Futu8re glory. ( 2 Timothy 4 v 6 - 8 )

As I write this it is windy and raining outside,well I suppose it wouldn't be inside,earlier I went for my usual daily walk, I brought with me my umbrella and felt a bit tired as I completed my walk.It was not to severe the weather, but the words of a lovely old came to mind, 'The sands of times are sinking',and the last verse which reads.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      I've wrestled on towards heaven,                                                                                                              'Gainst storm, and wind, and tide;                                                                                                              Now like a weary trav'ller                                                                                                                          That leaneth on His guide;                                                                                                                        Amid the shades of  evening,                                                                                                                    While sinks life's lingering sand,                                                                                                              I hail the glory dawning                                                                                                                            In Immanuel's land.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          W Barclay on the hope of salvation writes ,''It is the confidence of safety in the world to come. It is the hope of safety amidst the perils of  earth, and rescue from the judgment of God                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          ' Future Glory.'

Einstein. ( 1 Corinthians 1 v 26 - 31 )

Recently a letter by Einstein ,called the'God letter', sold for millions of dollars, in the letter he wrote that the Bible was an expression of human weakness,filled with myths.It appears that from an early age he abandoned religion saying  that he had been deceived into believing a lie.Einstein as you know was one of the 20th centuries greatest physicist,although he was a bad speller.So the great physicist has spoken, which is sad, but there is nothing new under the sun,for we read ,''For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing''(1 Cor 1 v 18 ) The great philosophers of  Greece with all their earthly wisdom ,saw the gospel as foolishness. W Barclay wrote ,'' The Greeks were intoxicated with fine words; and to them  the Christian preacher with his blunt message seemed a crude and uncultured figure, to be laughed at and ridiculed rather than be listened to and respected''. To them the Christian message was foolishness,but to us who are being saved it is the power of God, and the wisdom of God (1 Cor 1 v 24 )                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Jesus is way, the truth, and the life.                                                                                                                       ( John 14 v 6 )

Do it. ( John 2 v 5 )

I remember being given a reprimand because I had not carried out a certain task, I was told ,' do it'. In James 1 v 22  we read,'' Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. It is W. Barclay who writes, ''.Dr .Johnson was one of the great talkers of  all time; John Wesley was one the great men of action of all time. They knew each other,and Johnson had only one complaint about Wesley;''John Wesley's conversation is good, but he is never at leisure. He is always obliged to go at a certain hour. This is very disagreeable to a man who loves to fold his legs and have his talk out,as I do'' But the fact remains that Wesley, the man of action, wrote his name across England in a way in which Johnson the man of talk, never did.'' Jesus our Saviour said , ''Not everyone who says to Me ,' Lord, Lord', will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven''( Matthew 7 v 21 )

Feeling superior. ( 1 Timothy 1 v 15 )

One of the most detested bureaucrats in the Third Reich, Erich Koch was the Reich commissioner in Ukraine delivered a speech notorious even by the standards of  Nazi rhetoric it went,''We are a master race. We must remember that the lowliest German worker is racially and biologically a thousand times more valuable than the population here''.Such is the pride of man ,it has always been,where I come from the Catholic was looked down upon by the Protestant population. We could name many other examples in history of nations who looked down on others ,in Bible times ,the Roman Empire had millions of slaves,they were considered ,as inferior had no rights. Nations who ruled over other nations, felt that they were superior ,and often treated them with contempt,pride wherever its found is a just another sign of man kinds sinful nature.It is not only seen politically, but socially, and sad to say in religion,many who owned slaves,and many who practised apartheid,professed to be Christians. Pride blinds us to many things,that's one the reason people refuse to believe they are sinners and that they need a saviour.All man kind stand on one level we are  sinners,and all men need desperately a saviour,a man hanging on a cross called Jesus,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            O, the old rugged cross, so despised by the world                                                                                    has a wondrous attraction for me;                                                                                                              For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above                                                                                        to bear it to dark Calvary.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               In the old rugged cross, stained by blood so divine,                                                                                 a wondrous beauty I see;                                                                                                                           For twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died                                                                                   to pardon and sanctify me.                                                                                                                                (  George Bennard )

Holiness. ( 1 Peter 2 v 4 - 5 )

Someone has said that religion must never be divorced from morality; genuine belief must go hand in hand with consistent behaviour. The road of faith is called the road of holiness, we can judge how we are doing by looking at the ten commandments,or the moral teaching of the epistles , and our Lords teaching on the sermon on the mount. Holiness like good works are an evidence  of our salvation,that we truly are Christian, if they are missing ,then we are missing the importance of  the challenge as to what it means to be a Christian. Holiness must manifest ,in the workplace,in our homes,in our habits ,in our thought life,in fact in all things. Our worship must be in the beauty of   holiness,people admire much that is unholy,but that which holy, is beautiful..Our walk must please God in its holiness,Enoch must have been a very holy person,we are not talking about an holier than I attitude,that's  being a Pharisee. Holiness is saying no to all things that do not conform to a Holy God.When we speak of holiness ,many people see it as an unloving over serious thing,where in reality a truly holy person is a very loving person. A holy person will be an obedient person,for disobedience is a sin, and a holy person will be a Christlike person.Our bodies are seen as temples of the Holy Spirit ( 1 Corinthians 6 v 19 )                                                                                                                                                                                                              Holiness, without which no man shall                                                                                                       see the Lord.                                                                                                                                                     ( Hebrews 12 v 14 )                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              More holiness give me,more striving within;                                                                                            More patience in suffering, more sorrow for sin;                                                                                      More faith in my Saviour,more sense of His care                                                                                      More joy in His service,more purpose in prayer.                                                                                                       ( Philipp    Bliss  )                                                                                                                                                                 

A curse. ( Romans 8 v 28 )

Raymond Brown wrote the following, ''There are times when Christian people find themselves opposed and oppressed  by those who are intent on damaging them in one way or another. In His sovereignty, the Lord is still able to turn curses into blessings, and He continues to do such thing because He loves us. In the late nineteenth century,Tom Barnardo's work among the homeless boys of  London's east end was brought to the brink of ruin by a smear - campaign. A62 page booklet was published which brought slanderous accusations against Barnardo and the subsequent troubles( stretching over three years) caused him intense personal distress . He was finally exonerated, however, and the newspaper coverage of the case brought the needs of London's orphans to the attention of people all over the country. Money came flooding in to support him in his work. Yes, but for the publicity ,his essential ministry among destitute children would hardly be known beyond London. Because God loved Barnardo and the work he was doing he turned the curse into a blessing. God goes on doing that.''                                                                                                                                                                                  Genesis 50 v 20                                                                                                                    ''You plotted evil against me, but  God turned it into good''

Sovereign God. ( Isaiah 40 )

Is God sovereign? I believe He is,but of course ,but those in public office and society in general do not believe in a sovereign God.In media parliament ,God never gets a mention..R. C. Sproul writes of ,''A profound sense of the absence of  God,''he further writes,''The God of Christianity is in exile.Nobody thinks of naming a newly incorporated village or city '' Providence ''.Of course in a so called secular society,a political correct society,where historical writers,no longer put ,'AD or BC ''.instead put in a  meaningless  phrase ,'common era'., God is no longer in the equation.  As a Christian I believe we need to hold fast to the truth that God is sovereign,and as a preacher to proclaim it often. We are reminded of Gods greatness when we consider the truth that God is sovereign,we are looking beyond,time,mans plans,disasters,pain,earthly power,to where power really exists.  There is much we cannot explain, as to a sovereign God,but that makes no difference,because we are called to a position of faith, that He is God but also a sovereign God,who is working out his purpose and will  ,in this world and in the lives of every dear Christian.