spiritual condition of humankind. For sin is a terrible disease that seperates us from God,' there is no human cure, the one who healed the leper is the only one who can deal with sin and its consequences.

                                                 'So men today have found the Saviour able

                                                  They could not conquer passion,lust and sin;

                                                 Their hearts had left them sad and lonely,

                                                 Then Jesus came and dwelt,Himself.within'

He will remember, (Matthew 25 v 31- 40)

 Recently my wife and I were invited with a lot of others to a couples 80th birthdays,we have known then a long time.While we were there I saw a person,who many years ago had treated me to a day up in London.We hadn't to much money at that time,so it was much appreciated,he was a qualified barber so he cut my four boys hair ,free of charge.So I felt I should remind him of that and thank him,I also qouted Rev 14 v13 well part of it ,'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord......for their deeds will follow them'Let me just comment on those words,we may not be given any recognition for the good we do here and now,But God  takes note of our good works and He will reward all we have done, none of  us will loose out  all we have done for him will be  rewarded.

The Crown ( 2 Timothy 4 v 6-8 )

 'Reach for the crown',what crown? it was an advert for Rolex watches,the Rolex has a symbol on it,Rolex wathches are very valuable.But it made me think of another crown we read of  in 1 Corinthians 9 v 24-27,in that passage the apostle Paul contrasts two crowns ,the first was the crown of made laural leafs awarded to those who competed in the Greek games,the next one mentioned is a crown of righteousness which every believer will receive in heaven.Speaking of the first one ,the athletes crown  withers and fades it is a temporal glory.Whereas the other crown represents,'The blessings of heaven that shall be bestowed on the rightous,a crown that is unfading,and eternal. As Christians we have to be careful that we loose sight of  the greater glory that awaits us in heaven,for the temperal glories of earth.

Be filled ( 1 Corinthians 6 v 19 -20)

Ephesians 5 v18 reads,'Don't destroy yourself by getting drunk, but let the Spirit fill your life', the famous evangelist D.L.Moody said'' I need a continual infilling  because I  leak'' he meant that his spiritual  strength ,patience ,and connection to God would drain away over time'.Every Christian has the Holy Spirit we are the Temple of the Holy Spirit ( 1 corinthians 6 v 19,reads,'Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit,who is in you,whom you have received from God'When we fill our lives with alcohol  we are hindering the Holy Spirit in our lives,we should not limit that hindering to alcohol,there are many things that can hinder the Holy Spirt,wrong sexual thoughts,sinnning in any way will hinder the Holy Spirit functioning in our lives.So we need to repent continually less we grieve the Holy Spirit,and we need to fill our lives with all those things that are edifying,(Ephesians 5 v 19 -20)

No secondary causes ( Ruth 1 v 16)

W  Barclay wrote the following ,'The Jews knew nothing of secondary causes. We say that certain atmospheric conditions, certain variations in temperature ,certain alterations in atmospheric pressure, certain land and mountains configurations,cause certain things to happen in nature,In  every such case the Jew ascribed it all to the direct action of God. We explain the rain and the wind and the thunder and lightning by bringing forward the scientific causes of them;  the Jew quite simply said,God  sent the rain; God made the wind blow; God thundered; God sent His lightening. In Jewish thought  everything  was described to the direct intervention  of God; we tend to abscribe everything to secondary causes.'

                                                      'With God there are no secondary

                                                                     Causes' 

Old age ( Job 19 v 25 -29)

 I am aged 82 I am still driving, health not to bad,but old age does bring problems, the body wears out,I visite three elderly people today a married couple,the wife has dementia,her husband is very patient with her,he is reasonbly well,but it is a challenge.The other lady is housebound,it is my privilage to visit such people.As I left the residentual place they live in ,I spoke to a resident and he was affected  by the many people who were dying,the fact of the matter is if you live in an elderly residentual place everyone will eventually die,for that  man it was depressing him. The three people I visited are Christians they will die there is nothing can stop that.The word of God is very honest about old age, here is what Moses wrote, 'Our days may come to seventy years,or eighty.If our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble  and sorrow', (Psalm 90 v10)That is a reality for so many ,but the word of God has much to say that's positive,the apostle Paul wrote many things as regards death that it is not end,people will weep over our deaths,but as a Christian go to be with the Lord it will be joy unspeakable full of glory,yes absent from the body and present with Jesus our. Lord.

                                                          'For Christians ,death is just a door

                                                                        into HEAVEN'

                                                   

God leads ( Joshua 1 v 9)

 There was a TV program getting people to tell of the person who changed their lives, who would you choose?Who would I say change my life? , I would say that there are people who have influnced my life,for the better. I look back with thankfulness for so many people who have befriended me,and helped me in life,they have come into my life and then I moved on,and they moved on.Often God brings people into our live for a purpose,my answer as to who changed my life,is very simple Jesus. I supposed one would expect me to say that,I know,but the fact is it's true,for 62 yrs I have been following Christ and during those years many things have happened,I have had many challenges to face,there have been the dark times,difficult times.I have always had of a sense of His presence that He was with me.A sense that in the bad times,the hard times he was there.It is often in looking back we can trace the hand of God in ones life,you see how He shut doors and opened doors and all the time he was leading us on.R A.Hall and J K.Saetvent wrote a lovely song here are some of the verses,

'In shady,green pastures so rich and so sweet,God leads His dear children along,where the water's cool  flow bathes the weary one's feet,God leads His dear children along. Some through the water,some  through the flood,but all through theblood ,some through great sorrow. Sometimes on the mount where the sun shines  so bright,God leads His dear children along.Sometimes in the valley,in darkest of night,God leads His dear children along'.

                                           

We have a choice ( 2 Corinthians 12 v 1 - 10)

 None of us choose the hand that is dealt to us,but we have a choice as to how how we are going to play it out. There are so many things we have no control of,some of the things are  not very nice.Take that phenomenal writer of hymns Fanny Crosby who became blind through a mistake by her doctor,she said the following,'she did not veiw her blindness as a tragedy,but rather as a blessing and a divine gift ,She went as far to say,'if given the choice at birth she would have chosen to be born blind,so that the first face she would see in heaven would be her Saviours'.As one person wrote of her that she was a woman of unwavering faith,and profound contentment'Now of course that was Fanny but what about you,what about me?.Paul gloried in his afflictions,saw it as means of experiencing the grace of God,so that God's power would rest on him. So again I ask the question how are we going to play out the hand that God has given us,?remember we have a choice.

No add on' ,No take aways ( Matthew 7 v 24-29)

''The Word comes first,and with the Word the Spirit breathes upon my heart so that I believe'' ,so wrote Martin Luther.There are three foundational truths of Protestant theology ,they are,'Faith alone,grace alone,and scripture alone'' These are vital declarations which all Christions should hold fast to,to diviate from them  is putting one's soul in a  very precarious position. our Saviour told the story about two house builders,one built his house on rock,the other built his house on sand When the storms came the house built on rock stood firm ,the other one who had  built his house on sand, when the storms came it collapsed.If we start underminng scripture and scripture truths there will be conquences,there are Christian denominations were many of their churches cease to exsist,When the foundation of the church is eroded it will no longer exsist ,the Lord will remove it Cp Revelation 32 v5. 

Stand firm ( Galatians 1 v 6ff)

2 Thessalonians 2 v15 reads 'So then,brothers and sisters,stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed unto you,whether by word or mouth or by letter' It is more important than ever that we stand firm to the teaching of God's word.John Stott mentions  things that can attack our faith(1) opposition,and persecution.(2) false teaching.  (3)Temptation. In this country at this time we are not being persecuted, things may change make no mistake about it.We should not be surprised if we are,but in many lands our dear Christian family are suffering severely,we need to pray for them and help them in any way  we can. Next false teaching,sad to say we have so much of that,and I don't mean just the cults,we must hold fast to God's word,we must not add to it,or take away from it,In Revelation 22 v 18-19,there is a warning given as to the book of Revelation to not add to it or take away from it,I believe this applies to all the Bible.Next we have temptation ,in the Lords prayer we pray lead us not into temptation,but deliver us from evil.Let us remember in Matthew 4v3 the devil is called the tempter,he will tempt you to doubt God's word as he did with Eve,and we know the consquences of that.

Contentment (1Timothy 6 v6)

This world is a driven place,with so many discontented people,so many people want more and more,as a Christian we could learn much from the greatest of the apostles,Paul.He had so much as a Jew,in Philippians 4 he writes of his pedigree, he declares he was a Hebrew  born of the Hebrews,a pure blooded Jew,he  had been educated by the great Hebrew scholar Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law(Acts 22 v 3.Paul was a rising star ,a great future lay ahead of him.,yet he gave it all up,and followed Christ and this meant a life of suffering and deprivation (2 Corinthians 11 v23 -28) One of the great lessons learned in all this was a godly contentment,Philippians 4 v12,he declares ,'I have learned the secret of being content in every situation',what was the secret? v13 I can do everything through Christ  who gives the peace of God which passeth all understanding Philippians  Phil4 v7.and of course the pesence of God with him.

                                                              'The more God fills our lives,

                                                                the more content we will be'.

The smart thing. (Romans 1 v 16)

When  we are growing up we are full of ourselves and we make so many wrong decisions a good name that describes us, ;Smart alec's.take some of the decisions I  made, I drank alcohol ,I was about 15 when  I had my first  drink,alcohol is a poison,it can be very addictive,and has destroyed many lives.One can  do many wrong things when one is entoxicated, we let our gaurd down down,The next thing I did was I started smoking at an early age,most people smoked  in those early days  we were ignorant as to the dangers of smoking  .Your are not smart consuming  alcohol or smoking or so many  things,but the sad thing is,  we act like our first parents did, it seems we have a self distruced button,and so in our blindness we pay the price.62 yrs ago I really did the smart thing,and broke the power of those things that would have  destroyed  me,by Gods grace I trusted Jesus to be my Saviour.                                                                                              

Dependent (Philippians 4 v13)

 Our Saviour said ,'Without me you can do nothing',the point Our Saviour is making,is the need of total dependance on Him.The Lord also said in Psalm 138v8,'The Lord  will perfect that whch concerneth me'. again the Psalmist is saying there must be that utter dependance on the Lord.Spurgeon wrote ,'If we indulge in any confidence which is not grounded on the Rock of ages,our confidence is worse than a dream, it will fall  upon us. and cover us with its ruins,to  our sorrow and confusion'. self confidence is not the answer.Again Spurgeon writes,' Our confidence must not be in what we have done,nor in what we have resolved to do,but entirely in what the Lord will do.'

                                                          ' Being confident of this very thing, 

                                                            that He which have begun a good

                                                            work in you will perform it until

                                                            the day of Jesus Christ'

                                                                      Philippians 1 v 6.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         , 

The most important prayer ( Luke 18 v 9- 14 )

I was out shopping with my wife,I had wandered off when I returned to her, she was having a conversation with a member of the Staff.My wife said we were going on holiday,and the lady said to I suppose you will go of boozing,no I said I don't drink,although I'm not against those who do,I asked her did she know the Lord,she said she prayed everynight ,then I said ,do you know the most important prayer we ever pray? she didn't,so I told her ,God be merciful to me a sinner,I  said why don't you pray that tonight,She said she would,and she thanked me .It may be that you have never prayed that prayer ,why don't you pray that prayer and when you do remember that all forgiveness comes through Jesus.

My blog

 I had a few problems with my blog, that  needed sorted out.Just a little thought as regards my blog it goes all over the world ,if you are a Christian,I would value your prayers,your prayers could make all the difference.Pray that God will guide me in this ministry,I have been doing it for many years,it appears that God has given me a gift to do this.My son and his wife got a book published called ,'A Daily Devotional' by Amozon,it can only be purchased from Amozon.Just a little about myself,I am 82,I am married my wife is called Daphne,I have 5 sons and many grandchildren.I come from Northern Ireland ,and was a full time minister for an number of years.I seek always to be faithful to God's word,so that's a little about myself,so God willing I will continue tomorrow.

Got my ticket (Revelation 20 v 1-8)

  A man was told he had terminal cancer and he had 3 mths to live,and this is what he said,'Praise God my ticket has come through',the doctor who told him was surprised,and asked him meant?.Well the man said ,'Im going home to heaven'and then he went on to say,'No more hospitals for me,no more medicine,no more lonliness,and so he went on telling the benifites that his death would bring,Then he said,I remember as a boy reading Peter Pan,and what he said about dying,''To die will be a awfully big adventure''.and then he quoated a scripture,'Eye hath not seen nor ear heard,Nor have entered into the heart of man, The things which has prepared for those who love Him',then the man said,it will be wonderful.'

Choosing ( Matthew 6 v 19 -26)

Everyday we make choices,like getting up in the morning,what we have for breakfast,what we wear etc,they are ordinary day by day choices.When I go out for a meal I find it difficult what to choose, I stare at the menu,my wife knows it will be sausage and mash,or fish and chips.In Matthew,Mark,Luke,there is recordered how a young rich ruler who came to Jesus (Luke 18 vff) He wanted to know ,what he could do to inherit eternal life,he was very religious ,he told our Saviour that he had kept the commandments,well said Jesus ,you lack one thing,sell everything you have and give it to the poor,and you ill have treasure in heaven'Then come, follow me'. Now Jesus looked with love on this young man,but unfortionately he loved His money.We cannot serve two masters,sooner or later we have to choose,what's stopping you?

God is Just. ( 2 Chroniclies 19 v7)

'Does the punishment fit the crime'so read  the caption on the TV ,it is in Exodus 21 v 24-25 we read ,'Eye for eye,tooth for tooth,hand for hand,foot for foot,burn for burn, wound for wound,bruise for bruise'.these words are often misunderstood,believing they gave us permission to inflict violence,instead of guidance as regards justice.In  the 16th-18th centuries  a law was introduced  called the,'Bloody Code',the death sentence was passed on those who stole food,or from shops.It is obivious that such a crime was not fit the crime.We must have a justice system but ut must be just,otherwise the system becomes unjust.God is often accused of being unjust when he has cities wiped out,if that is what He did then it is was a just  judgment, we must be careful not to put God in the dock,which  many people do. I read this recently,'The Bible explicity establishes God as perfectly just,fair,and righteous in His character,judgments,and actions. Scripture demonstrates that his justice is foundational to His sovereignty, meaning He cannot act unfairly, ignore sin,or show partiality'.

God of Peace (Colossians 1 v 19- 20)

 1  Thessalonian 5 v 23 reads,'May God himself , the God of peace sanctify you through and through.May your whole spirit,soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. I like the term,'God of peace'.God is not at war with mankind,mankind is at war with God,God is for peace,mankind is for war.Look at history,look out at this world,and what do we see wars and conflict.Things could change if they would embrace the Prince of Peace ( Isaiah 9 v6 ) Every time the gospel is preached God is holding out an offer of peace,in Romans 5 v1 we read,'Therefore,since we have justified through faith,we have peace with God  through our Lord Jesus Christ'.'It declares that believers are made right with God  and receive peace,security a permanent standing in His grace and joyful hope for eternal glory' ( From the internet) Again this comes about through faith in Jesus ,when our sins are totally  dealt with at the cross.                                                

There must be a reason ( James 4 v6 )

The apostle Paul was very qualified,very successful,planting churches all over the place,he would have been able to speak,3 languages ,Koine Greek his native tongue in which he wrote his epistles .The next was Hebrew the language of a highly educated Pharisee, and Aramaic the common language of the Jews,In 2 Cor 12  he writes of a unique spiritual experience ,when he was caught up into heaven and heard inexpressible things that no one is permitted to tell.Then he writes of of something else he experienced,he called it a thorn in the flesh.Although he prayed for healing,God said no,and he tells him  the reason, to keep him from becoming proud,but he also was given the grace to bear it. There are very important lessons for us to learn from Pauls experience,the Lord does not afflict us willingly, there is always a reason a loving reason. But the great consolation is, he will give us the grace we need to sustain us.

Give Him the glory( 1 Corinthians 1 v29-31)

 It  Judges 6 Israel were being oppressed by the Midianites and God choose Gideon who would  led an army to overcome thier enemies. that's what  he would have thought,but God had other ideas.The number that came to fight was 32000 ,but God cut the army down to 300. A big cut, but God had his reasons,he knew his people,that if the 32000 had fought and were victorious they they would take the glory.instead of giving God the glory.One hears of so many people who never give God  the glory ,for their success.If we are Christian let us be quick to give glory to God for every success.every victory,every accomplishment.

                                                     'And every virtue we possess

                                                      And every victory won,

                                                      And every thought of holiness

                                                      Are His alone'

                                                            ( Harriet Auber)

Three things, (1Thessalonians 5v 18(b)

 In 1 Thessalonians 5 v 16 - 18  we resd '  Rejoice alway,pray continually.give thanks in all circmstance;for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus'. So here we have three things that God wants us to do ,the first one tells us to 'rejoice always'.Is this not asking too much of us?  no, if we are being spoken to by God to rejoice always .then it to be taken serious. Let us bear in mind that these words are spoken  to the church as a whole.John Stott writes ,'Paul is issuing not an order to be happy but an invitation to worship,and to joyful,worship at that.'There are some wonderfu hymns and many modern songs that do much to bless our services and enhance our lives.  Next we have to 'pray continually',we need and I mean need,to be praying churches and praying individuals.There is so much to pray about,the unsaved,the sick ,the suffering,the ungoing difficulties we all meet with.the sad ,the homeless,to be preserved from so much more.Last but not least ,'Give thanks in all circumstances'again how is that possible? John Wesley was rescued from a fire when he was a young boy,his mother saw as proff of the clear intention of Providence.We like her can look beyond the difficulties to God who will work out everything for His childrens good,even as Piper says,'bitter Providences'. 

Living water (John 4 v 4-30)

'Jesus gave her water that wss not in the well.....She went away singing,and came back bringing ,others for the water that was not in the well'.This is part of a song we use to sing,many years ago,it is based on John 4  where Jesus comes upon a woman who came to draw water from a well.Jesus was tired and thirsty,so he asked her  for a drink of water ,she had drawn fron the well.And so began a wonderful  conversation,she puzzelled why He a Jew should ask water as she was a Samaritan,as the Jews did not  associate  with Samaritans,this is what Jesus said,' If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink,you would have asked him and he would have given you loving water'.She did not understand what Jesus was saying or who he was,bur eventually she would. The natural water keeps us alive,but it will not stop us dying,our dear Saviour spoke of living water,Isaiah 12 v 3 reads ,'With Joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation'So what Jesus was offering  was salvation, if we but turn to Jesus to be saved,we will receive eternal life, (Romans 6 v36).Jesus further contrasted the limitation of natural water,we drink of it but we will thirst again,But the water ( salvation)that he would give her would trully fill the deepest longings of  her soul.

                                                    'Now none but Christ can satisfy,

                                                     

Witnessing ( Romans 8 v 26 a)

'But  you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,and in all Judea and Samaria , and to the ends of the earth'. (Acts 1 v8)These are the last words spoken by Jesus before He went back to heaven.They were addressed to His disciples,but they are for 21st century Christians,in othe words they for you and me .How do you feel about witnessing? does it scare you?,frighten you?.When was the last time you told anyone about Jesus?I suppose you may  say leave it to the professionals.From the moment the Lord restored me to himself I witnessed to people ,I wasn't a  professional. How do I do it? well the answer lies in those last words of  Jesus,'You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you'.Remember what Jesus said,'without me you can do nothing',( John15 v5) and that help comes through the Holy Spirit who dwells within all of us.The Holy Spirit dwells in every child of God,not just the charismatic or pentecostal.If you have not the Holy Spirit you would not be a child of God (Romans 8 v 9) That happens when you are born again ( John 3 v 7),we could not live the Christen life ,if the Spirit of God was not in us.So tell them about your experience,ask  the Spirit to help you and guide you,He will'

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We don't know ( Matthew 25 v 1-13)

 One of the things the apostle Paul had to deal with in his letter to the church in Thesslonica,was their concern for those who had died,What had happened to them? Are they alright?shall they see them again?.This was in connection to the coming of the Lord,some say Paul was expecting Christ to come  back in his life time,but there is no real evidence for that.The Lord made it clear that only God the Father knows when Christ will come again,( Acts 1 v7).There are other referances as  regards not knowing when Christ is coming CP Matthew 24 v36-51.What our Saviour taught as regards His coming that we are to live in the light of it, which could happen anytime. Many years ago an elderly believer said to me that the Lord was coming back before he died,dont be fooled by anyone forecasting when He is coming again.The JWs have done this a number of times,we must not be like them,or the believers in 1000 A,D who had as John Stott puts it 'eschological excitement' or 'Parousia hysteria' .

                                                            'Even so,come,Lord Jesus'  

                                                                   Revelation22 v 22..

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Last words (Psalm 23 v 4)

 Often in ages past when a godly man was about to die,people would crowd round to hear his last words,here are a few examples.John Knox,'Live in Christ,die in Christ,and the flesh need not fear death.Dietrich Bonhoeffer,'This may seem to be the end of me,but its just the beginning.John Wesley,'The best  of all, God is with us,farewell,farewell.I turn to my favourite the word of the greatest of the apostles,Paul, he was about to die a martyrs death and this what he wrote I will not comment on them,let them speak for themselves,

                                                          'I have fought the good fight,

                                                           I have finished the race,

                                                           I have kept the faith'

                                                              (2 Timothy 4 v 7)

                                           

Holiness ( Hebrews 12 v14)

 For God did not call us to be impure,but to live a holy life, ( 1Thessalonians 4 v7)what does that men? ,it means living as God wnts us to live,we have to take that very serious.We are not justified by the keeping of the law but we are called to have a moral qaulity to our lives.Paul continually tells us the  means where  by we can be saved,when we trust  Christ ,that should  mean ,repenting of our sins, leaving the old life,in fact dying to our old life.That is what we are declaring when we are baptized,going under the water symbolises dying to our old sinful life,and coming up out of the water symbolises our newness of life. (Romans  6 v 1-4) Peter writing of those who have escaped the corruption of the world when they trusted Christ and  goes back on that ,suffer consquences and likens them unto a  dog retuning to its vomit,and a sow that is washed returning to her wallowing in the mud'( 2 Peter 2 v 20 - 22) Psalm 23 v 3 speaks of being lead in the paths of  righteousness.For the Christian we do not do, what everyone else is doing,no we live the life  that Christ wants us to live,a life of holiness,that is different from the worlds. John writes to the believers telling them if we claim to be without sin we decieve ourselves and the truth is not in us( 1Jn1v8) Yes we will sin at times,bit we will not walk in sin  (1 Jn v18) It was Murry McCheyne who prayed ,'Lord make me as holy as a pardoned sinner can be made'

Side affects ( Romans 3 v11 -23)

I started smoking when I was young say about 13yrs ,most people smoked in those days,why did I start smoking? I don't know.I even smoked a pipe when I got older.I remember when I had my first alcoholic drink when I was 14-15yrs ,why ?possible made one feel grown up.With smoking and alcohol there are dangers they can become addictive and cause destructive health problems. I'm sure we all know people  whose lives have been ruined by smoking and alcohol,think how many people have been killed by drunken drivers. On the cigarette pack there are graphic warnings,but still people smoke.Likewise alcohol  is said to be ,'a slow posion;,affecting our liver and can even cause piles, strokes and hullucinations,if it gets a hold of you ,you can literally drink oneself to death.Why do people appear to ignor the warings? but they do. The greatest killer and destuctive thing in the world is sin, not just in the here and now, but in the here after,The word of God teaches us the terrible consquences of sin,our Saviour talked about being a slave of sin (John 8v 34),billions are slaves to sin ,but He also said,'So if the Son sets you free,you will be free indeed (John 8 v36) Do you want to be free from sin and its awful  consquences? ,turn to Jesus.trust Him as your Saviour.

The greatest gift ( 1 Peter 1 v18-19)

 I recently received a lovely birthday present  from one of my sons,an actual painting not a print,while a  print can be lovely,an actual painting has something special about it.I am aged 82 so I have recieved many gifts during my lifetime,cars,books the list could go on.A dear lady left me 500 pound in her will,and when my first wife died a friend sent me some money that helped a great deal,and so I could go on.  Recently I  I told a lady that the most important prayer we can praywas,'God be merciful to me a sinner'.Now let me tell you the greatest gift one can receive is 'The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord' (Romans 6 v23).Consider who gives us this gift,God,why would He give such a gift?the answer is,because He loves us (John 3v16),no one is worthy of such a gift.In Romans5 v8 we read,'But God commendeth His love toward us,in that,while we were yet sinners,Christ died for us'.It is a free gift so many people believe their good works can get them to heaven, they can't  (Ephesians 2v 8-9).None of us deserve it, all we deserve is God's judgement,if we neglect this Gift ,we can expect no mercy,which means we will experience eternal damnation,

No boasting, (Ephesians 2 v8-9)

  Titus 3 v 5 reads,'He saved us,not because of righteous things we had done,but because of unrighteous things we have done, but beause of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.Consider those words as regards salvation,God rules out completly any works of righteousness,any. In Matthew 7 v 21-23,our Saviour tells that on Judgement day there will be those who will call him Lord  and will say they had prophesized,cast out demons,and performed  miracles,in His name,and they will be rejected.What they done was only a cover up,they worked outside the will of God the Father,and were considered evil doers.Salvation only comes  by God's grace when a person truly repents of their sin and seeks Jesus as their Saviour.Matthew Henry writes,'Grace will bring a man to heaven without  working miracles,but working miracles will never bring a man to heaven without grace'. Miracles ,prophesying has nothing to with our salvation absolutely nothing,but grace and mercy has everything to do with it.There will be no boasters in heaven (Ephesians 2 v 9) A hymn by James M. Gray sums it up.

                                                   'Naught have I gotten but what I received

                                                   Grace hath bestowed it since I believed

                                                   Boasting excluded, pride I abase,

                                                   I'm only a sinner saved by grace'

The need is great ( John 4 v 35)

     In Psalm 10 v 4 we read of the wicked,'God is not in all his thoughts'and in Romans 3 v 10 - 11 we read,'There is no one righteous,not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God'.These words  appear very extreme,but there not,Most people keep God out of there lives,I look everywhere and I see how many people are well off ,but I can guarantee,they never thank God for His many blessings.The vast majority of people never thank God for the food they eat,they live lives that God is not allowed to intrude ,there national anthem is I did it my way.When they die  they are taken away to be cremated and there ashes come back in a box.It  may be grim what I am saying ,and it is,no .matter how nice people are they show by their lives ,and actions that they are sinners,and it won't get any better (2Tim 3 v13). What is the answer? God is the answer,who else? only He  can change humanity ,what part as Christians do we play in it,first of all we must recognise that this is a spiritual battle ,and it must be fought using God's mighty weapons,not worldly weapons (2 Corinthians 10 v 4).I'm sure we all as Christians need to repent,to pray,to witness,the need of the hour is great ,mulitudes stand a breath away from Hell. their souls will spend  eternity in an eternal lostness,they need a Saviour that Saviour is Jesus.

When the storm pass-es by. ( Isaiah 43 v1-2)

                                                           'Till the Storm passed By'  (Words by Mosie Lister) 

                                       'In the dark of the midnight  have I oft hid my face,

                                       while the storm howls above me and there's no hiding place;

                                       Mid the crash of the thunder,precious Lord hear my cry

                                                     Keep me safe 'til the storm pass-es  by.

                                        Many times Satan whispered,''There is no need to try,

                                        For there's no end of sorrow,there's no hope by and by!''

                                        But I know Thou art with me,and tomorrow l'll rise

                                                   Where the storms never darken  the Skies.

                                        When the long night has ended and the storms come no more,

                                        Let me stand in Thy presence on that bright ,peaceful shore;

                                        In that land where the temptest never comes, Lord ,may I 

                                                     Dwell with Thee when the storm passes by.

                                      

                      

Tust in the Lord (Proverbs 3 v 5-6)

I wouldn't want to undermind  your belief in,wait for it,technology,the god of technology, this is a true story.I, had an appointment for the hospital,but I couldn't drive to it, because I was having a procedure done to my eyes  ,so I asked my wife to drive me.She was a bit anxious,she suggested we do a dummy run,so we did,and of course we had the faithful sat nav,we put in the post code,and off we went,we also prayed,so nothing should go wrong.Well we followed its instruction, and we were getting nearer,until things went wrong,it kept taking us round  in a circle,in the end we give up and drove home.Yes technology failed us but did God fail us?,we did pray,so why did we not find our way?,that's were trust comes in,because I know he loves us,I know there must be a reason,don't be quick to judge God,even though you have prayed,and it hasn't happened,just trust Him.I have prayed for many things,I didn't always get what I prayed for,thank goodness,the providence of God is a great mystery.

                                                               'Trust in the Lord'

They were lost ( Luke 19 v10)

My wife is self employed and she works with the elderly,recently she told me,how when she was doing some cleaning in a persons home,she found a gold ring.She took it to the old lady who was delighted, and she said, she had been looking for it for 2yrs.It reminded me of what our Saviour taught in Luke 15,of a shepherd who found a lost sheep,and a woman who found a lost coin,and a father who got back a lost son. He told  this to some very religious people who had criticised Him because he mixed with people who they considered  sinners.Yes they were sinners and indeed  lost sinners,those religious people could only see sinners,to be ostracised,only fit for hell.Jesus could see them as people who needed to be found and brought back to God,how do you look at so  called bad people?do you look at them with the eyes of the religious people?,or with the eyes of Christ?

                                         'O teach me what it meaneth, That cross uplifted high,

                                         With one, the Man of Sorrows,Condemned to bleed and die,

                                          O teach me what it cost Thee, to make a sinner whole;

                                          And teach me, Saviour,teach me, the value of a soul.'

                                                                Words   Lucy A. Bennett.

                                         

Death (Ephesians 2 v 1-10)

 Our Saviour said,' Man shall not live by bread alone,but on every word that comes from the mouth of God' ( Matthew 4v4) He is not saying we shouldn't eat of course we need to eat,our bodies need food.But we are not just a physical being,we have a soul,and that needs fed.Our Saviour always pointed us beyond the physical,when Jesus told a religious leader ,that we need to be born again (John 3 v 3)He thought he was talking about a physical birth,of course he didn't mean that.He meant a spiritual rebirth. Every human being born is without God,in other words we are not connected to God spiritually.When Adam and Eve sinned they died spititually (  Gen 2 v17 /Ephesians 2 v1/ Romans 5 v12) 'Dying is separation from God.That separation occurred the very moment when man by his disobedience broke the bond of love.If physical death ultimately closes the experience,that is not the most serious aspect of the whole affair.The more serious is the inner spiritual separation.(Loupold) After the  commission of sin man stepped upon the road to death'(Oehler )

The church ( Revelation 7 v 9)

Pual and his  companions visited Thessalonica in  AD49 or 50 it is still in exsistence and is the second most important city in Greece. As  Paul often did he went to a Jewish synagogue and there he had opportunity to preach the gospel,a number of the Jews responded,and also a number of God -fearing Greeks and a few prominent women.But is often the case the Jews stirred up a mob and started a riot.It was so bad that the believers sent them away.The Jews  continued to harass them so they moved on,inspite of this a church came into being.In many places in the world today churches are coming into place, in Iran,Nepal,let us remember what Jesus said,'I will build my church,and the gates of Hell will not overcome it'.(Matthew 16 v 18) We live in a world that is opposed to God and his gospel, false religions, atheistic goverments,and so the list goes on.Samuel J.Stone wrote ,'Though with a scornful wonder men see her sore oppressed,By schisms rent asunder,by heresies distressed',that is true  but let us rest on the word of Christ,'I will build my church'

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Judging others, ( Matthew 7 v 1-6)

Our Saviour said ,'Do not Judge,this is on a personal level,of course we need Judges in our courts to administer justice.Matthew Henry wrote the following,'We must judge ourselves,and judge our own acts, but we must not judge our brother. We mus not sit in the judgement seat,to make our word a law to everybody.We must not despise him,nor treat him with comtempt.We must not judge rashly.We must not judge uncharitably,unmercifully,nor with the spirit of revenge,and a desire to do mmischief. We must not jufge the hearts of others,nor their intentions,for it is God's prerogative to try the heart. Nor must we judge of their eternal state. William Barclay writes the following,'There is hardly anyone who has not ben guilty of some grave misjudgment; there is hardly anyone who has not suffered from someone else's misjudgment. and yet the strange fact is that there is hardly any commandment of Jesus which is more consistently brokn and neglected'

The human factor. ( Romans 3 v 23/ 6 v 23)

 I love watching sport on TV,I watch golf if Rory Mcllroy is playing,it is wonderful how skilled the top golfer are,yet it amazes me to see them missing a very short put.The next sport I like is snooker ,I used to play it many years ago,now I just watch it on ,yes TV, you see tremendous skill in players potting the balls,but again as in golf,they miss the easiest of balls.Last one is football ,I used to play that when I was young now I'm a couch potato watching it on TV,and like the two previous sports we see players making big mistakes,missing open goals. It raises the question why?,my answer is it's the human factor,that's why those things happen. So it is we are not capable of not sinning,no matter how much we try,there are no sinless people living on planet earth.The nicest people sin ,the most holy people sin,it's the human factor,that is why we need a Saviour,everyone needs a Saviour ,and that Saviour is Jesus,He is the one exception he never sinned,and that is very important,for on the cross he died that our sins could be forgiven,the sinless one dying for sinners.

                                                           'He took my sins and my sorrows,

                                                           He made them His very own;

                                                          He bore the burden to Calvary,

                                                          And suffered ,and died alone. (Words C.H.Gabriel)

Coveting. (Exodus 20 v 3-17)

We don't hear much about the commandments,so it ws good that our pastor chose to speak on one,the last one, 'You shall not covet your neighbour's house.You shall not covet your neighbour's wife,or his mail or female servant,his ox or donkey,or anything that belongs to your neighbour' (Ex 20 v17) I thought I don't want anyone's donkey of course not,but to the people in biblical times a donkey would have been a valuable asset,it still is in some countries.The word anything is in that commandment,so it involves anything that belongs to someone else,it is not only wrong it is a sin,David coveted his neighbours wife and run with that ,and committed adultery, ( 2 Samuel 11),that was two sins Ex 20 v14,and then he had the womens husband murdered ,that's three sin's he committed Ex20 v 13.You may think I can understand adultery,and murder being a sin,but coveting it's only a thought,yes but it's a sinful thought,and that is a sin.Jesus said in Mt 5 v 28,'But I tell you that anyone who  looks on  a woman lustfully has already committed  a adultery in his heart  . Because these commandment are in the OT doesn't mean they don't apply now, they do, all of them,and that is why we need our sins forgiven, and that's why we need Jesus,that our sins may be forgiven.

A crossless Christ ( Galatians 6 v 14)

Every year at  a football final they sing the hymn ,'Abide with Me',it was written by an Anglican minister called H.F.Lyte. He lived in the 19th century,most of his life he suffered from ill health,before he died he wrote that hymn.It is a solemn hymn  emphasising the abiding presence of the Lord through life and into death. Im surprised some hymn books leave a particular verse out which reads,

                                                 'Hold Thou thy cross before my closing eyes

                                                  Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies,

                                                  Heaven's morning break and earth's vain shadows flee

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

There are millions of people who believe in a crossless Christ, their Christ is but a prophet, they don't have a Saviour,they are taught that they don't need a Saviour,all they have do is to be obedient to their God. It is a tragedy of monmental proportion ,in doing that they shut themselves out of an eternal place in heaven and condemn thenselves to an eternal place in hell.Over 700yrs before Christ came the prophet Isaiah wrote of one who would bear the sin of many,that means he would suffer the wrath of God,so that if we trust Him we would not bear the wrath of God.Do read Isaiah 52 v 13-15/53.and if you trust Him,your sins will be forgiven,your life will be changed,and your destination will be changed,for the better.

                                                  

A sudden death ( Proverbs 27 v1 )

A young girl suddenly died who attended our church,I had a conversation with her the Sunday before  she died,there was no indication that she was suffering from any serious illness.So there was a degree of shock and sadness when I heard of her death .She was a fine Christian and was involved in the church,and was well liked one can't imagine the loss and pain her parents are feeling.A Dr Morey has written a number of things about death,' Science may make many discoveries,but it will never conquer death'. When God created man and woman they were sinless and perfect and that meant they would never die.They were told not to eat the fruit of certain a tree,if they did they would die,they disobeyed,and so death came into being CP Romans 5v12'Therefore just as sin entered the world through one man,and death through sin,and in this way death came to all people ,because all sinned.' Dr Morey writes that death is not natural, normal or human,death is terrible and unnatural ripping the soul out of man's body.Man was made to live not to die'.But thats not the end, our soul will never die,and the question is this, where will we spend eternity?, will it be heaven or will it be hell?.That young girl is in heaven not hell because she trusted Jesus to be her Saviour , John 3 v 15 reads,'That who believeth in Him should not perish ,but have etrrnal life'.

Are you listening?. ( Romans 1 v 18-20)

In Simon and Garfunkel's song there is a line that reads,'People hearing without listening',  psalm 19  commences,'The heavens declare the glory of God,and the skies proclaim the work of his hands',it goes on to say,'Day after day they pour forth their speech, they use no words,no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into the ends of the earth,' Yes there are many many things that don't literally speak to us that don't have an actual voice.like creation and yet it speaks to us of our creator God,unfortionately people can look at creation admire it,and there it stops,they rob God of His glory,attributing to it just all happened,they are deaf to the voice of creation.Not only that they are looking and not seeing,in doing that they give evidence as to their blindness and their deafness spiritually.Paul says it has severe consequences spiritually,in fact they are with out excuse (Romans 1 v 20),and will be judged accordingly.

                                                         ' Only God can make a tree'  

God first ( John 21 v 15)

This famous quote is from Shakespeare's Henry V111 play spoken by Cardinal Wolsey after falling from the King's favour,'It expresses regret for dedicating his life to political power rather than God admitting: 'Had I but served my God with half the zeal,I served my King,he would not in mine age,have left me naked to mine enemies'.The king became first in Wolsey's life and he served him well,but the king had a short memory,so he fell out of favour,and he was summoned to appear before the king,and more than likely the king was have him executed,but before that happened he died a natural death,in a way that could be seen as a mercy.Sad to say many people yes even children of God, and their lament will be,'if only I had put  God first,if only.If we put God first then everything will fall in place. Here is what our Saviour said,'Seek first his kingdom  and His righteousness,and all things will be given to you as well' (Matt 6 v 33)

We are not worthless ( Ephesians 2 v 1- 10)

 We are told that we were made in God's image, Dr Morey writes as regards this, 'that it simply means that man reflects his creator in certain capacities and capabilities which separate him from the rest of the creation'.Thay may be part of it,John Calvin takes it to mean,'that the chief seat of the Divine image was in his mind and heart,where it was eminent'.But now although some obscure lineaments of that image are found remaining in us; yet are they so reduced and mained,that they may truly be said to be destroyed'. Be that as it may there is something in man,that tells us that although we are not worthy, we are not worthless,in God's eyes. Yes we are siinners with a fallen nature,that manifests itself  in so many awful ways,the list is endless,all of us are ungodly sinners indeed enemies of a holy God. Yet inspite of our sinfulness God concieved a plan,a redemptive plan,to save us( Ephesians 1 v4) ,it was a plan of love ( John 3 v16) for a world that didn't love Him.Jesus the Saviour of the world died on a cross taking the punishment for our sins,He offers us salvation,if we but turn to Him and accept Jesus and we will be forgiven all of our sins.

                                                      'Amazing grace! how sweet the sound

                                                       That saved a wretch like me!

                                                       I once was lost,but now am found:

                                                       Was blind but now I see.'  ( John Newton)

Let us ( Genesis 1 v 26-27)

I often wonder what God meant when He said ,'Let us make mankind in our image,in our likeness' (Genesis 1 v 26),notice that God  says,'Let us' and,'in our image, in our likeness',he is not speaking to angels,for they are created beings,only God can create .It is Leupold in the Barns commentaries who gives a satisfactry answer,'Behind such speaking lies the truth of the Holy Trinity'.There are those even Christians who challenge this veiw,with  human logic,but the fact God is is a triune being ,'Father,Son, and Holy Spirit'. Louis Berkhof writes ,'the OT contains some  indications of more than one person in God,Gen 1 v26,11v7; the Angel of Jehovah is represented as a divine Person.Gen 16v7-13;18: 1-21;19: 1-22.The Spirit is spoken of as a distinct Person,Isa.48 v16; 63v10.In Isa48 v16;61;63:9,10.Due to the progress of Revelation,the NT contains clearer proffs, I end with the following statement ,'The strongest proff is found in the facts of redemption.The Father sends the Son into the world,and the Son sends the Holy Spirit'.( Statements from LBerkhof,book 'Christian Doctrine)

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Prepare for hardship.( Matthew 16v 21 - 26)

If  we are followers of Jesus we must be prepared for whatever,when I was a young man with a wife and children,we felt called to serve God wherever He wanted to go. We applied to the ,'New Tribes mission' to work in New Guinea,and were accepted,this was about 50yrs ago, if you know anything about NG the terrain to say the least is very challenging,we had to go to Austrlia for training,but we were not able to raise the funding .The next place we applied for was  to work in Brazil with the Acre gospel mission,in the interior they called it the green hell,again that door shut.Looking back I'm sure it was for the best but we were prepared to go. That is two examples of being prepared to follow Jesus whatever the cost, but let's look beyond missionary work,to lands where totalitarian goverments rule,like communist countries,or the lands where Islam rules.To become a Christian in those sort of countries brings with it severe consquences,there are people in Eritrea who have been in prision for 20yrs for following Christ,Iran puts many Christians in prision, and the sentences can be very severe for men and women. 2 Timothy 2 v12 reads,'If we endure with Him,we shall also reing with Him'.

Shoplifting. ( Exodus 20 v15 )

 Shoplifting is on the increase in the UK ,its got out of control,seemingly if they steal something under a certain amount ,they don't get prosecutedand the police will not take any action. I feel very strongly against what is happening I heard a discussion on TV,someone said how good honest people will be doing it.Those who steal are not good honest people, they are thieves,and should be ashamed of themselves.The bigger question is this why are they not being prosecuted?,we have laws that deal with all sorts of things.I know that on a human level their are good honest people,but  humanities fallen nature needs to be restrained,the fact is, if they know that they can get away with something they will do it,that is from a minor thing to a major thing.There are evil goverments  that are doing awful things,because they can,don't be under any allusion as regards fallen human nature,it is capable of unbelieveable evil,if it is not restrained

                                                        'Today  shoplifting, tomorrow?'

Everyone. ( Proverbs 22 v 6)

Do you remember ther first time you sinned ? I do, I don't remember what age I was but I was young,at that time I didn't see it as a sin,but it was.Yes even very young children sin,we should not be surprised at that,after all we are born with a fallen nature,and the evidence of that fallen nature can manifested itself in very young children.That is why we should evangilise children,they need to be saved, I prayed for my children even before they were born and every day after that for their salvation.Thanks be to God they all know Christ as their Saviour,Likewise I pray for  my grandchildren and my great grandchildren.Just reently two of my grandchildren have come to know the Lord.I'm praying that they all may come to Christ,prayer is vital ,but teaching them the scriptures is also important. (2 Timothy 3 v15)

                                                                'Everyone needs Jesus,

                                                                 and I mean everyone'

Serving God ( James 1 v 27)

 How can we serve God?that's s good question,there are so many ways we can do that, it is important for all of us to find out,but not only find out but to do it.what would be an indication of some work,if you can't sing then don't join the choir.One of my sons job is an organizer of a group of a Christian churches,another one is the international director of a prayer ministry,he loves doing.What do you like to do?what can you do?.If you have children that's a wonderful ministry,I believe we all have some degree of gifting, in which we can serve God.There are many needy people all around us,pastors don't seem to visit like they use to,there could be valid reasons,lets not be to harsh on them.Maybe God is calling you to fill the gap,in so doing you would be helping your Pastor There is a man I know who lives on his own,I  heard him say he was lonely,his daughter does her best to support him.But she can't be there all the time,so he does'nt see anybody for a whole week.Serving God takes many forms but they are all important.

Meaning ( Romans 1 v 20 )

 In the book of Ecclesiastes 3 v11 we read,'   He (God) has also set eternity in the human heart'. some translations have world instead of eternity,Matthew Henry chooses world, but let us consider, 'that God has set eternity in the human hearts'.Why are  vast sums of money spent in the exploration of space.I believe it can be summed up in one word,'meaning'. They hope they will find the meaning of our exsistence,there is a want within the human heart,that won't go away.The evolutionist has not solved this want,and never will,they cannot answer satisfactory mankinds existence.To say it just all happened is an absurdity that is beyond words,could be that mankind is afraid of the real answer,that there is an eternal God who has placed in our hearts a sense of eternity/,that won't go away.We do try to make it go away in our blindness ,it is a spiritual blindness,that can look up into the heavens and see only the stars.They look at a new born baby and see only a baby, look at the beauty of this would,and only see the beauty.

                                                         'In the beginning God created the 

                                                          heavens and the earth'

                                    

Doing good ( Galatians 6 v 9-10)

It may sound trivial ,but I don't think so,I believe it's very important to do good,I could relate to you the many blessing I have every day,and yet I remenber the many who have very little of anything.Remember faith without works is dead,I can't help remembering my childhood  my mother who had left my father and she was left to bring four of us  ,how difficult it was for her, the difficult times leave their mark on you.but you do recall the kindness of people who helped one through the difficult times. God touched their heart ,I will always remember their kindness,and so does God.We read in Proverbs 19 v17,'Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord and He will reward them for what they have done'.

                                                                'So let us do good'

                                                         

Hell ( Matthew 25 v 41 )

It is a long time since I have heard any preacher mention hell in their sermons ,most evangelials believe that hell is taught in the Bible,why do they not mention it?Dr Morey writes,'Since no one is told why he should believe that there really is a hell,doubts begin to creep into people's minds.It becomes unfashionable to speak of the doctrine of hell as being''unkind'',unloving'', or ''negative''. As one is called to the ministry it brings with it a imperative challenge to preach the whole counsel of God,heaven also hell,But people have said to me we are not to frighten people into become Christians,is that valid, I would say no,the fact is people should be afraid ,they should surely flee from the wrath to come. (Matthew 3 v7) Let us be very clear ,all non Christians are children of God's wrath ,so wrote the apostle of love,John 3v 36.Hell is not preached because we hate non Christians,it is because we love them,and weep for them.No one wants anyone to go to hell no matter how wicked they have been.Hell is not just for the worst of people.A friend of mine said one sin unforgiven  will take a person to hell, but the fact is the nicest of people  have committed many sins.I know many nice people who do a lot of good,but it is not the good we do that is the problem,it is the sins we commit,that's the rub. Jesus frequently spoke  about hell and judgement,as a place of,''unquenchable fire'' outer darkness ,and weeping and gnashing of teeth. If your are not a Christian flee from the wrath of God , turn to Jesus,before it is to late.

Hope ( Romans 4 v18ff)

 Alexander Pope said,''Hope springs eternal in the human heart'',I wonder what you think of those words,during the second world war a lady called Vera Lyn sung a song with the following words,'  We'll meet again,don't know when ,don't know where.But I know we'll meet again some sunny day''.Two aspects of hope,one hopes for many things that may happen ,but then again it may not,there are no guarantees.A elderly Christian lady I know who lives on her own, feels lonely and isolated,claims the promise in Hebrews 13 v 5,'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you',those words are what God has promised to her and to every believer,they give us hope.a sure and certain hope.There are Christians who are in prison cells for their faith,they are not forsaken or forgotten by God ,He is with them.and He is with you.They say that there are two things that are cetain in life,'death and taxes',but that's not true,if we know God we have hope,hope beyond the grave. Our Saviour said that even though we die we shall live again (John 11 v25),and when I have taken funeral services, of a person who is a Christian here are the words I would say as I commit that person to the ground,'earth to earth,ashes to ashes ,dust to dust; in sure and certain hope to eternal life,through our Lord Jesus Christ'.Do you have that hope?

Special ( Mark 3 v7-12)

Himmler's world view removed any notion of the inherent ''specialness''or sancity of human life for those outside his racial definition of Germanic people' The Nazies hated Christianity ,when our Saviour said ,'Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth, (Matthew 5 v 5)he pored scorn on,He stood for Darwins theory,the survival of the fittiest,which led to the destruction of all those  Nazies considered weak. To me humanity is special,whatever their condition or disability,why do I believe that?the answer is God.Nietzsche who is remembered ,for his 'God is dead',belief loathed Christianty and saw that concern for the lowly was a form of poison.He admired the Greeks  not dispite,but because of their cruelty'. Nietzsche would have have seen Christianity as a monster that needed to be destroyed,but those who walked in His footsteps created a monster,in nazism.In spite of humanities sinful condition,and behaviour,our great creator  see's us as special,that He loved us so much that whoever believes in Jesus (the crucified one)shall not perish,but have everlasting life'.  ( John 3 v16),I would just add that our Saviour manifested a loving concern towards the weak ,and disabled,he saw them as important.

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Lonliness ( John 15 v14 )

 It ws the Beatles who sang a song called ''Eleanor Rigby''one the verses went,All the lonely people,where do they all come from? ,All the lonely people,where do they all belong?When I was a young boy,we knew our neighbours,there were those who came into our house,they were very friendly.And one knew most of the children in the street,we played  marbles,or kick the tin,we even played football in the street,there was not to much traffic then,different now.I suppose they were happy days,people were friendly,very few people owned their own homes,rents were not to dear.Things have changed people are better off materially,one of the things that many people suffer from is lonliness.I have felt lonliness at times, particulary when I came back to the Lord but God brought people into my life who befriended me.I believe God can meet our needs,and provide friends for us,he has done it for me all through my life.My best  friend is my Saviour Jesus,he is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother,I am conscious of His presence with me everyday.I talk to Him all the time,and He listens.

                                             'What a friend we have in Jesus'

                                              

                                              

                                             

Suffering ( Habakkuk 3 v16-19)

A friend of mine said this,'Can't help wondering about the purposes of God,but still we must surrender to His wisdom'.Yes we all must wonder at times,why many of God's children are suffering terrible things by evil regimes and evil people. It hits a person hard when something evil happens to someone you love,I do not know how I would react if it happened to me,would I curse God and die? .It is easy to mouth words ,the fact is we do not know how we would react.In the daily devotional,Our Daily Bread, one of the contributors wrote the  following,'' You deceived me,Lord''the prophet Jeremiah cried (20 v7) ''Will you forget me forever?'' David wrote ( Psalm13 v1) ''God has wronged me'' Job said (19 v 6) The writer said, God never rebuked them.Those three men were not perfect but they were honest as to how they felt,I believe God wants honesty from us, for he loves us,and understands why we are angry at him,in that darkest place He is there with us,yes standing somewhere in shadows is Jesus,who by His grace will bring us through this trial of our faith to a brigther day.

                                                                         A prayer

                                                        'Let no incident of life,pleasing or

                                                         painful,injure the prosperity of my

                                                         soul'. Amen.

                                                             From Valley of Vision.

                                                             

It is no secret ( Ephesians 3 v 20)

 One evening Stuart Hamble visted John Wayne,and they were discussing how people solved problems, Stuart said,'It is no secret what God can do in a man's life'.As he was leaving John  said,'Stuart you should write a song abou that',and he did just that,and it became a very popular song,Here are the words he wrote.

                                                    'The chimes of time ring out the new's,

                                                     Someone slipped and fell, was that someone you.

                                                    You may have longed for  added strength

                                                     Your courage to renew

                                                     Do not be dicouraged,for I bring news forbyou.

                                                     It is no secret what God can do,

                                                     What He's done for others,He'll do for  you,

                                                     With arms wide open He'll pardon you,

                                                      It is no secret what God can do.

                                          'Look up to our God ,who can do the impossible'