Risky ( Luke 12 v13 -21)

Gordon Bridger  tells  of a Bishop called Sandy Millar and an elderly lady aged 101 who had just become a Christian, she said to the Bishop,'Don't you think it's wonderful that I've come to Christ at my age'The Bishop  thought for a moment,and then said ,'It's wonderful- but risky'.Yes in a sense it was risky,going all those years without him,we can never presume on the mercy and grace of God,it is a dangerous thing to leave it so long.I remember working with an elderly man who used go and hear Ian Paisley speaking,and how moved he was with the message, even shedding tears,but he never made a decision for Christ.Again I remember a member of my church who had witnessed to someone and the person put it off,and she thought of the words of a hymn by D.W.Whittle,'Room for pleasure ,room for business,But for Christ the crucified, Not a place that he can enter,In your heart for which he died'.If you are not a Christian and you die without him that it is very serious,it is very risky thing to do, hell is real,don't put it off,trust him now.

Read. (Psalm 119 v33ff)

 Let us consider words from Psalm 119v 33ff ,the 119th Psalm has 176 verses ,the theme of it ,is the word of  God. Verse 33 begins ,'Teach me your decrees,O Lord;I will keep them to the end'.It is Spurgeon who writes,'Alas for those who will never taught', especially in relation to the word of God. Sad to say many Christians  do not read the word of God, even though the word of God tells us,'Man shall not live by bread alone, but on  every word that comes from the mouth of God' (Dt 8 v 3/Mt 4 v 4)King Henry V111, ordered that a Bible would be placed in every church,for the use of the people.After he died ,his daughter Queen Mary became  Queen,she was stern Roman Catholic,ordered that the Bible was not allowed to be read in English. A young man William Hunter was found reading the Bible,he said he was just reading for comfort,but he was thrown into prison,and later he was burnt at the stake.In many countries having or even reading a Bible, could end up with you being put in prison or even being put to death'.

                                                        'How much do you value God's word?'

Opinions ( Psalm 42 v 1-5)

 We are bombarded with all sorts of opinions daily especially on  You Tube, I  have a son who holds opinions on so many things,I try to avoid getting into a conversation with him on certain things.Just recently someone voiced an opinion that in ten years  AI will destroy the whole human race.Many are voiceing opinions  on AI  ,and then on a lighter level if you follow football everyone has an opinion.We have people say,'If you want my opinion',of course you may not,but  they will still give it.So many opinions can be very unsettling,as  Christians remember this vital truth, God is sovereign, He rules over all things,yes there will be wars and rumours of wars,there will be distasters,catastrophes, and mulitudes of other things.In peoples own personal lives,marriage breakdowns,deaths,I will stop there I don't want to depress you,and yet we cannot escape the fact that is the way life is.Frederick Langbridge wrote a poem with the following words in it,'Two men looked out through prison bars,one saw the mud the other saw the stars'.Which one are you?or which one am I?Where are you at this time ,what's going on in your life ?is it frightening? difficult,dangerous,overwhelming?,change your vocus,don't look at the mud,or even the stars. look to your God ,as the Psalmist reminds us,'God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble.' (Ps 46 v1 ) and v10 tells us ,'Be still,and know that I am God;'

                                                       'Replace your feelings ,with 

                                                        faith in the living God'

Perfection. ( Matthew 5 v 38-48)

 Always remember the best of men and womem are all imperfect,remember that preacher in the pulpit he is not perfect,I am not being cynical.But the fact is as long as we live none of us will be perfect,there are degrees of perfection,and there are degrees of evil.We should not despair ,but rise to the challenge  which our Saviour said ,'Be perfect, therefore,as your heavenly father is perfect'( Matthew 5 v 48) One writer says the word perfect,has the meaning,of complete,whole,or fully grown.These words spoken by Jesus, are a command,must be obeyed,even though we struggle and fail in our struggles,we must never give up,this quest to be perfect.Proverbs 24 v16 reads,'For though the righteous fall seven times,they arise  again'. Someone said the following,'Even good and godly people experience failure ,commit mistakes,and even sin,like David did ,and Peter.Jesus knew we would still sin that is why he taught us ,to pray,'forgive us our trespasses'. (Matthew 6 v 12) Praise God we can recover from our sins,when we repent and ask for forgiveness in Jesus name. We imperfect Christians must never give up by the grace of God in pressing on to perfection.

                                                             

Escape from the wrath of God. ( John 3 v36 )

 In Psalm 89 v 48 we read these words,'Who can live and not see death,or who can escape the power of the grave?' In the Bible we read of two people who escaped death,Enoch and Elijah,two very godly men,we don't  why they escaped it,only God knows that.We read in Hebrews 9 v 27,'And it is appointed unto to men once to die,but after that the judgment'.We all have to bow to  the inevitable,no matter how much we protest it will not change anything,there is no cure for death.There is no human cure that stop us ,because we cannot  undo the pass ,A Pink wrote the following,'Death is something more that the result of physiological law; the same God who sustained  Methusalah for nigh on a thousand years, would have sustained Adam's body for all eternity,had he never fallen.Sinless angels are immortal. 'Adams sin brought death upon the whole human race,but it did not only bring death,for we read after death the judgment.True we cannot stop death,but we can escape the judgment of God. For we read,'So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many',(Heb 9 v 28) It is vital that we grasp the meaning of Christs death on the cross,it was a sacrifice for sin,not His sin,no  he was sinless.1Peter 2 v 24 tells us,'He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross',that means he bore the wrath of God for our sins,that all who believe in him may escape that awful judgement  which every unbeliever will experence when they die.We cannot escape death ,but we can escape judgment by seeking forgiveness by accepting Jesus as our Saviour.

Judgement ( Romans 1 v 18)

The book of  Zephaniah  is taken up with the theme of judgement,but not entirely,it commences with judgement on the whole earth, this will take place when Christ  comes back again (2 Peter 3 v 10 -12) It then is followed by naming  nations including Judah, Jerusalem and different Gentile nations.Let us remember God judges people for a reason,he does not rejoice in judging  nations .or individual people.If you read the book of  Zephaniah all those nations including Judah are involved in very sinful practices. They were all involved in worshiping other god's.and as we say Judah is included in those practices,there were those who said,'The Lord will do nothing, either good or bad'( Zep 1 v 12)the world is like that ,but they are wrong,even if they are children of God, Exodus 34 v 7 reads 'He does not leave the guilty unpunished'.  Gordon Bridges writes 'God is just,and he must act in a way that is consistent with his character,and then he adds,'Thank God we live in a moral universe ,where ultimately justice will be done and be seen to be done'.

A false god ( Psalm 23 v 1)

In the OT we have false gods mentioned,one of them was Baal,the meaning of their name is,'Master/Lord/,Possessor. Gordon Bridger writes that  Baalism was a prosperity religion,a  sexually  corrupt religion,a frenzied religion, and a cruel religion. The prosperity religion was a belief  based on the pleaseing and stimulate him,and if you did that you would have prosperity .This reminds us of the modern prosperity gospel people, to their shame,you gave and the greater prosperity you will have,the more you give the greater the prosperity.Sad to say it is preachers of this so called gospel are millionaires,and they glory in that.I have never heard any of those prosperity preachers, preach the true gospel.Jesus said 'Give,and it will be given to you.A good measure,pressed down,shaken together and running over,will be poured  into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you'.GB  writes,'Such open-heartedness does not go unrewarded- but the essence of it is that  this must never be our motive for our giving.Paul wrote ,'I have known hunger and thirst and have often  gone without food; I have been cold and naked'  (2 Cor11 v 27) But he also wrote ' And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus'.that word 'needs' is important to remember.

Temptation (Matthew 26 v 41)

 Someone said,'It is never easy being a Christian',we must not be surprised at the difficulties we may face, there will always be challenges.One of the worst things we have to face is ourselves,the enemy within, when we are faced with temptations,always remember being tempted is not a sin, when you yield to it,it becomes a sin ,I remember a verse the Lord give me as regards temptation,it reads,'The temptations in your life are no  different from what others experience.And God is faithful. He  will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted,he will show a way out so you can endure.' ((1 Corinthians 10 v13) 'All you need to remember is that God will never let you down;  he'll never let you to be pushed past your limit;he'll always be there to help you come through it'. So call on him when you are tempted,he will not fail you.

Our greatest need ( Luke 3 v 7)

 I went out with my wife to a once every year agricultural show,but it had many none agricultural things going on,like a large tent with different stalls in it.I went to look at paintings displayed,there were a lot of them and they where very good.I started  up a conversation with man who painted them,he wasn't very friendly,but I persevered ,I asked him how he was and it turned out he had cancer.I then asked him had he ever thought about God,he said no,he then went on to tell me that his wife had died suddenly,and he blamed God for not doing anything. I mentioned death and the importance of knowing God,and that there is a heaven and there is a hell.That finished the conversation,but I managed to say I would pray for him which I have.I wondered if I should have said something else,but it was not to be. His greatest need is to be saved,and that goes for everyone,I am responsibly  not to tell people  what they want to hear,but what they need to hear,I do not want people to go to hell,but they will if they do not know Christ as as their Saviour.

What we really need( John 10 v10)

Last time I brought to your attention that the bible is a history book and a religous book ,from Genesis to Revelation we have a sovereign God at work.It is God's world,most people forget this,or reject it ,God made us in  his image,but he also made us for himelf.We were meant to live in perfet harmony with Him, he placed eternity within our hearts,we were never meant to be seperated from him.That bond between God and man changed drastically a seperation from God took place because of sin.The holy one. God could not have fellowship with us ,sin blinded us to the fact that our greatest need is God, after all we were made for him, A Christopher Walken wrote,'We are born alone,we die alone,we spend our lives looking for something,some connection,that's all we want'.There is more lonliness around than you think. That great Christian Agustine  touches on it ,when he said,'You have made us for yourself,O Lord and our heart is restless  until it rests in you'.We touch on two aspects of life, lonliness, and restlessness,let us consider the first one ,lonliness,God said it was not good that man should  be alone,so he give him a wife,we do need friendship,but it must not stop at human friendship, we also need God's friendship and companionship,that is vital.Then there is restlessness,look out on this world, it is a restless world.Solomon was a very restless man,so he tried everything and he declared,'All is meaningless, a chasing after the wind'(Ecc 2 v 17)Our Saviour said ,'Come to me,all you who are weary and burdened,and I will give you rest,.....For I am gentle and humble of heart,and you will find rest in you souls'(Matthew11 v 28-29)

The Bible ( Genesis 1 v 1)

When I went to Bible college ,one of the first courses we did was,'Old testament history and religion'. the Bible is a history book,none of it's history is made up,they are real events and real people,and there is a wealth of archeology findings that prove it.Adam and Eve were real people, kings such as David,Omri, Ahab,Jehu, Hezekiah,really exsisted,and as regards our Saviour and his death and resurrection there is plenty of evidence.There is evidence of so many things, yes the Bible is a book  of real historical events.But it is also a religious book that is woven into all the recorded events,It is about God  and humanity ,and humanities  beginnings and all that followed.It tells us of a God who created all things,and the jewel of His creation was humanity,it starts with a man and a woman.Here is a very important aspect to what I'm saying,it gives meaning to our exsistence,remove God then there is no meaning .It also helps us to understand how evil came into being, and how it has effected everything,especially humanity. No longer are we innocent we are born with a sinful nature. 

Tomorrow ( Luke 12 v 16-21)

Proverbs 27 v 1 reads,'Do not boast about tomorrow,for you do not know what a day may bring' ,they are very wise words.They apply to everyone to the Christian and the non-Christian, none of us should boast about tomorrow,there is an old saying which goes,'here today gone tomorrow' but the question is this,gone where?. that's food for thought.Most  people do not give much thought about it,you do not hear even Christians saying DV (Latin for God willing).James touches on it in his epistle chap 4 v13 - 16,speaking of people making boasts about tomorrow,he calls them arrogant. He is writing to Christians,who should know better,we should live in the fear of the Lord daily.Hezekiah knew the day he was going to die,most of us don't,but the fact is we all know that we are going to die.Charles Bridges writes, 'Tomorrow is finely described as an unknown birth,it may be eternity.'If you are not a Christian ,heaven and hell must be taken seriously,dont take tomorrow for granted,be prepared by trusting Jesus as your Saviour.And if we are Christians let us not walk in arrogant pride,but set our hearts and minds on things above,not on earthly things Colossians 3 v 1-3,and indeed on our coming Lord .( Luke 12 v37)

No never alone (Isaiah 43 v 1-3 )

 I was listening to the song,'Bridge over troubled waters',and I lifted my voice to God,and said,'You have been my bridge over troubled waters.Life has it's time of troubled waters,and we have to cope,but as a Christian we do not cope alone.God is with us in the good times and in bad times ,the times when everything is well and when times are difficult.There are none so faithful as He is,remember what he says, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you' ( Hebrews 13 v 5) the NIV puts it this way,'Never will  I leave you; never will I forsake you'. I like the double emphasis it gives to it an intensity  stressing the importance of what He is saying.  When everything is collapsing around us, be still and know that he is God and though all forsake us he will not,The apostle Paul was facing difficulties,and that everyone had forsaken him,but he declared the Lord stood by him and gave him strength' (2 Timothy 4 v 16-17)

The need of Change ( Romans 8 v 29)

 Gordon Bridger wrote,' Jacob stands for the man,warts and all;Israel stands for the man God intends him to be,the man restored by God's grace.' Oliver Cromwell had his potrait painted,he told the artist to paint warts and all,I suppose Gordon borrowed that saying from 'O C ' When Christ saved us we were all to some extent are like Jacob,I know I was,what about you,we are all imperfect flawed individuals when we come to Christ ,we are just like Jacob.,When we come to Christ for salvation our sins are forgiven, and we are set free form so much that's wrong in our lives,but for all of us there are characrter flaws,temper,anger, and so it could go on, we might have problems in our thought life,so it is important that we are honest with ourselves and with God,let us not make excuses,if we don't, we will not grow in Christ.If we are to become like Israel,the man or women that God intends us be,we must continually seek the grace of God ,continualy pray that he will perfect that which we need to overcome.We will fail at times that's were repentance comes in, and we must not give up,in this journey we are on.Paul wrote these words ,'Being confident of this,that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ'.  (Philippian 1 v 6)

Sovereign Lord (Isaiah 40)

Throughout the Bible God is  called the Sovereign Lord,in many ways His soverenity is a great mystery, the hymn writer wrote,'God moves in mysterious ways'.It is true ,Isaiah tells us, tha God's thoughts are not our thoughts,neither are his ways our ways',and 'As the heavens are higher than the earth,so are his ways higher than our ways and his thoughts than our thoughts'.  (55 v 8-9) It brings a challenge to all of us especially when bad things happen,and it calls upon us to trust Him,it is as simple as that.The saints of old like Joseph  had bad things happen to him,Likewise Job,likewise Paul.But they still trusted their Lord who they believed was Sovereign .If God was not sovereign in this world,I can assure you things would be worse.If God was not sovereign things would be worse for you and me.Many Christians are suffering but God is watching and safely bringing them through ,that is why, inspite of Pauls suffering,and his impending death ,he could say,'I have fought the good fight,I have finished the race,I have kept the faith. Now there in store for me the crown of righteousness,which the Lord the righteous judge,will award to me on that day' and then he adds for our benefit,'and not only to me, but all who have longed for His appearing'.(2 Tim 4 v 7-8)  

                                           ' Nothing can an seperate us from our Sovereign Lord'

No turning back. ( John 21 v 20 -22)

William Barclay wrote the  following,'In Hitler's Germany a man was arrested because he stood for freedom.He endured imprisonment and torture with stoic uncomplaining fortitude. Finally,with spirit unbroken , he was released. Some short time  afterwards he committed suicide Many wondered why. Those who knew him well knew the reason he had discovered that his own son was the person who had informed aganst him.The treachery of his own flesh and blood broke him in a way that the cruelty of his enemies was unable to achieve' It is David who writes about a close friend who had turned against him Psalm  41 v9,one does not expect this from a friend.It must have hurt our  Saviour greatly when Judas betrayed Him,and indeed when Peter denied Him,and when all His disciples forsook Him.Sometimes when people experience this they turn away from God. I knew a Christian couple and the wife was unfaithful,I cannot help but think that affected him spiritualy,for I met him one time,it appeared to me he had become very cynical.Another friend of mine was in partnership with a fellow Christian,and he was betrayed by that partner,loosing out financially. Our Saviour had many painful experiences ,but He never became bitter,nor did it turn away from doing the Fathers will.A person called Sunder Singh wrote a hymn here are some of the words from it.

                                                             'I have decided to follow Jesus

                                                             No turning back,no turning back.

                                                             Though none go with me, still I will follow,

                                                              No turning back,no turning back.' 

Pride ( John 13 v1-17)

'Do not be proud but enjoy the company of the lowly' so writes James in his epistle (4 v6),in so many places the word of God highlights the evil of pride. Our Saviour said 'Those who exalt themselves will be humbled,and those who humble themselves will be exalted'.( Luke 14 v11)President Bush's mother phoned her son,while he was given a live interveiw ,and she said. 'your mentioning yourself to much'. John Stott wrote,'Pride is your greatest enemy,humility is your greatest friend'.Someone wrote ,'It was through pride that the Devil became the devil', (Isa 14 v12) What's the opposiate to pride? the answer is humility, Paul wrote in Philippians 2 v 3 reads 'Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather. in humility value others above yourselves' We are all guilty of pride,it creeps in so easily,if so, ask God to forgive you.When America was celebrating VJ day,someone asked Bing Crosby how he felt that it was over,he replied ,Thank God its over and he was filled with humility,isn't it true that success fills people with pride,likewise victory in sport,and so many things. Let us by God's grace walk in the footsteps of Jesus,who was equal with God,yet left aside all that it meant ,became a servant, and humbled Himself by becoming obedient unto death,even death on the cross'  ( Philippians 2 v 6- 8)

Be a missionary. ( Matthew 28 v18 -20)

 What do the names C.T.Studd and Jack Turner mean to you? I supposed nothing,who were they? the answer ,they were missionaries.C.T.Studd went to China for ten years and then in Africa for 20-21 yrs. were he died.Jack Turner went to serve the Lord in Canada on Boffin Island ,  it is in the Artic,both these men suffered a lot of hardships.Why did they do it? because Jesus said go into all the world and preach the gospel.They are two of the many thousands and thousands of people who responded to the  call of God .Although people throughout the world are being reached through modern technology,there is still the need for people to go and tell people about Jesus. Remember that humanities greatest need is Christ, without Him they will perish and go to a lost eternity.Start being a missionary now where your at ,when our dear Saviour delivered a demon- possessed man,the man wanted to follow Jesus he begged to go with Him,Jesus did not let him,instead he told him to go home to his own people and tell them how much the Lord had done for him,and how he had mercy on him(Mark 5 v 1-20),and this he did.

Lives that speak. ( 1 Peter 3 v1 )

I visit an elderly lady  every other week,she is aged 94, and lives in a supportive houseing complex, her husband is in glory.They both served the Lord,her husband and I were joint leaders of a church.I often share with her the people I witnessed to,something of interest to talk about.But it started her on a guilt trip for she found it hard to witness to people,in my last visit she mentioned that again,mentioning feelings of regret.So this is what I said to her,calling her by name,'All your life, has been a witness for Jesus,that is very true,your children have had a godly mother,your husband a godly wife,your neighbours a godly neighbour' We are the only Bible  non Christians ever read,a godly life leaves it mark.Our Saviour said,'Let your light shine before others,that they may see  your good deeds and glorify your father in heaven' (Matthew 5 v 16) 

                                                   'Lord may our lives speak when we can't'

Judgement is coming ( 2 Corinthians 5 v 10)

Continuing on Nahum 1 v 3 we read ,'The Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished',these are very important words,Nineveh and Assyria,will not escape the righteous judgement of God.who will pour out His wrath upon them.As with every wicked tyrant God will judge them ,if not in the immediate most surely in eternity.Hebrews 9 v 27 reads,' As it is appointed unto men once to die,but after this the judgement'.Justice will be done,no excuses will be listened to.Many who worked in the death camps used the excuse,they were only obeying orders,will mean nothing ,when they appear before a holy God.We will have to broaden this out,to include all the unsaved,when he declares that he will not leave the guilty unpunished.Who are the guilty?we are all guilty,we are told that we are all sinners,everyone.Laetsch writes ,'His demand of perfection is irrevocable.His judgement of death and damnation for every sinner stand eternally unchanged'.He aso writes as regards  divine wrath,'It is not the whim of a cruel tyrant, the  unreasonable flaring up of the temper of one who has not learned to control his passion,not the fury of a hothead who strikes out without rhyme or reason,letting his blows fall where they may.'No one will escape the righteouse judgement of God. The great judgement day is coming seek Jesus and ask him to be your Saviour.

The Lord is patient ( 2 Peter 3 v9 ) 1

Nahum  1 v3  reads ,'The Lord is slow to anger but great in power; the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished'.These words  emphasise three aspects of our great God,Let us consider, 'The Lord is slow to anger' Nahum was a prophet whom God raised up,to proclaim judgement against Nineveh the capital of  Assyria.One hundred years before Nahum spoke to Nineveh, God sent the prophet Jonah  to tell them that God's judgement was about to fall upon them in 40 days (Jonah 3v4),well they immediately  repented and this included the King,and God spared them,in mercy he withdrew his judgement.But now a hundred years later,they have returned to their old ways,it was a deja vu moment.This time God's mercy would not be held back this time,nor was it,for in 612 BC a combined army,made up of the Babylons, Medes,and Scythians overthrew them.I believe that God is patient with every generation,that they may repent and turn to Jesus. but in the end God's patience runs out,then Judgement will fall,if your not saved take heed to this message.

Great in power( 2 Chronicles 32 v20-22) 2

Last time we looked at,'The Lord is slow to anger',now we look at,'but great in power', it is important to look at the context. It is about a world power Nineveh the capital of Assyria ,they were cruel and very wicked,in their desire for power they had slain mulitudes,Nahum declares  that they had enslaved nations. What could anyone do,other than submit,in order to survive,if one lived in those days,one may have thought,no one can deliver us.When the Nazies were at the hight of their  power what could one do against them? Assyria had conqured the ten tribes of Israel let these words find a place in your heart,'God is great in power' .Assyria came against the small kingdon of Judah,he had conquered the cities in Judah,but then he turned his eyes towards Jerusalem,he and his army arrived at the city gates,making all sorts of threats, he said that the god's of the nations he had conqured could not save them,and threw scorn on Israels God. Hezekiak  did not surrrender and declared ,'there is a greater power with us than with him.With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles' (2 Chronicles 32 v 7-8)Let us all take encouragement no matter how great the  difficulties we are facing,no matter if the enemy of our souls is at the gate ,and we feel overwhelmed,have faith in God, for power belongeth unto Him.  

Disunity ( Psalm 133)

I served in two churches,one as a full time minister and the other as a joint leader,in both Chuches you had people who were very unkind.I said in a lightherted way to the pastor of the church I attend,that I was glad  that I was not in a pastoral role now,for it seems that you always seem to have people who stir things up,usually for the minister. It is not nice but it happens,I heard R T.Kendall who became the minister of Westminster Chapel London,and the problems he had with certain people in that church.It is sometimes hard to know what can one do with such people.In the end we have usually to leave them with God ,but they can cause a lot problems in the church. God is not pleased with those who seek to cause disunity in the church.One person wrote the following,'Disunity in the church is a harmful division among believers, that damages relationships,weakens spiritual strength,and hurts Christian witness' 

                                                                         Jesus said ,

A new commandment I give you, that you love one another; just as I  have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

                                                                         John 13 v34-35

Add on's ( Hebrews 9 v 12 ) 4

 Let us continue to look at what the RC church calls the mass and their very strange way they look at it,to say the least, it does not get any better,in fact it gets much worse.It clearly underminds the atonement,and when anyone does that it is very serious.We have pointed out their wrong interpetation of the bread and wine,the question is what do they believe the mass is,to them it is a literal sacrifice ,everytime they have a mass it becomes that self same sacrifice that happened on calvary .Every mass is a re-enacting of Calvary. Hebrews 9- 10  deals with Christ sacrifice ,the writer points out that the animal sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year was imperfect,they did not deal effectively with sin.They could never do that they were only a shadow, he points to the impossiblity of the blood of bulls and goats taking away sin.God had a bigger plan, Jesus the Lamb of God would take away the sin of the world (John 1 v29)Jesus one sacrifice would effectively  deal with sin ,Cp Hebrews 9 , read v23ff were it clearly tells us that He does not need to be offered again and again v25 reads,' Nor yet that He should offer himself often.' v28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many'. To say that Christ has to be sacrificed continully is really saying, it is not effective in dealing with sin. I have a friend who was ardent RC,as a RC he felt that his sins were not forgiven,that all changed when He trusted Jesus one time sacrifice on the cross.

Add on's ( Luke 22 v 17 -19)3

The last one of the add on's is the 'Mass', what is it? it is one of the core doctrines of the Catholic faith, the core of  this is the death of Christ .All Christian churches do what Christ told us to do ,when he eat bread and drink wine,the bread stands for his body,and the wine stands for His blood,these remind us, of his death on Calvary,He said do this in rememberance of me. (Luke 22 v14-20) The simplicity of it is wonderful,there is nothing complicated about it.But the mass turns it iinto more than that,based on John 6 v53 were Jesus says,'unless you eat the flesh of the Son of  Man and drink His blood,you have no life.'There were those who heard those words, took it literally,and they stopped following Jesus.No Jew would drink blood,and none of us would eat flesh,it was never to be taken literally.The simplest answer is this 'the taking of Christ within oneself  that is by the metaphor of eating and drinking'( Dr .Leon Morris) When Jesus said He was a door in John 10 v9 ,he was using a metaphor,when He said he said He was the good shepherd,he was using it to illustrate something people could identify with ,I suppose one could say that was a metaphor also,He never was a literal shepherd .Coming back to the mass,the RC church takes  what Jesus said literal,which to say the least is wrong,they believe the bread miraculously turns into the body of Christ so that  they believe they are literally eating the flesh of Christ,and the wine likewise when they drink the wine  they belive they are literally drinking the blood of Christ.

Add on's . (Colossians 2 v13) 2

 Now let us consider the next add on 'Purgatory', what is purgatory?It is seen as a tempory state or place after death where souls are cleansed and purified of remaining sins before entering heaven.This purifying is done by a spiritual fire which is agony.It did not become  official Roman Catholic doctrine until the 13th-15th centuries.I wonder what happened before then?The RC base it on a verse 2 Maccabees 12 v46,but the problem is that 2Maccabees was never accepted as being part of the cannon of scripture,by the Protestant church,and Jewish authorities. This teaching weakens the atoning death of Christ,which is the only thing that deals with sin 1John 1 v 7, make that clear,it reads ,'the blood of Jesus his Son,purifies us from all sin.' Hebrews 9v22 reads,'Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness'.There is no such thing as a spiritual purifying us from our sin after death.Nor is there any bases of going to a place called purgatory, we read of the dying thief in Luke 23 v43 'Jesus answered him,'Truly I tell you today you will be with me in paradise'2 Corinthians 5 v 8 reads,'We are confident,I say,and willing rather to be absent from the body,and to be present with the Lord' It is very clear that Enoch went straight to heaven.(Hebrews 11 v 5)The biggest argument against purgatory, there is no mention of it in the Bible it is just one of those add on's.

Add on's ( Romans 6 v23 )1

Beware of the add on's,for once  they start, who knows where they are going to end ,the result is they take people further and further from the truth.The greatest culpit who does this well, I won't mention them by name but we will consider the add on's they have brought in,well some of them. The first one is, we cannot be saved by faith alone,the next one is a place which they call purgatory,were one is purified by fire.and the next one is  the mass. Let us consider the first one,we can't be saved by faith alone,is that true?,no it's not,  they add on .'good works'. they base this on what James says in his epistle chap 2 v14ff in understanding what James says ,we must consider v18  which reads,'Show me your faith without deeds and I will show my you my faith by my deeds'. Our deeds are the evidence that our faith is true,as James says twice,'show me'.If we are showing no evidence of being a Christian then we not a Christian. We read throughout scripture,that we are saved by simple faith in Christ and his finished work.The thief  on the cross did no good works John 23 v43.Abraham did no good works to be saved Cp  Romans 4 v1-6. v3 reads 'What does scripture say? Abraham believed God,and it was counted unto as righteoudness' Rom 5 v1 'Therefore,since we have been justified by faith,we have peace with God through our Jesus Christ.I could go on but I leave  you with  Ephesians 2 v  8-9,'For it is by grace you are saved,through faith,and this is not from yourselves,it is a GIFT of God, not by WORKS,so that no one can boast.'

                                           'Martin Luther said 'We are saved by faith alone

                                            but the faith that saves is never alone'

Repentance ( 2 Peter 3 v 9)

 The Christian author Os Guinness said,'Confession is a source of strength not weakness,he also mentioned what  Margaret Thatcher said,'the womens not for turning',as being dangerous'.When we. sin it is is vital that we confess our sins and repent of them. 1John 1 v 9 reads ,'If we confess our sins,He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness'.King David committed a terrible sin, , adultery and murder ,he confessed this is to God  ,and God forgive him.No matter how terrible ones sins are ,God will forgive us.He forgave Paul,the persecuter of His Church he was shown mercy'.Paul never forgot that,he wrote,'Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man,'he was shown mercy (1 Timothy 1 v 13). Manasseh was one of the worse kings who ruled Judah,he sinned greatly ,read 2 Chronicles 33 ,but God forgave him. Remember in God's sight all sin is equally evil and needs to be confessed.Sin unconfessed will drive us away us away form God.Os Guinness pointed out that Jewish scholars spoken of repentance as coming home,the story of the prodigal illustrates that,the hymn writer wrote 

                                                          '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'.

Are you listening? ( Revelation 2 v 29)

I was out with fellow Christians ,having a meal,and I jokingly said husbands have a deaf ear,because so often the women says to their husbands,'your not listening' We may smile at those words,there may be a degree of truth in what is said. Often a parent says to their children,are you listening to what I say? of course they are,pull the other leg.But let us move on to a higher level,as regards God speaking and the importance of people listening and acting on what He says.In Psalm 95v 7-8/Hebrews 3 v 15,it reads 'Today, if you hear his voice not harden your hearts,as you did in the rebellion'.what does harden mean?it has different aspects to it,it can describe a person's feelings becoming tough and unfeeling,and unbelieving.During our Lords earthly ministery he spoke to many people,especially the religious leaders. In Matthew 13 v 15 He declares why 'Though seeing,they do not see; though hearing ,they do not hear or understand. ......For this people  have become calloused;the  word calloused means ,'cruel and not concerned with others fellings.It is a picture of people who do want to hear God's word.Such as the times we live in,we understand the non-Christian being like that ,but what about us who are Christians,are we listening? or do we have deaf ear?

Better He choose. ( Psalm 23 v 3)

 Sometimes in life you just have to accept things,I didn't get to be that missionary I wanted to be,but I have two son's in Chritian ministry,one who travels all over the world ministering.David wanted to build a temple but God said no, it didn't stop him from supplying the materials for the temple.Moses wanted to go into the promised land,but God said no,although he was allowed him to see it from afar. Paul wanted to be healed,but God said no,but God granted him the grace to bear it.Let us never forget God is in control in Psalm 47 v4 we read, 'He shall choose our inheritance for us'Jonah did not accept the task God had given him to do,but he soon learned,the folly of that,when he ended up in the belly of a great fish.You may have been let down in romance,consider that it was not God's choice for you.That promotion you wanted and it didn't happen,it was not God's choice for you.

                                                                 'Thy will be done'

Gangrene ( Romans 1 v16-17)

In Pauls letter to Timothy,who was  the leader of the church at Ephesus,and in chap 2 he warned him to deal with false teaching,and he describes the effects of  false teaching. If it was not dealt with it will spread like gangrene,or as John Stott puts it,'as dangerous as blood poisoning to the body and spreads like sepsis from a wound'.Thats how serious false teaching is,and yet sad to say some so called Christians  appear to be blind to that .There is a belief that that there are are different roads that lead to heaven,not so ,the historical Christ declared ,'That he was the way the truth and the life and that no man can come unto the Father but by Him.(John 14 v6 )I have just read how women are treated in Afghanistan ,being flogged ,and being kept as prisoners in their own home,and the terrible violence inflicted on so many dear people,because they are  Christians .But the problem is bigger than that ,false religions are built on falsehood,The Quran is built on falsehood,it denies that Christ did not die on the cross,and so millions of people are robbed of salvation,of having their sins forgiven,and that is very serious,and very sad.

Hope in God ( Psalm 42)

  Psalm 42 and 43,could be one Psalm, for they appear to have the same theme,of a man who is struggling ,yes there were reasons.He feels hemmed in and overwhelmed v7 he declares 'I hear the tumult of the raging sea as your waves and surging tides sweep over me'It could be he felt cut off from the house of God.(2/4)He was in such a state ,and there were those who kept asking him,'Where is your God?' Remember the enemy will always kick you when your down,in spite of this he had not lost his soul thirst for God v1-2 reads'As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you,my God. My soiul thirsts for God, for the living God.' May God help us from loosing our soul thirst for the living God.What can he do v 5/11 tells us the first things he did,he spoke to himself and here is what he said,'Why my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me?'and then he answers the question,'Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Saviour and my God'V8 reads,'But each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me',this caused him to rejoice,as it should cause us to rejoice.For we are told in Romans 8 v37-39 that nothing can seperate us the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

It took a miracle. (Ephesians 2 v 1- 10)

 Do I believe that miracles still happen? yes I do,yet we must confess that miraculous healings don't happen often,but I'm sure they still happen. We often limit miracles to people being healed,but God's word dosen't.Right throughout the Bible we read  of healings,but also of people being delivered from slavery in a miraculous way. We read how God opened up the sea for His people to walk through on dry ground,so escaping from their enemies.Of a prophet being fed by birds,and that same prophet prayed and there was no rain for three and a half years.We read of Jesus walking on water,and turning water into wine, yes there are many miracles in the Bible.What is the greatest miracle that we can expereince?,what do you think it is?.It is Spurgeon who spoke of a 'Miracle of Grace',what did he mean by that? the answer is simple,it is the miracle of salvation,everytime a person gets saved it is a miracle.If you are a Christian then you have experienced a miracle,and of all miracles it is the greatest miracle of all.John W.Peterson wrote the following.

                                                    'It took a miracle to put the stars in place,

                                                     It took a miracle to hang the world in space;

                                           But when he saved my souls ,cleaned and made me whole,

                                                      It took a miracle of love and grace'

Escape ( Genesis 19 v17)

Like many countries we have experienced very sunny and dry weather, with the result fires have broken out in many places.Many people have had to flee from the flames,leaving their homes and possessions,and just escape for their lives.Unfortunately some people lost their live.which was very sad. This reminds me that when John Wesley was a young boy,the home he lived in caught fire,most of the family escaped. In the confusion John who was sleeping was overlooked. John was only just over 5, he did wake up,by that time fire had got a hold ,and the stairs were on fire,but John managed to drag a chest up to window climbed on it,and showed himself  to the people below.At that very moment his father,in agonies of despair, was commending the infant soul to God.Two brave fellows saw the boy at the window, and saved him just before the roof collapsed.It was in memory of this escape that Wesley oftened referred to himself as ''a brand plucked out of the burning''.These words are taken from Zechariah 3 v2 av It is our Saviour who spoke of hell fire (Matthew 5 v22) and in Matt 13 v42 that evildoers are thrown into the firey furnace.There are  other scriptures were Jesus speaks of hell,and judgement,and every Christian are indeed brands plucked out of the burning,no firey judgement awaits us,but not so for the non Christian.

No one is perfect (John 3 v36)

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

All Things ( Romans 8 v28 ) 2

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

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

                                         Remember that Omnipotence has servants everywhere.

                                         His method  is sublime,His heart profound kind,

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

                                        

All things ( Romans 8 v28) 1

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

                                                                         ' God Reigns'

Trust Him. ( Habakkuk 3 v 16- 19)

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

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

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

Christ divine ( Philippians 2 v5-11)

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

Pray ( Romans 11 v 28- 32)

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

                                                       'Pray for the Jews,to be saved'

Our strength (Isaiah 40 v29)

 A quote from the Bible Speaks Today,' True contentment depends on something more than material possessions'. The apostle Paul wrote 'I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation.whither well fed or hungry,whither living in plenty or in want' and then he adds. 'I can do all this through him who gives me strength'.(Philippians 4 v 12-13)Consider ,he was writing from a Roman dungeon,cp 2 Corinthians 11 v 23 - 28) Think about what Pauls experience was,to say the least it was grim,yet he speaks of being content.Here is what his secret was?,'I can do all this through him who give me strength'  Can you say what Paul says?,can I ? I would love to think I could,I'm sure if God brings us into situations that are awful,he will if we trust Him grant us the grace we need at that time.

                                                                          'Psalm 18 v1'

                                                             'I  love you,Lord, my strength'

What a terrible mess.( Luke 19 v10 )

I still get great pleasure watching  the old movies starring Laurel and Hardy,such innocent humour, always getting themselves into trouble,and what Oliver used to say to Stanley,'another fine mess you've got us into'. Like Oliver it is easy to blame others,Stanley was not alway to blame,and its easy to blame others for the mess we get ourselves into.Lets go back to the beginning of time to a garden,where two human beings did something awful,they diobeyed God they sinned against God,by their action sin entered into the world by one man,and death through sin,and in this way death came to all people,because all have sinned (Romans5 v12) When God confronted  Adam ,he blamed Eve.and she blamed the serpent (Gen 3 v11-14),they would not take the blame for what they had done,think of the consequences of their actions.As I read history what a mess we have created,and as I look at the world to day,the mess is getting worse and worse,what an awful mess we have made of this world,we can't blame it on God though many try to.No we are the guilty ones,God could have wiped humanity out,but He didn't,instead we read that He so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him,will not perish but have everlasting life (John 3 v16)

Birthdays ( John 3 v 1ff)

 One  of the tasks allotted is to me send birthday cards off to our Children and grandchildren,we have a lot of grandchildren and great grandchilren.Every Christian has two birthdays,a natural birthday and a spiritual birthday. Our dear Saviour said that we must be born again if we are to become citizens of God's kingdom.When we are born naturally we are spititually dead, everyone of us,when sin entered the world the spiritual umbilical cord binding us to God was cut,which means we are no longer connected to God. We cannot have a relationship with Him, it is not that He does not love us,it means that we do not love Him,we cannot commune with him.This means we are in great danger,we can so  easily be drawn into all sorts of wrong things ,wrong reilgions, and become slaves to sin,and there is only one place we are heading for ,that awful place called hell,for all eternity,there is no escape from that, a place of isolation,of utter lonliness and sorrow.But it need not be that way,God is merciful,loving and forgiving. Here is the way you can change all that ,by receiving Jesus as your Saviour (John 1 v 12),acknowledging you are a sinner,and when you do that ,you will be reconnected to God,and all the blessings that will bring.

The school of life ( Psalm 42 v 5)

 I have just read about a young lady  who was dyslexic,it was not until she was in  her teens was it diagnosed .So she had a rough time at school ,she was made to feel she was inadequate,with the result she felt low in esteem.But she did get a job and her boss encouraged her, and she began to look at her dyslexic in positive way,and it empowered in her life to be successful in her buisness which she had started.In the school of life we may find ourselves at the bottom of the heap,not much going for us,we may have been abused, have no friends,and so the list goes on,it's not cheerful reading. You may see yourself as one sitting on a dunghill,because of where your at,and what you have come through.You may be a Christian and feel very negative about yourself,let me remind you,there was time when you were a nobody,but when you trusted Christ you became a somebody,you became a child of God.There is a lovely verse in 1 Samuel 2 v 8 of what God does to those who are sitting on the dunghill,'He raiseth up the poor out of the dust,and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill to set them among princes,and to make them inherit the throne of glory'.One person commenting on this verse writes,  'He  puts poor people on their feet again; he rekindles burned out lives with fresh hope,restoring dignity and respect to their lives,a place in the sun'.

Trust Him. ( Romans 11 v33)

In Deuteonomy29 v29 we read,'The secret things belong to the Lord our God,but the things revealed belong to us and to our children for ever,that we may follow all the words of this law'.There are two things emphasised,or what we do and we don't know'.Someone says that the Hebrew  is more striking it contrasts the 'covered' and the 'uncovered'.As Christians we know a lot of  things,God has revealed many things to us ,there was a time we went on in our darkened ways,until He revealed Himself to us.Think of all the wonderful things we know, but what about the things we don't know?,all the why's in life, and what about the future.? Think upon these words 'the secret things belong to the Lord'1 Corinthians 13 v12 reads  'Now we see things imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror,but  then we will see things with perfect clarity',and let us remember what our Saviour said to the disciples in Acts 1 v 7'It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority'.  In John 13  v 7 Jesus says this to Peter, ' You don't  understand now what I am doing,but someday you will'.I leave Proverbs 3v5  with you,'Trust in the Lord with all your heart,and lean not on your own understanding.

Sin ( Proverbs 14 v9 )

I would like to share somthing from a book I have of Puritan Devotionals,the one I choosed was written by a man  called  Thomas Case,a very godly man,the subject  is sin.'Sin is always sinful, but in our prosperity we are not aware of it. The dust of the world fills our eyes that we cannot see it clearly.God  frequently  uses affiction to teach his children the great evil that is in sin.It shows sin as an evil in itself. It not only brings evil, but is evil. It not only works bitterness,it is bitterness. It has a bitter  root as well as bitter fruit. God  leads the sinner by affliction to take notice not only of what sin does,but what it is. It is a pure, unmixed evil.It has the devil for its author,and death for its end. Not only is it evil in itself, it is evil against God' I will just add the following, we must never take sin lightly,God does'nt ,look to Calvary to that old rugged cost,visualise what you see a blooded battered person hanging on that cross ,Jesus.On that cross Jesus died that we could be forgiven,that we would not suffer the wrath of God,if only we trust him to be our Saviour

Jesus is divine ( Psalm 110 v1)

My doorbell rang so I went to answer  it,and there on my doorstep was a young man,and he was a JW ,he was a pleasant young man,and so started a conversation.I often become get very frustrated in talking to JW's ,for no matter what I say,it all seems pointless,of course that's me talking,God only knows the effectiveness of ones witness, we have just to be faithful,and leave it to God.I told the young man I believe in Jesus Christ, he said he also believed,but I replied not the Jesus of the Bible.What dId I mean by that? I mean that Jesus is truly man and  truly God. Of course the JW's have there own translation ,we should not be surprised at that,their founder Charles Taze Russel,rejected the trinity.But that created a big problem for his followers,all the translations  clearly show that Christ was divine,that includes the whole bible.So what did the JW's do? ,they brought out there own translation,that fitted in with what they believe,it is as simple as that,they have a mutilated translation,and they blindly accept it.In Psalm 110 v1 a Psalm by David we read,'In Matthew 22 v41ff Jesus asked the Pharisees ,'What do you think about the Messiah? whose son is he?,They said the son of David,Jesus replied,How is it then that David ,speaking by the Spirit calls him Lord? quoating Ps110 v1 which reads ,'The Lord said to my Lord; sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet',,then Jesus went on to say,'If then David calls  him ''Lord,'' how can he be his son?.Yes the scripture clearly teaches that Jesus is divine.

Fellowship ( John 15 v 34-35)

Hebrews 10 v25 reads,'Not giving up meeting together,as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the Day approaching'.These words tell us that there were those who were in the habit of not meeting with other believers.Isolating one's self from believers is detrimental to oneself and to fellow believers. One of the reasons given  for meeting together is that we can encourage one another.People stop meeting with believers for different reasons,someone has hurt them in the church,so they  withdraw nursing that hurt,not forgiving those who hurt them.When Dietrich Bonhoeffer was arrested and imprisioned by the Nazies,he said what he missed most was the fellowship of fellow believers.As Christians we need each other,we need their prayers,their encouragement,their friendship,and likewise they need ours.

                                                             'Blest be the tie that binds 

                                                             Our hearts in Christian love;

                                                             The fellowship of kindred minds

                                                              Is like to that above.

                                                              We share our mutual woes,

                                                               Our mutual burdens bear

                                                               And often for each other flows

                                                               The sympathising tear'             ( Words John Fawcett)

                                                             

                                                              

                                                                 

Use me. ( Ephesian 2 v10)3

We have  considered the following prayers,'Help me', 'Guide me', not let us consider ,'Use me'.There is hymn writtenby Elsie D.Yale I will leave that with you.

                                      ( 1)      'There's a work for Jesus,ready at your hand ,

                                                  'Tis a task the Master just for you has planned

                                                  Haste to do His bidding,yield Him service true;

                                                  There's a work for Jesus,none but you can do.

                                      (2)       There's a work for Jesus,humble though it be,

                                                   'Tis the very service,He would ask of thee.

                                                    Go where fields  are whitened,and the labourers few;

                                                    Ther's a work for Jesus none but you can do.

                                               

                                              

Guide Me! ( 1 John 5 v 14-15) 2

 Let us consider the next short prayer ,'Lord lead me', a very simple prayer,prayers don't have to be long,God answers short praayers,he answers long prayers also.In Galatians 5 v18 we have these words, 'Led by the Spirit',we need  the Spirit of God in relation to our prayers and how much we need Him to guide and direct us according to the will of  God. A very important verse in Romans 8 v 26 - 27 we are told .'In the same way,the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for,but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And  He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God's people in accordance with the will of God'. It is the great apostle who writes these words.He prayed for so much, but  there was a time he prayed to be healed of an affliction,and it didn't happen 2 Cor 12.William Hendriksen writes as regards the Holy Spirit interceding  for us,'The Holy Spirit's intrrcession reminds us rather of a mother kneeling at the bedside of her ailing child,and in her prayer presenting that child's needs to the heavenly Father'

Help me. (Psalm 121) 1

Here are three short prayers,'Help me! Guide me!Use me!let us consider these 3 things ,'Help.me'  The Beatles  sang a song  which started of  with the words Help me  ,yes it is a  prayer, Psalm 121is one of  seven  Psalms sung by pilgrims as they ascended up to Jerusalem to the temple. The opening verse reads,'I lift up my eyes to the mountains does my help  come from there?why does he mention the mountains?in Jeremiah 3 v 23 we read ,'Truly ,in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills,and from the mulitude of mountains'.Often the high hills and mountains where the place where false gods where worshipped to feel closer to their deities.And so verse two of Ps121 reads 'No,my strength comes from God ,who made heaven ,and earth, and the mountains'.The world is full of god's who are not god's,billions of people are looking to these god's.  William Plumer writes that .'He is alone is all sufficent.Men and angels,means  and instruments,the united powers of earth,and the wisdom of all creatures are as nothing compared with God. We are never safe till,ceasing from man, whose breath is in his nostrils,we look to God alone'.

A bad ending. ( Colossians 4 v 17)

 At the time Israel was a divided kingdom ,ten tribes were called Israel,and two tribes were called Judah,let us consider one of Judahs  kings Asa,read about him in 1 Kings 15v9ff and in 2Chronicles 14-16. Asa reigned for 40yrs,he did many good things removing  much of the  idolatrous symbols and worship of foreign gods.It is sad to say the people God's people had continually turned away from him,and that brought dire consequences upon them. In 2 Chron Judah is faced witth a mighty army with 300 chariots.Before the battle began Asa prayed v11 here is what he prayed,he acknowledges his peoples weakness but also God's greatness,and they won the battle.God sent a man to speak to Asa  15v 2 here is what he said,'The Lord is with you when you are with him.If you seek him,he will be found by you,but if you forsake him,he will forsake you' Asa continued to do much good removing the idols from the land,he even removed his grandmother because she worshipped false God's.Alas in his last years when he  was with faced with an Israels army ,he did not seek the Lord but sought help from a foreign power. (chap 16) When challenged by a prophet he became angry and put him in jail and brutally oppressed some of his people.He later became ill but never sought the Lord to be healed.So what lessons do we learn from this,well godly people can change and not for the better.He silenced the voice of God ,when you do that you are in big trouble,Last but not least he stopped relying on God,he did it his way, not God's, and that's being very foolish.

Is it I Lord?( Isaiah 6 v 8)

 Our Saviour said 'You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the  earth.(Acts 1 v 8)and on the bases of that the Christian Church became had a mission.From that moment on vast amount of people have taken the gospel to the unsaved.We honour them for many of them paid with their lives ,like Jim Elliot and four others.Here is a the names of some who sought to obey the call of God ,and were faithful to the gospel,'G .Paton ,David Livingstone,Hudson Taylor,William Carey C'T'Studd,Mary Slessar,Gladys Alward,Eric Liddell.They are gone and their works do follow them, we honour their memory.So that leaves us,in the Olympic's of old the torchbearers pass the torch on,so Christians are also called to pass the torch on from generation to generation.The challenge is this, are we willing to take up that torch?  

                                              I,the Lord of sea and sky, I have heard my people cry,

                                                All who dwell in dark and sin,my hand will save.

                                        1,who made the stars at night, I will make their darkness bright.

                                                 Who will bear my light to them? whom shall I stand?

                                                                     Here I am,Lord,is it I lord?

                                                                 I have heard your calling in the night,

                                                                        I will go Lord,if you lead me,

                                                                    I  will hold your people in my heart.

                                                                              Words  Dan Schutte

                               

She asked me a question. ( Acts 1 v 8)

I was visiting my dentist and recieving treatment by the hygienus,  she asked me a question,are you a  Catholic or are you a Christian?.I suppose the bracelet I was wearing,which has a little cross on it,caused her to ask that question.We had a good conversation and I said I was a Christian,and I asked her was she a .Christian? I believe she is,but she is not very knowledgeable about spiritual matters ,and the moral boundries there are in being a Christian,In the brief time I had I pointed out somethings ,and before I left I asked could I pray for her ?,and she agreed ,so I prayed for her.Maybe you could pray for that dear girl.In 1Peter3 v15 we read, 'Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.But do this with gentleness and respect'.Let us remember that we are to be witnesses that is one of our callings, don't neglect your calling,more than ever people need to hear about Jesus..

Why? ( 2Timothy 3 v 1-6)

 Why? it is the cry of the human heart,it was John Lennon who wrote the song 'Imagine' it is song with a longing for things to be better.It ends with the following words,'You may say I'm a dreamer,but I'm not the only one,I hope someday you'll join us,And the world will live as one'.It is only a dream this present world will not  change for the better, things will not get better I believe it will get worse.Now we come to that why,why is it that we are intent in destroying one another. Well we must go back to a beautiful  garden, with two lovely people ,they were sinless,harmony reigned.But all changed they disobeyed God and from being sinless they became sinners.For them and for humanity it was catastrophic,their fallen nature would be passed unto all mankind.Adam and Eve had two sons Cain and Abel,Cain killed Abel and from that moment on the world became a slaughter house .(T Brooke) If you ask the question why all the awful  things are happening in this world,you are failing to grasp the terrible fallen nature that humanity has.So thats why we need a Saviour, God's answer is Jesus,

A song to God ( Psalm 30 v 5 )

Psalm 30, a Psalm by King David,like many of Davids Psalms,it is full of up's and downs,ill health and good health,weeping and rejoicing.In the midst of it all David,inspite of his failures God has mercy upon him.He declares what God has done for him.In v 2 he write,'Lord my God,I called to you for help',When God is our God,we can call upon Him for help',we have that great assurance when we know Him personally. Psalm 23 v1 ,David prays with confidence,'The Lord is my shepherd,I shall not want',in v4  he declares ,Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil,for you are with me' But  he takes his eyes of the Lord,Ps30v6 reads 'In my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved',One writer puts it this way,'When things were going great I crowed,''I've got it made.I'm God's favorite'. Self confidence will get us into trouble,be on your gaurd in times of prosperity.He writes of God  hiding His face from him v 7,in other words he lost the sense of God's presence.v8ff has  David crying and  pleading  to God for mercy,he feels that death is near,but God had mercy and answered him. In v11-12 the mourning garment is  cast off and he sings the praises of God out of a thankful heart.

C.T.Studd ( Acts 20 v 22-24)

I remember reading the life of C.T.Studd many years ago,and just recently I read a short account of his life  from the Trail Blazers series,which I would recommend to you.He was an English man from an  upper class family,he and his brother were famous sports people.Their  father became a Christian when he heard Moody preaching ,he was an American evangilist.God moved through the whole family so started a life  for Christ ,he and his brother became missionaries ,first in China then in  Africa(Do read the little book) I move unto his time in what was known as the Belgian Congo where God used him  greatly, people got saved, Cannibals,Drunkards,Thieves,Murderers,Adulterers,and Swearers.C.T,Studd was a man on fire for God ,he had a soul thrist for the lost,and he gave his life over in Christian service.He, said,'If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then there can be no sacrifice too great to make for Him'.

                                                    'What sacrifice are we prepared to

                                                      make for Jesus?.'

A balanced prayer ( Psalm 62 v 10)

Last but not least we finish on the prayer by a man called Agur,he has asked God not to give him riches nor poverty,he was concerned that if he was poor with no money,he would become a thief.No one wants to be so poor tthat they may be driven to yield to temptation and steal,the  law tells us to steal is a sin.(Exodus 20 v 15) Bridges comments he is not asking for the bare necessities but for enough in accordence with where God has placed him. He refers to the manna that God supplied in the wilderness,they had it every day,in Exodus 16 v 18 we read, 'the one who gathered much, did not have too much,and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed.In Philippians 4 v19 the apostle Pual writing to believers encouraged them with this wonderful promise ,'And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus'.A Bishop Hall wrote,''I am both thankful and indifferent; so as,while I am rich in estate,I may be poor in spirit; and while I am poor in estate,I may be rich in grace'.

Money (1 Timothy 6 v 10) 2

Let us continue to consider Agur and his prayer for God to help him and keep him from his evil weaknesses, he highlights falsehood and lies,but he doesn't stop there,he goes on to mention the following.'give me neither poverty nor riches,but give me only my daily bread (NLT . Give me just enough to satisfy my needs) Bridges comments on 'give me not riches',is scarce the prayer of one in ten thousand'.I have a friend who worked in a major bank in London,he was asked to go and speak to someone who was higher up in the bank.he made his way up in the lift to the floor the person was on,when he arrive he noticed how luxurious everything was.so he went into the persons office.The man dealing with him was offering him promotion to a far better paid job,in fact it would make his present salary look like pittance.My friend asked him what it would involve,well one of the things he was told was he would have to be pepared to work till ten in the evening.My friend mention about his family,and he was told that was part of the job,in the end he did not accept the job.Later on he was told a higher up person said he was a fool.'Agur could see the pitfalls of riches, my friend could,people sell their souls for money,people become a slave for money,and pay a cost as regards their family and their relationship with God.

Be honest ( Romans 7 v14ff)1

 There are three very important verse's that we should all read Proverbs 30 v7-9 the writer highlights two things in his prayer to God ,the first one reads,'keep falsehood and lies far from me'This chapter of the book of Proverbs was not written by Solomon but by  a man called Agur,he is very honest about himself ,v2 -3 he acknowledges his fallen condition,he is a man of God but he is still in a body flesh which we all are,so when  we come before a holy God there must be honesty. Next he recognises his need for God to help him to overcome his weaknesses,so he prays to God and he asks two things of God,first that God would keep him from 'falsehood and lies,keep them far from me he cries. He is so conscious that he could yield to such things,we all without acceptions if we are honest have things in our lives in which we could easely yield to,sinful things.Our Saviour knows that,and so he taught us to pray,'And lead us not into tempation,but deliver from evil,'(some translations have the evil one.)We are not meant to face evil or the evil one on our own,so let us pray continually for God to help us.

Love is a battlefield. (John 3 v16)

 Someone said ,'Love is a battlefield', people for love of country have died on the battlefield,many who answered the call of  God,in love laid down their lives  for the souls of sinners.Bringing up Children is a big challenge especially when the children are difficult and the relationship becomes like a battlefield, why do they they stick with that child ? the reason, they love him.Some marriages  can be difficult,but the couple battle on why? because of the love they have for each other. Christian G. Rossette wrote,'Love came down at Christmas',yes the Son God came into a world contaminated sin by and it was a battlefield of love from the word go,one long battlefield. The final battle took place on a cross ,where Satan and all his forces fought to keep captive hell bound sinners under their control,but love won the battle through Jesus, yes love won the battle.

                                                         'Such love,pure as the whitest snow;

                                                          Such love, weeps for the shame I  know;

                                                           Such love,paying the debt I owe;

                                                            O Jesus,such love.

                                                                   Words G Kendrick

When God says no ( Exodus25 v 9)

He was one the greatest prophets,the one who challenged Pharaoh,Moses,and yet he had his failings,we read about it in Numbers 20 ,Israel had fallen on hard time and were complaiming as they usally did. They  were in the wilderness and there was no water,So they went and quarrelled with Moses,so Moses took the problem to the Lord,the lord  told him to speak to the rock,and water would come out. This was the second time this had happened  Cp Ex 17 v1-7.there Moses was told to strike the rock with his staff.But the second time he was told to speak to the rock, they got the water but God was not pleased with Moses for instead of speaking to the rock he struck it with his staff. When God tells us what we must do,we must do it exactly as He said.Moses left God out of it,one writer says,'he acted out of bitterness and failed to see things God way'Israel got their water ,but Moses was told that he would not lead the people into the promised land.This pained him greatly and later on he tried to get God to change his mind, after all he was Moses,but God is no respecter of persons, if God says no He means it.

Keep on knocking (Luke 18 v1ff)

In Matthew 7 v 7 our dear Saviour speaking as regards praying said the following,'Ask and it will be given to you;seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you'.A Jewish Rabbi said the loveliest things about prayer,'God is as near to his creatures as the ear to the mouth''Human beings can hardly hear two people talking at once,but God,if all the world calls to him at the one time, hears their cry' We need to hear that, God cannot be crowded out,he hears your faintest cry, and he deligths to hear his children come to him in prayer.Now let us think about this verse,were there are three things stressed.'Ask,Seek,knock'.in relation to your prayers, it is stressing that we should not give up,in Luke 18 v1 Jesus tells a parable to show that we should always pray and not give up.A widow came to a judge for justice,he neither feared God nor cared  what people thought.He kept putting her off,but in the end she would not give up,and in the end he saw to it that she got justice .God is not like that judge he gladly hears our prayers,and will answer them according to his will,but  we need to be persistent,we should keep knocking on heavens door,could be he wants to test our faith,so don't give up.

Meaning ( Mark 8 v34-37)

 Charles W.Colson  a 'Attorney and former White House Counsel,became known as President Nixon's hatchet man,was sent to prison for his involvement in the Watergate scandel.But the good news he came to know Jesus as his Saviour,he later became the founder of ''Prison Fellowship'' ministeries.He had a very successful law firm,at the peak of his power he said,'I found the good life empty and meaningless.He goes unto say,'What do you do when the party is all over? In our heart of hearts,all of us understand that there has to be something more to life than money and fame.We have to see these counterfeits for what they are- fool's gold'.

Love (1 Corinthians 13)

1 Corinthians 13 is one of  the most beautiful yet challenging passages in the Bible,the first three verse stresses that no matter what gifts we gifts we have be it in speech ,gift of being able to prophecy,or faith that can move mountains.Or are very generous in giving, or give my body to be burnt at the stake,it is all pointless if we do not have love.v4-6 It goes on to describe the qualities in love,'Love  is patient William Barclay describes it as being patient with people not patient with circumstances. Recently I visited a Christian whose wife has dementia ,and noticed how patient he was with her.it should be for all of us,that we manifest patence as  W B writes 'we must exercise the same patience as God exercises with us'.The last one we will  look at is kindness , Christians above all people should be kind,Philip the second of Spain was very religious yet he founded the Spanish Inquisition,again  WB writes 'So much of Christianity is good but unkind'This world needs more than ever kind people,we should as Christians be at the head of the queue.

Pierce my ear' ( Exodus 21 v 5)

In Deuteronomy 15 v12-18 we read that if a person had fallen on hard times,he  could sell himself  as a slave for six years to someone.It was God who laid out the terms,he said on the seventh year they had to be released.It was not an oppressive thing it was a means of helping people through hard times. When they were released the master of the slave had to give the slave a generous farewell present. Raymond Brown writes,'The servant must be allowed to leave his masters house in style''.It was a very fair system,there was no abuse involved,but say the person did not want to leave,because he loved his master, he had to submit himself to a simple ceremony of being taken to a door and having his ear pierced a sign of willing submission. Steve Croft wrote a song applying it to our relationship with God,it was called ,' Pierce my ear.'

                                                           'Pierce my ear,oh, Lord, my God

                                                           Take me to your door this day

                                                            I will serve no other God

                                                            Lord ,I'm here to stay.

                                                            For you have paid the price for me

                                                            With your blood  You ransomed me

                                                             A free man I'll never be.'

                                                         

How ( Isaiah 46 v 4)

 In Deuteronomy 29 v 5 - 6Think  reads 'During the forty years that I led you through the wilderness,your clothes did not wear out,nor did the sandals on your feet. You ate no bread and drank no wine or other fermented drink.I did this so that you might know that I am the Lord your God'.Israel was rescued out of slavery,the journey to to the promised land would take 40 yrs,it should have taken much less than that, but because of their unbelief they were punished  . Yet in the end, God brought them through  into the promised land,God carried them as it were on eagles wings.I am 82 for 62 yrs God has carried me through,yes it is God who brought me through. and he is the one who has brought you through.The hymn writer wrote, Through many dangers,toils,and snares I have already come,'How? by Gods grace,He has brought us through, He will not change ,He will bring us through all out tomorrows He will continue to bring us through ,for He has said  ,'Never will I leave you;never will I forsake you',( Hebews13v 5)