The is the love I am frightened of [John 3 v6 ]

There is a great deal of loneliness in our country ,over 5 million old people say their main contact /companionship is there TV. It appears a sad statement,about the society we live in. I know we do harp back to the good old days,but I know for many,they where hard old days, but we did especially when I was a wee boy, make more social contact with people than now.I remember neighbours coming into our home,I can still recall the names of many of our neighbours,and their children.Now of course people were not perfect,whats the difference now,where it appears people keep to themselves?. There used be a popular song , which went ,/we all live in little boxes,little boxes in a row/,  it is said that an Englishman's castle is his home,but unfortunately the draw bridge appears to be up. Someone I know, was in our town center and sat beside a couple of people, and attempted to make friendly conversation,and was told in no uncertain terms ,where to go to.The society we live in appears to want to keep itself to itself,and yet is desperately lonely, it is like they are afraid,a modern song, has these words in it,/This is the love I am frightened of/.People are desperate for love,but it appears they are frightened of it,frightened because,if they love they may  be hurt ,for the fact is love can be a costly business. The greatest love ever witnessed ,is seen in Jesus, who was pushed away continually by those He loved the most,the more he loved them, the more their fear took over,to the point that they stopped pushing, and started nailing Him to a cross.
A prayer...../ Dear God Have mercy upon this lonely planet, upon it's  inhabitants ,who are so frightened of  Your  love, that cries out to them from a cross,I love you Amen /

Revelation and the Lamb. [Revelation 7 v 10]

The letters to the 7 churches in Asia in Revelation are very profitable to consider ,I suppose that's as far as many people go in their study of Revelation ,but I am.sure there is much we  can learn from this ,yes ,wonderful  book.Take the 5th chapter ,in this chapter we have insight into heaven,and we have a vision of heaven ,and it is made clear to us the person of Christ,who alone is worthy. We may not understand a lot of things about this book,but what is clear Jesus truly takes the Highest station,He is the Lamb who appears to have been slaughtered,but now stands before the heavenly throne,[5v6].He is also the lamb who will display great wrath,humanity will fear Him,and rightly so [6 v16-17]. He is the Lamb who shed His precious blood and washed away the sins of all those who trust Him[7 v14],without the shedding of blood there is no remission or forgiveness of sins[Hebrews 9 v22]. He is also the Lamb who will eternally care for His own,they will never be in want,never feel hungry,He shall lead them and comfort them[8 v16-17] .The children of God will face many difficulties and a great enemy,even the Devil or Satan, but through the victory of  the Lamb they shall be overcomers[12v11],those who fight against the Lamb shall be defeated[ 17v14].Only those who have trusted the Lamb,and whose names are in the Lamb's book of life, will enter heaven[21 v27] We finish this brief look  of Christ as the Lamb, John finishes by repeating the phase ,/The throne of God, and of the Lamb  /  22 v1/3 /here we have God and the Lamb coupled together,it is Matthew Henry, who writes,/All our springs of grace,comfort,and glory,are in God,and all our streams from Him are through the Lamb/.
A  prayer......./ Dear God , we thank You for the wonderful book of  the revelation,and though there are many things we struggle to understand,we thank You for Jesus the Lamb of God ,who is all glory of  Immanuels land. Amen /

He knows what He is doing. [John 13 v7 ]

There was a young king called Josiah he ruled over the southern kingdom ,Judah, the two previous kings had been Amon and Manasseh,they had failed,especially Manasseh ,to walk in Gods ways.Josiah was so different,he was a godly young man ,who tried to turn the nation back to God,and to some extent he succeeded[ 2 Chronicles 34 v33].To some it may have appeared that things where at last looking up,but it was only a temporary revival,and would vanish a way as quickly as it had come.Josiah went into battle against Egypt who was led by king Necho and was slain,Josiah was only 26. Jeremiah the prophet led the people in a lament for Josiah[2 Chronicles 35 v25] ,a godly young man,I am sure there where those who may have asked the question ,why?.Why in Josiah case ?,there is a clue in Isaiah 57 v1,God had determined to judge this people, so as Leupold writes,/The righteous are always taken away from the evil to come/.It may not seem like a mercy when some godly young person dies, but God has His reasons,we may think ,what a waste,but not so,God is not wasteful,especially with His children's lives.
A prayer....  /Dear God we ask for those who have suffered bereavement,grant unto them, trust in Your Sovereign , perfect will, in Jesus name Amen/

Do gooder.[ Acts 10 v 38 ]

John is known as the apostle of love ,and like James in his epistle ,he see's love as being an evidence of being Christs ,in 1John3 v17-18,we read,/But whoso hath this worlds good,and seeth his brother have need,and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him,how dwelleth the love of God in him?. My little children,let us not love in word,neither in tongue,but in deed and in truth./It  was M Luther who said we are saved by faith alone,but the faith that saves is never alone,the importance of good works is stressed  continually throughout scripture. In Ephesians 2v10,we read,/God has created us anew in Christ Jesus ,so we can do the good things He has planned for us long ago/. The good works are not just related to money,although a lot of it is,it is about supporting people in different ways,visiting,praying,whatever, and wherever there is a need. Our Saviour went about doing good ,He was a good doer,we all need to be good doer's,let us remember that even a cup of  cold water will receive it's reward ,likewise clothing ,visiting,befriending a stranger,[  Matthew 25 v 31ff] I remember many years ago when money was so scarce, friends bought my wife a new outfit,and also gave us a washing machine. I have never repaid them for their kindness ,but one day Jesus will.
A  prayer..../Dear God help to be good doer's ,to  follow the example of our Saviour . Amen /

Hate.[ 1 John 4 v 20 ]

Now let us consider our next theme, love,there is so much said about love,the NT emphasizes different aspects of love physical,brotherly ,and what we can call Christian love,Agape,this expression of love is a God love.God is love,as His children we are meant to reflect God love,and John makes it clear that it is not optional. This love involves many things,but it especially involves loving our fellow Christians,it is a command,Jesus said,/These things I command you , that ye love one another[John 15 v17 ],the question is are we obeying this command?. In stressing the importance of loving our fellow Christians John  contrasts two extremes,hate and love. In stressing hate he is using a term  for the most extreme breakdown in relationship,the lesser is just as serious,  all unlove has serious consequences. Simply because it challenges what Christ commanded us,that we are to love one another,we may not hate our fellow Christians ,but we may not like them,we may despise them,we may not forgive them for hurts caused.Such a spirit has its consequences,[ CP Matthew6 v15] John deals with hopefully that which is not two common,  but is very serious,that of a professing Christian hating another Christian. Can you think of a situation where it may happen?well it can happen, but John spells out what that means, whatever the cause,that person is in darkness,[cp 1 v9-11]and it is likened unto being a murderer[3 v15]which is clear indication that he ,or she is not saved,now that is very serious.
A  prayer....../Dear God ,You love all men, and forgive all who seek You,help us to be more like You in Jesus name Amen /

Evidence [1 John 5 v7 ]

Next let us consider Christ and His divinity,I recently watched the movie,the D  Code ,a movie that was based on a book of fiction,the theme of that book/movie was that Christ was not divine,and that the church had suppressed this truth. To the writers of the NT ,the divinity of Christ was vital,to them Christ was not  only the son of man,but also the Son of God.John in his Gospel  declares,/But these are written,that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ,the Son of God[ John 20v31],in his ist epistle he uses the term Son of God,I think 6 times,and many other references he makes that stress Christs divinity.This is an absolute vital doctrine which we must not compromise on,to the Jew,Moslem,cults ,and liberal so called Christians,this truth is a stumbling block,.I finish by quoating John Stott,/The true Christian ,born from above,believes in the Son of God,keeps the commandments of God,each involves the other/.
A prayer..../God and Father we worship You and Your Son through the divine Spirit ,Amen /

Evidence of us being Christians. [ 1 John 4 v 1-3 ]

I have just read 1st John ,which stresses a number of things which I would class as evidence,proff that we are truly belong to Christ,this is just a brief outline,Truth, Love,and Works. There are other aspects of this epistle these  ,but we will consider these three. Truth as to the person of Jesus,in 4v1 John warns us not to believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit,the world is full of many who peddle error. We are to realise that not everyone who talks  about God ,is speaking the truth,as the Message puts it,there are a lot of lying preachers loose in the world. John advises us test what they say,and the biggest test is what they teach about Jesus,in John two things are stressed about Jesus that indicates that we are Christians,we believe in Christs humanity, and His divinity. In other words  Christ was truly human, and truly divine,if we deney this, which many do ,we are judged  to be error.Right at the very beginning John stresses Christ humanity 1v1,Johns personal testimony is as follows,WE[his fellow apostles and himself], heard Him,they saw Him ,they touched Him,in other words Christ was a real living human being. I will touch on His divinity,next time,take time to think about Christs humanity ,His perfect humanity,but a humanity that felt pain,experienced temptation,hunger,and rejection,which equipped Him to be our great high priest [Hebrews 4 v15].Also His sinless humanty which qualified Him to be our Saviour,the lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world.
A  prayer....../ Dear God we thank you for Jesus ,the Word who became flesh,who lived a perfect life,and  who died as a perfect sacrifice for sinners Amen ./