More than these. ( John 21 v 15 - 17 )

 I have always enjoyed football, played it a bit when I was younger ,but most of the time I was a spectator, I watch it on the TV, and follow a certain team.I  love football but I love so many other things more,it is important, but there are so many things more important. My wife and family,my friends, and so many other things,I love more. Jesus said something that appeared very strange in Luke 14 v 26,' If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother,wife and children, brothers and sisters,yes , even their own life, such a person and cannot be my disciple',At first glance it appears a very hard thing to say, hating loved ones, surely not?. One writer  explains it like this,'Eastern language is always ae vivid as the human mind can make it.' When Jesus tells us to hate our nearest and dearest, He does not mean that literally.' A simple explanation for the use of the word hate, means to love less. We move forward ,to after our Saviours death and resurrection,where He meets Peter on the sea shore , and he asked him,'Do you love me more than these'?. (John 21 v 15).Well what would your answer to that question?,can we say the following?

                                            'I love Thee more,than this old world can offer,

                                             All sinful follies, I deny, for Thee,

                                             My love, my life, my all,I ,pledge Thee,

                                              I love Thee more , I love Thee Lord,

                                              More than these,More than these.'

                                                             Emie Haase.

Simply Trusting. ( Proverbs 3 v 5- 6 )

Trust is very important ,when there's infidelity in a marriage,it usually means for the innocent party trust is gone.That usually means the marriage is over,because the innocent one  says', I can no longer trust you'.In our relationship with God ,trust is vital , without trust our relationship with God will be affected,in Hebrews 3 v 13,we read,'I will put my trust in Him',that is what God wants us to do,are we prepared for that.faith  and trust can be linked together,often we will not exercise faith,because we do not trust Him. Read the history of Israel.they were a nation that God delivered from 400years of slavery.They actually witnessed miracle after miracle,but when it came to entering the promised land, under the leadership of Moses,they would not enter . They heard reports of a formidable race of giants called the Anakites , also the largeness of their cities , it all became to much for them.and they refused to go forward.When we refuse to go forward with God we are going back. The will of God for the Israelites and indeed for us,must be taken seriously,  fear can take over and we can become like the Israelites of old,pull back because we are afraid,loosing sight of the fact,the Lord will be with us , to aid and help us on our onward journey .E.Page wrote a hymn about trusting God, here are two verses.

                                                      'Simply trusting every day,

                                                      Trusting through a stormy way;

                                                      Even when my faith is small.

                                                      Trusting Jesus, that is all.

                                                      Singing if my way be clear;

                                                      Praying if the path be drear;

                                                      If in danger, for Him call;

                                                      Trusting Jesus that is all.'

                                                            

Such love. ( Galatians 1 v 3 - 5 )

 It is John Stott who wrote the following,'Lowliness was much despised in the ancient world. The Greeks never used their word for humility (tapeinotes) in a context of approval, still less of admiration. Instead they meant by it an abject, servile, subservient attitude, 'the crouching  submissiveness of a slave'. Not till Jesus came was a truly humility recognized. For  He humbled himself. And only He among the world's religious and ethical teachers  has set before us as our model a little child'.There is a hymn with the words, 'Jesus takes the highest station', and rightly so,in heaven he is now the exalted risen Lord, having completed the great work of redemption. But when Jesus came into this world He took the lowest station, He personified humility,from being equal with God, He did not grasp that ,He didn't hold on to it,and then on, everything was a downward step in humility, He became the God man,the Athanasian Creed states,'He was equal to the Father as touching His Godhead, and inferior to the Father as touching His manhood'.Becoming human involved humility in extreme, for we read,'He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross' (Philippians 2 v 8) Why,why, did He do such a thing?, 

                                             'It was for me my Saviour died,

                                             On Calvary's cross was crucified,

                                             For me he bore the guilt and shame.

                                            That I a pardon free, might gain.

                                                           S.L.Long

                 

The quite man. ( Matthew 18 v 21 - 35 )

 One of my favourite movies is the ,'The Quite Man',it is about a man an Irish American  called Sean Thornton ( Played by John Wayne)returning to his roots in Ireland.He falls in love with Mary Kate Donaher,( Played by Maureen O' Hara)  the sister of Squire Donaher ( Played by Victor Mc Laglen.) The squire is a big man who would start a fight at the drop of a hat,if anybody offended him,he would tell his little side kick to put their name in the book,so he would have a record of those offended him, and deal with them.In 1 Corinthians 13 v 5, we read ,that one aspect of love is,one does not keep a record of wrongs.If we, like Squire Donaher keep a record of wrongs then we are not being loving.We can all justify keeping a record of those who have hurt us,offended us,and instead of loving and forgiving,we hold unto it,and its becomes like a cancer eating away at us. In the Lords prayer, we ask God to forgive us our sins,and yet we are not willing to forgive others. When we trust Jesus as our Saviour a wonderful things happens,all our sins our gone, as far as the east is from the west ,so far has he removed our transgressions from us.( Psalm 103 v 12 ) Don't be a squire Donaher.

Feelings ( Psalm 37 v 3 )

 How am I feeling today?,I feel fine,tomorrow I may not feel fine,that is the way we are as humans,one day we are up the next day we are down. Is it possible to always feel fine?,to be honest I do not know, being part of planet earth,brings with it so many things that can effect us.I cannot say that I am happy all the time,I wish I could,but what I will say is this,I am on a walk of faith,and one thing for sure I am not to be ruled by my feelings,the scripture tells in Habakkuk 2 v 4 and  Galatians 3 v 11, 'that the just shall live by faith', not by feelings.The Christian life begins by faith in Jesus Christ, (Acts 16 v3),but it does not stop there, we have to face life's realities, the sun will not always be shining upon us,but we will have the light of the world  to lead us through.I may change but He will not change, He is the same today ,yesterday, and forever,my feelings don't effect that,so how am I feeling today,is not the important consideration, I am trusting Him ,that is what is important, yes I am changeable, He is unchanging.

                                                         'I change, He changes not;

                                                         The Christ can never die;

                                                         His love, not mine, the resting place;

                                                         His truth, not mine, the tie'.

                                                               Horatius Bonar.

Peace .( Psalm 23 )

When I was younger,people used to say ,'will you give my head peace', the person who said this was very distracted, by whatever. The whatever can cover so many things ,our jobs,family ,unemployment,sudden bad news,and so we could go on,is it possible in such a world that we live in, to know  peace?.Just before our Saviour would die, He said something very precious to His followers ,here is what he said, 'Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful' John 14 v 27. Yes he left it  here for us ,that in a very, very troubled world, we may know peace, we need to be reminded of this, we need to claim it,and experience it.Remember although He has gone to heaven,He is still with us,for he has said ,He will never leave us ,nor forsake us,the Lord is near at hand,to help us, and to bring us through.You may be going through the deepest valley of your life, here is what King David said  ,'I will fear no evil for thou art with me.'Psalm 23 v 4. What applies to David applies to all God's children, that means you ,and it means me.

Roots of bitterness ( Psalm 133)

I remember my friend Derry Nash speaking many years ago,he used an aspect of gardening to stress a point, he if you want to get rid of weeds,you have to dig up the roots. In Hebrews 12 v 15, the writer stresses  the following,'See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God,that no''root of bitterness'' spring up and cause trouble, and by it the many become defiled'. One writer commenting on this' root of bitterness' says the following,' The phrase comes from Deuteronomy 29 v 18; and there it describes the man or woman who goes after strange gods, and encourages  others to do so, and who thereby becomes a pernicious and  poisonous influence on the life of the community'. You know what it says about one bad apple,it ruins the barrel,it ruins all the apples, likewise the covid virus, started by one person.There are many things even in the church that can upset us,and it is so easy to let bitterness take over, and then we start to spread that, and then soon people begin to take sides,and they are odds with one another. We have a choice when we are hurt,we can nurse it, chew over it, and let it take over us,or we can seek the grace of God that will enable us to forgive and to leave our hurt in God's hands.

                                           ' Behold, how good a thing ,it is to dwell in peace;

                                             How pleasing to our king this fruit of righteousness;

                                             When brethren all in one agree,who knows the joy

                                                                    The joys of unity.