One light . ( Psalm 119 v 130 )

I heard these words as I watched a Hobbit movie ,'One light in the darkness/ alone in the darkness.'  It was Jesus who said that a Christian is to be a light ( Matthew 5 v 14).and that this light should not be hidden. Spiritually the whole world is in darkness, for it it lies under the control of the evil one 1 John 5 v19.that he has blinded their minds,2 Cor 4 v 4. Not only that, they love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil.John 3 v19 .there are no innocents, none whatsoever. You can point out the truth of God to so many people,be they ever so nice,they reject it,how often I have answered my door , to be confronted by you know who, and no matter how much one would point out the truth of scripture it was  to no avail. The words of Rudyard Kipling, describes how I feel,'If you can bear the truth you've spoken ,twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools'.The worlds  darkness is manifested in a million ways,by their actions ,by their words,and by their blind obstinacy. In spite of this we must never forget that that once we were in darkness, but  by God's wonderful grace we have been rescued from the dominion  of darkness . One writer puts it like this , 'Rescued from dark dungeons', Colossians 1 v 13,and brought into the kingdom of His beloved Son'.What are we to do?, we are to shine,by our lives , with our deeds and by our speaking Gods word,, even if we are only one light .

The unexpected. ( Matthew 8 v 23 - 27 )

In Matthew 8 v 23 we read ,' Then he ( Jesus) got into the boat, and his disciples followed him', what was to follow was unexpected,let me say this ,if you follow Jesus, you must be prepared for the unexpected They were on the sea of Galilee  and a violent storm came upon them,it was so violent that it appeared to the disciples that they were going to perish,but in the midst of that storm Jesus slept. The disciples woke him with the words ,'Teacher , don't you care if we drown?', the storms cloud had affected  judgement, whatever storm Jesus brings us into ,He has not stopped caring for us.in 1 Peter 5 v 7 we read 'He cares for us', I know of one minister who was very critical of Jesus , saying that he had put in danger, yes he had brought them  into a storm ,but in essence they were in no danger,they would come through the storm, and they would be rescued from the storm. Jesus did not act straight away,He spoke  then He acted.If you are in a storm,don't panic ,listen to what your Lord has to say to you. Then He acted, and stilled the storm,the disciples were astonished,William Hendriksen comments,'That Jesus was greater by far than they had previously imagined,He exercises control not only over audiences, sickness, and demons, but even  over the the winds and the waves'.

There is a cost. ( Philippians 1 v 29 )

 In Matthew 8 v 18 we read of a man coming to Jesus, a teacher of the law, and he said to Jesus, ' Teacher I will follow you wherever you go''.I am sure this man was sincere ,but consider how he addressed our Saviour ,teacher, of course He was a teacher,the greatest that ever lived, but He was more than a teacher. There are those who seek to live out the teaching of Jesus, and don't know  Him as Saviour and Lord,  many people pray the Lord's prayer who don't know the Lord. Consider what Jesus replied, 'Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of  Man has nowhere to lay  His head'.I leave comments by W. Hendriksen,' The path of the disciple is not a bed of roses.It is said at the time of the Civil War ( U.S) there were many volunteers who eagerly joined the ranks, as if  going to war meant nothing more than taking part  in parades, drills, and reviews, and receiving medals and honors'. Every day in so many countries Christians are suffering dreadfully,we also must remember  the words of our Saviour in Matthew 16 v 24,''Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Me''.

                                                    The way of the cross leads home.

Yes even the worst.( 1 Corinthians 6 v 9 - 11 )

 I am sure most of us know someone whose life is out of control,their lives are in a mess ,could be they are in and out of prison,or they are always breaking the rules,they are just hopeless cases.You would not want them as friends,or to associate with them,for they are just trouble.Let me tell you about a man of renown, the late Ian Paisley, that fiery minister of religion ,who also became a leading politician in Northern Island, a very controversial person. A friend of mine heard him speaking  on you tube,he spoke of his younger days when he would do personal evangelism, knocking on doors telling people about Christ, not many responded, except one, an notorious alcoholic,the change in this man was dramatic,the change was so dramatic that it spoke to many people,and  they started attending church,and many of them trusted Jesus as Saviour. We are all sinners,we all need  Jesus as Saviour, we should rule no one out ,as those who are so bad,they could never be saved.Who would ever thought that the thief on the cross would trust Jesus ,but he did,or a woman who was notorious for the many husbands, would trust Jesus , but she did,and who would ever thought a man whose life was possessed with evil spirits,would trust Jesus, but he did.

                                                          Christ Jesus came into the world

                                                          to save sinners. ( 1 Timothy 1 v 15 )

Everything. ( Philippians 4 v 6 )

 There they were ,sitting in all their glory, two flat packs, I  looked for the magic wand or even the magic word,but alas ,they did not come with the flat pack. So I prayerfully set out the jigsaw furniture kit, I confess I am not good at jigsaws ,I mentioned prayerfully,yes I prayed and prayed as I followed the instructions that came with the pack.And would you belief it ,there before my very eyes stood the two items fully assembled. What I did next was to thank God for His help,Philippians 4 v 6 reads ,' 'Don't worry about anything; instead ,pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done'.Consider these words, memorise these words and put them into practice. 

                                                    What a friend we have in Jesus

                                                     All our sins and griefs to bear!

                                                     What a privilege to carry 

                                                      Everything to God in prayer!

                                                      O what peace we often forfeit!

                                                      O  what needless pain we bear!

                                                      All because we do not carry

                                                       Everything to God in prayer.

                                                           Words Joseph M. Scriven.

                                                      

He bore it all. ( Isaiah 53 )

 In Matthew 8 v 3 we read of  Jesus reaching out His hand and touching a leper, and immediately he was healed,then in v 14, He touched Peter's mother- in- law who was suffering from a fever,and she was healed.It is William Hendriksen writing about sickness says.'Our Physical afflictions must never be separated from that  without which they never would never have occurred, namely our sin. Note how very closely Isa 53: 4,5 context connects these two;; for to v4 reads -'' Surely , our  diseases . he has borne.... our....''- is immediately followed by; '' He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities''. W H, points out ,'That when He saw sickness or distress He experienced Calvary, His own bitter, vicarious suffering throughout His life on earth but especially on the cross. That is why it was not easy  for Him to heal ( Mark 2 v 9 ; Matthew 9 v 5 ). This also accounts for the fact that at the tomb of Lazarus he was deeply moved and agitated in the spirit'.

                                                 He took my sins and my sorrows,

                                                 He made them His very own;

                                                 He bore the burden to Calvary,

                                                 And suffered, and died alone.

                                                 How marvellous! how wonderful!

                                                And my song shall ever be;

                                                How marvellous!  how wonderful!

                                                Is my Saviours love for me.

                                                    Words C.H.Gabriel

I remember. ( James 1 v 17 )

 Times have changed,and of course much is for the better, I know in this country some have have it hard ,but not as hard as people had when I was younger,yes people did somehow manage. I remember attending a secondary,were a uniform was compulsory I don't know how my mother bought mine,she and my Father had separated, so she was left to bring up the four of us. I remember a friend of mine, Jimmy who was told off by the principal for not wearing a uniform .But I knew his circumstances his parents were very poor and could not afford to buy him a uniform.Most people got by in those days,but if a family had no wages coming in it was difficult,the pawn shop was there. Very few people owned a car, and very few people could go on to further education, even if they were smart enough.I remember wearing a pair of shoes till they nearly fell apart,and then taking them to the menders, and to his credit he mended them.My mother worked , but a woman was paid less than the men,so  it made things difficult.A slice of bread with butter and jam on it was much appreciated. I suppose in many ways we as youngsters never thought to much about it, we all seemed to have friends to play with.As I look back I am thankful how God brought us through those times,and am grateful for the blessing I have now,blessings are to be appreciated.I am so grateful to God for His kindness to me. I said to a  lady ,who is very well off , how I thank God for His kindness to me,and she said she would never think of thanking God, for what she had. poor soul.

                                                                    Oh God.      

                                       Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!

                                      Morning by morning new mercies I see;

                                      All I have needed  Thy hand has provided-

                                      Great is Thy faithfulness , Lord , unto me.

                                                 Words. Thomas O. Chisholm.