Telling others. ( Acts 1 v 8 )

 Regularly I pray that God will help me to be a witness for Him, now witnessing involves two things,our  lives,our dear Saviour said people are known by their fruits,not their suits,James stresses the fact of showing our faith, that is by our good works, and Peter tells us that we are to live holy and godly lives (MT  7 v 20 / James 2 v 18 / 2 Peter 3 v 11) The other kind of witnessing is by speaking to people about Christ, today I managed to do that, what I find God does  lead me us  to people to speak to. If you pray for God  to help you to witness to people He will,He will lead you  to people, for some people that's very scary, very intimidating, but He will help you, as He helps me. Be wise and humble in your witnessing, not argumentative,sometimes people are over zealous, and that's not good.Speak the truth in love, both go together, truth without  love is a hinderance, love with truth will attract people to Christ. Leave the results with God, pray for those you speak to, that He will honour your witness, many of us are just sowers of the word, it is God who will give the increase.

Unchanging . ( Hebrews 13 v 5 - 8 )

 I read this recently,'I've learnt to work the coffee machine at home. We've only had it four years', I appreciate those words, new phones make me nervous,also new lap tops.I am from a different generation,I remember my early school days,it seems before ball point pens were invented, so we used a pen with a nib on  it,and there was an inkwell on the desk .Those were the days I thought they would never end,but they did ,so many things have changed in my life time,yesterdays treasures are todays cast off's.We watch the news and we observe change on a massive scale,climate change, political change, fashion change,it is change, change, change.Sometimes we make the changes in our lives ,other times change is thrust upon us. That divorce we didn't want, we meant our wedding vows,but it has not worked out, and so we have to adopt, health change comes upon us,and we find ourselves coping, just about with the challenges that brings.Change,change,change, and more change, but here is the good news ,a word from God's word, ' I the Lord do not change'. Malachi 3 v 6. I will leave you with two versus from a hymn by Horatius Bonar.

                                                             My love is often low,

                                                             My joy still ebbs and flows;

                                                             But peace with Him remains the same,

                                                             No change Jehovah knows.

                                                             I change, He changes not;

                                                            The Christ can never die;

                                                            His love, not mine, the resting place;

                                                            His truth,not mine, the tie.

                                                             

                                                              

                                                   

Are you in trouble? ( Psalm 34)

I sent this verse of scripture to someone who is in trouble,' This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles ( Psalm 34 v 6 ). Consider how it starts,'This poor man',who was this poor man?,David the future king of Israel, a man after God's own heart,and he calls himself a poor man. The poor in this world are often despised or ignored, but not by God Isaiah 61 v1, often the very rich have no time or need for God,they are self made people. David did not plead any special privileges ,he did not feel that God owed him anything, he just cried out of his poverty of spirit, nothing else.One of the most evil kings who ever ruled Israel was Manasseh , and God dealt with him severely CP 2 Chronicles 33 v 10 -11 ,but in v 12 we read,'In his distress he sought the favour of the Lord his God and humbled himself before the God of his ancestors, v13 tells us how God forgive him and restored him to kingship in Jerusalem.Whoever you are, whatever pit you are in,whatever troubles you are facing,cry unto God,if you have  sinned, repent and seek forgiveness. Come to God in humility ask God to help you and He will deliver you, he saved David out of all his troubles he can save you.

I can't get no satisfaction. ( John 4 v 13 - 14 )

 Just recently one of the the Rolling  Stones group has died,his name was Charlie Watts, he was ages eighty, he was a great drummer. I never took much interest in the RS  music, but I do remember one of their hits , 'I can't get no satisfaction', it is because they don't try,oh no, one line of the song goes,'Cause I try and  try and try and I try'. So it was not for the want of trying, it means everything was tried but to no avail. Such is the words of a song. Jeffrey Epstein was a billionaire , and yet he wasn't satisfied,so he turned to abusing young girls.The world is full of so many people,who no matter how much they try, can't get any satisfaction, yes they try and try and try.One of my favourite books is ,'The Wind in the Willows', by Kenneth Grahame, the characters in it are wonderful,Ratty,Mole, Badger,and of Toad of Toad Hall. Toad was wealthy ,he was always trying new things,boating, caravanning, cars,nothing appeared to satisfy.There are multitudes in this world and they are running on empty, no satisfaction can they find, but they try and try and try.Shakespeare wrote the following,a Countess asked  a question to a clown,'Tell me the reason why thou wilt marry,?' the Clown answered,'My poor body, madam, requires it; I  am driven by the flesh, and he must needs go that the devil drives'.The fact is ,the flesh will never be satisfied.

                                                     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.

                                                     Now none but Christ can satisfy,

                                                     None other name for me,

                                                     There's love and life, and lasting joy,

                                                     Lord Jesus found in Thee.

Knowing God. ( 5 ) (Romans 8 v28 )

 'God moves in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform', words by  William Cowper,one of the greatest hymns ever written,and one of my favourites .In Deuteronomy29 v 29, we read.'The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but  those things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.' The word of God clearly teaches that God is sovereign as Tozer puts it,'He rules His creation, He is all knowing,all powerful, and absolutely free'. It raises many questions, which we cannot answer, the why's are many ,and often come out of painful situations. There is not often answers to those why's, we are very limited ,we know so much, but we also know so little.People may ask why did such and such a thing happen,and often we just have to say we don't know.We come back to that statement that the secret things belong unto God, whose ways are past finding out Romans11 v33. The doctrine of the sovereignty must be accepted by faith, a faith and trust in God who loves us, and who will bring all things through to a conclusion.A.W.Pink writes,'Divine sovereignty is not the sovereignty of a tyrannical Despot, but the exercised pleasure of One who is infinitely wise',and I would add loving and kind.The  sovereignty of God  is not there to confuse of perplex us but to reassure us,that  in spite of all the why's,He is in control.

Knowing God. ( 4 ) ( 2 Timothy 2 v 15 )

Abba sang a song called ,'Knowing me - Knowing you', God knows all bout  me, and all about you, but you and  I do not know all about God, and we never will.I commend to you a book written by A.W. Tozer ,called ,'The knowledge of the Holy', It is not a big book , but it has much to teach us about our wonderful God,which we would all benefit from.God has revealed to us so much in His word,but by no means  everything as regards Himself.The old saint Richard Rolle said,' God is of infinite greatness, and then he adds,'more than we can think'. There is much we can know about God,which are known as His divine attributes, we should acquaint  ourselves with these truths.Sad to say many don't, I would that every child of God would to get to know God as revealed in His word. It was William Tyndale who translated God's word into English  said,''I will defy the Pope and all his laws, if God spare my life, I will make a boy that driveth the plough ,know more of the scriptures than thou dost''.His translation would enable people to have an understanding of scripture,we are very fortunate to have the scriptures in our language,but the challenge is,that we may understand God's word.In so doing we will get a greater understanding of God,it was the apostle Paul who wrote to the church in Thessalonica, that he did not want them to be ignorant or uninformed as to the second coming of Christ ( 1 Thess 4 v 13.We will continue this next time.

                                               Ignorance about God is not bliss.

Knowing God. ( 3) ( Romans 8 v 12 - 16 )

 'There is a way back to God from the dark paths of sin ,there is a door that is open and you may go in ,Calvary's cross is were you begin ,when you come as a sinner to Jesus'. The moment you go through that door all is changed,you have entered a whole new relationship with God. No longer are you on the  outside, .you are now in the family God ,He has become your loving heavenly Father. In 1 John  3 v1 we read,'  Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called the children of God'. Now you know God ,and it is very personal,in fact there is a word for addressing God in the Bible for Father,it is  Abba, Vine  writes the following,' It is a word used by infants which expresses unreasoning trust', another writer says it has the meaning of obedience,we are privileged and blest to be children of God,that means intimacy, that means we are loved beyond words. Yet it brings  with it obedience, in fact when we address God using the term Abba, we are saying I will obey you.We will continue this next time ,but I leave you two verses of a hymn by  Ann Gilbert.

                                             Great God! and wilt Thou condescend

                                             To be my Father and my Friend?

                                             I, a poor child, and Thou so high,

                                             The Lord of earth and air and sky.

                                             Art Thou my Father?Let me be 

                                             A meek  obedient child to Thee,

                                             And try, in word and deed and thought,

                                             To serve and please Thee as I ought.