That makes all the difference. ( Isaiah 50 v 10 )

It was the poet Longfellow  who wrote,' Some  days must be dark and dreary', of course we may agree, but we may not like it. As regards the weather in this country it is dark and dreary, but I know the sun shall eventually break through the gloom. Dark  and dreary can also  apply to our situation, we read as regards Judas ,who went out  to betray Jesus, that 'it was night',( John 13 v 30 ) at that moment it was for Judas, the darkest and most dreary  night of his whole life, and it would not get any better. In spite of scripture  telling us clearly how many of God 's choicest servants had dark and dreary days, they write words like,' now I am happy all the day'. I feel we must tell it as it is ,we are not stoics our moods can change, in 2 Corinthians 1  v  8 ,the apostle tells us that he and other were facing such trouble that they felt crushed ,overwhelmed, and felt they were going to die. Ecclesiastes 3 tells us ,'that there is time to weep , and a time to laugh'. In that lovely hymn ,'I will sing the wondrous story', by  F.H. Rawley,  he writes, 'Days of darkness still may meet me, sorrow's path  I oft may tread', but he does not stop there, he goes unto write,' But His presence still is with me, by  His  guiding hand I'm led'. This is the secret of the Christian life, the presence of the living Lord , who is with us at all times, to bring us through lives changing scene, and let me assure you, that makes all the difference

If that isn't love . ( Isaiah 53 )

 Now what about this child?, it should  have  been no surprise to the Jews, for the coming  of this child was foretold ,about 700 yrs BC , In Isaiah 9 v 6 - 7, it begins,' For unto us a child is born , to us a son is given',  and then it what he would be called, 'Wonderful  Counsellor, Mighty God,' we will stop there and consider that, he would be the Mighty God. Consider the mystery in those words, look again at the baby, in his book , ' The Jesus I  never  knew, Philip Yancey writes ,' The Messiah who showed up, wearing the glory of humility , '' God is great,' cry the Moslems,' that is  true, but as N . Figgis comments'' , '' That GOD  is little''. is amazing, this was non other than God in human flesh ,no wonder the wise men worshipped Him. Why had he come, to establish an earthly kingdom, no  ( John 18 v 36 ), He came to die on a cross ,for through his death ,sin the greatest blight on every human being ,could be forgiven, if he had stayed in heaven, and not died on that cross we could never  be forgiven. It is said it was not the nails  that kept him  on the cross, but his love for you and me. As regards saving the planet, well  I am not an environmentalist, but  what  I do know is ,that mankind needs a saviour  and that Saviour is Jesus.

                                              He left the splendour of heaven  , 

                                              Knowing His destiny, 

                                              That lonely hill of Golgotha,

                                               There to lay down his life for me.

                                               If that isn't love, the ocean is dry,

                                               There's no stars in the sky,

                                               And the sparrow can't fly,

                                               If that isn't love. then heavens a myth,

                                               There's no feeling like this,

                                                If that isn't love.  ( Words by Bill and Gloria Gaither )

                                                

                                               

The truth of the gospel. ( 2 ) ( Ephesians 2 v 8 - 9 )

 Continuing on from yesterday, as regards a church that was turning away from  the gospel. The good news, it  is not Christ plus, it is Christ only ,the moment one adds unto the gospel ,it is no longer good news,   it becomes invalid. There are people who believe that they must do something to save themselves, they would profess to believe  in Christ ,but insist on adding something extra, they are  in error, and they will never be saved. It may be circumcision , baptism ,good works, sabbath keeping, door knocking, church attendance, keeping the commandments. Anything you add to the gospel , is destroying the gospel, in fact it becomes another gospel, which in fact is not a gospel. The apostle Paul said the  following ,''May I never boast  except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, ( Galatians 6 v 14 ) , Christ death on the cross is sufficient to save us completely, when we add to it we  are taking away from it. If you have trusted Jesus as your Saviour ,do not sell out to those who tell you must add on ,don't be fooled. It is never  a matter of you trying harder, but a matter of faith and faith alone in Christ, that saves.' Nothing in my hands I bring , Simply to thy cross I cling; Naked, come to Thee for dress; Helpless,  look to Thee for grace; Foul , I to the fountain  fly; Wash me Saviour, or  I die'.  ( Words by A. G. Toplady )

The truth of the Gospel { 1 } { Galatians 1 v 6 - 10 }

 Imagine  a young person who was  rescued from a abusive situation ,and adopted  into a loving caring family, and then imagine that same young person leaving that loving family ,and going back into that abusive situation. It does not make sense, the loving  family are devastated, why they ask themselves? why?. Then  consider the great apostle Paul hearing that a  Church that had come into being under his ministry, were now turning back, why/?.  It is in his letter to the Galatians we discover the reason , they were forsaking the truth, for error. When  we forsake  truth we are forsaking God, for God is a God of truth, and he expects those who follow him , to hold fast for the truth  especially  the truth of the gospel. After all it is only the truth of the gospel that can save us. It appears that  people  ,they are called, the circumcision party , did two things ,they poisoned the minds of the church  against Paul. If they had succeeded in this  they  would have undermined Pauls teaching, and ministry. What were they teaching ?,they were Jews who  taught that Christ and his finished work on Calvary was not enough to save ,a person.  They taught  that one had to be circumcised, to be a real Christian, in other words they  had to become legalistic Jews.  This basically is what the letter to the Galatians is about ,this is as relevant now, as it was then , as we see next time.

God does test us . (2} ( Romans 8 v 28 )

 Yes, God  does test us, I suppose the question is why ?. Consider Job who was a very godly man, and so why did he suffer?. People who suffer often say or even think , what have I done to deserve this  ?. Jobs suffering was very severe, he lost all his  children, all his possessions, and  his health, it appeared to have happened very quickly, one blow after another.  He had three friends ,well sort of, you have heard the term Jobs comforters  , when you use that term as regards someone being a Jobs comforter, you mean they are the very opposite to that. Basically  they all said it was Jobs fault , that he was suffering, because he had sinned. Of course like all of us he was a sinner, but Job had not done anything to warrant or cause the evil that had befallen him.  They were wrong ,there are still  Jobs comforters about, beware of them,  Job was not being punished for any sin he had committed, but he was being tested. Satan was attacking him , seeking to prove that he only trusted God because of  the blessing he had bestowed on him. So God permitted the devil to afflict him, and that he did, I believe he came through that test successfully. There is  a lot of suffering in this world , Christians are not  immune from suffering, could be that you are suffering, will you pass that test ?,will you  trust God in your times of trials? In the midst of his trials Job said,'' Though  he slay me , yet  I will trust Him ''.  ( Job  13 v  15 ) ' Judge not the Lord  by feeble sense,  but trust Him  for  His grace; Behind a frowning  providence , He hides a smiling face.'  ( Words by William  Cowper )

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Be good ( Romans 2 v 7 - 11 )

The apostle  Paul  in Ephesians  1 v 4 / v 11, tells us how God  has chosen us unto salvation ,and   writes that  we  should be holy and blameless, and in 4 v 1,that we should walk worthy of that calling. With privilege comes responsibility ,our lives must reflect are calling ,commenting on this  C , Swindoll says ,''Our response to election should be like Queen  Victoria's reaction when she realized  she would one day be queen;  When she was young , Victoria was shielded from the fact that  she would be the next ruling monarch of England lest this knowledge spoil her. When her teacher finally  did let her discover for herself that she would be Queen of England, Victoria's response was, ''Then I will be good''. C S , continues, 'The fact that God has chosen us for salvation in Christ  should not cause us to boast;  it should  drive us to humility. It should  not make us live loose lives; it should  motivate  us to ''be good'' that is, to conduct ourselves in holiness and blamelessness before Him'. As a parent ,what did we often say to our children , ''be good'', so our loving heavenly Father says to his children ,'' be good''.

Change. ( Psalm 48 v 14 )

We live in a world of change, I am not the good looking young man I used to be, now I am the good looking old man, the mirror does not lie.( my little joke ).But the fact is most of us do not like change , for instance, moving home , country, job ,you may be reallocated, children moving school. Just  at this moment I  am working on my new laptop, I know it is for the best, the last one was old and needed to be replaced, but because I  am not sure of the new one, I struggle with that. Now for any of you who have moved, or about to move, whither it is to a new house, a new job, a new school, country etc, Here is what God would say to you,  'Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord  your God will be with you wherever you go. '   ( Joshua 1 v  9 ).