The source of evil ( Jeremiah 17 v 9 )

                Our Saviour knew the source of evil, the people who opposed Him, where very
                religious,they observed all the religious feast.They prayed,  read Gods word
                kept the Sabbath,kept the food laws,etc,etc,etc.They also laid great store at being
                children of Abraham,true blue Jews,yet Jesus knew the source of evil. Do you?
                This is what He said out of the heart,yes out of the heart,the source of our being
                out of the heart comes evil thoughts, murder, adultery,sexual immorality, theft,
                false testimony,slander.Yes He knows us better than we know ourselves ,why do I
                pray everyday,Lord create in me a clean heart,yes a clean heart ,?, because although I
                am a Christian, I have evil thoughts, evil desires,and I know how they can so easy
                take over. We are told let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he falls( 1
                Corinthians 10 v 12 ) . In Proverbs  4 v 23 )we read ,' Above all else, guard your
                guard'.Wise words,what are you putting into your heart? what am I putting into my
                heart?.  In  Proverbs  23 v 26  ,we read  'My Son (Daughter) give  me your heart,
                will you ?, I remember a little prayer children would pray when they trusted
                Jesus as Saviour,why don't you pray it, right now.

                                                     Come into my heart Lord Jesus.
                                                     come into day, come into stay
                                                     come into my heart Lord Jesus.
                                                                    Amen.














             

Redemption ( Job 19 v 25 )

                            I was playing a game of indoor bowls, and  one of the players had a poor
                            game,but next game he played better,and someone was heard to say ,'you
                            redeemed yourself'. The word redeemed in the context of a game, means's
                            to make up for a bad performance.The word redeemed appears a lot of times
                            in the Bible,there the word means's  to buy back,to pay a price.It
                            has with  it the meaning of delivering and bringing someone out of bondage.
                            It is applied to our Salvation .Humanity is seen by God as being in slavery,
                            as our Saviour said, everyone who sins is a slave to sin (   John 8 v 34 ),
                            Solomon also said ,there is no man that does not sin ( 1 Kings  8 v  46)
                            Because of this we are alienated from a holy God , a slave to our sinful
                            impulses,lost and undone,we are truly on the road to Hell. Unlike a game
                            we personally cannot redeem ourselves, because everything we could offer
                            would be tainted by sin.So God in His awesome  mercy did something
                            He would send a redeemer into the world who would pay the price of our
                            redemption ,as the Psalmist wrote ,'God would redeem ,( 49 v 15 ) And
                            so He ,who was truly God and truly man, came and paid the price of our
                            redemption.,not with perishable things such as silver or  gold ..............
                            but with  His  precious blood   (1 Peter 1 v 18-19 ) So it is when we
                            trust Jesus as our Saviour, God accepts us on the bases of  the price Jesus
                            paid on the cross.

                                                             Not the labours of my hands
                                                             Can fulfil thy law's demands;
                                                             Could my zeal  no respite know,
                                                             Could mt tears for ever flow,
                                                             All for sin could not atone;
                                                             Thou must save, and Thou alone.

                                                               ( Words by A M Toplady )
                         

Confident ( John 8 v 12 )

                        Martin Luther wrote ,'Nothing is more familiar or characteristic among
                        Christians than assertion. Take away assertions, and you take away
                        Christianity'. Assertion means confidence,certainty, We know that our
                        Redeemer lives , (19 V 23 )we know that Christ rose from read, ( 1 Corinthians
                        15 ) We know that Christ has forgiven us our sins ( 1 John 2 v 12 ). The
                        The Christian hes received eternal life [ 1 John 5 v 13 ). In a world that so
                        often appears in crises,confused, the Christian has a powerful message,that
                        comes  from that wonderful relationship they have with God. It all come about
                        when Christ become ones Saviour,He declared that He was the light of the
                        world ,and that those who follow Him, would not walk in darkness ,but will
                        have the light of  life. (John 8 v 12 ) Children are afraid of the dark ,but many
                        people who are not children, are afraid, darkness has engulfed them,are you one
                        of them ?,Look to Jesus, trust Him,follow Him, you will not walk in darkness.

                                         ' When Jesus comes the tempter's power is broken,
                                           When Jesus comes the tears are wiped away.
                                           He takes the gloom and fills the life with glory
                                           For all is changed when Jesus comes to stay.

                                                      ( Words by Dr, Smith )

                                                     

Heaven (Romans 8 v 31 - 39 )

                    Heaven is the place where pretence is never needed; where we live in freedom
                    from judgement; where we will never need to pretend or assume an unreal
                    posture or claim an inappropriate credit.  It will be a place where we can live for
                    the first time in all our lives in freedom from judgement- the judgement of others
                    and the self- judgements which in this life so regularly cripple and enslave us.We
                    will live in the freedom of the judgement of God. We will have accepted His just
                    judgement on our lives, be utterly one with Him  is the embodied righteousness
                    of God., and be renewed in the image of the Righteous One. We will be righteous
                    and pursue righteousness. We will at last, and for ever, do justly....love mercy, and
                    walk humbly with( our ) God. ( Mic 6 v 8 av )
                                  (  From Bruce Milne's book ,Heaven and Hell )

''Cutting off'' ( Romans 13 v 14 )

                              In  Matthew 18 v 1 - 9, Jesus speaks very sternly  to those who cause
                              others to sin ,we can think of many who do that,they come under great
                              condemnation,and will suffer severe judgement.Child abusers will suffer
                              those who trap people into prostitution,.Many dear people have been lured
                              into evil practise's,those who do will suffer, for God is just. .He goes unto
                              speak , to 'cutting  off' a member of the body, rather than giving into sin.
                              Origen  took these words literally, and was castrated.This is what John Stott
                              wrote.
                              ''The command to get rid of troublesome eyes,hands and feet is an example
                                of our Lord's use of dramatic figures of speech. What He was advocating
                               was not a literal self maiming, but  a ruthless moral self denial. Not
                               mutilation but mortification was the path to holiness He taught.  If  your eye
                               causes  you to sin because temptation comes  to you through  the eyes( objects
                               you see), then pluck out your eyes. That is, don' t look, Behave as though
                               you had actually plucked out your eyes and flung them away and were now
                               blind and could not see the objects which previously caused you to sin''

                                                        ''Let us stop pampering ourselves''
                     

Temptation. ( Hebrews 4 v 14 - 16 )

                     It  was H R. Palmer who wrote that old hymn ,' Yield not to temptation,
                     many years ago,we  seldom hear it song  these days ,and yet its message is
                     relevant to every generation. Every day  everyone one of us face temptation
                     it is told that this hymn stopped a riot in a women's prison,again many years
                     ago.Sing Sing, had a women's section. One Sunday the women were gathered
                     together,for a religious service, the prison officer in charge, gave which caused
                     an uproar .A women's riot was harder to deal with than a riot by men,the situation
                     was getting out of hand, when someone started to sing the following.,
                   
                                             Yield not to temptation, for yielding is sin,
                                              Each victory will help you, some other to win.
                                              Fight manfully onward ,dark passions sudue
                                              Look ever to Jesus He will carry you through.
           
                      Very soon all the lady prisoners joined in and  then quietly went back to their cells.

Hell ( Luke 16 v 22 - 23 )

               I received a phone call from a friend ,he is the  brother of  Raymond who was my best
               friend up until I was 20,and then we went our separate ways. I had just come back  to
               Lord, he did not know the Lord, nor wanted to follow Him. It was years later that I
               found out that Raymond's brother had become a Christian, since then we have stayed in
               contact with each other. He is a fine Christian man ,he witnesses to many people ,I
               never thought he would become a Christian ,yet he did,for those who decry the preaching
               of Hell, it was that very thing that caused my friend to trust Jesus. He told me  that it as
               at the funeral of his father, the reality of Hell came upon him .Many ministers will not
                preach on Hell, they must have their reasons,but then we are not to lean upon our own
               understanding.Hell is not an outdated truth,  sadly to say ,untold millions will end up in
               Hell.
                                        On the golden streets of heaven
                                        All men hope to walk some day.
                                        Yet so many are not will to accept
                                        living way.

                                        Some will  tell that God's mercy
                                        is their only hope and plea.
                                        But I read that my dear Saviour
                                        Died for sinners just like me.
                                        Hallelujah, Hallelujah, I'm
                                        depending on the blood.
                                           ( Words by John Oatman.Jr.  )