Life is.... ( Ephesians 6 - 10 - 20 )

 Life is a battle,especially if you are a Christian, you cannot go with the flow,run with the crowd,no we are those who are called to be holy,and that means a battle.That means doing the will of God,consider what that meant to Christ,it means standing for truth,it means bring a witness for our Saviour. So you see it is a battle,it involves the world,the flesh,and the devil.In 2 Timothy 6 v 12, we read,'Fight the good fight of faith'. Consider the idea of fighting,most of us do not want fight, as John Stott writes,' Fighting is an unpleasant business,undignified, bloody,painful. and dangerous'.But for we who are Christians we must do it,even if we get a blooded nose. We are reminded that it is a good fight ,so many people fight for evil causes,not us everything we are fighting for is good, and the one we are fighting for is good, even Jesus our precious Saviour, everything about Him is good,everything He did was good.Next we see it is a fight of faith, yes faith in our God to aid us and help us,by His  grace.Lastly ,'For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does,The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world( 2Corinthians 10 v 3- 4)Peter had to learn that lesson in the garden ,when he drew a sword and cut of a persons ear,and Jesus told him to to put  away the sword'. ( Matt 26 v 51 - 52 ) So don't be surprised if you are in battle at this time,it is part and parcel of being a Christian.

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Broken hearts ( Matthew 11 v 28 )

A song I was listening to had the following lines in it,'So easy to break a heart', the fact is there are hearts being broken every day,one hears on the news of murders, how dreadful for the loved ones effected by such an ordeal,their hearts must be broken.Or when marriages break up,when the husband comes in and says,''I don't love you anymore, I have found someone else'', or when wives do the same.Broken hearts follow and usually broken for a life time,it is all very sad.It is so easy for hearts to be broken, so difficult for hearts to mend.  The effects can be serious,here are some examples,mental health,a withdrawing into a shell,isolating oneself.People as it were make a vow never to get involved with anyone else,a root of bitterness develops,even hatred towards that person that has hurt them.To not go back to church because one was hurt,after all you shouldn't be hurt by Christians,and so we could go on,and so the brokenness goes on. and it is so hard to live with a broken heart,whatever the reason, I want to leave a word of hope to you if you are broken hearted, there is one that can help,When Jesus walked and ministered to people, he healed every disease,  think about that,every disease,and I believe He can heal your broken heart,nothing can change what had happen to you,but He can change you, and heal your broken heart.

                                                        Psalm 147 v3.

                                             He heals the broken heart.

My forever friend. ( John 15 v15 )

I have purchased a lovely illustrated copy of one of my favourite books,'Wind in the willows', written by Kenneth Graham,a book about animals,Ratty, Mole,Badger,and Toad.I have read this book a number of times,and I am looking  forward to reading it again. One of the things I like about it is the friendship the animals have,they are very loyal and faithful.Toad of Toad Hall,the wealthy toad is always trying something new,until he gets tired of it,and it gets him into a lot of trouble.But his friends try to stop him from wasting his money on the next fad,but unfortunately not with much success. Friends  are important if you have one good friend that's good,Friendship is a two way thing,sometimes we forget that. Friendship needs to be maintained, I had a particular friend ,we communicated through the web, but suddenly it just stopped,no contact. that was that. My best friend is Jesus even though He is my Saviour ,my Lord,he is my friend, indeed the best friend I have ,He is loyal,faithful, and kind. Yet I know it is important that I maintain that friendship,by meeting with Him, and never take Him for granted,and seek not to offend Him in any way,and of course as I said He is my Lord,so I must obey Him at all times.He has promised to never leave me nor forsake me,He will not just cut me off.There is so much I could say about Him, and its all positive,yes He is my forever friend,and He can be yours to,if you ask Him to be your Saviour.

Vengeance ( Romans 12 v 19 - 21)

 Alexander Dumas wrote a very popular book called ,'The Count of Monte Cristo', it is about a young man called Edmond Dantes, who was wrongfully imprisoned for life. During his time in prison he makes friends with a man called Abbe Faria  a priest ,who had a treasure map, which he gives to Edmond .Edmond manages to escape,and eventually, finds the treasure,and becomes fabulously rich . With this wealth he reinvents himself and becomes known as the Count of  Monte Cristo, he then sets out to get revenge on those who had sent him to prison, which he does ,ruining them. When in power Stalin murdered many people who had done him wrong,he took a particular pleasure in the way he did it. Now contrast that with Joseph ( Gen 37 - 50 ),who suffered dreadfully at the hands of his brothers, sold as slave,accused unjustly of a crime he didn't commit ,and then jailed. In Gods time released and appointed to be a ruler in Egypt, and in that position he could have taken vengeance on them he didn't,in fact he cared for them,and reassured them he would look after them,it took grace to forgive his brothers,and not to take vengeance on them

A new year. ( 8 v 31 - 39 )

 2021 is gone for good it is just a memory,the future all unknown,looking back,what did we have?,two major things hunted us daily ,Covid and climate change.There are many other things we could mention,so what does 2022 hold for us,when I say us ,I mean those of us who are Christians?.Well here is a word for us all,it is found in Deuteronomy 31 v 8.

                                    The Lord himself  goes before you and will be with you;

                                    he will never leave you nor forsake you.

                                    Do not be afraid,do not be discouraged.

Consider,God will lead you Himself, he will make the crooked places straight, and the rough places smooth.look into your future,what do you see?. I will tell you, God going before you,and God with you.

Next. The nature of life can appear so uncertain, you look around and ask where are my friends,you feel suddenly, alone,it is not a nice feeling,don't let your heart be troubled,God says to you I will never leave you nor forsake you.

Next. Are you fearful as regards the future? ,hear what God is saying to you,yes you,''Do not be afraid''.I will look after you,I will care for you.Are you discouraged?yes, there is much that can discourage us,but our loving God says,''don't be discouraged'' take away the first three letters of that word and the last letter ,what do you read,courage.yes have courage, whatever you are facing now or in the future remember if God be for you,who can be against you?

The devil.( 2 ) (Deuteronomy 6 v 16)

 We digressed a little on my last message but it was important to stress the  vital importance of the truth that Christ was truly God and truly man,hold fast to that truth.So lets continue looking at that occasion when the devil tempted our Lord to cast Himself down from the highest point of the temple.He even quoted scripture,but our Lord didn't obey him, and told why he would not do it,He also quoted scripture, Deut 6 v 16,which reads,'Do not put the Lord your God to the test'.Let me mention  some examples of people putting God to the test. A man wore a blindfold and walked across a busy road,he believed he would be kept safe by God,he wasn't he got knocked down.Another case of a man who got into the lions enclosure with  a bible in his hand,shouting out,''if Daniel was kept safe by God in the lions den, he can keep me safe'', He didn't and the man was mauled by the lions.There are people who are not taken precaution at this time, not waring a mask, not getting vaccinated,they believe God will keep them safe,he won't, we must act in a responsible way at all times,if there is a means of preventing us from catching the virus then we must use it, to do otherwise is doing the very thing our Saviour said we shouldn't do,'putting God to the test'.

Out with old ,in with the new. ( Hebrews 10 v 1 - 10 )

The coming of Christ was clearly  foretold in what we call the.' Old Testament',we can call them the scriptures of the Old Covenant,likewise the New Testament are the scriptures of the New Covenant.The Israel of the Old Covenant lived under the laws of that covenant.The New Covenant was foretold in Jeremiah 31 v 31 - 34, Alexander Cruden writes the following,'The New Covenant is the spiritual covenant of God in Christ with his followers'.Christs coming and what he was do on the cross would usher in the New Covenant,replacing the Old Covenant. That means we no longer live under the food laws,clothing laws,or the law of tithing.As regards the food laws they included not just the pig ,but the camel,rabbit ,shell fish and other creatures. All those laws are gone,we can eat what we want,wear what we want,as regards giving ,we give as God has prospered us.1 Corinthians 16 v 2. Now of course we are  called to be Holy,that is vital ,but always bear in mind that we are never saved by keeping laws and regulations. The Christian religion is one of grace,and let me add mercy,the only merits that save us,are the merits of  Jesus and his death on the cross.To come into that wonderful New Covenant  blessing, we must put our faith in Jesus and His finished work. John 19 v 29 - 3

                                           Free from the law,oh happy condition

                                           Jesus has bled, and I have remission,

                                           Cursed by the law, and bruised by the fall,

                                           Christ hath redeemed us once for all.

                                                      

                                                     Words by Philip Bliss.