Nothing has changed. ( John 1 v 1- 3 )

 I like watching a who done it mystery movies,it is not very often one really knows who done it. Life is full of many mysteries , one of these is the life force in all of creation. Of course if you don't believe in God, then it is a real mystery.  How did life begin?,it just happened, or else the god evolution did it,or is it a DIY universe?.  How did we end up with such wonderful bodies?,what's holding everything together?,how did gravity come about?,did it create itself?.Is there no answer to all these questions?, yes there is an answer , here it is,'In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth', (Genesis 1 v1),you know it makes sense,or maybe you don't,of course it takes a step of faith to do that,without faith you will continue to be in the dark and it will always be a mystery.,a life of scratching head time. It is sad that in this day and age that God is totally absent ,He is not given a mentioned by the gurus of science, I wonder why?. Here is another mystery ,God stepped into this world in the most remarkable way,when Jesus came, into the very world He created ( John 1 v10).and here is the sad thing,they didn't recognize Him, nothing ha changed.

                              

Without Him.

As I was praying the thought came to me ,that without Him  (Jesus),life would just have been an empty nothingness,There is a song written by Connie Smith ,which goes,

                                            Roll back the curtain of memory ow and then,

                                            Show me where you brought me from,

                                            And where I could have been,

                                            I'm so human, and I forget,

                                            So remind me,remind me, dear Lord.

The Israelites in the wilderness so often complained and even wanted to go back to Egypt ( Numbers 14 v1-5){ ,in Egypt they where slaves, in Egypt they where put to hard labour , in Egypt their children where murdered . Again I want to leave you with words from a song,I am not sure who wrote it,but it expresses how I feel.

                                              Without Him I could do nothing,

                                              Without Him I'd surely fail,

                                              Oh, without Him I would be drifting

                                              Like a ship with out a sail

                                              Without Him I would be dying

                                              Without Him  I'd be enslaved,and

                                               without Him my life would be worthless,

                                               But with Jesus, thank God I am saved.

Giving thanks.( Genesis 50 v 19 )

 In Ephesians 5 v 20 we read,' Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ', These were penned by the apostle Paul,and the first we note in this verse ,the word always,This is to be a consistent thing ,always,is that possible?,we all know there are times that would seem impossible.well it is John Stott who points out,'That the grumbling spirit is not compatible with the Holy Spirit'.He does state we cannot praise for what He abominates,he goes on to write,'Of course God's children learn not to argue with God in their suffering,but to trust him,and indeed thank him for his loving providence by which  he can turn even to good purposes ( Roman 8 v28 ),but that is praising God for being God, it is not praising him for evil.'He further writes ,'Our thanksgiving is to be for everything which is consistent  with the loving Fatherhood of God, and the self-revelation he has given us in Jesus Christ,' that does come naturally to us ,it comes from the indwelling and infilling of the Holy Spirit. 5 v 18.

                                             ' Every joy or trial falleth from above,

                                              Traced upon our dial by the sun of love.

                                              We must trust Him fully all for us to do;

                                              They who trust Him wholly find Him wholly true.

                                              Stayed upon Jehovah hearts are fully blest;

                                               Finding, as He promised, perfect peace and rest.

                                                          Words Frances R. Havergal.

Children.( Proverbs 22 v 6 )

 I was asked to lead in our local church a time of intercessory  prayer,and one of things I mentioned was for parents and their children. I prayed that they may see their children trusting Jesus as their Saviour, and I added that there was no age limit in coming to Jesus. Yes we must never forget that our children need the Saviour like we do,and that they can  come to Him young as they are,and He will receive them.They like us will receive eternal life and go to heaven, also that child will be saved from many of the pitfalls that many young people fall into as they grow up. Ever child has potential who knows,God may give to you a young Samuel,David,Joseph,or a young Spurgeon ,or Charles Wesley.  Who knows ?,we do our bit as parents,and God will honour that,remember what our dear Saviour said,'' Let the little children come to Me,and do not hinder them,''( Matthew 19 v16)There are awaiting them so many things that can hinder them coming Christ,so you bring then to Jesus He will watch over them,yes they may go astray,but God can bring them back again,I speak from experience. Cover them with your prayers,and your love, for love never fails.

Lost causes. ( Mark 5 v 1 - 20 )

I heard this recently,''I don't believe in lost causes, I believe in lost souls'', I am sure we all know of someone whom you have looked at, and you have thought that there was no hope for them.You may have  helped them many times,but nothing has changed,you may have stopped praying for them,or  you  may  be still praying for them, but not with much hope,humanly speaking they are a lost cause, they will never change. There are plenty examples of lost causes in the Bible,I want to point you to two people,one in the OT ,and the other in the NT, The first was King Manasseh one of the most wicked kings in Israels history ,he had a godly father King Hezekiah,but of course godliness is not transferable .CP Kings 21/ 2 Chronicles 33.Thankully God does not give up on lost causes ,and He dealt with him severely,,with the result  he sought the Lord,humbling himself,and God forgive him,he was lost but now he was found.The next person was a man no one could tame,we read about him in Mark 5 ,possessed by demons,people tried to help him, but to no avail.He was to all intent a lost cause,but Jesus came and set this lost cause free,and it showed,for we read of him being dressed and in his right mind'. He was lost but was now found by Jesus the one who came to seek and to save that which was lost.

                                              No one is too far gone that Jesus cannot save them.

Lukewarm ( Revelation 3 v14 - 22 )

 In the book of Revelation,there are seven churches mentioned,  chapters 2 - 3,  the Lord speaks to each of them. I like us to consider one of them, Laodicea, this church stands as a challenge to the prosperity movement,because on one level they had everything,on another they had nothing. Our Lord does not commend them in anyway, all He sees is a church that had lost its way.The cry of the church was,'I am rich',our Lord answers ,''But you do not realise that you are wretched,pitiful; blind and naked'.Their prosperity had blinded them of true spiritual values, that's always a danger with prosperity.It is instructive how the Lord  in highlighting the things that Laodicea were known for,and how He applies spiritual truths to them .The eye ointment,the manufacturing of cloth,a spring of water,that if one drank it ,it would cause one to vomit.This is how our Lord sums up the church.,'you are lukewarm,neither hot nor cold'. Lukewarm is a very interesting word, here is some of its meaning,'showing little enthusiasm, halfhearted, uninterested, couldn't care less. No wonder the Lord says,'' I will vomit you out of my mouth'',the seriousness of  their situation is found in 3 v 20,where it appears that the Lord is shut out of the church, He is depicted as one standing at a door,knocking ,asking to be let in.He declares to them that He will deal with them v 19,  v22  this is a plea for them to listen to what He is saying to them, or else.

                                                    The dearest idol I have known,

                                                    Whate'er that idol be,

                                                    Help me to tear it from Thy throne

                                                    And worship only Thee.

                                                        Words William Cowper.

God's ultimate purpose. ( Philippians 2 v 12 -13)

 What is the ultimate purpose for God's children? ,as we look back we could say a number of things,to save us  from judgement,that we may not go to Hell ,and that we may go to heaven.We could mention a number of other things,but the ultimate  purpose is that we who are His children may be conformed to the image of His Son.Romans 8 v 29. It is not an instant thing,it is a process, it comes under the term of sanctification. Sanctification means we are  called to be holy separating  ourselves from all that is evil, all that is sinful,it cannot be done in our own in our strength, the Holy Spirit plays a vital role in this process.That aspect of holiness is not something we receive it is something we do. again let me stress as Vine puts it ,the Holy Spirit is the Agent in our sanctification. Lets add that sanctification does not make us a Christian, we become a Christian by faith in Christ and His finished work,when we do that ,we are Justified,Romans 5 v1,that means we are no longer guilty,on the cross Christ bore our guilt, and punishment. That means we are totally accepted by God,in the words of a hymn,'Near,near I cannot be,for in the person of His Son I'm just as near as He'. Spurgeon put it like this,'Those for whom Christ has died,were perfected by His death. It  does not mean that He made them perfect in character, so that they are no longer sinners, but that He made those for whom He died, perfectly free from the guilt of sin. Jeremiah 31 v34/ Hebrews 10 v 1 - 10.