Limping ( Romans 10 v 1 - 13 )

In Romans 10 writing about the Jews Paul declares ,'That they were zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge' , L.Morris writes, 'Zeal can be used in a good or a bad sense ; here it will be in the good sense, with a meaning something like our ''enthusiasm'' No nation had given itself to God with such devoted and courageous zeal as Israel,''( Barrett) '' But unfortunately this zeal had be qualified it was not based on knowledge (John 16 v 2; Acts 22 v 3; 26 v 9-11, Gal 1 v 14 ). Enthusiasm is good, but enthusiasm run riot can lead to disastrous results.'' Now follows a statement by Augustine,''It is better to limp the right way than to run with all our might out of the way''.How very meaningful these words are,The cults are very zealous,people often say I admire their enthusiasm, and if we look at many religions they can be very zealous.Dear friend ponder,what Paul wrote about the Jews,and what Augustine said,it is worth repeating,''It is better to limp the right way than  to run with all our might out of the way'' In Proverbs 14 v 12, we read,'There is a way that appears to be right,but in the end it leads to death'. You may be zealous but are you running to your spiritual ruin?, Jesus is the way the truth and the life,any other way is the wrong way,any other so called truth is error,and it will lead not to life but death.

Happiness ( Matthew 5 v 1 - 12 )

I worked as a support worker in a mental health team,and I remember a lady who was always,craving after that which would make her happy, but it seemed to me in her case,it did not happen. It is like someone trying to find the pot of gold and the end of a rainbow,because it is not there.Someone has said that happiness depends on what happens,even that may not be true.We used to sing ,oh happy day when Jesus washed my sins away, well that would make one happy, it should.In Matthew 5 we have the word blessed mentioned 9 times, it is generally thought to mean happy.But as we read these 9  sayings we read that they come along with being ,poor in spirit,mourning,meekness,hungering and thirsting after righteousness,being merciful, being pure in heart,being a peacemaker,being persecuted,being lied about.Yes it is not about having perfect health,having wealth,and a lot of other things that people think will make them happy,it is not of this world, it is in fact , heavenly.Bear in mind  as Michael Green points out,'The Sermon on the mount in which we find these blessed's ,is no mere code of ethics that can be detached from loyalty to Christ as Marx and Gandhi wished to understand it'.In Psalm 144 v 15 we read,'Blessed ( Happy) is the people whose God is the Lord'.

What is your Name?. ( Romans 8 v 29 )

According to one writer the Jews in NT ,times had two names, one was a Hebrew name and the other a Greek name, Thomas is the Hebrew , and Didymus is the Greek for a twin. Peter is the Greek ,Cephas  is the Hebrew for a rock,Tabitha is the Hebrew, and Dorcas is the Greek for a gazelle.My  first name William originated from the Normans,my second name Alexander originated  from the Greek.The meaning of William is, resolute protector,and the meaning of Alexander is,defender,and protector of  man. I would like to think that I live up to what the meaning of my names, but I doubt it.Of course I have another name ,Christian,it used to be, that people would say they were Christians   and yet they had never accepted Christ as their Saviour, had never been born again. Yes I accepted Christ as my Saviour, but  the challenge for all who call themselves Christians is , do we seek to live up to the name we bear.?.I assume it means that we should be Christlike,for after all Gods purpose for all Christians is that they may be conformed to Christs image.In the words of a little song,'Be like Jesus this my song,in the home and in the throng,be like Jesus everyday I would be like Jesus'.May all of us who bear the name Christian, seek by the grace of God, to live up to, that name.

Loneliness ( Hebrews 13 v 5 )

In Genesis 2 v 18, God declared, 'It is not good to be alone' we are social beings,we need others, one would think in this overcrowded planet,we would never feel alone,or even be alone. Yet the fact is many people feel alone,the elderly suddenly find themselves alone as their long life partner dies .  Old age brings different challenges, loneliness can be one of them,but it does not only apply to the elderly,many people feel lonely,and especially at a time like this, when we are in lock down.Looking back in my life especially when I was younger I felt lonely,yes even as a Christian. The Bible tells us that God will meet our needs, ( Phil 4 v 19 ), He is able to meet your needs. again in looking back  I can see how God brought people into my life, I have never had a multitude of friends,but there have been different individuals who became my friend. In spite of this I have still felt lonely at times. It was Nicky Cruz who wrote a book ,the title being,'Lonely , but never alone', that sums it up,yes as to ..human companionship ,we may not have that always ,but we do have one who is with us, and that  one is our Saviour., here is what he said,'' I am with you always.''( Matthew 28 v 20 ).Friends or no friends, He is with us,in  sickness and health, in poverty or wealth,in the ups and downs,in twists and turns,in the  dark days,and in bright days,He is with us ,not just for part of journey of life, but for all of life,and even when we go through the valley of the shadow of death He will be with us.( Psalm 23 v 4 )

More than. ( John 21 v 15 )

Becoming a Christian brings with it real challenges, when people came to Jesus,he would tell them to count the cost, in Luke 14 v 25 -34 Jesus tells the crowd.That if they  are going to follow Him ,they must hate their nearest and dearest,immediately we may be stunned at such a statement, hate, surely not?.What on earth did He mean? it is W. Hendriksen who tells us,''The word hate has the same meaning- to love less- in Gen.29 v 31  ,'Jehovah saw that Leah was hated,v 30, clarifies this by reading, ''Jacob....loved  Leah less than Rachel ( They were both his wives) Jacob had a favourite son Joseph, he loved him more than any of his other sons.( Gen 37 v 3 ) In Matthew 10 v 37 ,our dear Saviour said  ,''He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me''. We see this illustrated in Gen 22 when Abraham is commanded to take his only son, whom he loved and sacrifice him there as a burnt offering.God was testing Abraham,  what was that test? would he reverence God more than his son,he passed the test, he was restrained at the last minute from actually slaying Isaac.Jesus says to all, if you want to follow me then you must love me more than anyone else, or anything else.Yes there is a cost in following Jesus ,are we willing  to pay the cost?

Suffering ( Job 23 v 10 )

A friend has been suffering from cancer, in spite of drugs ministered ,he has been in great deal of pain,and it has steadily increased. He is in a hospice at this time ,nearing that point of death I have been praying that the Lord would take him home.As I arose to go to bed I asked myself,I wonder was he still in the land of the living,and then I thought this is not the land of the living ,it is the land of the dying. That dear person is going to the land of the living,there will be no death to where he is going, he is  going to a place where there will be no more suffering. We always want to know why?.his family may be asking ,why,  he had to suffer?, he was a godly man, surely he didn't deserve to suffer,of  course he didn't ,why had his wife and family to watch him suffer?. Good people suffer, godly people suffer,lovely people suffer,so why?,but the answer  is, we often do not know . For him thankfully, he will be  finished with suffering, and the Lord who suffered ,will more than compensate him. The apostle Paul who knew his share of suffering,wrote 'For I am convinced, that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future ,nor any powers, neither height nor depth,nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  ( Romans 8 v 38 - 39 )

The good shepherd ( Isaiah 53 )

Here is the best known  and best loved Psalm. 'The Lord is my shepherd ;I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me  beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul; he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art  with me; thy rod and thy staff comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the day of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. ' In John 10 v 11,  Jesus said ,''I am the good shepherd ; the good shepherd giveth his life  for the sheep''.The question is,is He your shepherd?,let me remind you it is not enough to know the Psalm,one must know the good shepherd, then all the blessings of this lovely Psalm will be yours.