What is it worth?. ( John 3 v 16 )

    Thomas Brooks  said the following, ''The soul of man is worth more than a thousand  worlds'', It must be when you consider the length that God went to, to save mankind's never dying  soul. Consider  who hung on that cross, Jesus the Son of God, The one who thought it not robbery to be equal with God, the one by whom all things came into being ( Colossians 1 v 15 - 17 ), superior to angel who are called to worship Him ( Hebrews 1 v 8 ), superior than Moses ( Hebrews 3 ). Consider what Christ had to do, something that we would find impossible, He had to live a perfect life, never to think a wrong thought ,say a wrong word, and never yield to any temptation, we think it is normal to sin, we say no one is perfect, or has ever been perfect ,but not so, for we read in Hebrews 4 v 15 that Jesus was tempted in every way, just as we are- yet He did not sin. This is a very important point  in relation to our salvation, for on the cross he was dying for sin, not His ,for He had none, but ours. 1 Peter  2 v 24. Then there was His death ,death by crucifixion, One writer comments,' No death was more excruciating, more contemptible, than crucifixion' the Romans used it as a deterrent against any revolt by slaves, as one Roman said , 'it is only by means of terror that they could coerce such scum'. And yet we read that Jesus in order to save us, became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Philippians 2 v 8.Because as Thomas Brooks said, 'The soul of Man is worth more than a thousand worlds'.

                                               Dying for me, Dying for me,

                                                He was dying for me,

                                                Gone my transgressions,

                                                 And now I am free,

                                                 All because Jesus was wounded 

                                                  for me.   ( Words  W. G. J. Ovens.)

We have a choice. ( 2 Corinthians 5 v 16 - 17 )

 I like history, it helps me understand certain present situations, I found the writings of  Martin Luther King ,JR, enlightening, and as I look at present day America ,that many people are still prisoners of their past. As indeed the land from which I come from, prisoners of their past, and so I wonder will things ever change?. I suppose things could change, if  , yes if,  what you add to that if?,  one could say a number of things, like stop  living  in the past, it is futile to live in the past, it stops people moving on.  It is sad that many Christians in the past were sucked into being racist ,and  at the time of the Nazi party, some  Christian went along with it. We cannot change what went on in the past, we do not need to be prisoners of our past. Be it as nations or individuals, Christ came to set us free from our past, first of all to forgive our past sins, everyone can be forgiven, every sin we have ever committed can be forgiven. Not only that ,He can set us free from the wrong way we think, we need no longer  be racist,   violent, abusive, or whatever  . The word of God tells us that we can have a whole new life , consider the following,' Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah ( Christ) gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone;  a new life burgeons!. (These words are  based on 2 Corinthians 5 v 16 - 17 )

 

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Charitable ( Romans 1 v 18 )

 Chuck Colson was asked one time, what was wrong?, he replied,'' Those in leadership don't know right from wrong''. I once said to my minister that homosexuality was a sin, he replied ,'that's your opinion.' It was not a opinion ,it is a sin CP 1 Corinthians 6 v 9,that is what the word of God says, it was  not my opinion. The same minister challenged a member of the church who agreed with God's word ,and  accused her of being uncharitable. What that minister was basing his views  on, was not the word of God, but on his opinion. Societies  morals are not guided  by God's word, that is a fact , but  Christian ministers should  . God who is holy, is not in any degree charitable towards that which is sinful. We as Christians should not be charitable also as regards sin, as Christians we should  know what is right , and what is wrong, we should be guided by scripture alone, not our flawed  human rationale. So that's that,? no ,although God is not charitable towards sin, He is forgiving, if we acknowledge our sins, confess our sins ,forsake our sins, and trust Jesus as our Saviour, then we will be saved, we will not go to hell ,but to heaven.

                                                         There is a way back to God

                                                          from the dark paths of sin.

                                                          There is a door that is open,

                                                          and we can go in.

                                                           Calvary's cross is where we begin,

                                                           When we come as a sinner to

                                                                         JESUS.

Wine, women, and song. ( John 10 - 7 -10 )

He is into drugs, alcohol, and sex, so his father  told me, it's like he is possessed  with a unquenchable thirst . He suffers from severe mental illness, his marriage is finished, to say the least , things will not get any better, although he is filling his life with drugs, alcohol, and sex he is running on empty.   Our Saviour told the story of a young man, we know him as the prodigal son, a young man ,like many young men, and women. We read about this  young man in Luke 15 v 11 ff  , he wanted his independence, he wanted to be free, he wanted so much to enjoy life, to taste the sweet life, in the end it all turned pretty sour. His dream became a nightmare, and instead of being filled satisfaction, his life reflected the words of an old Rolling Stone  song, 'I can't get  no satisfaction, I can't get no satisfaction. Cause I try, and I try, and I try, and I try, I  can't get no, I can't get no'.  There is an old hymn , the words go like this,

                                                   O Christ, in Thee my soul hath found,

                                                    And found in Thee alone,

                                                     The peace, the joy, I sought so long,

                                                     The bliss till now unknown.

Hope ( Romans 5 v 1 - 11)

I heard Chuck Swindoll say recently ,that he was not sure having an explanation about everything, helps. Lets face it, so many things that happen cannot be explained,  why did did my young wife die ,leaving me with four grieving children?. I don't know, but God's word tells me that God works everything for my good Romans 8 v28,  and indeed for my wife's good. I suppose what we do want is hope, in a  a world , where the virus is killing so many people. yes we need,  'Hope'. Let me share with you what Derek Tidball wrote, ''The fact ,after the crucifixion, Jesus was both raised and glorified, leaves us in no doubt that the ransom price God provided  was sufficient. The power of His  life burst the chains that sought to bind Him in death, and that  subjected us to futility without any possibility of escape. Consequently , we believers are now a people of hope, not meandering  through a senseless wasteland, but journeying through this world with a sense of direction and destiny''

My Rock. ( Psalm 61 )

 In the OT ,God is referred to as being a Rock, in Isaiah 30 v29,we have Him, referred to a the as the ,'Rock of Israel', CP  2 Samuel 23 v 3/Isaiah 17 v10/ Deuteronomy 32 v 4 /18 / 37. In 1 Corinthians 10 v 4 ,and Matthew 16 v 16- 18. Christ is referred to as a Rock, which reminds us that Christ is divine ,God manifest in the flesh, the 'God Man'.  Leupold commenting on the ,'Rock of Israel', writes.' The emphasis lies on the sure and immovable foundation that the Lord  provides for all that put their trust in him'. During the time of Isaiah Judah was being threatened by a world power, Assyria, instead of trusting in their God ,they sought the help of Egypt .They were condemned for this, that is the challenge we face, as new covenant Israelites, the question is ,will we make the same mistake as the Israel of old?. God will use means to help us, but never let us  trust in the means, and there will be times in our lives when we have no means to help us , let us trust God our Rock.

                                              How oft in the conflict, when

                                              pressed by the foe,

                                              I have fled to my refuge, and

                                             breathed out my woe;

                                             How often, when trials, like

                                             sea billows roll,

                                             Have I hidden in Thee, O Thou

                                             Rock of my soul!  ( Words by William O. Cushing)

Giving ( Mark 12 v 41 )

In Marks gospel 12 v  41 - 46 ,we have recorded  a lovely and meaningful account of when our dear Saviour went to the temple, and he sat  down opposite the place where the offerings  for the temple were put in. Mark tells how the rich people  threw in large amounts. Then he mentions how a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins ,worth only a few pence. She was not only poor but a window ,so she was very poor. Then Mark  records what our Saviour said,'' This poor widow has put  more into the treasury than all the others, They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of poverty, put in everything- all  she had to live on. Fyodor Dostoyevsky has written these helpful comments.

                                 Never say, I don't give alms because I  have so little

                                 God sees the meaning of the heart not the size of  the 

                                 gift. Our Saviour treasured the widows gift even 

                                 though it was small. Therefore, measure your alms

                                 with the same measurement  God uses to measure

                                 you. Although  your  contribution may be small, 

                                 God will not forget it.