No. ( John 11 v 25 - 26 )

 No ,it is not Christmas yet, but as I write my wife has put a Christmas CD on,and I am enjoying listening to it.Yes Christmas is a time most people  look forward to,even though they may not be Christians.Yes Christmas is very commercialised, yes that's true,but somehow it brings out a degree of kindness in people.People spend money not just on themselves, every Christmas a neighbour calls and gives us a present ,yet he is of the Sikh religion. The homeless are given more consideration, shelter is found for them, many people want to be kind,we send Christmas cards, wishing them a merry Christmas,and a happy new year. I do think Christmas makes a difference for many people ,some even attend church and join in the singing of carols. But of course the real meaning of Christmas for many  is missed ,I  don't say this in a judgemental way,but with sadness, and concern,for after after all He is the reason ,for the season , To miss the reason for the season is to miss the greatest gift that can one receive, the forgiveness of sins, and eternal life,and Christs presence with you.

                                                   How silently,how silently

                                                  The wondrous gift is given

                                                   So God imparts to human hearts

                                                   The blessing of  His heaven,

                                                   No ear may hear His coming;

                                                    But in this world of sin,

                                                    Where meek souls will receive Him still,

                                                    The dear Christ enters in.

                                                        Words Phillips Brooks

A donkey ride. ( Zechariah 9 v 9 )

 The time was drawing near for our Saviour to die, He knew this and told his disciples  Matthew 16 v 21/Mark 8 v 31- 9; 9;1/ Luke 9 v 22- 27 . His death can be seen as a tragedy as indeed it was ,because of the very people involved in it ,they were His own people,John 1v 11,but such is the sinful nature of mankind. His death  was voluntary, given of His own free will,He could have stopped it but he didn't,He could have easily called the forces of heaven to rescue Him (Matthew  26 v 53,) but as He said,''But how then would  the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen this way?. MT 26 v54. He is referring to scriptures like  Isaiah 52 v 13- 16 /53 v1 - 12, Psalm 22 v 1- 2. His death was set in stone in Gods purposes, and Christ would not waver in fulfilling this. During His ministry He played down that He was the Messiah, Matthew 16 v 20 ,but now things changed His actions would openly declare that He was the Messiah.He did it by riding on a donkey into Jerusalem,this was fulfillment of a prophecy by Zechariah 9 v 9, as to the Messiahs coming.William Hendriksen writes,'The King is not the fulfilment of men's dreams but of a specific Messianic promise. He is the One who in the very act of riding...to His death,and thus to victory, a victory not only for himself but also for His true people, those who believe in Him'.

Christs Kingdom. ( John 18 v 36 )

 One of the saddest and tragic things about the Jewish people is,. they are waiting for their Messiah to come, yes, they are the waiting people . Still waiting for a Messiah who will defeat their enemies,a warrior Messiah, they still are blind, it is a judgement by God on them Romans 11 v 8 - 10.As Jesus rode into Jerusalem the whole city was stirred,and they cried out Hosanna to the Son of David, which means ''save now''.Save now, their moment had come ,victory over their enemies, no more the underdogs. They used the  term Son of David, a term for Messiah , yes Jesus ,you are our Messiah. William Hendriksen writes,' It was deplorable, however that by far most of these people did not go one step further; they should have combined Psalm 118 v 26 with Isaiah 53 and with Zechariah 9 v9, 13 v1. Then they  would have recognized in Jesus who saves his people from their sins Matthew 1 v 21.When Jesus was before Pilate,he asked him, are you the king of the Jews,why did he ask Him that?,because his main concern was that Jesus was leading an insurrection,  of course he was a king,but he clarified what that meant, 'My kingdom is not of this world',John 18 v 36. His kingdom was a spiritual kingdom,totally different in character to an earthly kingdom.

                                                 Jesus my King rules in my heart.

Persevere (Luke 18 v 1 )

Let us consider, 'Persevering in Prayer.', the meaning of persevering is, continuing  on in a course of action even though it is difficult. Sir Harry Lauder wrote a song after the death of his son in the 1st world war,here are some of the words,

                                         Keep right on to the end of the road,

                                         Keep right on to the end,

                                         Tho the way be long,let your heart be strong.

                                         Keep right on round the bend,

                                         Tho your tired and weary, still journey on,

                                         Till you come to your happy abode.'

In a way that's the challenge of the Christian life,going on,sadly not all do  , some have fallen by the wayside.That which will enable us to go on, is prayer,it is vital that we persevere in prayer in the good times and the bad times,Jesus knew how hard that would be for us,the way can be hard,but the way also can be soft,and we neglect prayer,so gradually we stop praying,we think that we don't need Him.If only we would realise how much we need Him ,and how vital it is to persevere in prayer.

Make time. ( 1) ( Ephesians 6 v 18 )

 I just want to encourage you with a few thoughts on prayer,

                                             ( 1 ) Make time for prayer.

We live in a very busy world,it is easy in spite of our good intentions,for prayer to be neglected,one of the reasons  I rise early,I know how easily it is for the activities of the day to take over.We read how our Lord at times spent time apart from His disciples ,in order to pray . (Mark 6 v 46) . In Mark 1 v 35 ,we read,'Very early in the morning, while it was dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed'.Although He was the Son of God, he was also the Son of Man, crushed with his  many duties, the multitudes pressing in,wanting ,wanting,the disciples needing needing,and under attack  continually,He needed to pray,He needed to be refreshed and strengthened in the presence of His Father in heaven.If He needed to pray,how much more do we need to spend time with our heavenly Father in prayer.

                                                       Words by Cleland Boyd Mc Fee.

                                                       There is a place of quite rest,

                                                       Near to the heart of God,

                                                       A place where sin cannot molest,

                                                       Near to the heart of God.

                                                       Hold us who wait before Thee,

                                                       Near to the heart of God.

Weak faith.(Mark 7 v 14 - 19 )

I was speaking to my wife and I used an inappropriate word, when she pointed this out to me as wives do,I felt convicted.This was not a swear word but I acknowledged it before asking forgiveness.There are words and actions that are not blatantly sinful,but they can be inappropriate.I remember passing a married couple I know, while out walking, on reflection I felt that I was brisk with them,I felt convicted, and called round to their home and said I was sorry. We should not become paranoid about this, but let us be careful, as to how we speak,and how we act. In Romans 14 the Apostle Paul writes about those who are weak in faith,in relation to what they eat,a Jewish convert may be offended if they saw another Christian eating pork.Now as Christians we can eat all food we are not under the old covenant,that is the Jewish food laws,in Mark 7 v19  Jesus said  that all foods are clean. This is further spelled out in 1 Timothy 4 v 1- 5.In  Romans 14 the apostle makes it clear we are not tied to what we eat, he brings it down to a matter of faith.But as Paul says ,''All food is clean'',but it is wrong to eat something ,if it makes another person stumble''.This would apply when you are in contact with others who have not the faith that you have,as regards eating.We are being asked to be sensitive n relation to others,in all things,in case we cause them to stumble.

Who am I ?. ( John 3 v 16 )

                                            Who am I ?That You would think of me

                                            Among a million stars shining in the night

                                            Who an I ?That You  would call me yours.

                                             And offer up your  all, to save my life,

                                                           Who am I?.

                                                         Words  Lincoln Brewster.

These struck a cord with me,'Who am I ? the writer is surprised that God  had him on His radar,among the vastness of the universe. God's interest as regards man has never waned from the moment He created us, but our interest in Him, has continually waned. Mankind have continually searched the universe not looking for God,but for reasons to deny the person of God the creator.Because mankind is blinded to the reality of God, but God is not blinded to the reality of man.His eye is upon every single human being.God thinks upon then,looks upon them. But it does not stop there, for the writer declares,'Who am I ? That You would call me yours,and offer up your all, to save my life'. Why?,oh why should God do this?, why did He not leave us to ourselves?,if  He had it would been just a matter of time we would have destroyed ourselves, ,yes a real possibility,and yet that would have not been the end of it,for the eternal hell beckons. God was not prepared to let that happen ,He loves us,that in itself is amazing ,and out of that love, He offered up His all, in the person of Jesus, too save us ,amazing.