John Stott. [ Revelation 14 v 13 ]

I have just read that John Stott had died this year, you may not of heard of him, but he was a very gifted minister of Gods word. His ministry will live on , in the lives of many. He wrote a book called, Gods new society,it was a study on the book of Ephesians, he called it the gospel of the church. Here are a few of the things he wrote, / Truth becomes hard if it is not softened by love, love becomes soft if is not strengthened by truth/ Gods new society is to display, charity, unity,diversity, and growing maturity/ Let no one say that doctrine does not matter. Good conduct arises out of good doctrine/Many of our spiritual troubles arise from our failure to remember that we are citizens of two kingdoms/.Let us give thanks to God for John Stott , his faithfulness to the word of God, his love for the church of God, and his desire that all may come to love and trust the Son of God, Jesus.[ Dear God we thank you for Your servant John Stott, we ask that like him we may treasure Your word, to study it, to practice it,in Jesus name Amen ]

Past,present,future. [Hebrew 13 v8 ]

The theme of this blog ,is the three tenses, past,present, and future, and I want to apply Hebrews 13v8, to these three tenses. When Christ came into my life ,my life changed, everything changed, I with gratitude remember how He helped me, in so many , many ways. One occassion comes to mind, many years ago ,got a puncture, no wheel brace,we where in the country, it was night,and my wife and four children were in the car, and from nowhere a man drove up and loaned me a wheel brace, problem solved, that is the past. What about the present tense?well as I sit here , I consider how blest I am, I am 67, yet God in His mercy, has helped me to continue working in a job I love,I have a nice home, I lack for nothing. Now what about that future tense?, now of course I dont know what the future holds, but then I recall to mind Hebrews 13v8, which reads,/ Jesus Christ the same yesterday,[ past tense] and to day, [ present tense ]and forever[ future tense ] .Yes of course I dont know the future ,but I am confident,that Jesus who helped me in the past, has blessed me in the present , will look after me in the future, whatever that future holds,and whatever applies to me, applies to every child of God.[ Dear Saviour in a world of change, we thank You, that we can rest secure on the truth, that You do not change, Amen ]

Realism and the word of God.[Romans 8 v28 -39 ]

I heard a man on the radio, advocating a pessimistic outlook in life ,it was an interesting point of veiw, modern man have built their hopes on science,materialism, and technology.The result is they think every problem can be solved,but it is not so ,some groups of Christians ,fall into the same trap. What I believe we should be, is a realist,based upon Gods word , our Saviour said the poor will be with us always [ Mark 14 v7 ], continually we are being warned of the pitfalls of life,that death is enevitable. Yet inspite of these things ,we are encouraged that no matter what happens to us God can make it work out for His childrens good [Romans 8 v28 ],that even death will not defeat them, and that we have with us, at all times a Saviour, called Jesus. [Dear God we believe that all is well, inspite of the obvious difficuties that life throws at us, because You assure us from Your word that we are in Thy care, we thank You for this in our Saviours name. Amen ]

The pursuing God. [Isaiah 53 v 6 ]

Someone I know said, he felt God was pursuing him, there is a poem with that theme, but is it true? I suppose it is true, when one thinks about it. I think it can apply to those who know the truth, yet for one reason or another,they run away from it, yet all the time God is pursuing them, until He catches up with them. Why does He bother? love, He loves that person, inspite of their resistance, it goes back to our first parents[ Genesis 3 v 10], and ever since we have followed in their footsteps, with God in hot pursuit. Why is God pursuing?, because someone is praying for that person, a godly mother and father, and in response to their prayers God pursues, the runaways.Will He catch them?, of course, you cannot beat God at a race, He always gets his man,you can bet on it. [Dear God we all know runaways, sons, daughters,old friends, who once walked with You, and indeed those who have not known You, in mercy pursue them till You catch them, in Jesus name, Amen ]

Immanuels Land. [ Acts 7 v 56 ]

When I was ministering last Sunday,we were singing a hymn, and as we sung it, I felt emotional, I felt the tears running down my cheeks, so I stopped singing and just listened to the congregation, and as I listened ,I felt blessed, I who was there to minister was ministered to.mybe they didnt realise that they were ministering to me, but they were. The hymn they sung was that lovely hymn,/The sands of time are sinking/, by A. R. Cousin, here are the last two verses of this lovely hymn./The bride eyes not her garment,But her dear bridegrooms face.I will not gaze at glory,But on my King of grace. Not at the crown He gifteth,But on His pierced hand, The Lamb is all the glory of Immanuels land/ Ive wrestled on towards heaven, Gainst storm ,and wind, and tide, Now like a weary trav,ller,That leaneth on His guide. Amid the shades of evening,While sinks lifes lingering sand, I hail the glory dawning, in Immanuels land/. [ Dear Saviour grant us grace to wrestle on towards heaven, to not give up, until we see You, the Lamb , who is the glory of Immanuels land. Amen ]

Conversion. [ Luke 15 v 11 - 32 ]

Following our theme of mans condition, and its consquences,we move on to consider the Biblical doctrine of conversion. In 1 Thessalonians 1v 9, the apostle writes , how these Christians had turned to God ,from idols to serve the living and true God. This is an example of conversion , Vine puts it , a turning about' and a turning to, it is an about turn,turning from ones sinful life,a forsaken of ones sinful ways, true conversion will start at the foot of the cross,where we seek forgiveness, by accepting Jesus as saviour,then we follow Him ,in a life of holiness and obedience. It is Vine who declares,/Divine grace is the efficent cause, human agency the responding effect/. We cannot do this on our own, we need God to help us ,and this He will gladly do, for whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved, compare Romans 10 v 13. Here is a prayer , if you have never been converted, [Dear God have mercy upon me, forgive all my sins , save me by your grace , as I now turn to Jesus Thy son, and follow Him. Amen ]

Sins consequences. [ Romans 6 v 23 ]

Yesterday we wrote about mankinds condition, that he is a sinner, now let us consider the consequence of this. The first thing that was effected was mankinds relationship with God, no longer did a friendly relationship exsist between us, sin had caused a breech, so much so that mankind was expelled from paradise, with a death sentance hanging over them.[ GENESIS 1 V17/ 3 V 24 ] This sentence is hereditary no one escapes it, for all have sinned [Romans 3 v23 ],and in Romans 6 v23, the apostle declares ,the wages of sin is death , as Godet writes in his commentary,/ the term death does not mean the annihilation of the sinner.....it is rather to make one feel the painful consequences of sin/. Yes the painful consequence of sin, look at this world,and everywhere we see the consequences of sin, look into our own hearts and lives, if we dare, and we see the consequence of sin.[ Dear God help us not to live under any illusion as regards the consequences of sin ,for us and for this world, in Jesus name , Amen ]