Don't despair . ( Romans 8 v 18 )

 In  Colossians 3 v 1- 4 ,we read ,'Since,  then , you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above , not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ  in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears , then you will appear with him in glory.' These words run contrary to those who say, that being heavenly minded, makes us of no earthly use. My mind often turns to my homeland, no I am not talking about Ireland, I am talking about heaven, were my Saviour is ,I want to leave with you the words of what once was a popular song, it is called ,'It will be worth it all when we see Jesus'.

                                     Sometimes the day seems long, our trials are hard to bear,

                                     We are tempted to complain, to murmur  and complain.

                                      But Christ will soon appear, to catch his bride away.

                                     All tears forever over ,in God's eternal day.

                                     It will be worth it all when we see Jesus!

                                     Life's trials will seem so small, when  we see Christ,

                                     One glimpse of his dear face, all sorrow will erase ,

                                     So , bravely run the race, till we see Christ.

                                     

Not just listening ( Matthew 7 v 24 - 27 )

 Often when I challenges people from the pulpit ,it comes back to challenge me, it easy be it from from the pulpit or wherever to challenge people without taking up the challenge oneself. In James 1 v 22, we read,' Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive  yourselves. Do what it says'. Our Saviour said, ' But everyone who hears these word of mine and does not put them into practice is a foolish man, who built his on sand. The rain came down, the streams arose, and the wind blew and beat  against that house, and it fell with a crash'. Matthew 7 v 26 - 27 .  I am sure you have heard of the sin of omission, were we do  nothing, like those who hear the  gospel, and don't do anything about it ,that's disastrous. If we are Christians ,it is not enough to compliment the preacher on his sermon, rather the question is what will we do with what he said, or I should say what God has said through him?. I wonder are you one of Gods obedient children, or one his disobedient Children?

                                                        A short prayer.  

                              'Render my obedience to thy will holy, natural and delightful,

                               Let me never undervalue or neglect any part of thy revealed

                               will. in Jesus name Amen.   ( Words from ,'The valley of vision) 

                       

Panic. ( Psalm 27 v 13 - 14 )

 The great prophet Isaiah lived at times of great change, the nation of Israel had split, there was a gradually decline in their relationship with God.. Eventually  things would become so bad, that both the two lots would  became known as Israel also called Ephraim, they were made up of 10 tribes. Then we have Judah and Benjamin, although the Benjamin rarely gets a mention. Isaiah  ministered in Judah, through very difficult times, Judah was a very small country and came under threat many times ,from Israel and Syria, they were uncertain times. So God spoke to the prophet and the people, and hear is what he says ,'Do not fear what they fear',     Isaiah 8 v 12.    They were not to be alarmed, many were,   but they were to have confidence in God, to have faith to believe that God was able to save them.   When the pandemic came panic took over, the shelves in the supermarket soon emptied, so easy to panic, as the disciples did in the storm Mark 4 v 40. They were really afraid, they had no faith, today let us not  live in fear of anything, let us, have confidence in our God, to undertake for us, He has promised he will Psalms 23 /121/ 

Finish . ( 2 Corinthians 12 v 9 )

I wonder how many jobs ,have remained unfinished, how many university courses have not been completed, there is no end of things that have been left   unfinished. When I attended Bible college there were some students who did not finish the course, because of financial reasons. I said to someone recently that the Christian life is one of life's greatest challenges, Jesus made it clear that there is a cost  in following him, and there is, the old term ,the perseverance of the saints says it all .Perseverance means making a continual effort to do or achieve something  despite difficulties, failures or opposition , having a steadfastness. Read the life of the apostle Paul, don't compare yourself to him, but nevertheless we like him, are called to persevere .There are many challenges in life, moral, physical, mental and spiritual ,there will always be temptations, they  do not lessen with age. Everyday brings the ongoing challenges ,to  be faithful,  holy, loving ,forgiving, to be like Jesus. Yes we will at times fail, falter, and fall, but still we must press on, go on , strive on. The question we may often ask ourselves is how? , yes how,? Hebrews 12 v 1 -3 ,encourages us to get rid of the things that will hinder us, whatever  they may be, to persevere, to keep our eyes on Jesus, and follow in his footstep, to glory.

Bow the knee. ( 2 ) ( Proverbs 3 v 5 - 6 )

 So all things will be new, but what about now?, I know for many Christians ,life is not easy ,physical limitations, mental illness, and so it goes on, I heard this Christian song recently, written by Chris and Diane Machen, here is part of this song, it is called .'Bow the knee '.

                       There are days when clouds surround us, and the rain begins to fall,

                        The cold and lonely winds won't cease to blow,

                         And there seems to be no reason  for the suffering we feel,

                         We are tempted  to believe God does not know,

                         When the storms arise, don't forget ,we live by faith, and not by sight.

                         Trust the heart of your father, when the answer goes beyond 

                          What you cannot see 'Bow the knee',

                          Lift your eyes toward heaven, and believe the One who holds eternity,

                           And when you don't understand the purpose of His plan,

                           In the presence of the King, 'Bow the knee'.

                   

Will you be there? ( Colossians 1 v 27 )

 A  famous actor said this about death, ''Come on ,there is greater adventures beyond'', the writer of Peter Pan ,has Peter saying a similar thing. I would like to think that will be so, though I  don't speculate  on this  as we really don't know. I am sure of this ,that whatever eternity hold for those who know Christ as Saviour it will be wonderful, Before our Saviour went to heaven, he  assured us that he has gone to prepare  a place for us, John 14 v 3. Some take this to mean, that through his death on the cross he would be preparing a place for us in heaven. Of course there is a truth in that ,for without His death on the cross no one could go to heaven. For through that death ,our sins can be forgiven ,let me stress ,unless we trust  Jesus and so have our sins  forgiven we can never go to heaven, one writer comments ,'Those who will not lay aside the evil of their ways are barred from heaven', Rev 21 v 27. I am sure when Jesus  said he was going to prepare a place for us we can accept that at face value, it is Morris  who writes the following, 'Nothing is said about the nature of the place that Christ prepares. It is sufficient for the believer that he will be with his Lord' ,in other words, where Jesus is, it will  be Heaven there.

All things will be new. ( 1 ) ( Revelation 21 v 1 / v5 )

 When I was  young and went to school, we used to have what was called an eraser, it was a piece of rubber that we used for removing mistakes written with a pencil ,or a pen. Someone wrote ,wouldn't it be great go a. land of beginning again, if only, but it cannot happen. Yes  we have been forgiven which is wonderful, but for  some the scars remain, the pain remains, if only it were not so, we cannot erase them or go to the  land of beginning again. that's a fact. When  I think of heaven, and when we arrive there, all  will be new, no longer will any child of God  have to live with their past, the scars will be removed ,totally erased. Never again can anybody hurt us, never again will we suffer, all that will be, in the past ,we will no longer live with  the shadow of the past hanging over us. no longer having to cope ,we will  be completely set free, no longer have those awful flashbacks, nightmares, fears, painful memories, no longer feel crippled inside, no longer having to put on a front, and pretend that you are alright. Yes all things will be new, we will be new, and we  will live in an new heaven and a new earth. Yes something to look forward to ,in the meanwhile, we will continue that the next time.