Evidence. [ 1 John 2 v29 ]

The words,/ what if/, came to mind this morning, what if ,we were caught out when Jesus came back,we were caught  dwelling on a sinful thought, or caught with our hand in the cookie jar.?.I remember when I was a little boy going into a paper shop, they sold comics,the owner was not about,I loved reading comics,so I put a number of the comics up my jumper. When the owner came in he noticed them up my jumper,I was caught out,I cannot remember how I felt,but I never attempted anything like that again. 1 John 2 v28, reads ,/And now little children ,abide in Him,that, when He shall appear, we may have confidence,and not be ashamed at His coming/.  Of course John in his epistle is dealing with not one act of sinning but those who profess to be Christian, but by there very lives Deny that reality,they do not love their fellow Christians.What they are lacking in their lives is a given proff that they are Christs,we are saved by Christ alone,but  as John points out,in v29,/everyone that doeth righteousness is born of Him/. When I started writing my blog I was considering a guanine believer ,but it appears to have broadened out ,and taken in the person who walks in sin,whose very walk Denys Christ,as opposed to the true Christian who at times falls into a sin , both are serious but for the true Christian  it will not mean rejection, by Christ.My study Bible writes/John is not talking about people whose victories are still incomplete,he is talking about people who make a practise of sinning and look for ways to justify it/
A  prayer...../ Dear God help us to see the importance of a holy life,as an evidence that we are Yours in Jesus name Amen/

Total forgiveness.[ Psalm 32]

It was David who wrote ,/Remember not the sins of my youth[Psalm25 v7], as I grow older my mind  goes back to my youth,and my sinful tendancies. The mind, set on carnal pleasures,the hurts inflicted on others,the straying away from the Lord,and so we could go on.Even that godly man acknowledges that his youth was not  blameless ,yet while I can see my sinful youth I can also see how God in His mercy prvented me from utter destruction,and utter folly. Pray for the young that God would preserve them , save them,and keep them,He is there only hope,as He was and is our's.It is possible that as we grow older that our past can hunt us,the sins of our youth loom large before us,now if you know not Christ let me assure you ,that no matter what you have done,He is willing to forgive you.If you are a Christian, God remembers the way you were, but when you came to Christ He forgive you,and would not have you living under a cloud of condemnation. cp Romans 8v1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.
A  prayer...../ Dear God we thank you for providing total forgiveness of all our sins through Jesus Amen

For His sake. [Psalm 29 ]

Psalm 29v2 reads ,/Give unto the Lord,the glory due unto His name,worship the Lord,in the beauty of holiness./These are words penned by David,the man who had killed a lion,a bear,a giant, never appeared to loose a battle, ruled over many nations,acquired great wealth.Unlike so many he never looses sight of the fact,that God should receive the glory, due to His name.Are you gifted? are you rich, have all your children come to know Christ?,are you being used in Gods service,have you recovered from an illness?give unto God the glory due unto His name Next David declares, /worship the Lord,/ look at this world observe how so many, worship false religions,fading glories,fanciful ideas, the words of this godly man, challenge the folly of mankind to worship the Lord .The word worship has the meaning of being worthy.only the Lord Jesus is worthy of worship.Next we are not only exhorted to worship the Lord,but to worship Him in the beauty of holiness.It was JcRyle who wrote a book called holiness, I remember reading it,but that was a long time ago, I forget what he wrote on holiness,could it be that many of us have forgotten the importance of holiness?,have we forgotten that God declared ,be ye holy[Leviticus 20v 7],this is the daily Christian goal,we may never fulfil it fully,but till the day we die we are ever seek that goal, and God will honour our sincere efforts.Finally consider how he describes  a holy life,it is a thing of beauty.
A  prayer....../Dear God we give unto You the glory due to Your name,we worship You alone,grant us grace each day to be holy, for Jesus sake Amen /

The good shepherd [John 10 v1 -18]

I do love the Psalms, just reading them refreshes my soul,what is your favourite Psalm? it is not surprising to confess that mine is Psalm 23, I wonder why?. The Psalmist emphasises the Lord ,who provides,who guides,who restores,who is with us,who blesses us,.As I pointed out, it is all about the Lord and knowing Him,I get concern when people say I am a whatever,and I always feel like challenging that statement. David the writer of the Psalm was a Jew,an Israelite,now in the context that was important,but one could be a Jew an Israelite and not know the Lord.Please do not be satisfied with I am a whatsoever, no,David said the Lord was his shepherd. This means he was not trusting in tradition or nationhood,or family connections,no he was trusting in the Lord.Now of course the Jew could and does say the Lord is my shepherd,but he does not mean the Lord Jesus,oh no,he means something so different.He does not mean the one who was wounded for our transgressions,not the one who bare the sin of many,no he does not know that Lord. One may say the words,the Lord is my shepherd,but not have the true meaning of those words.In John 10 Jesus tells us that He is the good shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep,that is the shepherd of Psalm 23,can you really say the Lord is your shepherd?
A  prayer..../ Dear Lord Jesus,thank You for being my shepherd,and all that this means, Amen /

No slacking.. [ 1 Timothy 6 v 11-12 ]

God is sovereign but that in no ways takes away from the important truth that we are responsible for our actions,we need balance,when people over emphasise a particular doctrine,to the exclusion of the whole then they become imbalanced.We are called to pray but we are also called often to be the answer to our prayers,a dear brother I know ,was challenged by his father,as regards the needs of children,he is now the director of a wonderful children's mission.Wesley prayed but Wesley went,and worked ceaselessly till the day he died in telling people about Christ.The challenge is to be a doer of the word, what does Christ want us to do?,when God has something to be done,He  chooses a person to do it.Oh yes it is a risky business,but it is a risk worth taking.it starts of small and then then it opens up into something bigger,We do not know where it may lead,but if we be in Gods will He will guide us,we may stumble at our beginnings,God will use our stumbling to teach us,much more than  our successes.David when he was successful ,fell grievously[2 Samuel11], it was when Uzziah became strong he fell [2 Chronicles 26 v16 ]Yes God is sovereign but we are responsible to obey and serve Him,we are responsible to guard  our hearts and lives,no slacking,till the day we die
A  prayer......./Dear God help us to not slack in our service,help us to strive after holiness, in Jesus name Amen /.

My hope and prayer [Ezekiel 37 v1-14 ]

Yesterday I brought to you the situation as I see it, I need to remind myself that there is a godly remnant in this country,Elijah had to be reminded of this.[1 Kings 19v18] The word of God also reminds us that that where sin abounds grace can much more abound[Romans 5 v20]. I was reminded of this today when I saw a man whom God saved,a man who  was far from God. That into the most ungodly places God raised up  a people unto Himself, the New Testament church came into being,in places where idolatry,reigned. Ezekiel had a vision of dead dried bones[37] and a amazing thing happened, those bones were transformed by the power of God ,into living beings.This reminds us that no matter how far a  people or a person has turned from God, He if He chooses,God can work a miracle of saving grace. Our nation thinks it needs many things when all it really needs is Jesus,the gospel is still the power of God unto salvation.Is this a false hope?will the nation continue to be deaf and deceived,or will there be a turning to  God who loves them?, my hope and prayer is, that it will be so.
A prayer......./Dear God with You all things are possible ,grant that we may see the impossible happen,this nation and many nations turning to Christ,in His name we ask this Amen /

The hour is dark.[2 Corinthians 4 v4 ]

Loads of money,plenty of buildings but no people,that reflects the situation in a particular group of churches,I know  many fine church buildings but the people who attend are few,and eventually all will be left will be  empty buildings. It is a sad reflection of the situation in this country,I often visit our great cathedrals,and wonder if they are only museums,where tourists visit,places where the remains  of yesterday hero's are . This country has a great and privileged Christian heritage,but this country on the whole has forsaken God,and what I fear is God may have forsaken us as a nation. Now this is not a hand wringing blog,but an honest appraisal of how I see the spiritual condition in our country. Is there hope of things changing?what may cause God to visit this land?that is the question many are asking,will He respond,will He send ,and here is an old fashion word,will He send a revival?. My thoughts turn to the book of Ezekiel ,the prophet of the exile,the message he gave was one of judgement for the nation of Judah,those still left in the promised land, it was grim,nothing would save them from the judgement of God,even if Noah,Daniel or Job prayed. Tomorrow we will consider further on this.
A prayer...../Dear God, You who desire that all should be saved,we bring our nation to You,and all we can ask is for mercy,in Jesus name Amen /