Witnessing. ( Isaiah 55 v 11)

 No doubt about it some people are very gifted at witnessing, so maybe we should leave it to them,what do think?.I remember years a go a man who was a very simple soul,being told off by this Christian lady,because he wore a lot of badges with  Christian messages on them,shame on that lady. I am sure we have all  heard people witnessing and we have been critical the way they were doing it ,and you think that they are putting people off from being a Christian.W.P.Nicholson was a very effective  evangelist, but he used terms that would appear to most of  us as being inappropriate. I believe that there are people who are called to be evangelist, but that does not mean we should not witness for Jesus. when is the right time  to witness?, anytime,how does one go about it? ,prayerfully, humbly, then just do it. Then what about results?, leave that to God,it is He who gives the increase,the words of witness that you may give,may lie dormant in a persons mind for years,but then at a particular time it will bear fruit. Remember this ,there will be those who will take offence,that comes with the territory,as long as we are not offensive. Always remember you are not doing it on your own,God the Holy Spirit is with you, he will help you.

Can God? (Psalm 37 )

 A  little chorus goes, ' When your cup runneth over' with joy,is based on a quotation from the Hebrew Bible ,Psalm 23 v 5,means,'I have more than enough for my needs'. God loves to bless His children, most Fathers do, if they can,sometimes they just cant do it ,but our Father in heaven can,In unbelief  the children of Israel in the wilderness tested God,by declaring ,'Can God spread a table in the wilderness?'.  So often like them we limit God,but of course He can, CP Matthew 6 v 31 - 34. He is not only able, he will provide,the Psalmist in Psalm 37 v 3 exhorts us to'Trust in the Lord and do good;  so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed'  In v 25, he also declares out of his own experience,'I was young  and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread'.   Verse 3  tells us to do two things,'Trust in the Lord and do good',to trust God is essential, seems so simple it seems so simple,but many are not prepared to do that. Next he tells us to do good, no shady dealings,no thinking He will understand,no He won't,he expects us to act with integrity at all times.This Psalm was written by David,in all his troubles he had proved God to be faithful,it is now our turn to prove God's faithfulness.

One that day all be different. ( Philippians 2 v 5 - 7)

 I watched recently a movie by Robin Williams called, 'Patch Adams', it was about a man Patch Adams who wanted to help people,so he trained to be a doctor. But he wanted to bring a more human side to treating people,it was a nice movie,but for all its well intentions,it lacked something vital ,God never got a mention, That's nothing new of course, one is not condemning those are in the business of helping others,they are to be commended. The fact is ,that should not mean, God is to be ignored,which He is,the God who created us, is the God who sustains all of us,we are told that in him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17 v28) .There is so much evil in this world,we read this in the newspapers ,on the TV, everyday  ,yet there is  so much more we do not see,we underestimate our sinful nature. The fact is God is not responsible for any of the evil in this world,we are.yet in spite of this God remains  a faithful creator,and blesses this world,more that we deserve.One day it may be sooner than we think,the day of Lord will come,and judgement will fall upon all those who have rejected His Son Jesus,and His wonderful love.He will no longer be ignored,and sinned against, on that great judgement day,every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that He is Lord.

Procrastination. ( Revelation 3 v 20 )

 I said to myself ,''I will do it later,then I said no I will do it now,and so I did,my wife can be a bit critical at times,when I say I will do it later,she very cynically, and very annoyingly'I suppose it will never get done'',as if. I ask myself the question are all wives like this?,well she may have a point.I suppose its possible, some things don't get done,we put off,and we put it off, but not today, I got over my procrastination spirit,and did it,I must tell my wife,but I don't think so,for she may say,'so what,do you want a medal?''Ah procrastination, the art of putting things off,Martin Luther said, 'How soon, ' not now ' becomes never'. People make jokes as regards procrastination like the following, , My mother always told me I wouldn't amount to anything, because I procrastinate,'I said ,'Just wait'.One can laugh at this but of course when it comes to salvation to procrastinate can be a very serious business. On one occasion the apostle Paul witnessed to a Roman governor (Acts 25 v 24 - 25) God spoke to him ,but he  resisted that ,and then he said to Paul,''when I have a convenient season I will call for thee''.In Isaiah 55 v 6, we read ,'Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him while He is neat''.The whole point is the urgency, a limited time of opportunity. tomorrow may not come for you,take the opportunity now to trust the Lord.

                                                          ' Now is the day of salvation.'

An aroma ( 2 Corinthians 2 v15 - 16)

 An author called Rita Snowden tells of her visit to a small town near Dover,England. She was having tea in the late afternoon when she became aware  of an unbelievably  pleasant scent filling the air. She asked the waiter the source of the scent and was told that it came from the people passing by . He explained to her that they worked in a perfume factory down the street and were on their way home. When they  left the factory  they carried  with them  the fragrance  that had permeated their clothes during their day's work.     I remember meeting my cousin  whom I hadn't seen for many years, he said to me your different, I hope that difference was that Jesus was somehow shining through this earthen vessel that I am.When the apostles were arrested and brought before the Jewish authorities, (Acts 4 v 13)' they  took note that these men had been with Jesus'. In  2 Corinthians 2 v 15-16 ,Paul writes ,'For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other ,an aroma that brings life'.The fact is there will those who will accept the wonderful fragrance of the Gospel  will receive eternal life,others will reject it  and will die in their sins.

Who is this man.? ( Isaiah 9 v 6)

 Some call him his holiness, but his holiness  made a lewd suggestion to a young person,he is seen as a god ,gods there are in plenty in this world, but what are they ?They are only bit actors playing a role,that in no way represents a true deity,I would go farther and say they are satanic, who enslave their followers  and lead them into the dark, a darkness that will never cease. Now let us turn away from these phonies, and let me point to an unique person,he was born of a virgin, born in obscurity, when He grew up,he began ministering,in word and in doing  good,that  good involved miracles,He turned water into wine,walked on water,calmed a storm,raised the dead,give sight to the blind,hearing to  the deaf, speech to the dumb,freed people from Satan's power,and so many other things,and He unlike that lewd person whom  some address as His holiness,He never sinned in word.thought,or deed. This man's last acts was His death and resurrection,His death was awful ,crucifixion ,yet in that death mankind could escape the just punishment for their sins,as He would bear the punishment for them,when they put their trust in Him..Three days after his death He rose from the dead,if a person trusts Him as their Saviour, they likewise will rise from the dead. Who was this man His name is Jesus,otherwise known as Emmanuel, meaning,' God with us.'

                                                             ' My Lord and my God'

Have you? ( Acts 16 v31 )

 Jesus said,'But you will receive power when the Holy Ghost comes upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,and in all Judea  and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.' (Acts 1 v 8 ) Tony Campolo wrote the following,'It so easy for those of us in the  evangelical community to talk about people  going to hell.But if in the depths of our being we really believed this ,we should  constantly be witnessing , because the thought of  people going to hell without having heard about Christ should be an intolerable burden to bear'.It is a fact if you asked ,do most of them want to go to heaven when they die,they would say  yes,but everyone is not going to heaven because they have not received Christ as their Saviour. The question is,have you?.