Eternity ( Hebrews 9 v 27 - 28 )

 A novelist , in one of her books, has a character who will not stoop to do certain things that others do, '' I  know'', she said,''that some day the great thing will come into my life, and I want to keep myself fit to take it''. William Barclay said,'' We must live forever in the shadow of eternity'',  everyone who has ever lived and who will live, will enter the eternal realms, and stand before God. For the many they will not have made any preparation for that moment, they never really give it to much thought. During their life time, the wrath of God lay upon them, John 3 v 36,there in eternity they will realise what that means, no pleading, no tears will change that, no excuses will cut any ice with God, as his justice is declared, they will be sentenced ,not for a certain amount of  time, for time as we know it ,will no longer be. Forever they will exist ,in utter loneliness, utter hopelessness, utter despair. Is it not time that you started thinking about eternity, and trust Jesus to save you?, before it is to late.

Coming Home. ( Luke 15 v 11 - 24 )

 I was greatly encouraged when I heard Charles Swindoll say,'that he had never met parents ,who did everything right'. Why should it encourage me? ,because one my biggest regrets is ,I made more  than my fair share of mistakes,when bringing up my children for which I am truly sorry.The good thing is the boys have grown to be fine men, in spite of my mistakes. I of course have made many other mistakes in life,no end of them,but then who hasn't made mistakes, I am reminded of that popular song by Edith Piaf, which goes,'No,no regrets,No I will have no regrets'. I am not sure what she means by that,but most us have regrets,take buying a car,what can you do with regrets? try not to make them again. learn from them, but we must not let them rule us. What is the biggest mistake I ever made?,I would say it was when I went away from the Lord,there are no advantages in doing that. In those away years I took on habits, and accumulated mind sets that were not good,did things, I should not have done.Was I still saved ? only God knows,what I do know is , God in his mercy restored me to Himself,and that has made a profound difference to my life,for the better.There is an old hymn by W.T.Kirkpatrick,which reads,'I've wandered far away from God , now I'm coming home. The path of sin too long I've trod,Lord I'm coming home. Could that be you?, is it not time for you to come home?.

Loneliness . ( 2 Timothy 4 v 16 - 18)

 Seemingly one of the saddest things during this coronavirus is loneliness, this is not surprising,God himself said it was not good for man to be alone. In this overcrowded planet,it is sad that there are so many lonely people,I am reminded of words from the Beatles song Eleanar Rigby,'all the lonely people ,where do they all come from?. The ,Lonely Hearts Club is full,the fact is, we are social beings, in  the 1950's there was a popular song ,and it began ,'When you 've got friend and neighbours, all the world is a happier place  .Friends and neighbours ,puts a smile on the gloomist face'. But times have changed,in many ways ,we seldom if ever, enter our neighbours homes.Now we have the coronavirus,and people are more isolated, and lonely,not just the old,it is affecting people of all ages.Is there an answer,a way that people can be helped?, many people are buying a pet,the sale of dogs have increased greatly,I am sure this can help.I have felt loneliness in my life ,that has eased,with me,as I have grown older.my relationship with God   greatly helps, after all as a Christian ,we sing what a friend we have in Jesus,that's true,he is a wonderful friend. Unfortunately for the vast amount of people He is shut out of their lives,I wonder could it be, that one the things God is speaking to us about,is, His importance?.We seek everything ,and everyone and we don't seek Him, the Bible says ,'seek the Lord while he may be found,call upon him,while he is near',why don't you do that?.

Mince pies ( Luke 8 v 26 - 35 )

In the U K ,mince pies are very popular,they go back a long time,in Tudor times they were made of 13 ingredients,representing Jesus and the 12 apostles,later mutton was added to represent the shepherds. Modern mince pies have no meat in them,instead they are filled with,dried fruit and spices. A woman who tested the different supermarkets mince pies, she said this about her favourite ,'' I tested  Aldi's   mince pies,they are the best, and they changed my life'' I think she is, to say the least,exaggerating,they may change her figure,but I can assure you they will not change her life or anybodies life. I know someone who can change ones life,his name is Jesus,and when you trust him ,you will not put on weight,you will lose weight.and the weight I am speaking of ,is the burden of your sins,and the guilt that goes along with them, millions have trusted Jesus as their Saviour,and the result was, their lives were changed,they were made anew. In  2 Corinthians 5 v 17,we read, 'Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation,old things have passed away;  behold , all things have become new'.

24/7 ( 2 ) Temptation (1 Corinthians 10 v 13 )

We finished yesterday thinking about the obstacles we face,now lets consider the temptation we will face,I want to highlight 6 things  ( 1 ) Don't put yourself in temptations way, remember humanity is very prone to addiction,and all addiction start with one look,one thought,one action.When Joseph was tempted by a woman ,he ran for dear life ( Genesis 39 v 11),in other words don't run into temptation run away from it.  (2 ) Don't think you will not yield,Samson was a strong man,he yielded to a  pretty woman,and he lost his sight, and his freedom .1 Corinthians 10 v 12  ,reads,'Let him that thinketh  he standeth take heed lest he fall'. ( 3 )Don't be fooled with the temptation,remember all that glitters is not gold, remember the  forbidden fruit ,yes it was pleasing to the eye ( Gen 3 v 6)  ( 4 ) Don't think you are to old to be tempted,  Frances of Assisi said,''Expect temptation to your last breath''. ( 5 ) Don't go asleep,when Jesus had  prayed in the garden of Gethsemane,he came to the disciples and he found them asleep,and he said to them,'Get up and pray so that you may not fall into temptation''. ( Luke 22 v 46 )  ( 6 ) Don't be afraid,the Lord is with us ,he knows how weak we are,and how prone we are  to fall into sin (which we all do),remember temptation is not a sin,it is yielding to it, that is a sin. If we do yield,let us repent and seek forgiveness, CP  1 John 1 v 9 .

24/7 ( 1) Psalm 46 .

 When I was younger I had two jobs one was full time ,the other part time,when you become a Christian,  we have to realize that it is full  time, 24/7 ,fifty two weeks of the year. It is a commitment ,we are always on duty,come what may,when I was a young lad ,I joined the army boy service,I signed on for 9 years,actually I only did nine months,I got discharged ,but when you are a  Christian you sign on for  life , you don't get discharged. Of course being a Christian is not a life time prison sentence,no, it is  the road of freedom,and the blessings are many,but also the challenges are many. It is a life of holiness,  a life  of faithfulness,a life where we are faced with obstacles,,and temptations,that will not change.The obstacles  that we meet are meant to be overcome,and when we don't overcome them  we must persevere,failure is not a get out clause,there are lessons to be learnt from our failures.Our sinful proud hearts are challenged,and we are made to realise how much we need God.The man who struggled with a severe disability ,could say, I can do all all things through Christ who strengthens me ( Philippians 4 v 13) We  will consider this further tomorrow.

Light and darkness. ( 1 Corinthians 15 v 3 - 4 )

 Francis of Assisi said ,''All the darkness of the world cannot extinguish a single candle'',Jesus said ',I  Am the light of the world '', ( John 8 v 12),and so He was ,and so He is. It is in John 1 v 4 - 5,writing of  Jesus it says ,'In him was life,and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness,and the darkness has not overcome it'.Consider the opposition that Jesus had to contend with, at his birth  ,Herod sought to murder him. when he commenced his ministry Satan,sought to tempt him to sin, when he visited his home town and spoke in the synagogue,the crowds tried to kill him. Also in John 10 v 31,we read that the people took up stones to stone him,then Peter sought to stop him from fulfilling  his destiny ,again Satan had an influence in this. ( Matthew 16 v 22 - 23 )Then we move on to our dear Saviours last hours, when Judas  would betray him, influenced by Satan ( Luke 22 v 3 ).The darkness was increasing in its intensity, for mankind, who loves darkness rather that the light , were intent in destroying  Him who is the light of the world,so they crucified him.But praise God they did not succeed. For on that cross ,he defeated Satan, his death accomplished a salvation that would save mankind from the wrath of God, by experiencing Gods wrath for us..Sins could be forgiven,for all who trust him to be their Saviour.But that's not all ,on the third day he arose from the dead.,yes the darkness could not extinguish the light.