Time [ 2 Corinthians 6 v2 ]

 One of the most popular TV programmes is Dr Who,he is a time lord who travels through time in a Tardas which is in the shape of an old fashion
police box.A  time lord,I wonder how you look at time,David Atkinson, writes,/To the Hebrew mind,what matters about time was not so much in
what things happened,as the significance that the moment held/. When I come into Easter time,I am reminded of what took place,over 2000yrs ago,on a personal level it reminds me of that evening 51yrs ago,when I came back to the Lord.
    I wonder can you look back at a time when you trusted Jesus as Saviour,
John and Charles Wesley were remarkable men,they both were ministers,and even went to America to minister .They gave up in the end and returned to England,a religious group called the Moravians,had a distinct influence upon them.One  day the Moravian pastor spoke to John,he asked him,do you know Jesus Christ?,John replied,I know that he is Saviour of the world,true replied the pastor,but do you know  that He has saved you?.Although John said he did,he feared that they were vain words./
      Vain words because they were not true,if you were asked the same question what would your answer be?.Could this time become significant to you?,in that you come to know Jesus,and know that He has saved you.
                                            A  prayer.
      Dear God I want to know Christ as my Saviour,so by faith I ask him to
forgive my sins,in His name I ask this Amen.

Good Friday,why?. [Isaiah 53 ]

I was surprised to discover that my birthday this year fell on good Friday,I am  aged 71 today.Seemingly I have been told that it was on the 3rd of April that Christ was crucified. Now whither this is so I am not concerned ,
what really matters for you and me is,have we have experienced good
Fridays meaning. We need to appreciate why Christ died,and for whom he died,if we don't then we are missing the whole point,of good Friday.
     Why did Christ die?for this was no ordinary death,we may ask ,why do
certain people die?,and its so meaningless.Now why did Jesus die?for wrongs that He had done,no,Pilate the Roman governor said he found no fault in him, he even asked the crowds ,what evil had He done[ Mark 15 v14]The two men who were crucified with Jesus,they died because they
had committed crimes [Matthew 27v38]
      So why did Jesus die?the answer is for sin not his because He never sinned,but our sin ,if  He had not died for the sin, then all mankind would perish in everlasting fire. So when we trust Jesus to be our Saviour our sin is forgiven[John 3 v16],forgiveness of our sin only happens when we trust Jesus. When we do, all our sin ,let me stress all our sin is forgiven us,consider the following words,/There's a way back to God  from the dark paths of sin ,there's a door that is open and all may go in.Calvary's cross is were we begin when we come as a sinner to Jesus./
                                   A prayer.
Dear God thanks for good Friday, and all it means,we pray that many today
may trust Jesus and experience forgiveness for all their sins. Amen.

Whats it to be? [1 Corinthians 6 v 9-20]

  I am an evangelical,that means I accept the Bible as Gods word totally,I do
not change my beliefs because of society. David Atkinson,writes a number of interesting thing,/In this post-Enlightenment age.....we have tended to be persuaded that there are no moral absolutes/.He further writes ,/With Hamlet,that there is nothing either good or bad,but thinking makes it so/
   In the January issue of Time magazine there is an article called,'A change of heart',it is about the change that is taking place in America in so called evangelical church's.It majors on the subject of Gay marriages,and Gay relationships,and how churches are accepting such practises as norm.It may
be seen as norm by society,but it is not norm as regards what the Bible teaches.
   What does the bible teach?God made man and a woman human but distinct,in Leviticus 18 v22,we read,/Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with woman kind,it is abomination/,strong language.Likewise there was to be distinctness in what the man and woman wore[Deuteronomy22v5]
  Well you may foolishly say that's the OT, but when we come into the NT,we just have to read Romans 1v26-27, or 1 Corinthians6 v9-11were we read,/Make no mistake,neither fornicators,nor idolaters,nor adulators, nor sensualists,nor homosexuals.....shall inherit the Kingdom of God./and then he adds,and such were some of you./
   It is D  Atkinson who writes,/We are not morally autonomous beings,and cannot simply invent right and wrong/ He goes on to point out that which governs our lives is the word of God,mankind is meant to live within the bounds of the divine word/
                                           A prayer.
Dear God help us to govern our lives by your word,irrespective what society thinks and practises in Jesus name Amen.

Sorry. [ Matthew 6 v12-15]

 Over 40 years ago I  hurt a dear friend,at the time I had tried to put it right,but my friend had not wanted to hear,my apology.So for all those years, I had carried a burden,until recently.I live in England my offended
friend lives in Ulster,and it so happened that while speaking to another friend on the phone,I was told the phone number of the person ,I had offended. God helps us if we are willing to do whats right,He is sovereign
and in his providence,He can make a way,
  So I phoned the offended person,and reminded her of what happened,and said I was sorry,she sounded as if it did not matter, but it mattered to me,and I believe to my Saviour.
   There are burdens that we carry,that a simple sorry would remove,if the person does not forgive that's a burden they must carry,and face the consequences of that.
                                        A  prayer.
 Dear Lord we owe You so much,we have received Your forgiveness,may we be willing to say sorry to those we have hurt,and may we be willing
forgive as You have forgiven us. Amen.

Kingdoms values. [Matthew 6 v 33-34 ]

 Many people suffer from allergies,often there are warnings on certain food
products,that the food one is buying ,may contain nuts.My sister in law is allergic to certain green vegetables,some of these allergies can have serious consequences.I was surprised to hear of a person who was allergic to gold,
if only more of us were allergic  to gold,one of the James Bond movies was called gold finger,one of the main characters in the movie,was addicted to gold.
    People have murdered for gold,there is a famous fairy tale about a king
who  desired gold,one day he was granted a wish,every thing he touched would turn to gold. It was for him a dream come true,until he touched his beloved daughter,and the dream became an nightmare.
    Recently the price of gold has rocketed,with the result brokers were wanting to buy peoples gold.On a recent holiday I met a lady who wanted to
place a time capsule ,in a certain place,so she put gold items within it,things
that were of great value.This lady made light of this,stating that there where more important things even than gold.
  This ladies attitude challenged me,as to whats most important in my life,
gold ,money,sport,I belong to a kingdom ,the kingdom of God. As a citizen
of that kingdom, then I am called to have kingdom values,which are so
different from the kingdom of man.
   Jesus said to a disciple,lovest thou Me more than these?,[John 21 v15 ],what is my answer to that question?, what is your answer?.
                                          A prayer.
Dear God help us to live and keep Your kingdoms values always first in our
lives in Jesus name Amen

Hold fast to the vision. [ Acts 16 v 9]

While on holiday recently in the county of Norfolk,which is known as Nelson's county,we stayed in a chalet on the grounds of what had been ,a priory. A place where those of a religious order lived,it is set in a 35  acre site,when king Henry reigned,he cause a lot of these places to close.
   The site is now owned by a couple,and they have for a number of years,
spent time,effort,and money in restoration.There is a large structure called the gate house which is nearing completion,it was interesting to see pictures of what it looked like before the restoration began,how it was so dilapidated, but now what a difference.
  This had all come about at a cost,financially,and as the couple both confessed,many sleepless nights.Before we left I wrote in the guests comments book,praising them for what they had accomplished,and encouraging them to hold fast  to the vision they had.
     Hold fast to the vision,what vision has God placed in your hearts?,as a young man God placed a vision in my heart to serve Him.In fulfilling that vision there was a cost,but it seems to me there would have been a greater cost if I had not .I would have missed out in so many ways,and I have discovered, that one never looses out when they obey the vision that God has placed in their hearts.
                                     A prayer
Dear God help us not to be disobedient to that vision that You have placed in our hearts, in Jesus name Amen .

The church is not the building. [ Romans 15v 2-3]

  Last night I was attending our house group,this involves discussion ,based on his Sunday message.I felt that last night things were becoming difficult
and I was aware that I may say the wrong things, inwardly I was praying for God to help me in what I should say,so that I would not stir things up.
     As a Christian of many years I have witnessed and experienced difficulties within church situations,and the one thing I don't want,and I say this with all my heart,I do not want to cause trouble in any church.I do not want to be striving with people ,but striving for the spirit of unity, We must take serious what our Saviour said,that we might be one.
    The New Testament church was not a perfect church,the apostles had to deal with those who were causing trouble[ CP 2 Corinthians 12 v20/ 2 John v9-10./Philippians 4 v2].Things have not changed people have not changed.
     I remember seeing a Charlie Brown cartoon and in it ,the character,was taking credit for the building of the church building,simply because he had paid for a couple of bricks. May be we are like that person we see the church as a building,instead of a body of Gods children, and when we cause division,we are effecting Gods people ,and the importance of unity.
                                        A prayer.
Dear Lord help us to strive for unity within Your church ,Amen.
.