Never forget.( 2 Corinthians 13 v 14 )

 I often wondered why Christina Rossetti depicted the nativity as taking place in the bleak midwinter ,for a long time it didn't make sense. Well she was an English poet and she felt that our winter with all its bleakness,was very descriptive of what many people in this world are going through. The oppressed, those experiencing conflict,the lonely,homeless ,sorrowing,the hungry,the persecuted,exploited,the nativity as she saw it,is telling us of God who loves and cares  . I will share something I read recently,about two people in a conversation.The first one says,'I believe that God hears our prayers,and cherishes them.I believe He answers by sending His Spirit,and peace and insight.I don't think He responds by turning away bullets and curing cancer.Though sometimes that does happen. The second person says ,' In other words the answer is no?. The first person replies,no, sometimes the answer is,'' This is life,in all its variety. Make your way through it with grace, and never forget ,I  love you''

                                                    ' Love came down at Christmas'

I want.( Acts 26 v 19 )

The Rolling Stones sung a song with the following words,

                                                        'You can't always get what you want

                                                        You can't  always get what you want

                                                         You can't always get  what you want '

                                                         

If you think about it ,that's true,I read of a famous person who was in love with a certain girl,she appeared so lovely,and he wanted her,but it didn't happen.Years later he saw this lovely girl,and he was glad he didn't get her. A child going round the supermarket with his mother wants a lot of things but the mother says no. As a Christian of many years I have discovered that God does not always give me what  I want, and I'm thankful for that,He is all wise,and all loving,and He has to protect me from myself.I know a couple and they wanted to be missionaries,they did everything they could to achieve that goal,but it didn't happen, they didn't get what they wanted,it boils down to this, is it our will  ,or God's will that matters?, and of course it is God's will that matters, every time.If we step out of the will of God then we are in trouble,we are disobedient,the will of God must be the priority in all our lives.

                                           'May our prayer every day be',not my will but yours,Father'

Are you satisfied?. ( Ecclesiastes 2 v 1 -11 )

 We continue to consider Proverbs 27 v 20,and the last part of it,'So the eyes of man are never satisfied',  our Saviour said to a woman at a well,'Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again'.(John 4 v 13) Charles Bridges said,'Man is always seeking for what he can never find,satisfaction in earthly things. All the affections of  fallen man are filled with unquenched thirst.The soul was originally created  to find a suitable and infinite gratification in the love of its Creator.And now that it is turned aside by the fall, it has an immortal depth, that craves to be filled.' It was the Rolling Stones who sang a  song,with the words,' I can't get no satisfaction , cause I try,and I try,and I try.'Adam and Eve were told that they could eat from any tree in the garden of Eden ,except one,but they were not satisfied with that.(Genesis. 2) King David had many wives and concubines yet he stole  another mans wife (2 Samuel 11)God provided manna to feed Israel,but they where not satisfied,( Numbers 11)  So we could go on, look around you,look into your heart, the more man gets the more they want. Augustine said,'Thou has made us for thyself; and our heart can have no rest,till it rests in Thee'.Jesus promised to meet that women's deepest need,all she had to do was to ask and she would receive.

                                                 ' O Christ , in Thee my soul hath found,

                                                  And found in Thee alone,

                                                  The peace, the joy I sought so long,

                                                   The bliss till now unknown.

                                                    Now none but Christ can satisfy'

There is hope.( Luke 2 v 11)

Let us consider Proverbs 27 v 20 ,'Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied'. The first part,'Hell and destruction are never full',  are very challenging words,for it is not just about dying,but what awaits those who do not know Christ , we will all die and there will be no end .of it until Christ returns. But what should concern every human being on planet earth is,what will await then  when they die?,if one does not know Christ,'Hell and destruction', awaits them, CP , Psalm 9 v17 'The wicked shall be turned into hell,and all the nations that forget God'. It is Charles Bridges who writes ,'To great devourers- hell and destruction- never full'.But the good news is this for those who trust Jesus, that awful fate, does not await them,consider the Christ event and the wonderful hope it brings to all mankind,'For  God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life'. ( John 3 v16)

                                                       'How silently,how silently

                                                       The wondrous gift is given

                                                        So God imparts to human hearts

                                                        The blessings of His heaven.

                                                         No ear may hear Him coming;

                                                         But in this world of sin,

                                                         Where meek souls will receive Him still

                                                         The dear Christ enters in.'       (Words P. Brooks)

Trust (John 7 v 7 )

I wonder if there was a time when you had no food in the house, and you had no money to buy any,?.I think of George Muller who started a children's work,and there were times that there was no food in the orphanage,and God provided.When you walk in the will of God He will provide,but it is not just about George Muller,for the God of George  Muller is your God, and my God .George  Muller was a man of Faith, just like those we read about in the Bible,surely it takes special faith  to see God working miraculously,no it takes childlike faith.Why should He help you more than any others,because you are His child,you are the apple of His eye.Our Saviour said,'Do not worry',( Matthew 6 v25 ). He said that ,because He knows how inclined we are to worry,so he wants to reassure us that our Father in heaven will look after us..Remember God is still the living God,and the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.( Hebrews 11 v 7)

                                                     'Trust and rest when all around you

                                                      Puts your faith to stringent test;

                                                      Let no fear or foe confound you,

                                                      Wait for God and trust and rest.

                                                      Trust and rest with heart abiding,

                                                      Like a birdling in its nest,

                                                     Underneath His feathers hiding,

                                                     Fold your wings and trust and rest.'

                                                      

Through Him not us. ( 2 Corinthians 4 v 7-18)

Jacob that ancient  patriarch of Israel was overwhelmed,one thing after another,his favourite son he believed had been killed by wild animals.Later a famine came ,he sent his sons  to get get grain from Egypt, and when they came back it was minus a son,who was being held captive.Jacob was told by his sons that  he would only be released if they returned with Jacobs youngest son Benjamin.It was all very overwhelming for Jacob,and in his despair he declares,''Everything is against me''.(Genesis 42 v36 ) It is so easy to feel like Jacob ,troubles pile up,and like Jacob you feel that everything is against you. Jacob was a man of God who had brought him through so much,yet here he was in deep despair. Let us remember  that all God's Children are very fragile,I know I am at times,and I'm sure you are.Let us remember that all of us are earthen- vessels and what  that means, for Jacob and for us,our weakness and reminds us that it is God's all- surpassing power that enables us to live the Christian life.(2 Corinthians 4 v 7)Paul in that passage v7-18)was experiencing tremendous trials and the only thing that could bring him through was God,and reminds us that we must rely on Him and in Him alone,So let us not loose heart,let us not give up,and let us fix our eyes on Jesus,and keep going on by the grace of God, to the end of our earthly pilgrimage,till we reach heaven and home.

                                                               

                                                       'We can do all things through Christ

                                                         so trust Him'

We do not know. ( Psalm 37 v 23 )

Proverbs 20 v24 reads,  'A man's steps are of the Lord, How then can a man understand his own way?' Charles Bridges has much to on this verse,which is very profitable..His opening statement declares,' God's uncontrollable power and sovereignty; man's absolute dependence and helplessness- let these be foundation principles'.We don't hear much about fortune tellers these days,yes crystal balls are not in vogue these days,likewise liver has really fallen out of fashion.But people still use astrology to see what the future holds for them,there may be other things people try to tell their future.All things would be condemned by God,as  futile ,pointless,but people still have a great appetite and desire to know whats round the bend.But the Christian looks to God and by faith they follow Him,for they know that the way of man is not in himself (Jeremiah 10 v23).Like Abraham who responded to God's call,he left all to go to that place that God had prepared for him,although he did not know where he was going (Hebrews 11 v 8).  What do we know?yes we do know a lot of things,but the word of God tells us,not to boast about tomorrow, for we do not know what a day will bring forth,(Proverb 27 v1).Charles Bridges wrote the following, ''Often do I look back amazed at the strangeness of my course,so contrary to my way. But it is enough  for me,that all is in Thine hands; that my steps are ordered by Thee''