Whose is in control?. ( Isaiah 40 v 21 -26 )

 R. V. G. Tasker in his introduction to the book of Revelation, Writes the following ,'It is of the utmost importance for modern man that he does not lose touch with eternal realities so stressed in Revelation'. There are days when the decisions of the great powers have far reaching  effects on ordinary men and women. We may have no great interest in ideologies, yet find that our  lives are affected by decisions reached in Moscow or  in Washington , decisions in which we have no  voice, nor conceivably  could have. Are we  then no more than pawns caught up in a great ideological conflict? . Is there something demonic  about evil forces which even our  most  powerful  statesmen  seem unable to to control ?'. Who is in control?. The book of Revelation answers the question in chapter 19 v 6, 'For our Lord God Almighty  reigns'. God is sovereign, only the eye of faith  can see this, if you are child of God, remember He is working everything out for your good . ( Romans 8 v 28 ). If you are not child of God then all may appear, as if no one is in control, but you are wrong.

Alone. ( John 5 v 39 - 40 )

 One of my favourite movies is the ,' The Quite Man', about a man returning to his homeland. But of course it is a movie, directed by that wonderful director John Ford, it  is there to entertain. But  Ireland the country I love has a dark side ,historically divided, by politics and religion, which continues in the north  festering  on like an open sore, and one despairs that it will never be resolved. From the founding of the Irish Free State, the Roman Catholic Church, held great power ,and still have to this day. When I think of Catholicism, I have great problems with their teaching, on the virgin Mary ,the Mass, the Priesthood, the Papacy, and there teaching that one is not saved by faith alone in the finished work of Christ. All these things do not line up with scripture, and of course when a so called Church or individual ,adds on or takes away from the scripture, that creates great problems .leading to so many things that are wrong. You start to change the unchangeable revelation of God, and clear truths ,that are taught therein. The cry of  the reformation was, 'Faith Alone,' and ,'Scripture Alone', there is much more one could write, let me end by saying, let the word of God be your guide .The scriptures reveal to us Christ , who alone can save us ,and  the scriptures will show us how to live, as a follower of Christ.

                                                       Lord, Thy word abideth,

                                                       And our footsteps guideth;

                                                       Who its truth believeth,

                                                        Light and joy receiveth.

                                                          ( Words H.W.Baker)

 

A delightful old man. ( 1 Corinthians 15 v 10 )

 That lovely hymn by Harriet Auber about the Holy Spirit, has a verse that goes,

                                                 And every virtue we possess,

                                                 And every victory won,

                                                 And every thought of holiness,

                                                 Are His alone.

Recently I had a hospital visit, everything appeared alright, after a while I received a copy of the report that went to my GP., The opening words read ,' Thank you for referring this delightful  77 year old gentleman', yes believe it or not, she was writing about me. It was nice to read those words, I do not know what she found delightful, what I would say is this, if I wasn't  a Christian I would not be that delightful 77 year old man. I am not a self made man, I am an old sinner saved by the grace of God. I dread to think what I would have been, if Christ had not saved me. I do not see myself as a delightful old gentleman, but by the Holy Spirit I am a better person, than I once was, far from perfect and as we often say, I am a work in progress

                                                   To God be the glory great

                                                    things He has done.

Rubbish ( 1 Peter 2 v 1 )

Well I just heard that the rubbish collectors are going on strike for three weeks, what are we going to do with our rubbish ?. It goes without saying you don't want to keep your rubbish, after all it's rubbish, just fit to be dumped. But here's a thought, what about the rubbish we gather up in our lives?, rubbish we should have got rid off, yet we hold unto it, even though we know it's rubbish. The rubbish in our thought life, the habits, the wrong kind of friends, the wrong kind of language, the unforgiveness, covetousness . It is time  for a clear out, now the first thing you need to do is pray, here is a suitable prayer, 'Search me ,O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you. and lead me along the path of everlasting life'. Psalm 139 v 23 - 24 . And then, put actions to your words, and get rid of the rubbish.

The call ( Isaiah 6 v 8 )

You have heard of the call of the wild, but what about the call of God, could  it be that God has been speaking to you, to change the direction of your life. To go were others would not want to go, I wonder if God has an other plan for your life, than the one you have planned ?. How surprised those disciple were, when one day they heard our dear Saviour say ,'Follow Me', of course there will be a cost,  there is always  a cost in following Jesus. If it is God calling you,  you will never regret it, but there will be times when you may face difficulties ,misunderstandings, and discouragements .Here are some words by Daniel .L. Schutte.

                                                 I, The Lord of sea and sky,

                                                 I have heard my people cry;

                                                 All who dwell in dark and sin

                                                 My hand will save.

                                                 I, who made the stars of night,

                                                 I will make their darkness bright,

                                                  I will speak My word to them,

                                                  Whom shall I send?

                                                  Here I am, Lord  .

                                                  is it I Lord?

                                                  I have heard You calling in the night.

                                                  I will go Lord,

                                                  If you lead me;

                                                  I will hold Your people in my heart.

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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