I found the answer. ( John 14 v 6 )

 Bono the singer ,in his younger days was seeking a deeper meaning  of life,he was on a  spiritual retreat,and he heard a song,one particular line in it spoke to him.It goes,'But I still haven't found  what I'm looking for',I do not know who wrote it,but it touched Bono, could it be that's the way you feel ?,is there an answer?,I believe there is,what is it?,or should I say who is it?.I remember 57 years ago,it was a Sunday evening,nothing much to do on Sunday, I was standing  on my  own,it didn't seem that life had much to offer me.In the providence of God a Christian couple I knew,where on their way to Church,I asked them could I go with them?,they said yes.that night I found what I was looking for,Christ. As I said that was 57 years ago,I wasn't looking for Christ that evening,like Bono , but I was seeking something ,and instead I found someone ,who has made a difference in my life. Fifty seven years ago, I found there is a meaning to life,and that meaning was to be found in Him.I look back and am amazed that I know such a person, who loves me,cares for me,is with me,the old hymn says,'No one ever cared for me like Jesus',no one, and when you find Him,you know you have found what you have been looking for.

The wise men.( John 1 v 1)

 I wonder have you ever asked the question why did the wise travel over a thousand mile to see the king of the Jews?, After all the land of Israel is ,and was a small nation, it was ruled by Rome, what significance could it have for them to go on such a journey,  why go to such trouble?again the king of the Jews would be an underling controlled by Rome,so why? its a question one should ponder.What did it mean when they said we have seen His star?.what star,well somehow  God made it all significant to them .Consider what they said,'' and are come to worship him'', and when they did eventually find him they did just that,William Hendriksen ,puts it like this,'they cast themselves to the ground and worshiped him''.Then they offered him special gifts ,gold, frankincense, and myrrh. WH  again points out how these gifts were not only lavish but also definitely appropriate; gold,for he was and is a king - yes,''King of Kings and Lord of Lords''- Frankincense,for he is indeed God- the fulness of the Godhead dwells in him- and myrrh, for he is also man, destined for death, and this by his own choice'.

                                            'And He will be called  Wonderful , Counselor,

                                            Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

                                                                   Isaiah 9 v 6

A peace offering. ( Romans 5 v1 )

 There is a program on the TV called the,'World at war',it covers the second world war, you may ask ,so what!.Let me take you to mankind's beginning, to a garden called Eden,where a couple lived in perfect harmony,there name was Adam and Eve.It was a truly earthly paradise but in a moment this couple rebelled against God,they sinned ,all sin is rebellion against God ,who is holy. From that moment on mankind would be in rebellion against God,in a sense  the world was at war against a holy God. We loved darkness rather than light,here is how someone puts it,' we filled our lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience. We did what we felt like doing', in the words of a popular song we did it our way,a way that was at odds with God's way.And so it continues to this day,now let  me take you the little town of Bethlehem,to an event over 2000 years ago,to where a baby was born. He was a special baby in many ways,His name was Jesus,the baby Jesus had a purpose and a destiny to fulfil. To understand  what that was we need to go to a place just outside Jerusalem,and there on a cross hung the man Jesus.His death was no ordinary death,it was a peace offering , humanity could can have peace with God ,by accepting Jesus as their Saviour.`

                               'Why not surrender to God, accept his peace offering

                                              by accepting Jesus as your Saviour.

Gods solution (John 3 v16 )

 We are sinners,it is not me who says that, but God, Romans 1 v 18,declares,'The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness.It is John the apostle who writes ,'whoever rejects the Son will not see life,for God's wrath remains on them',John 3 v36. Bruce Milne writes a number of things on the wrath of God,' that is a difficult notion to hold together with the love of God', but both are true.In Hebrews 10 v31 we read,'It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of an angry God.'But God is love,and out of a heart of love,He has provided a way to be forgiven, and that wrath to be removed.The cross were Jesus died was His solution,in 1 Peter 2 v 24,we read,'He (Jesus) himself bore our sins in his body on the tree'.The tree here is symbolically speaks of the cross, CP Deuteronomy 21 v 22-23. A .M.Stibbs writes,' To bear sin,or iniquity means in the OT  to be answerable for it,and to endure its penalty'.Christ the sinless one took the punishment for our sins,so it is, when we trust Him as our Saviour we will be no longer be under God's wrath,for He bore it. I leave you with two verses of a hymn by Philip P. Bliss.

                                             Man of sorrows! what a name

                                              For the Son of God who came

                                              Ruined sinners to reclaim

                                              Hallelujah what a Saviour!

                                              Bearing shame and scoffing rude,

                                              In my place condemned He stood;

                                              Sealed my pardon with His blood;

                                               Hallelujah! what a Saviour.

Question time. ( 1 John 4 v 1 - 17 )

The old song says,' Love is a many splendored thing, the golden crown that makes a man a king', and I'm sure we all agree to that.Think how much the word of God stress'es the importance of love,it speaks much about love , and reminds us that God is love .(1 John 4 v 8/16) .John the apostle was the author of 5 books in our NT,in 1 John 1,he mentions love over 40 times,it is significant that he and his brother were named by Jesus,' Boanerges which means,'son's of thunder'. ( Mark 3 v17 ) indicating they had as William Hendriksen say's,' a fiery nature',in Luke 9 v 54,they wanted to call down fire to destroy certain Samaritans who opposed Jesus,which earned then a rebuke from Jesus.It is interesting that John became known as the beloved  disciple,what a contrast,what a change, what a transformation. God loves us when we were His enemy,he tells us that it was God who first loved us,John writes ' This is how we know what love is; Jesus laid down His life for us',( 1 John 3 v16) and one of the emphasis in his epistle is that we love and become more like Jesus, who turned a son of thunder into a beloved disciple.I leave you with a twofold question,are we ,'sons of thunder'?, or like John who became a beloved disciple?.

Love is a burden. ( 1 Timothy 12 v 9 - 10 )

 Someone said ,'that love was a burden',it seemed a strange things to say,but as I thought  about it, there is a degree of truth in that statement. In Deuteronomy 30 v16 God commands Israel to love Him, even under the old covenant,the fulfilling of the law was a love for God and love for others Matthew 22 v 37-38. Continually we are challenged to love,should it be classed as a burden?,it is a challenge that as Christians we can't ignore,yet people do,or they reject it,yes, even Christians. We can so easily throw of love,the bible speaks of those who left their first love,and that  unforgiveness can drive out love. I wonder how many times each day do we think unloving thoughts?,say  unloving words?, once is to many.Love is always the best way even though it may be painful, and often is.but it is still the best way. God values love,so should we.When we refuse to love we shut God out, and our hearts become cold and distant.Also love truth at all times,to do other than that, will bring us into a lie,that can so easily destroy us. Remember many are not always loving ,in fact they appear unloving ,but we must love them,we must copy our Saviour, who loved us when we didn't love him. None of us are worthy of God's love, but He is worthy of our love.I can't love that  person ,should never be in our vocabulary, or even in our thoughts.Someone has said,'Love should be the center of whom we are.and we not to fake it'.Augustine said ,'Love God, and do what you like', that means we love others also.

Less of self. ( Romans 8 v 29 )

John the Baptist was a wonderful man, Jesus spoke of him,in terms of greatness, John realized that he was not the main man,he was but the messenger,but a very special messenger. He was the one the prophets foretold would come to prepare the way of the Lord (Malachi 3 v 1) .He was a very humble person, when his disciples voiced their concern that Jesus was attracting more followers than John,he told them  plainly that he was not the Messiah,and that Jesus was to become greater and greater,and that he should become less and less. ( John 3 v 27 - 30),or as the AV puts it,'that He must increase,and I must decrease'.Often the way of the world is about more power,more authority ,to become greater. There was a very well known sportsperson, what was his cry,' I am the greatest',another one said,' I am the special one'.There was a certain boastful politician who one day passed Winston Churchill in Parliament, and Winston said of him,''There but for the grace of God,goes God'. I wonder about myself, how much of Christ do I manifest?,and how much of self do I manifest?.Remember what our our dear lovely  Saviour said of those who are greatest in His kingdom, they are those who serve,he showed what that meant when He washed his disciples feet ( John 13 v1 - 17),just a little extra thought on this,that challenges me all the time,where the apostle writes of the, 'meekness and gentleness of Christ',I wonder how people would describe me.May He ,our blessed Saviour increase in all of us.