Be a star. ( Acts 1 v 8)

 There is a lady I know,whose name means ,'star',and it reminded me of the star of Bethlehem,that guided the wise men to Jesus.I wonder what  you would think if  I said , that we Christians should all be stars ,leading people to Christ. You may reply I'm not qualified to lead people to Christ ,better to leave it to the professionals, who knows what they are doing. Yes I know that we are not all gifted in the same way,that's the way it should be .Every Christian has the Holy Spirit ,that means He will help us in our weakness , and we have a wonderful promise,( Psalm 32 v8)  'I  will instruct you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you'. In the  last verse in Matthews gospel we have these assuring words spoken by our Saviour, ''I am with you always'.Then we have the precious word of God, that word we are told is alive and active. Sharper than any two edge sword,it penetrates even to dividing  soul and spirit,joints and marrow,it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart (Hebrews 4 v 12) Then last but not least we have prayer, when we pray we are acknowledging our dependence on God. Many people in the entertainment industry wants to be stars,well we are dealing with something more important than entertainment,far more important.So the question is, do we want to be a star,and lead people to Jesus?

                                                            'Go on, be a Star'

                                                                                                                              

Everyone has troubles ( Psalm 91 )

 Alan Whicker  was an international reporter for the BBC , and I remember him visiting a home in America ,the person who lived there  was very wealthy,she was also a  Christian.A number of people gathered in her home,and they listened to a lady singing that lovely song,' His eye is on the sparrow'. The first verse reads ,'Why should I feel discouraged,why should the shadows come,Why should my heart be lonely,And long for heaven and home'. Alan gave the impression that it was strange that song was sung ,in a home of wealth and plenty.So many people covet wealth as if that it is the answer to all their problems, but its not,far from it,no one can escape life's problems .Money  brings its own problems ,insecurity as the Bible speaks of the uncertain of riches,read the book of Ecclesiastes,written by the man who had humanly speaking  everything,and in the end he lost the plot and brought disaster upon himself and the nation he ruled.(1 kings 11 v 9ff.Yes the rich have their problems as do the poor,if you have Christ you are rich,and no one can rob you of that blessing,the apostle wrote.

                                          For I am convinced that neither death nor life, 

                                          neither angels nor demons,neither  the present

                                          nor the future , nor any powers,neither height

                                          nor depth, nor anything else in creation, will be

                                          able to separate us from the love of God that is 

                                          in Christ Jesus our Lord.

                                                                  (Romans 8 v 38 - 39 )

                                  

                           

What we do not know ( 1 John 3 v 2 )

Last time we mentioned how Paul had a wonderful experience when he had  a vision of heaven,and yet he is not willing to reveal what heaven was like.Now we know somethings about heaven,but there is much we don't know, he speaks of those unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter(2 Corinthians 12 v 4) .Those tourist who apparently visited heaven ,let it all out,well that speaks for itself,it helps the sale of their books. I will share with you  what R.V.G.Tasker has to say on this subject,'The New Testament is deliberately reticent about the details of the after- life;and it becomes Christians to refrain from idle and curious speculation on the subject.The things that are necessary for our salvation God has  made plain,what has not been made plain is not necessary.'We could say the same as regards our Saviours early life,  we do not know what He looked like,it is not necessary,but what is necessary is made known to us.The fact is there are so many things we don't know ,it is  Paul who declare,' we only know in part'. (1 Corinthians 13 v 12)  Hodge says the following ,' It is enough that we know that in that world the saints shall be made perfectly holy and perfectly blessed in the full enjoyment of God for ever'.

                                                 'The secret things belong to the Lord our God'

                                                                  Deuteronomy 29 v29

No boasting ( Matthew 23 v 11- 12)

I was visiting friends and one asked the question,'How's Peter?',I knew who Peter was, I say was ,because he had died a number of years ago so I told my friends. As an after thought I said,'Peter is fine',I said this  because I know he was a lovely Christian,and he is now in heaven,and he sure is fine,yes more than fine. It was the apostle who had a wonderful experience,we read about it in 2 Corinthians 12 ,one writer puts it like this,' Paul was seized by Christ and swept in ecstasy to the heights of heaven'. Now Paul does not tell us much about his experience of heaven,he didn't want to exploit it,he was concerned that people would think he was bragging,and he would be filled with pride, God who give him that experience knows how we can let pride take over, so He sent an affliction into his life to keep him humble,and gave him the grace to bear that affliction. I am very wary of people who tell us they have been to heaven,and unlike Paul  they exploit  it,like the so called faith healers,and none of them are very humble.If God blesses us with a wonderful gift,a wonderful experience, or a successful ministry it is not to feed our ego,

                                                 'Naught have I gotten,but what I received,

                                                 Grace hath bestowed it since I have believed

                                                  Boasting excluded, pride I abase,

                                                  I'm only a sinner saved by grace'.

                                                             Words J.M.Gray

Reality ( 1 Peter 5 v7 )

Chuck Swindoll in his commentary on Mark says 3 things about ,'Reality', No 1, 'Reality can be so irritating at times..  No 2, 'Reality ,'That's where we live'.  As a young lad I loved going to the cinema ,I remember thinking how wonderful if I could live in the cinema,and see all those wonderful movies. There are many people who want to escape from reality ,people that are being persecuted,people who are living in poverty. Why do people take drugs?,often to escape reality, the list can on and on,often people  cannot escape from their reality,they have to face it,it is not only irritating its a big challenge.There are some things in our reality that wont go away,we must realise some things have to be borne, that is a reality.Our dear Saviour knew what He had to face when He came into this world,the cross was always there,yes He struggled with it in the garden ,but He faced it with bravery, and courage, he didn't run away from it. Just let me say this there are realities that we would be wise to get away from,bear that in mind. But as I said some things have to be borne,you wonder how you are going to cope, Well dear old Chucks answer  for this last reality,'On our knees', that 's when we receive mercy and grace to help us in our time of need. ( Hebrews 4 v 16 ) 

                                                         'You say I can't go on,God says,

                                                         yes you can,for I will be with 

                                                         you'.

Why He came.( 1 Thessalonians 1 v 10 )

 It is that time of the year when as Christians we celebrate the birth of  Christ, the most important event in world history. A child is born,we hear those words sung. Yes a child but what a child !,  and He will be called, 'Wonderful,   Counsellor, Mighty God  ,Everlasting Father,Prince of Peace'. My, think about who Jesus was and indeed is,it should take one's breath away.He's not just a man  He is the God  Man,truly God and truly man. Angels worship Him,He made the universe ,and by His power it is sustained.( Hebrews 1 v 2-3. Those who continue to deny these truths will one day knell in His presence and acknowledge Him as Lord,on that day they will realise to late how wrong they had been.Yes that is whom He is,but we must not  stop there  ,no, there is more,the purpose of His coming, yes He came for a purpose,John Stott wrote the following.'We cheapen the gospel if we represent it as a deliverance only from unhappiness , fear, guilt,and other felt needs,instead   of as a rescue from the coming wrath'.( 1 Thessalonians 1 v10).That's why He came,miss that and you miss ,the reason for the season.      

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'