Amazing ( Philippians 2 v 5 - 11)

It was J.B. Phillip's who wrote  the following fantasy,'  A senior angel  is showing a very young angel around the splendors of the universe  ,all those billions of stars and whirling galaxies . As the two drew near to the star we call our sun and its circling planets, the senior angle pointed  to a small and rather insignificant sphere turning very slowly on its axis, It looked as dull as a dirty tennis ball to the little angel, whose mind was filled with the size and glory of  what he had seen. ''I want you to watch that one in particular'', said the senior angel, pointing with his finger. ''Well it looks very small and rather dirty to me'', said the little angel. ''What's special about that one?'', To that little angel, earth did not seem so impressive. He listened in stunned belief  as the senior angel told him that this planet, small and insignificant and not  overly clean , was the renowned  Visited Planet.  Do you mean that our great and glorious Prince went down  in person to this fifth -rate little ball ?. Why should He do a thing like that? The little  angel's face  wrinkled in disgust,'' Do you mean to tell me, that He stooped so low to become  one of those creeping, and crawling  creatures of that floating ball? I do, and I  don't think He would like you to call them , creeping , crawling creatures in that tone of voice. For strange as it may seem to us, He loves them. He  went down to visit  them to lift them up to become like Him.'' The  little angel looked blank. Such a thought was almost  beyond his comprehension.

                                                         John 3 v16   

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten  Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish  but  have eternal life.

A grace gift. ( 2 Corinthians 9 v 15 )

 Here  is a ,not so happy thought, is Santa  a sinner ?, I wish I hadn't  said that, now I will not receive any Christmas presents.  I don't want to disillusion any body, but I read this recently, 'Just because someone is older and is a mall Santa from time to time, doesn't mean  they are not capable of terrible  things.' For many people , like Santa ,Christ is just for Christmas, Santa surely is, but we know ,I hope  that the Coke Cola Santa is not real, but Christ is real, he is not just  a Hollywood invention. He is God's gift to this world ,yes I said a gift, no charge, just express your need to God ,and you will receive the  gift of gifts As He enters your life, all your sins will be forgiven, money cannot buy that wonderful grace gift ,and your life will be transformed forever. 

                                             Like a  blind man, who walked in the darkness,

                                             I had longed, I had searched for the light,

                                             Then I met the Master,  

                                              Now I walk no more in the night.

                                              For all things were changed, when He found me,

                                               A  new day broke through all around me,

                                               For I met the Master ,now I belong to Him.

                                                          Words / Booth Brothers.

Have you made a will yet ? ( 2 Corinthians 6 v 2 )

The famous novelist Agatha Christie writing in one of  her books, of a rich elderly woman who died, and had not made a will. the lawyer a Mr  Seddon dealing with her affairs comments,'' Mrs  Welman always meant to make a will, but  tomorrow was always a better day to make  it than today, she kept telling  herself that there was plenty of time'' It is called procrastination , here are other words for procrastination , dally, dawdle, delay. lag, loiter. no matter what they are called, they simple mean  putting of  till  tomorrow, what should be done today. Most wives know all about this, they remind their dear husbands  of  jobs to be done, only to be told,'' I will do it tomorrow'', and of course , tomorrow never comes. Now on a more serious note ,if you read my blog regularly, you know how often  I have stressed the importance of trusting Jesus . I do this because, I love you, and  I know the consequences of  dying without Christ , for  God's word tells us that after the death the judgement ( Hebrews 9 v  27 ). Yes  judgement  ,if  you have not trusted Jesus to be your Saviour  and asked him to forgive you, your sins,  you will go a lost eternity, Christ the Saviour  will be your judge and He will  say to you, ''Depart from me, you who are cursed; into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his  angels''  ( Matthew  25 v 41 ). Can you blame me for trying to warn you of the importance of trusting Jesus now, please , ask Jesus to be your Saviour now, before it is to late.

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.