The big problem .( Romans 11 v 33 - 36 )

 There is a particular brand of tomato Ketchup that has this slogan  on it '57 Varieties,' when it comes to problems, there are more than 57 varieties. Some don't go away others resolves themselves, others have to be worked through,some appear so difficult. What can we do,we may feel at a loss as to how to solve the problem. Here is what I  believe , God can help us with our problems.Think about what God has done,He created the universe ,and everything in it, He is the great problem solver.Consider the greatest problem that He was faced with the salvation of mankind , and He solved it.So many ignore this to their hurt,in relation to time and eternity,we are exhorted to trust Christ for the forgiveness of our sins,and to be set free,  there will be a coming  judgement ,in which there will be no escape. Why suffer for the greatest problem in all our lives,our sin.There is an answer to this awful problem,and its only to be found in Jesus, and in Him alone, your church cannot save you,let me stress this again only through Christ,and Him alone can one be saved. I leave you with a verse of a song by Natalie Grant.

                                             ' In Christ alone who took on flesh

                                              Fullness of God in helpless babe

                                             This gift of love and righteousness 

                                             Scorned by the ones He came to save

                                             Till on that cross as Jesus died 

                                             The wrath of God was satisfied 

                                             For our sin on Him was laid

                                            Here in the death of Christ I live.

I can't see. ( Job 23 v 10 )

 i  remember a song years ago and it was very popular sung by Doris Day,words by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans  ,and here are some of the words from it,'Que sera,sera, what ever will be ,will be,the future's  not ours to see'. Consider the words ,'the future's not ours to see',none of us know what the future will be ,that seems obvious.And yet many want to know the future,they look to the stars,crystal balls, I remember working with a young man ,who said he  had a gift of reading tea leaves, and that supposedly told one what the future held . It was the prophets of old like Daniel, Jeremiah that had a knowledge of the future . God may reveal  the future to certain individuals,but most of us will not know the future.Joseph Parker wrote a hymn ,here are some of the words.

                                              God holds the key of all unknown and I am glad;

                                              If other hands should hold the key

                                              Or if He trusted it to me,

                                              I might be sad.

                                              I cannot read His future plans;But this I know;

                                              I have the smiling of His face

                                              And all the refuge of His grace

                                              While here below.

                                              Enough ,this covers all my wants,and so I rest;

                                               And in His care I saved shall be   

                                              Forever ever blest.

The words of Jesus . ( Acts 16 v31 )

 The.' Sermon on the Mount', (Matthew 5-7) is admired by so many people and has influenced many,commenting on it William Hendriksen writes,'The  sermon itself is well organized.This is true with respect to all the reported  discourses of our Lord. Let preachers take note of this in making their sermons, Jesus never rambled. He chose a theme. In the present case that theme is obviously''the gospel of the kingdom'' ( 4 v23 ) As we consider the sermon,we can understand and appreciate the words of    those who came to arrest Jesus,and didn't,and when they were asked why they didn't, they  replied,'No one ever spoke like this man'( John 7 v 46 ).His words stopped them in their tracks , literally millions have been stopped in their evil tracks,like the apostle Paul who was blinded by hatred of the man of Galilee ,then Christ broke into his life,,and from that time  on, he who had hated Jesus,loved him and followed Him for the rest of His life. ( Acts 9 v 1 - 10 )  Jesus who is the word, brought  all things  into place, yes He created everything. (John 1 v 3/ Colossians 1 v15- 17/  Hebrews 1 v 2. It was Peter who said to Jesus,''Lord , to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life''.You want eternal life?, listen to what Jesus has to say,and believe in Him as your Saviour and you will have eternal life. 

9

 

The truth. ( Psalm 119 v 105/ 160)

I was listening to a preacher recently and he was speaking on something most people are very familiar with, and yet his application was different.I went to him after he spoke, and said how I appreciated it.Here is the important thing,it was a legitimate application that didn't effect the truth,alas sometimes things can distort  the truth ,imagination is good but it must not in anyway distract from the truth. The vital thing is that truth does not change,no matter who is preaching it,our Saviour pointed to the religious leaders of his day that they nullified the word of God by their traditions.Matthew 15 v 6.The Christian faith is solely based on Gods word,the Catholic church ,have put tradition ,and church teaching on par with the Bible. The result is we have so many add on's,that the truth of scripture is undermined, the result is the truth  becomes null and void.Their was a very important reason why we had the reformation, things were happening that were contrary to Gods word. The cults usually have the Bible plus,and its the plus that takes over,Islam while appearing to honour God teach so much that is contrary to it,saying that the Bible has been corrupted ,which it hasn't .This result of all this is ,men teach and believe lies,they become slaves to lies, and murders of those who hold to the truth of the Bible.The Bible is the only book where we have the truth, of God  and who he is,the only book that reveals who Jesus is ,and the truth of why He died on the cross.

                                                       'Hold fast to God's truth'

A half forgotten dream. ( Hebrews 12 v1 - 3 )

 'Now in safe anchorage',  the  Wild Wood just left outside was miles away,and all that  they had suffered in it, 'a half- forgotten dream'.These are words from the Wind and the Willows, Ratty and Mole had got into difficulties in the Wild Wood ,caught up in a snow storm, they were cold ,wet,and nearing exhaustion. When they by chance stumbled on their friend Mr Badger's home, who brought them into a place of warmth, refreshment and security.  Things had now changed and the difficulties and dangers they had faced where like a,'half forgotten dream'.It reminds me of what the Apostle Paul wrote to the church at Rome, a church that would soon experience terrible persecution under the Emperor Nero's rule.Here is what Paul wrote,'I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us'. He also wrote in 2 Corinthians 4 v 17,'For our light  and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all'.It needs to be repeated that as Christians we suffer like anybody else,but it does not stop there,in many countries Christians are being persecuted severely.So the words penned by Paul are an encouragement and reminder that the  rewards of glory will more than compensate for the suffering of this life, those things we have suffered  will be like 'a half- forgotten  dream'.

It is well with my ... ( Matthew 10 v 28 )

 I was watching Joni  Eareckson  Tada  being interviewed by Pastor Chuck Swindoll, it was very moving and as usual I  blubbered.If you do not know who Joni is, she is a Christian lady who through an accident,was paralysed ,she can move her head,and has a degree of movement with her arms, she cant blow her nose,or wipe her tears,she is depending upon  her husband and others for support.She is aged 70,she was 17 when the accident happened, in spite of that  she is a very gifted person,heads up a Christian ministry for disabled people.she sings ,paints,writes books.She spoke of suffering chronic pain,she was very honest in what she said,depending on others and what that meant.What came through was a woman of God who manifested a positive Christlikeness. During the interview she would sing a verse of a hymn,one in particular stood out it was written by Horatio G. Spafford who experienced the lost of his four daughters,when they drowned  at sea.

                                                 ' When peace like a river, attendeth my way,

                                                   When sorrows like sea billows roll;

                                                   Whatever my lot,Thou hast taught me to say,

                                                    It is well with my soul.

                                                    Though Satan should buffet   ,though trials should come,

                                                     Let this blest assurance control,

                                                     That Christ has regarded my helpless estate

                                                     And has shed His own blood for my soul.

                                                               It is well with my soul;

                                                               It is well,it is well with

                                                                       my soul.

                                                  

Contradiction. ( Matthew 7 v 15 - 23)

 Every year in the UK awards are given to people,people from all walks of life, acknowledging their accomplishments  and contributions to society. One young lady an athlete said,'how proud she was',and then she followed it up by saying,,'how humble she was'.One wonders how a person can be proud and  humble at the same time. But the fact is we are all people whose lives often are contradictions, many of the  guards of the concentration camps,were good husbands and good fathers. That nice person in your office may  go home and only God knows what they may be involved in. Judas Iscariot was a disciple of our Lord,but he was thief. It is James in his letter  who writes of those professing Christians who  utter praise to God, but  also curse  their fellow man.. James 3 v 9 - 12.Someone has said that people often are different in the workplace,than what they are at home.I  met a man once,he and another person had just finished an evangelistic meeting,I happened to mentioned I was going to Bible college,and he started running me down, and I mention to him a brother he knew and he spoke very unkindly of him.Seemingly this person was going to be missionary.I still remember with great sadness that mans unkind words and attitude to me a fellow Christian ,and in some sense a stranger , he definitely was ,sad to say  least a contradiction.May God grant us grace to be what we should be,to be as  it says in a song,we are what it says on the tin, what a Christian  should be.