Lost. ( Luke 15 )

 As I returned home I was met by a very agitated wife,the reason she had lost one of her car keys,the good one, yes she has two, one recently had been playing up,the other was fine,but that was the one she lost.We were both a bit agitated now, car keys are really little computers,and they can be expensive to be replaced .I did my best to still my wife,I said lets pray about it,that's what we did. Later my wife suggested going to  an elderly lady my wife cares for,she is partially blind, this we did,I continued to pray.  When we arrived we  we discovered the key ,we were both very grateful, and I thanked God. There are a number of lessons one can learn from this experience, be careful not to judge the person who losses something ,that doesn't help.Next pray about it, bring our sovereign God into the situation,trust Him .As regards that which lost,remember that everyone is lost, and that is a fact, and unless they get saved ,they will die and consciously exist in an eternal permanent state for ever.Their only hope is Jesus, who came to seek and to save those who are lost, He is their only hope,the moment we die we go to either hell or heaven,what would you choose?.

                                                    'Come, ye sinners, poor and needy,

                                                     Weak and wounded, sick and sore;

                                                     Jesus ready stands to save you,

                                                     Full of pity,love, and power;

                                                     He is ale, He is able,

                                                     He is willing; doubt no more.'

                                                             John Newton.

                                                                  

                                                          

                                                    

Unchanging One. ( Psalm 51 )

 In Malachi 3 v6,God declares ,' I am the Lord,and I do not change', the book of Malachi makes very sad  reading, Instead of loving God obeying Him,being faithful to Him,they cheated on God, instead of recognizing their sinful ways they  turned it back on God,blaming Him accusing Him of so many things.The history of the old covenant Israel was deplorable,they never changed, they just kept doing the same thing over and over again.Our Saviour declared how they persecuted the prophets (Matthew 5 v 12)  , Stephen declared just before the Jews killed him,how they were stubborn,like the heathen,refused to listen to the truth, murders of the prophets,disobedient,even though they were favoured by receiving Gods word. Acts 7 v 51ff.Yet God did not change,He loved them,he was faithful to them,they deserved nothing from God,it was Jeremiah when standing amidst the ruins  of Jerusalem ,that had  experienced Gods judgement ,he was filled with despair,but then he remembered the following.

                                                   'The faithful love of the Lord never ends!

                                                    His mercies never cease.

                                                    Great is His faithfulness,

                                                     His mercies begin afresh each morning.

                                                               Lamentation 3 v 22 - 23.

                                                   

Put to death. ( 2 Peter 3 v 10 - 14 )

 In Colossians 3 v 5-6,we read ,'Put to death ,therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature; sexual  immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these the wrath of God is coming'.Theology always has an application, Paul has been dealing with the problems in the church,this  involved the person of Christ, there were those who were teaching that their faith in Christ was not  enough,beware of anyone who tells you such a  thing,if we have Christ, he is all we need,no adds on's. Now let consider 3 v5-6,  v5 commences by saying,'Put to death', and he names those immoral things,  although they were Christians ,they still had within them the potential to get caught up in immorality,Dick Lucas writes,' Not until death shall we be free from evil desires'.We must be severe with ourselves, think of the term he uses,'Put to death', do all you can by God's grace,to avoid such things,see them for what they are, evil.Let us not be sucked into the worlds moral morass, people are being conditioned mainly by the media to accept immoral behaviour. Lets us have a godly morality,that does not mean we will be Pharisees it will mean we will be walking a path of holiness, with our holy God and Saviour.

Troubles .( 2 Corinthians 4 v 8 -9 )

 Life is full of troubles there is no end to them , the troubles that humanity has to face are to many to number,we read in Job 5 v 7,' People are born for trouble as readily as sparks fly upward'.Matthew Henry comments, 'Such is the frailty of our bodies,and the vanity of our enjoyments, that our troubles arise as naturally as the sparks fly upward'.I often turn to the Psalms when troubles come,most of them were written by David who experienced many troubles,life threatening troubles, troubles from even his own family. In   Psalm 46 we have these words ,'God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help  in times of trouble,' Consider those words ,'always ready to help in times of trouble', God is not a reluctant helper,there are people who will help you but very reluctantly,not so God,he is always ready to help. v 2-4 of Psalm 46 reads .' So we will not fear  when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. Let the oceans roar and foam . Let the mountains  tremble at the water edge'.No matter how great the troubles we may be facing ,God is greater,He can do exceeding abundantly above all we can ask or think.

                                                         'A sovereign protector I have,

                                                          Unseen, yet forever at hand,

                                                          Unchangeably faithful to save,

                                                          Almighty to rule and command. 

                                                          He smiles  and my comforts abound;

                                                          His grace as the dew  shall descend

                                                          And walls of salvation surround

                                                          The soul He delights to defend.

                                                                 Augustus M,Toplady 

Hell ( Revelation 21 v 6 - 8)

 Some people make jokes about hell, I wont,it is a real place, Jesus ,yes Jesus spoke of  it often, CP , Matthew 16 v 18/ 18 v 8-9/ 23 v15/ Luke 16 v 23/.  It was Bertrand Russell who  held the view' that,for all that might be said positively about the teaching and character of Jesus Christ, it was overshadowed  on the negative side by His belief in hell.' It is the place were the unsaved go, they died in their sins,and so they suffer for their sins.Bruce Milne writes,'Hell is terrible by any measure and , as Jesus indicates, everything is worth sacrificing in order to avoid it. There is no more terrible prospect conceivable than of being consigned to hell'.As heaven will be more glorious than we can ever imagine,likewise hell,is more awful  than we could ever imagine. I do not apologise for writing about hell,I did not invent it, I did not make it up,no it is clearly taught in God's word.It is not inevitable that people will go to hell , because God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.  (John 3 v16 )

Take all of me ( John 3 v16)( 1 ) Romans 12

 I remember reading of a lady who suffered from severe mental illness, she said,'that her mind hated her', I think that we all at times feel that we have no control over our  minds. In Romans 12 v 1-2  we read,' Therefore ,I urge you, brothers  and sisters, in view of God's mercy,to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing  to God- this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind . Then you will be able to test and approve what's God's will is- His good ,pleasing and perfect will'.Now there is a lot in these verses ,to challenge us,to aid us in our Christian life,and being conformed to Christ. It commences with the word,'Therefore',  The apostle has been writing about  what God has achieved for us ,because of Christ dying for us,we have by faith in Christ been justified,( 5 v1) ,we are no longer condemned   (12 v1) In the light of such mercy we are called,to live a sacrificial and holy life to God which is pleasing to God,that means our whole being,our bodies and our minds.It was C.T. Studd  who said,/I had known about Jesus dying for me,but I never  understood that if He died for me, then I didn't belong to myself.Redemption means buying back, so that if I belonged to Him, either I had to be a thief  and keep what wasn't mine, or else I  had to give up everything to God'.

                                                    'Fill Thou my life ,O my God,

                                                     In every part with praise

                                                     That my whole being may proclaim

                                                      Thy being and Thy ways.

                                                      So shall no part of day or night

                                                       From sacredness be free;

                                                       But all my life, in every step,

                                                       Be fellowship with Thee.

                                                            Words Horatius Bonar.

Heaven ( 1 Corinthians 2 v 9 )

One of the most popular singers in  the early 20th century was Al Jolson,he was called ,'The worlds greatest entertainer',he wrote and sung many songs that became very popular.One was called 'Sonny Boy', the chorus goes,'You're sent from heaven, and I know your worth,you made a heaven,for me on earth'. We can appreciate the sentiments ,but the reality is ,nothing on earth ,no matter how wonderful it is, can even begin to compare with the glories of heaven.I believe the wonders of heaven are beyond our deepest thoughts, and imaginations.Heaven is a place were there will be no sin,we cannot even imagine what that means.We are so conditioned by evil in this world,that we think absence of it will be boring, not possible. There will be no death there, there are no graveyards in heaven,it is a place of life,death will have died. There will be no wars,permanent peace will prevail,all weapons of war  will no longer exist,no  crimes will take place,we will all feel totally secure, and content, no panic attacks.There are many who have tried to set up heaven on earth,,sought to set a certain system in place but they failed. The Lord Jesus will set the eternal glories, and He will be all the glory of Heaven,and we will be eternally satisfied.

                                                        ' Heaven here we come.'