On Sunday I had the joy of seeing my grand daughter being baptised,she is aged 15,three other young people were baptised also.Baptism is not something we have thought up,it is something that our Saviour commanded us to do[Matthew 28v19].
Baptism does not save us,but it speaks to us of salvation,the apostle Paul said he had not been sent to baptise,but to preach the gospel.[1 Corinthians 1 v17]He left others to carry out that task,but it was through his preaching
the gospel, that others were saved.Many people who have been baptised have never been saved,a religious rite does not save us,but a personal faith in Jesus does.[CP John 1 v12-13].
In Romans 6 the apostle Paul writes on baptism as symbolising the death and burial of the old way of life.The problem that Paul was dealing with in Romans 6 was caused by people who did not understand,that by their
babtism they had died to sinful practises.Those young people who were baptised were saying that they can no longer run with the crowd,in relation to sexual activity,drug taking,and so on. That does not mean just, not doing certain things,but also facing each day ,in an attitude of love and Christian service. Now although I am stressing these things to those young people,it applies to all Christians . Baptism is not just an emotional experience,it is a declaration of intent for all Christians.
A prayer.
Dear Lord help us to take on board what baptism really means in Your name we ask this Amen.
Tuesday, 7 April 2015
Monday, 6 April 2015
Not knowing [Psalm 23]
It is the not knowing,that we find hard,not knowing,I must confess as I come nearer retiring from my job, I am finding it hard,simple because I do not know how my days will be full,will I become a couch potato?. I am even asking myself should I have made the decision to retire,so if you are a
child of God do pray for me.
I suppose my experience is not unique ,but it is to me,or is it?as I look back, I can truly say,He has been my guide. It has been challenging,but testing, so many times,looking for a way to go forward ,trying doors,that remained shut.
There are valuable lessons to be had in all our experiences,they are Gods means of teaching us,that no matter how long we live,it is a life of faith. You see we are so prone to do it our way,to lean upon our own understand-
ing,so prone to walk the path of seeing,instead of the path of faith.That is
something that we find hard,and yet it is the path we must go,for only the
life of faith honours,and glorifies God.
Another lesson is,the not knowing ,will drive us to Him who is all knowing, it was Job in his not knowing experience,when he was suffering
dreadful things.When God appeared to be no where to be found, Job in faith
declares,/but He knoweth the way I take[Job 23 v10]/ Not only does He know ,but we need to remind ourselves,that He has not,nor will He ever,
forsake us.
A prayer.
Dear God we confess that we worry in so many situations,not knowing is
but one of them grant us grace to be still and know that Thou art God in Jesus name Amen.
child of God do pray for me.
I suppose my experience is not unique ,but it is to me,or is it?as I look back, I can truly say,He has been my guide. It has been challenging,but testing, so many times,looking for a way to go forward ,trying doors,that remained shut.
There are valuable lessons to be had in all our experiences,they are Gods means of teaching us,that no matter how long we live,it is a life of faith. You see we are so prone to do it our way,to lean upon our own understand-
ing,so prone to walk the path of seeing,instead of the path of faith.That is
something that we find hard,and yet it is the path we must go,for only the
life of faith honours,and glorifies God.
Another lesson is,the not knowing ,will drive us to Him who is all knowing, it was Job in his not knowing experience,when he was suffering
dreadful things.When God appeared to be no where to be found, Job in faith
declares,/but He knoweth the way I take[Job 23 v10]/ Not only does He know ,but we need to remind ourselves,that He has not,nor will He ever,
forsake us.
A prayer.
Dear God we confess that we worry in so many situations,not knowing is
but one of them grant us grace to be still and know that Thou art God in Jesus name Amen.
Sunday, 5 April 2015
Faith, Hope, and Love. [ Hebrews 12 v 2 ]
And now abideth,faith,hope ,love[1 Corinthians 13 v13]let us briefly examine these three things.Faith in its purest form, is a spiritual exercise,
it believes in that which it cannot see,the message puts it like this,/Its our handle on what we can't see.The act of faith is what distinguished our
ancestors,set them above the crowd[Hebrews 11 v1]/ I have never seen the risen Christ,but I believe in Him,believe that He died for me on the cross.
Hope ,for the Christian this is not a maybe hope but a sure and certain hope,one could say it is the fruit of faith. I am told certain things from Gods word, I believe them,we believe the Easter message,forgiveness ,and the
resurrection,so hope is placed within my heart.My sin is forgiven, I will
be resurrected from the dead .Here we have a sure and certain hope,which
come through faith in Jesus.
Love is manifested in its fullest measure through Christ,dying on the
cross for us sinners,the hymn wrote ,Love so amazing, so divine demands,
my soul ,my life ,my all. He never gives up on us,He cares for us,He not
only forgives,but He chooses not to remember,our past sins and failures.
A prayer.
Dear God we praise You that through faith in Jesus Your son we are blessed,with hope,and love. Amen.
it believes in that which it cannot see,the message puts it like this,/Its our handle on what we can't see.The act of faith is what distinguished our
ancestors,set them above the crowd[Hebrews 11 v1]/ I have never seen the risen Christ,but I believe in Him,believe that He died for me on the cross.
Hope ,for the Christian this is not a maybe hope but a sure and certain hope,one could say it is the fruit of faith. I am told certain things from Gods word, I believe them,we believe the Easter message,forgiveness ,and the
resurrection,so hope is placed within my heart.My sin is forgiven, I will
be resurrected from the dead .Here we have a sure and certain hope,which
come through faith in Jesus.
Love is manifested in its fullest measure through Christ,dying on the
cross for us sinners,the hymn wrote ,Love so amazing, so divine demands,
my soul ,my life ,my all. He never gives up on us,He cares for us,He not
only forgives,but He chooses not to remember,our past sins and failures.
A prayer.
Dear God we praise You that through faith in Jesus Your son we are blessed,with hope,and love. Amen.
Saturday, 4 April 2015
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.
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.
Friday, 3 April 2015
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.
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.
Thursday, 2 April 2015
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.
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.
Wednesday, 1 April 2015
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.
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.
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