Pure gold ( Hebrews 4 v 15 )

             It is Michael Wilcock who describes King Hezekiah as this golden boy,there is no doubt
             that he was a very good king, but it is obvious that he was not pure gold. I was listening
            to a program on the radio, and a lady was expressing her view's about Prince Harry's forth
             coming wedding to what would be known as a commoner,she said how it made the royal
            family ordinary just like us. As one looks at the history of  kings and queens it does appear
            that many did think they were more than ordinary.They saw themselves as Gods anointed
            separate from  those they ruled, The Japaneses Emperor was considered divine, how
            unlike Jesus,who was God manifest in the flesh ,we read He became poor,most monarchs
            are very wealthy.They don't live in common dwellings,but in palaces    ,often they enjoyed
            much while those they ruled went hungry,one queen is thought to have said as regards her
            hungry citizens,let them eat cake.Even king Solomon's son Rehoboam when ask to make it
            easier for those he ruled,said he was going to make it harder  ( 2 Chron  10) When Jesus
            came to earth ,he identified with the poor and lowly,he declared Himself to be a servant.
            He healed the sick,fed the hungry,sought out those on the margin's of society,and instead
            of ignoring humanities greatest need,their sinful condition ,He took it upon Himself,to deal
           it,when He died on Calvary,sin can be forgiven,sin can be overcome.

                                                Unlike Hezekiah who was not                     
                                                pure gold,Jesus was pure gold.
           
         
         

All good things. ( Matthew 6 v 24 )

      Well it is all over,as the saying goes, 'all good things came to an end', we will soon be taking down our Christmas tree,and putting away the decorations. But for many it is not quite over,the sales have begun,even though we have received so much we will want more,and so it goes on.Let us remember the words of Jesus ,''Watch out,be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life
does not consist in the abundance of his possessions'' (Luke 12 v 15 ).Oh yes I like things ,I like having nice clothes, I am grateful to God for the way He has blessed me, I could tell you about all
 my possessions.But I know that they are only borrowed,  we only have a loan of them,there comes a time when we all will leave them behind.And it's then if we know the Lord that we enter into true riches,yes enjoy what God has given you,but remember those who are less fortunate,the first thing the wise men did when they came to Jesus was they worshipped Him,and then they gave Him their
 gifts,for after all God wants us ,He wants our love, loyalty,faithfulness,our worship.     

                                                        Remember.
                          When you have Jesus ,you have more wealth,in
                           your soul,than acres of diamonds,and mountains
                          of  Gold.

   


                                     

Jesus. ( John 3 v 16 )

              I love reading I read fictional  and non fictional books,fictional are written out of the authors
              imagination,non fictional, like historical are usually based on historical fact.So it is like
              Christmas,so much that fictional ,at the expense of the non fictional,and unfortunately the
              the non fictional has taken over,and that is very serious.For it practically blots out the real
              meaning of Christmas,and that is very serious,instead of a Saviour we have Santa,instead
             of  of us focusing on the eternal Christ we focus on temporal things.So let me mention
             briefly the true meaning of Christmas  ,Christ,simple,yet true,Immanuel God with us,
             also called Jesus which means a Saviour,for we are all sinners and everyone of us needs a
             Saviour who is Christ the Lord.
                       
                                     Please do not miss the true meaning of the season

Pride . ( Proverb 8 v 13 )

                 Another aspect of Chronicles can be summed up,in the following statement ,in
                 relation to the kings.'' He who seeks the Lord will be blessed, while he who
                 abandons the Lord ,will be abandoned ''is is the reality as regards Israels leaders,
                 And so it appears,that as long as Uzziah sought the Lord,God gave him success,
                 (  2 Chronicles 26 v 5 )Uzziah was a great king,accomplished so much,but then
                 we read how that when he became powerful, and from them on things deteriorated,
                 pride took over. Here is what the word of God has to say about pride
                                                  Pride goes  before destruction,
                                                  a haughty spirit before a fall
                                                  Better to be lowly in spirit and
                                                  among the oppressed
                                                  than to share plunder with the
                                                  proud.
                                                         ( Proverbs 16 v 18-19 )
                Pride brought this godly king down, it can so easy bring all of us down, we  need
                to heed the destructiveness of sin. John Bunyan that godly man wrote.
                                                    He that is down needs fear no fall,
                                                    He that is low, no pride;
                                                    He that is humble ever shall
                                                    Have God to be his guide.
               
   

Weakness. ( 2 Corinthians 12 v 7 - 10 )

        I am studying the book of  Chronicles the writer Michael Wilcock, commenting on the kings
        who ruled the southern kingdom ,(Judah),  points out the following,when they were weak they
        were strong,and when they were strong they were weak. People say the most important thing
        is good health,the apostle Paul suffered from a serious health issue,that did not go away, yes
        he prayed much about it ,asking for Gods  healing touch,and it did not happen. No one likes
        an on going health problem,or any ongoing problems and yet you have prayed often
        about it, time after time, to no avail,the fact is God permits certain things to remain in our
        lives. the purpose in Paul's life was, to keep him humble.Whatever the reason for our weakness
        is that we rely on God, and rely on Him, and rely on Him,just as Paul had to. He also began to
        realise Gods purpose,and truly did discover that Gods grace was sufficient , to such  extent
        that as the Message puts it, ''he quit focusing on the hardships and began appreciating  the
        gift'',that they were serving a good purpose in his life.In spite of  his weakness ,he was
        experiencing the strength he needed.

                                                            A prayer.
                              Dear Lord  help us in our weaknesses,grant unto
                              us the grace, to not only cope, but to so experience
                              your grace,that we truly can say that your grace
                              is sufficient, Amen.
     

Jesus ( Philippians 2 v 5 -11 )

 
             ''Everything in Christ astonishes me ,His spirit overawes me, and his will confounds me.
             Between him and whoever else in the world,there is no possible term of comparison.He
             is truly a being by himself......I search in vain  in history to find the similar to Jesus Christ
             or anything which can approach the gospel. Neither  history, nor humanity, nor the ages
             nor nature, offer me anything with which I am able to compare it or to explain it. Here
             everything is extraordinary''.

                                                             Napoleon.
         
            And He will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of
                                                              Peace
                                                       (  Isaiah 9 v 6 )
                                 And you are to give him the name Jesus,because
                                 he will his people from their sins

                                                       ( Matthew 1 v 21 )

                                                             

The tree and the curse. ( Isaiah 53 )

          It is that time of  the year again when the Christmas tree goes up, it was Prince Albert
          Queen Victoria's  husband who introduced the Christmas tree into this country. Has it
          anything to do with the actual Christmas event ?.It is a tree, and we read in Galations
          3v13 and 1 Peter 2 v24  how the cross is referred to as a tree, the NT writer see's in the
          OT  in Deuteronomy 21 v23, where we read that anyone hung on a tree comes
          under a curse.It is also in Deut 27 v26, we are informed that those who do not keep the
           law come under a curse,that means we are all under God curse.So it is we are told that
           on that tree [Cross),Christ became  accursed,

                                                      William Barclay.
            ''Even at his most involved, and here he is invoved, one simple yet tremendous fact is
            never far from the mind and the heart of Paul- the cost of the Christian Gospel..He
            could never forget that the peace,the liberty,  of Jesus Christ the right relationship with God
            that we possess  cost the life and death of Jesus Christ, for how could men have known
            what God was like unless Jesus Christ had died to tell them that He loves them like that''