Escapism. ( Philippians 3 v 1 - 27)

 Someone said that religion is just  escapism,  I  believe it originated from Karl Marx statement that religion is,' the opium of the people', As a Christian I would agree with that term ,'Escapism',but we have to divine what I mean by that, am I an escapist,as one who doesn't live in the real world,and daydreams,no I face up to life, I have never run away from it,or ignored the realities of life,in fact with my Saviours help I gain strength,to help me day by day.Well what do I mean when I say am an escapist? when I trusted  Jesus, I escaped the power of sin,I also escaped the consequences of sin, sin that enslaves,sin if left unforgiven will shut a person out of heaven,and take them  to hell. Trusting Jesus brings one into a wonderful relationship with God, a relationship that cannot be bettered,an eternal relationship. If you know Christ,rejoice be glad,if you don't know Christ why not join me and became an escapist.

                                                      'Who condemned escapism?,

                                                                     Jailers'

                                                              Author unknown.

The front door ( John 10 v 1 - 18 )

I turned the radio on in my car, heard a program on the BBC , the title being,'A history of the front door'' I must confess it made me smile,and I wondered who could have thought of  making a program about the history of the front door?,as I write this I am now laughing,I didn't listen to all of it, I wonder why?.Of course front doors are important for many reasons, did you know that Jesus talked about Himself being the front door?.We read about it in John 10,of course we are not meant to take it literally,he used it to illustrate a spiritual truth.This chapter is about a shepherd and his sheep,in the evening the shepherd would bring his sheep into the sheepfold, he would not leave them for anybody,instead he would lie down across the entrance,becoming as it  were a front door. There thee was no other way in but through Him,the spiritual application is very simple,here people are likened unto sheep,like sheep who have gone astray (Isa 53 v 6) ,they can be saved only if they come through Jesus.He and He alone is the front and only door whereby people can be saved. Simple but profound,there are many false religions,they cannot save you,in fact they are called thieves and robbers,while they promise much,  like a poison chalice,it will destroy you,it only savours of death.  But Jesus declares that He has come that we may have life , and that we may have it more abundantly.

Duty. ( 2 Corinthians 5 v 14 )

My wife and I, and our youngest son his wife and their two children,recently went for a short break in the county of Norfolk,it is a nice county.As one drives into it,there is a board with the following words on it,'You are now entering Nelson  country'. Of course it is referring to England's great sea Lord, who defeated the french navy on a number of times,the most important being the battle of Trafalgar .As the English fleet entered into the battle, Nelsen sent this message to  all the fleet,'England expects everyman will do his duty'.And just before he died for he was seriously wounded during the battle, he said,'Thank God I  have done my duty'.the word duty means a moral or legal obligation a responsibility.Duty for Nelson was very important, and it should be for all of us,it might sound legalistic, but it does not have to be.It can be for love of ones country,ones spouse,children ,etc.as Christians we owe our Saviour everything,what duty we have to perform  should not be because of a threat hanging over us, but for the love shown to us by our Saviour. It can be summed up in the words of Isaac Watts in that hymn he wrote,'When I survey the wondrous cross.'Look  afresh on the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,there you will see love incarnate. what is your response?. Isaac Watts response was this,

                                                   'Love so amazing, so divine,

                                                    Demands my soul , my life,

                                                                MY  ALL'

The gift of reading. ( Psalm 119 v 105)

 In that murder camp  Auschwitz there was a library, I say a library,but it was very small,for it only had 8 books in it.You see books were banned in that horror camp for as one person said,''Books are extremely  dangerous''.Dictatorships and oppressive regimes don't just want control of what you do, but also of what you think. So if one was found  having a book in Auschwitz it would have cost you your life. So even though it was a small library it was to those in that dark place a window of escape from the grim realities that they endured day after day. One of the most precious gifts I possess is being able to read, that opened so much to me,for it gave me pleasure,educated me,and indeed helped me in so many ways.I love books, I remember a lady in a church I once attended,could only read the bible.I know a little lad who at this stage can't read he is autistic,and he gets very frustrated.I know people who can read,and they don't read books ,I know Christian and they don't even read their bibles. To have the gift of being able to read,and not use it, is very sad, let us rejoice and praise God for the gift of reading, especially in being able to read God's word.

                                                 'The best book to read is the bible'

He got off. ( Luke 13 v 3 )

  I have just started reading a book called,'The  Librarian of Auschwitz', based on the true story of  Dita Kraus, Auschwitz,that awful death camp,were people were put to death,or worked to death. Many children lived in that death camp,most of them would die,but in that camp there was a so called doctor called Mengele.  He was the wicked of the most wicked people for he performed many horrendous experiments on children, cruel beyond belief. When the war ended he escaped human justice,he may have ended up in a South American country, we don't know.So he got off,where was the justice in that?, humanly speaking none.Like Mengele many very wicked have escaped  human justice,but  here is the most important thing, Mengele and all those wicked people have not escaped judgement from our just God, at this very moment in time they are in hell for  ever and ever,with no reprieve .We rightly would cry in praise that for they they are in hell.But would what you say if I told you that all who do not accept Christ will likewise end up with Mengele, and all  those other wicked people.Yes those nice little people we know who would not hurt a fly,will be judged for their sin,because all have sinned,all without exception,hell awaits all those who have rejected God's salvation . Mengele's never got off,no one with get off,all will be judged  by  Jesus .

                                                      'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ

                                                       and you will be saved'.

                                                                   Acts 16 v 31.  

God is present. ( Psalm 139 v 7 - 12)

 In Psalm 139, David the writer of the Psalm is amazed at the being of our all knowing God ,he declares,'Such knowledge is too wonderful for me , too great for me to understand',v 6, he can't take it in. No matter how great we think we know  God , He is greater than what we think,having said that,it could be that David is overwhelmed by what by God's omniscience ,but then his thoughts takes on another aspect of God's being, and he declares ,'Where can I go from your Spirit?,', and he came to the conclusion he couldn't escape God's presence that He is omnipresence in other words He is everywhere.Yet humanity from its beginning have been trying to escape from God,the first thing our  first parents did when they sinned, was hide from God.  (Genesis 3 v 8) . The fact is we cannot hide from God, it is impossible,we cannot escape from Him, for His presence is everywhere.A  heathen philosopher once asked, ''Where is God?'' The Christian answered, ''Let me first ask you, where is He not?''. For the Christian that should be a great comfort, the fact our their loving heavenly Father is always around, watching over us caring for , providing for us.Yes we need to be reminded of that,but it also brings a challenge to us, as to how we live, Spurgeon writes of a man called Linneus who wrote over the door of His library,'' Live innocently;  God is present''

Don't give up. ( 1 Kings 18 v 43 - 46.)

 There is so much in the world we can't do much about,someone you know has a life threatening illness,people who are suffering so much pain and loss.Children being murdered in a school by a wicked young man. A mother takes her life,by hanging herself,and is found by her 15yr old child,people you know who are old and have conditions that cannot be cured ,and their love ones equally aged,and having to be their carer.The unjust wars were so many are suffering,and we look on ,feeling for the situation.Yes there are so many things we can't do much about, but here is what we can do,maybe you know what I am going say next,and its very simple,pray.Remember prayer is not a useless  or pointless exercise,of course for some people it is just vain repetition. But genuine prayer if far from being useless or pointless, it is the greatest resource we have, for our God delights to hear us pray,and delights to answer our prayers.So keep praying and don't give up,God in his mercy ,may respond and answer your prayers,yes things can change, because you prayed .

                                                 ''Be careful for nothing; but in 

                                                  everything by prayer and supplication 

                                                  with thanksgiving let your requests

                                                  be made known unto God.

                                                            Philippians 4 v 6.''