How to escape ( 1 John 4 v 10 )

We looked yesterday at love,loving totally and loving others unreservedly,in other to love as God perfectly,it is no good saying well no ones perfect,true,but unless we love perfectly we sin. And as we said sin is repugnant to God, will judge all mankind.John Piper writes,''Sin is not small ........since God is just He does not sweep  these crimes under the universe.He feels a holy wrath against them''.We must be judged if we die in our sin,yet God loves us sinners,hell awaits all of us,the gates of  heaven , are firmly closed against us.We are talking about Gods justice ,but God is also a God of love,the best verse in the Bible tell us simple Gods solution John 3 v 16 ,''For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son ,that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life''.On the cross Christ was a sacrifice for sin ,as John Piper writes,'' He absorbed the wrath of God'' ,that we should not bear it,He became out substitute.'Of course this only comes into effect when we trust Jesus as our own and personal saviour, then and only then will we escape God wrath.

But God is love. ( Romans 1 v 18 )

I am reminded often, that this generation has not a clue as regards Christianity, this is true, I have a window cleaner ,a nice young lad,but he knows nothing about Christianity. So what is one to do? I suppose we have to take into consideration how we communicate the gospel.When we speak about sin, how should we make the meaning known I want to quote from John Piper's little book', ''Fifty reasons why Jesus came to die''. Hear is  what he has to say about sin,''God's law demanded ,  /You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might, Deuteronomy 6 v 5./But we have all loved other things more.This is what sin is- dishonouring God by preferring other things over Him, and acting on these preferences''. Jesus followed this by also saying, '' The second is this; Love your neighbour as yourself '', neighbour just means anybody and everybody.Now lets be honest with ourselves,let us all be honest, none of us have ever,or will ever love, to the extent that these two commandments demand..In that case we are all sinners,sin must be judged,must be, for God can,nor will he ever look kindly on sin,he cannot ignore   sin,He must ,again I stress, God must judge sin.People cannot bear to think that God, the God of love would judge people. Yes He is a God of love, but He is also called a judge, who will meet out justice to the guilty, The question is how can He save people from judgement ,next time we will consider how He did this.

The man I could be. (v 1 Timothy 1 v 12 - 17 )

The poet  Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote,                                                                                                                                                            ''Could'st thou in vision see                                                                                                                          Thyself the man God meant,                                                                                                                       Thou never more could be                                                                                                                         The man thou art- content.''                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  One of my sons when he left college, threw of all restraint,and got  into all sorts of trouble,ending up on remand in prison. While in prison ,in desperation he cried unto God,and God heard,and He told him the following ,''Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem?, or have I no power to deliver'', ( Isaiah 50 v 2 ). God worked in a marvellous manner, and he did not go to prison, he was once again on the right road,eventually he became a youth leader in his church, and then he became the full time minister.He moved from that to serving God in 24/7,which  emphasises prayer,now he is ministering all over world as the international director of  24/ 7. From the man  he was to the man God has made him,all who encounter the risen Christ in their lives, can be transformed by Gods grace to the person he desires them to be.                                                                                                                                                                      Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he                                                                                                            is a new creation  ,the old has gone                                                                                                            the new has come.                                                                                                                                           ( 2 Corinthians 5 v 17 )                                                                                                               

Be in time ( 2 Peter 3 v 9 - 12 )

Recently I heard the following,and it made me  smile,' A young man was speaking to the Lord ,and he asked Him,what is a million years like to you? the Lord replied like a second. Then he asked him whats a million pound like to you,the Lord replied, a penny. Lord said the young man would you give me one of your pennies,yes replied the Lord, wait a second.'  It is Peter who writes as regards those who where doubting the coming of the Lord, they failed to appreciate,that God is outside of time, and where judging events from a purely human point of view. No says Peter ,the Lord Jesus will come according to heavens eternal time table,the time of waiting is an opportunity for people to be saved.His coming again will bring an end to any chance of experiencing salvation.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          ''Behold now is accepted time;                                                                                                                    behold , now is the day of                                                                                                                          salvation.                                                                                                                                                      ( 2 Corinthians 6 v 2 )

The roses. ( John 11 25 - 26 )

The roses in my living room are dead, they look a sorry sight,now they are only fit to be thrown out, everything is growing older. Age  takes its told on roses and humans.  so that's it,like the roses ,are we to be just thrown away?, is that all we can look forward to?.The people in Corinth were confused about death,and so in chapter 15 of 1st Corinthians Paul writes to them explaining the resurrection. He starts of by reminding them of Christs resurrection, he reminds them that hundreds of people witnessed the resurrected Lord.Paul himself had an encounter with the risen Lord Acts 9. our faith is based on historical facts.Without the resurrection our faith is absolutely pointless,we might as well ,just live for  today,for tomorrow we die.Then from v 35 ff Paul writes of the glory of our resurrected body,it will a spiritual body,bearing the likeness of Jesus. The body we have now is not permeate ,that is obvious, but our new bodies will be imperishable ,and immortal,it will not be subject to death.for death will cease.                                                                                                                                                                                               But thanks be to God, who gives us                                                                                                           the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.                                                                                                              ( 1 Corinthians 15 v 57 )

I am afraid ( Mark 4 v 35 - 41 )

One day a little boy was out with his dad,and as they where walking they came to dark foreboding ,something like you read about in the Wind and the Willows, it was called the Wild Wood.Well the nearer they got to the wood the more fearful the little boy became.Suddenly he stopped and would not go any further,his father looked down at his little son and he asked him what was wrong,the lad began crying and through his tears, the father could just about make out what he was saying,which was ,''I am afraid and do not want to go into that awful wood''. So his father bent down, looked him straight in the face, and said, ''I understand ,you know that I love you ,so here is what I want you to do,trust me,next put your hand in mine,and let us both walk through this wood.The little boy said he would, and then put his hand in his fathers hand,and together they walked through the wood till the other side. There are times like that little lad,we are afraid, afraid of so many things, of the challenges of life, whatever,  are fears are real to us.So it is our loving father says to us ,trust Me  and put  your hand in mine, and let me lead you through your difficulties ,the choice is ours,remember if we do then every thing will be alright.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Even though I walk through the                                                                                                                valley of the shadow of  death,                                                                                                                  I will fear no evil, for you are                                                                                                                    with me.                                                                                                                                                                  Psalm 23 v 4.                                                                                                                                                                                                    .                                                                                                                           

Hold my hand precious Lord.. ( Isaiah 41 v 10 )

Again turning to what Elihu has to say,and its in Job  36 v 7, we read ,'''He ( God ) does not take his eyes of the righteous''. What comforting words these are ,in other words God is always watching over all of His children.There is never a moment when He is not watching over us, He is not just watching as an idle bystander oh no, what comfort would that be,David Atkinson writing on the suffering Job,and let us not forget the extent of this sufferer,writes the following.''There are times when we come into touch with those who are going through it.May God give us grace to hold out these two positive strands; hope in place of despair,based on communion in the place of alienation. For though Job  does not yet know this,God himself is present with Job in his despair, and in his alienation, God has never  let go of his hand'.                                                                                                                                                                                Hold Thou my hand,the way is                                                                                                                  dark before me.                                                                                                                                           Without the sunlight of Thy face                                                                                                                divine;                                                                                                                                                        But when by faith I catch its                                                                                                                      radiant glory,                                                                                                                                              What heights of joy,what rapturous                                                                                                           songs are mine.                                                                                                                                               ( Words , Grace. J. Frances )