Just one look. (2) ( Romans 6 v 23 )

Just one look is all it took,we should not be surprised at this, in Genesis 3 v 6 we read of Eve being   tempted by Satan,to eat the forbidden fruit,she knew that God had forbidden her to eat this fruit.So we read in spite of this,' When the woman saw ....she took some and ate it,in other words ,just one look,that's all it took. Just before the overthrow of Jericho ,the Lord told Israel that they were not to take any of the spoils for themselves. (Joshua 6 v 19).But a man called Achan ,disobeyed ,so when Israel faced their next challenge they suffered  defeat, and loss of life ,when it was revealed that Achan  had disobeyed , he was confronted with what he done,he said,' I saw the plunder', just one look and he took ( Joshua 7 v 21)  What is very tragic as regards what  David,Eve,and Achan did ,was the consequences of their actions,on others.Consider the result of Davids action,Uriah was murdered,the child born out of the adultery died. Consider the consequences of what  Achan did,Israel lost the battle with the citizens of Ai,with the loss of life. And of course I don't have to mention  the awful  consequences of Eve's disobedience., Yes it all started with just one look, let all of us consider as we look at that which is  forbidden by God ,how it is going to affect others ,your child,your wife,your parents.,hear this, there is always a cost when we sin.

Just one look (1 ) ( 2 Samuel 11 )

 One evening King David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of his palace and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself,she was very beautiful. So it began with just one look,as  he looked at this beautiful woman he was smitten,desire took over, sinful desire..It is said eyes are the windows of the soul, they are also the windows to our sinful hearts,surely that does not mean the man after God's own heart oh yes,it means David,and it means all of us.When the hymn the words,Amazing grace, that saved wretch like me,he meant it,we are all wretches, as we will see ,as we look at what followed that one look. None of us ,yes I say, none of can  appreciate the depths we can fall morally.One look was followed by a headlong  pursuit to  fulfill his sinful desires,and he was determined that nothing would stop him.He was told that she was a married woman,that didn't stop him,and her husband  was one of his bodyguards ,Uriah the Hittite,that didn't stop him. So he unashamedly sent for her,slept with her ,then she returned home,and that was that,his one night stand was over. We will consider this further next time, I will leave you with these words from Numbers 32 v 23.'Be sure that your sin will find you out',there is no escape from the consequences of our sins,as David would find out.

I am His Child. ( Psalm 46 )

A friend passed on four things to me,which I want to share with you .( 1)' Make sure you test positive for faith.' In Hebrews 11 v 6,we have two important words,'Without faith',could that be you?, have you ever thought what that means?,lets put it to the test,have you or have you not faith?.ask yourself that question.   Next, faith in what?or should I say in who? in Christ,do you really know Him as your Saviour?,because if you have not ,then you are lost. If you have trusted Jesus as your Saviour,then trust  Him to bring you through Life and take you to heaven.. ( 2 )' Keep distance from doubt',how do we do that?,by trusting the Lord with all our hearts and leaning not upon our own understanding, ( 3 )'Isolate from fear',is that possible?,yes it is ,it depends on what you are focusing on, the awful situation we find ourselves in,as regards your job,your needs,the ,'what if's',so many of them. Ask the Saviour to help you ,He will carry you through.  ( 4 )'Trust God in all you are going through',we have already mentioned that earlier,He makes no mistakes,remember you are His child.,as the words of the hymn says,'Under His wings I am safely abiding ;Though the night deepens and tempests are wild,Still I can trust Him, I know He will keep me; He has redeemed me, and I am His child'.

Good morning Jesus. ( Proverbs 3 v 5 - 6 )

A man  approached a godly lady, he wanted advice about following the Lord,so she said, every morning when you get up,the first thing you do is say ,'Good morning Jesus'. She told him do this without fail,it  seems such a simple thing,I suppose what it is doing is inviting  Jesus in at the commencement of each day. It does not mean you won't have a quite time,but it set's the right tone for the day.and that's important. When I have a problem I look to God to solve that  problem,and if we bring him into all aspects of our lives,our lives we will be better for it.I try to make prayer a way of life,we all should,yes we need to set a time to pray each day but also live in a spirit of prayerfulness  ,talk to God,and bring him into all your decisions,  tell Him you love Him. Be sensitive to the Holy Spirit's prompting.and when you have grieved Him,tell him your sorry ,and ask His forgiveness,for unconfessed sin  will be a hindrance in your relationship with our dear Saviour,and we don't want that,do we?

We are all the same. ( Romans 3 v 23 )

 William Carey served God in India, he translated the Bible into 6 Indian languages,and parts of other dialects, and languages.He did many other things, he was the founder of the English Baptist Missionary Society.One of the things he said was,''Expect great things from God,and attempt great things for God'   One of his characteristic was perseverance,he is thought to be the founder of modern missions.There was a time in his life when he became very seriously ill,it was thought he might die. He was asked if the sickness proved fatal,what Bible text would he select for his funeral service'.He replied ,'' Oh, I feel that such a poor  creature as me, is unworthy to have  anything said about him,he chose the following words and that nothing more  should be cut on his gravestone,'William Carey born August 17th died - . '' A wretched ,poor,and helpless worm. On Thy kind arms I  fall''.It was Isaiah the prophet  who cried out,''Woe to me'', I am ruined. For I am a man of unclean lips''  ( Isaiah 6 v 5 ) It was Peter the Apostle who fell on his knees before Jesus,and said,''I am a sinful man'',  ( Luke 5 v 8 ) and  it was the Apostle Paul who wrote,'Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,of whom I am the worst'. ( 1 Timothy 1 v 15). No matter who we are, be it  a missionary,prophet,or apostle,we all have one thing in common, we are all  sinners,and need  Jesus to be our Saviour.

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Heaven ( 2 ) ( John 14 v 6 )

 Forget about those modern day heavenly tourist,and let us remember we who are Christians,are people of  faith ( Hebrews 11 v 13 )., in 2 Corinthians 4 v 18, we read,' we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. In 5 v 17 we read,' we live by faith and not by sight',but one day, faith will give way to sight, when we are with the Lord.In the mean while ,we press on in faith, towards that heavenly country. The apostle Paul wrote, 'Therefore we do not lose heart,though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all (2 Cor  4 v  16 - 17 ) If  we are suffering,or if we are struggling, or if we are sorrowful,and feel like saying, is this Christian life worth it?.With the eye of faith fixed on Jesus , consider your heavenly inheritance,and the glory that lies ahead,for all who know Jesus,it will be no disappointment,someone said heaven is better than this,that's an understatement ,it will  be glorious ,more glorious than we can ever imagine.Consider what wont be there,the list is endless,all the bad things , the evil things, the hurtful things,the terrible things,the horrible things,the awful things,you name it,it will not be there.Then consider all the good things that will be there, John MacArthur writes ,we will have   perfect knowledge (1 Cor 13 v 12),we will live in perfect comfort,we will live in perfect love,and  undiluted joy,and most of all we will be with Jesus. Heaven is a real place,not something made up,the only thing that will stop you getting there ,is your sin,it must be repented of,and forgiven,this comes through trusting Jesus as your Saviour.

Heaven ( 1) ( 2 Corinthians 5 v 8 )

 I must confess I do not appreciate what is called heavenly tourism, I am talking about those who say they have been to heaven and back, and of course they will have books  published, recounting their experience. It was the apostle Paul who tells us how he was caught up into the  third heaven were he heard inexpressible things,things that no one is permitted to tell  ( 2 Corinthians 12  v  2 - 4) . his experience was real,it was not false..Now of course heaven is real.Heaven and is  were God dwells and rules from,the Lord's prayer starts,'Our Father in heaven',( Matthew 6 v 9 ).  The OT saints looked forward to heaven,CP ,Hebrews 11 v 13 - 16 ,  N T saints also look forward to going to heaven, and were encouraged to set their minds on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth ( Colossians 3 v 2 ).Is this escapism? ,no, its not,life on planet earth is something to be treasured, were we can serve our God and king,but for all of us life comes to an end, death is not a very nice thing,but it is a reality.For many in this world ,life is a struggle,so many people face injustice, persecution,the treasures on earth are temporary,but for all who trust in Jesus the glories of heaven awaits .We are told that Christ is bringing many sons and daughters to glory,( Hebrews 2 v 10),one of the last things He said to His disciples before he went back to heaven was '',I go to prepare a place for you'',(John 14 v 3 ),and in his  prayer in John 17 v 24 ,He prays,'Father ,I want those you have given me to be with me, where I am'. We will continue to look at this next time.