Lost (2)( Colossians 1 v 13 - 14 )

 How few people know that they are lost, but many feel lost for all that,it is alright singing the words of an old song,' I know where I'm going', but do you,were are we all heading?. It was Shakespeare who wrote,  

                                                      'Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player

                                                      That struts and frets his hour upon the stage

                                                      And then is heard no more. It is a tale

                                                      Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

                                                      Signifying nothing.'

Is that it? is that all life signifies?, nothing, we are all a freak meaningless accident,being lost leads us  nowhere,we don't know where we are,or where we are going. What is the answer?,is there an answer?, it was John Newton who wrote,'I once was lost but now am found'.what brought the change?, Jesus, without Him there is no meaning,there is a future but where will that future be?.Writing to Christians, the apostle Paul reminded them that before before coming to Christ,they were without hope and without God (Ephesians 2 v 12) It was Jesus who said ,that He had come to seek and to save that which is lost ( Luke 19 v 10).Millions can testify that Christ brought forgiveness,freedom from sinful bondage,hope and purpose, and meaning into their lives.I look at so many people and  I say  to myself ,if only they knew Christ,if only.

                                                       Without Christ there is no meaning.

Lost (1 ) ( Matthew 9 v 36 )

 I could not find it, a sense of panic  was beginning to set in,were did I last have,it?.  What was I looking for ?, you probably have guessed,it was my wallet, with two bank cards in it, well silly Billy that I am, I found it, panic over, and then I uttered a thank you to God In this age of technology ,why can't they invent something that would help us at times like this?,who knows they may .Loosing a wallet or whatever can be stressful ,mobile phones are another problem ,and so we can go on. There used to be a place called a lost and found department, they may still exist,one of the major themes in the Bible is taken up with that very thing. That which is lost and that which is found, the lost is humanity,consider, we all from day one ,are classed as being lost.You may have someone say to you,'are you lost?'. Well let me ask you, are you lost?, you may think , what a silly question,but its not.for the bible tells us,'We're all like sheep who've wandered off and are lost',( Isaiah  53 v 6).This wandering off  is a deliberate act by humanity, of  us going away from God. A favourite song comes to mind,'I did it my way ',these words sum up humanities lostness, no longer do we acknowledge God's way, or want  God's way,so the result is, we are lost. Do think about this, we will continue this next time.

                                                            No one is truly wise; no

                                                            one is seeking after God.

                                                                  Romans 3 v 10.

Just do it again. ( Isaiah 55 v 6 - 7)

 A large advert in a national paper had these words on it,' Just do it Again'.I am not even sure what was being advertised,but those words struck a cord with me.In the Gospels our Lord performed many miracles,John the Baptist performed  no miracles.Are we looking for a quick and fast easy solution to the challenges of life,so we pray for a miracle. We read in days of old, what we call revivals broke in,and we wonder why God will not do it again?.Is not God the God of miracles, 'Surely the arm of the Lord is  not to short to save,nor his ear  too dull to hear' Isaiah 59 v1. Of course God  can do it again, but the reason He did not do it again was because  sin had caused   God to distance Himself from his people . Read the rest of the chapter, things were very bad spiritually, so much so that a gulf had opened between God and them.Until they repented of their sinfulness ,the difficulties would remain, nothing would change.I pray continually that God would build His church,I pray for different denominations,but how can it happen? , when many of them,are voting to accept the unacceptable, in morals and doctrine. We are talking about those  who are supposedly Christians, but as was said to the church in Sardis, Revelation 3 v 1, by  God.'I  know your deeds, you have a reputation of being alive,but you are dead'. God may do it again if,yes if, we repent and seek  Him.

                                                     O Wind of God,come bend us , break us,

                                                     Till humbly we confess our need;

                                                     Then in Thy  tenderness  remake us,

                                                     Revive, restore, for this we plead.

                                                              Words , Mrs . B. P. Head.

The waiting game ( Psalm 40 v 1- 4)

 Of course waiting is not  for many a game,how many road accidents have been caused by people not waiting. I try to be patient when waiting in the queue, and I sometimes finding myself asking the question , why does it appear that in a bank queue people appear take longer ,than I would?Then there are  those who keep us waiting,whats keeping them?, where are they?, do they not know I have to be there in a certain time?.The words of a song come to mind,'Lord won't you hurry',the fact is whither its waiting for whatever reason, we do not like even waiting on God.Yet it appears very important with God, that we learn to wait, it appears that God wants us to learn from waiting, in Romans 15 v 5 ( AV) we read,'Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like minded  toward one another'.God  manifests a patience with those who are his,so we are called to act like him,with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. In the  Tokyo Olympics Reece Prescod who was running in a heat of the 100 meters,was disqualified for a false start,he went off before the starting pistol had sounded. There was king in Israel called Saul ,and like that runner he was not prepared to wait,and he was disqualified from being king.It is vital that we wait  for God's timing,let us not run  before Him, if we do,it could have serious consequences. Often our reluctance to wait is borne out of a lack of trust in God.

Such love. ( Ephesians 3 v 14 - 21)

 There is a little children's chorus which goes,

                                               Wide ,wide as the ocean, high as the heavens above,

                                               Deep, deep as the deepest sea is my Saviours love,                                

                                               Though I'm unworthy, still I'm a child of His care.

                                                For his word teaches me ,that His love reaches me

                                                                         EVERYWHERE

The Love of God truly is amazing, profound, mind blowing ,astonishing, with out comparison, unique,beyond belief, marvellous. These are just some of the words that I feel that emphasises the greatness and wonder of God's love. This Love is manifested  through Jesus,towards a world that is in rebellion, to a world undeserving of any such love.This love spelled out the only hope for lost mankind, the only answer for you and me. The symbol of that love is a cross, before it became a symbol of love,it was symbol of cruelty and suffering, but changed into an alter were Jesus the Lamb of God ,would bear our sins.

                                                          Such love,pure as the whitest snow;

                                                          Such love, weeps for the shame I know

                                                          Such love, paying the debt I owe;

                                                           O Jesus, such love.

                                                           Such love, stilling my restlessness;

                                                           Such love, showing me holiness;

                                                           O Jesus, such love.

                                                           Such love,springs from eternity;

                                                           Such love, fountain of life for me;

                                                           O Jesus, such love.

                                                                 Words Graham Kendrick.

 

Warn them. ( Acts 1 v 8 )

  My wife  opened the letter, and she said the dreaded word, we have been fined,she had  failed to pay the toil charge,we thought we were covered.So we phoned up the authorities to plead our case ,and as we did  we realised we hadn't paid the toil. But here is the good news we were told that we would be let of the fine, and all we had to pay was the outstanding toil charge. We asked why?,and were told is was a warning,if we did it again we would have to pay the fine.We would be foolish to ignore that warning, it would not be the end of the world if we didn't,but let us think about the whole idea of heeding warnings.Some are very serious, to ignore them could cost you your very life.  In ancient times when people lived in walled cities, people were employed as watchmen, they would warn the people if an enemy was coming,if he failed in his job, he would be held responsible for the loss of life.In Ezekiel 33 we read how God appointed Ezekiel to be a watchman v 7 - 9,he was to warn the people as regards their sin,and that they need to turn from their sin to God.If Ezekiel refused to do this he would be held accountable.Hear this dear Christian, we live in a sinful world ,judgement day is coming, nothing can stop it,people need to be warned.When was the last time you witnessed about the only one who can save them from God's wrath,, remember  we are  accountable.

                                             Jesus said ,' you will be my witnesses '.

Perish the thought. ( 1 Peter 1 v 6 - 9 )

 It is David Atkinson in his book on Job, writes, ' There are times when we are tempted to give up on God altogether, or believe that he must have given up on us'. I wonder how I would feel if I experienced  the pain that Job  felt,at the loss of his children,possessions,and health?. His wife told him to curse God and die,then his three friends turned up,and they were not a lot of good,Job  called them miserable comforters.  I am reminded of what Jacob said in the midst of his troubles,'Everything is against me', I wonder if you have ever said this,or thought it?.Contrary to what some people say ,that wealth health and prosperity should be our lot. We look at many of the saints in the Bible, and observe the difficulties they had to face,and through out history  so many lovely Christians suffered a great deal. King David suffered a great deal,in one time of trouble he declared,'My  heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen on me. Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me.' and then he declares,'Oh that I had wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. I would  flee far away and stay in the desert;' Psalm 55 v 4 - 7.He is honest enough to admit to us how he felt, he didn't go around with a forced smile on his face.As we look a David's history we see clearly that God never give up on him,and He will not give up on you or me,never, He has promised us that He will never leave us,and will never forsake us. Hebrews 13 v 5.As for us giving up on God,perish the thought,I heard a preacher say this,'There are no advantages in giving up on God,' none whatsoever,let me assure you ,that on your own it will be harder, take my word for it.