The Bible ( 2 Corinthians 3 v 1 -3 )

 I am just beginning a study of the book of  Obadiah ,it is the shortest book in the OT,and I don't think I have heard a sermon preached from it.Many of the minor prophet are neglected,they are called called the minor because they are usually much shorter than the major prophets.I have just finished Amos,and I found it very profitable,Alec Motyer's book in the series,' the Bible speaks today', it was excellent and I would  commend it to you.Don't go along with those people who say they just read the Bible,and refuse to use other godly men's writing. Take it from me ,I have been to Bible college ,been a full time minister,read the Bible through many many time,and I still use and  appreciate all the God given help I can find.Seek to get an over all understanding of the Bible,the context of each book,its author, the purpose it was written. It is a wonderful adventure reading the Bible,don't rush your reading,enjoy it, make notes,remember its a living word given to us by our living God,and it reveals unto us a living Saviour, don't be afraid to use different translation,even though you may just prefer one translation.Read the bible everyday, memorise it,meditate on it,and above all else,live it out, to the glory of God and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Judging others. ( Matthew 7 v 1- 5)

 In Matthew 7 v 1 ,we read'Do not judge,or you will be judged'.I heard something recently I want to share  with you. A man took his wife shopping,she was disabled,and if you are disabled you receive a disabled card which you display on your dashboard of your car,that enables you to park in the allotted spaces provided for those who are disabled. This the man did ,and he and his wife went to do their shopping. He left his wife in the store to take something back to his car,and then he would return to his wife.When he got to his car a man confronted him as to why he had parked  in a disabled bay ,when he wasn't  disabled.The man struck him knocking him to the ground,the result was the man died, such a tragedy,that man made a wrong judgement,and it led to a very wrong action causing the death of a poor man. Our Saviour said we are not to judge,for often our judgements our flawed,and ill conceived.Often our judgements are made from a self -righteous attitude. Michael Green wrote the following,' All to often what  we condemn in others are the weaknesses we dare not face up in ourselves'

Christian don't smile. ( Acts 16 v31 )

A man I knew told how when he was a little boy,he went with his mother to church,eventually he said to himself, ' I want to be a Christian,and he asked himself ,how can I become a Christian?. Well he thought about it and he said  ,'Christians never smile,so if I  don't smile I will be a Christian.So he went to school and a friend came to him and said do you want to hear a joke?,and he replied ,no ,'I am a Christian and Christian don't smile'.This really happened,and the good news is he did eventually become a Christian,and he did smile. So how does one  become a Christian?, well it is very easy,but its borne out of a need,you look at your life and you feel the emptiness within you ,and your conscious of  your sinfulness,the answer to all that is,'believe on the Lord Jesus and you shall be saved.'

I often wonder.( Philippians 1 v 22)

 I often wonder what heaven will be like,millions of people there,angels and then our wonderful God, I smile and think will it be standing room only?.If it was like that,how will we see Jesus?,after all that is whom we all want to see,will it be by appointment  only?.Of course it won't be like that,because God who made heaven is perfect,so it will be perfect,and it will be very personal ,I base this on two verses in Revelation .7v17/ 21 v4, where we are told ,'That God will wipe away every tear from their eyes'.Those words came across as very personal,although God is awesome, He also is very personal.Our God knows every star by name, will on that day  know us by name,and all that concerns  us,as He does now,He will not change from been personal here, to  impersonal there.We will have the warmth of His presence with us forever,here we can feel very lonely,there loneliness will be banned,everyone will be a friend,there will be no falling out,no need to say sorry,for we will not offend anyone, nor will anyone offend us,and so we could go on, heaven here we come, hallelujah.

His ways are mysterious. ( Isaiah 40 v12- 31 )

If I do have a favourite hymn,it would be that hymn by    William Cowper,'God moves in a mysterious way ',it is so profound and meaningful.In Romans 11 v33 we read,'How unsearchable are His judgments,and His ways past finding out'.Can anybody tell why so many things are happening in this world at this time,only a sovereign God knows.Let us face it,there are so many why's in life,that we do not have an answer for. Consider Job who suffered so much,he stands in the midst of the ruins of his life, with no answer to the why,he had experienced so much suffering, it was all a mystery to him.In the end he stopped questioning God  (40 v 4-5 )So that's it,no,God is not a cold impersonal being,He is a God of Love,and He has a special love for His children. In Romans 8 v 28,we are told something very important,'that our sovereign God is working out all things for good to those who love Him'.Consider those words 'all things',it means just that,but it also goes unto to say ,'according to His purpose'. Yes God has a purpose for all His children's lives,and that purpose is that we may be conformed to image of His Son.( 8 v29 ),consider what that means in your life,as I will consider what it means in my life.

Perseverance.( 1 Peter 4 v 12 - 19

Just another thought on David Livingstone,on ,'New Year's Day,1871', he wrote a prayer in his journal,'O Father,help me to finish this work to Thy honour'. It was said  of him that he had a perseverance bordering on mania,I don't know if I would agree on the mania bit,but he was a man who refused to give up in spite of many difficulties.I am not comparing myself to David Livingstone,but on looking back on my life in relation to Christian service,and reaching that goal of becoming a minister,it took perseverance. We can broaden this task of perseverance to include our Christian life,one the five points of Calvinism ,is the 'perseverance of the saints'.  In John 6 v 66 we read,' many of His disciples withdrew,and were not walking with Him anymore.' because they did not understand what Jesus taught,they stopped following Him.I am totally against the so called prosperity gospel,it cuts across the whole idea of persevering,it rules out the fact that we are told that in the world we shall have tribulation,that we are to  take up our cross and follow Jesus

                                                    'Let us by God's grace follow Jesus. 

                                                     come what may'

He entered heaven with prayer. ( 1 Thessalonians 5 v 17

 On the 1st of May 1873 Dr Livingstone who was very ill,woke between midnight and dawn. He slipped to the floor got on his knees to pray, he was discovered at 4a.m,he was still kneeling in prayer ,and in that position he had died,he was aged sixty .David Livingstone was a godly man,much loved and respected, dying as he did,kneeling in prayer,reminds me of a verse of a hymn  by James Montgomery,which goes.

                                                   'Prayer is the Christian's native breath,

                                                   The Christian's native air,

                                                    His watchword at the gate of death;

                                                    He enters heaven with prayer'.

How vital is prayer to us?,the world rushes on,alas many Christian's do also,it was Billy Graham who said that the most important thing before his campaigns, was,' To pray,pray, pray'..We all need to learn the lesson,that if our churches are to grow,and if we are to grow spiritually,we need to pray,pray,pray.