The genuine article [ John 1 v 1-13 ]

I saw this watch for sale, at our local market,I liked the look of it,it was inexpensive,so I bought it,to add to my collection of watches. One day when one of my boys was visiting ,he said that's an Armani watch,and so he looked at,and sure enough,it had all the marking of an Armani watch. So I had acquired a watch worth possible a couple of hundred pounds,for a few pounds,or had I?.Well it just so happens my oldest boy had an Armani watch, so I compared my watch with his, and it was obvious, mine was a copy,it wasn't a true Armani watch, it wasn't the genuine article.Now I didn't buy it because it was an Armani watch I bought it because I liked the look of it,it makes no difference to me one way or the other,after all it is only a watch.But when it comes to being called a Christian ,it is absolutely vital that we are the genuine article,being a Christian goes further than having a name.It goes further than going to church,it goes further than praying,it goes further than being born into a so called Christian country,or family,it goes further than a label. Jesus said to a very religious person,you must be born again[John 3v7],as we have born physically,so Jesus tells us we must be born again,or from above.[3v6].  In John 1 v12,we are told how we can experience the new birth,/as many as receive Christ to them gave He the right or privilege to be called a Christian,a child of God.
A  prayer.../Dear God help us to examine ourselves as to whither we are  in the faith or not in Jesus name Amen /

Looking beyond time.[ Revelation 21 v1-5 ]

With singleness of purpose and undistracted by all that is going on around them,their gaze is firmly fixed on Him who is the Christians goal and prize, Jesus, so writes Hughes in his commentary. We are exhorted as run this race to look unto Jesus,is it not so that so often we are distracted by so much of many things.Yet the starting and finishing of this race is dependant on Him,for without Him we can do nothing,in looking to Him,we will not be lulled into a false sense of forgetfulness,and the idea that ,only Christ had to suffer,yes Christ did have to suffer,so it is, that is ,the pathway of  His followers. Forget about the stupid so called prosperity gospel,we will not be carried to the skies,in flower beds of ease.I can here some say I did not sign up for that,well may be if that is the case, you signed up under false pretences.The cross was why Jesus came, that goal was fixed in eternity,Jesus never lost sight of this,[nor should we ],but He saw beyond the cross,beyond His pain,to the joy set before Him. So it is we are exhorted to look beyond our personal trials,to the joy that is set before us,we will struggle if all we have is suffering ,if we only view the things of time. The apostle Paul reminds us in 2Corinthians 4 v16ff ,/That is why we never gave up.Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and wont last very long. Yet they produce  for us a glory that vastly outweighs them, and will last forever.
A prayer...../Dear God help us to see beyond our difficulties to the joy that we will enter into,in heaven,in Jesus name Amen/

The sin that so easily besets us.[ 1 Corinthians 11 v31]

Not only to lay aside every weight,but we are challenged,as regards the sin that so easily besets us,and the question is,what is our besetting sin.Is it covetousness?,is it taking the Lords name in vain?, is it in the sexual realm,are we feeding into it, on the inter-net?.Is it gossipping?,is it judging others?,is it cheating in some way?,is it idolatry?,is it unforgiveness?.So we could go on,as I write this,I must ask myself,what is my besetting sin?,we all have something,well is it not time that we stopped.and started being more honest to ourselves,and to God.It appears to me if we don't deal with them our Saviour will,for His will for everyone of us is holiness , make not little of little sins,God doesn't. Consider the word easily,it gives the idea of us being comfortable with it,of us not really facing up to it,of tolerating it, making excuses for it,maybe of rationalising it,instead of judging it by Gods word. Proverbs 14 v 9, tells us that fools make a mock of sin,they make light of it,don't take it as something that needs to be taken serious,well we have to remind ourselves how serious God takes sin. Hell is full of people who didn't take sin serious,did not consider its consequences, and let us never forget there is always consequences in relation to sin,first in relation to God,and in relation to ourselves,most people who do wrong hope they will never be found out, but when it comes to sin we are told ,be sure your sin will find you out.[ Numbers 32v23 ]
A  prayer...../ Dear God help us to be truly holy,grant the will to deal with our besetting sins, we ask this in the name of Jesus Amen/

Run with patience. [ James 5v 11 ]

The next thing we are told is,to run with patience the race that is set before us,I wonder how important do you think patience is?It is Vine who writes of three aspects of patience [1]The patient waiting for Christ. [2] Patient in our suffering as Christ was in is [Hebrews 12v2] [3] Being patient in the hope of Christs triumph and our deliverance.In an impatient world the Christian is called upon to exercise patience.Often when God gives a promise ,we are called upon to exercise patience,until the promise is fulfilled,Abraham is a great example of this ,although He and Sarah became impatient,a common human trait . As we exercise patience we are developing faith,and our becoming more Christlike,consider how patient He is with this world and with us. We may cry out I want it now,but God whispers be patient,we may think our opportunity is gone,God says be patient,we may say why did God not act sooner,He replies ,be patient. Be still. my soul,the Lord is on thy side, bear patiently the cross of grief or pain. Leave to thy God to order and provide.
A prayer....../ Dear God grant me patience today,as I follow Your dear son Jesus Amen/

Loosing weight.[ Matthew 18 v 8-9 ]

In Hebrews 12v1,we are exhorted to lay aside every weight,now the writer has likened the Christian faith as to a race, and the last thing one wants in a race is to have carry a weight.. That is obvious, but it does not always appear obvious, for many of us hold unto  things that  we should cast of.When people often came to Jesus desiring to follow Him,He would tell them that they would have to leave certain things behind,and even certain people. Yet even as Christians we accumulate things,habits,yes even people that we could consider as weights,that are hindering us.It is Hughes who writes about /Greek contestants in a race would strip naked,so the Christian should discipline himself [ 1 Cor 9 v25/27 ] and shun every excess which would hamper or incapacitate him as a participant in the greatest of all contents/.  The flesh will not like it but it is for the best,Pink in his exhaustive commentary on Hebrews writes of the demands of faith, and it is our Saviour who challenged Peter with the words,/lovest thou Me, more than these?[John 21v15]. For the Love of Jesus let us cast of those weights that are holding us back,and hindering us,in our Christian life.
A  prayer ..../Dear God help us to cast of everything that hinders us in Jesus name Amen /

Faithful witnesses [Hebrews 11 v 4 ]

There are many lessons we have to learn in our Christian life, there are the general lessons which are universal like perseverance,like faith,but then there are those lesson that as individuals we need to learn.We all without exception carry a lot of baggage that we need to deal with,the writer of Hebrews stresses this ,/Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us,and let us run with patience the race that is set before us[12v1]. First of all the writer likens the Christian life as to a race,and in running this race,he states 3 things. [1] The cloud of witnesses, those he has mentioned in chap11,they had triumphant over life by faith,for some of them it meant laying down lies,it is now our turn to take part in this race of faith, Hughes, says,their example should be an inspiration for us to give of our utmost in the struggle.  As they succeeded so can we,but consider ,that like them we are called to be a witness,to those watching on,our children,our nearest and dearest, our neighbours, our work colleagues. Think of the impact for harm if we fail in this race,think of the people we will cause to stumble,but think of the good we can do if we continue on to the end, consider ,Proverbs 10 v7/ The memory of the just is blessed/ may there be those who will rise up and praise the Lord ,for our witness while we lived.
A  prayer......../ Dear God grant us that we will be faithful witnesses ,for Your glory, in Jesus name . Amen /

Rescue the perishing. [ Isaiah 6 v 8 ]

I have just finished listening to ,/Sinners in the hands of an angry God,  by Jonathan Edwards/, my what a solemn sermon it is,the most solemn one I have ever heard. It brings afresh the scriptural realities of  Gods final judgement,that is awesome,and so serious,of course it is not a subject that many preach on, I wonder why?. It left me thankful that I am saved, and have not been appointed unto wrath [1 Thessalonians 5 v9 ], and gives me a greater concern for the lost. There is no need to panic but there is a need to tell others about Christ,who alone can save from hell and eternal judgement. This is not as easy as one thinks,but God can help us by His Spirit,to speak the words of life,to those who lost, in doing this we need to pray,and be led by the Spirit. The day of salvation has not passed,God is still saving people,my son Brian told me of a church in London were a 1000 people are doing the Alpha course,pray about this. I read this morning of souls being saved in the state of Orissa in India,the church there has experienced severe persecution,but God is still saving.Let us remember that everyone needs to be saved without exception, and in spite of our weakness God can use us,indeed because of our weakness,God will use us.
A  prayer..../Dear God we pray that You may use us in telling others about Jesus grant that we will be willing to be used, in Jesus name Amen.