Liberty (Romans 6 v 15-23 )

There are three words associated with the French revolution ,'Liberty,Equality,and Fraternity,these were proposed by Robespierre.Most revolutions are movements that seemingly want freedom, the dear land I come from had a revolution in the early 20th century .  I listened to a song recently  about a man being held in jail and was waiting to be executed,here are some words from it,'From our school days,they have told us we must yearn for liberty. And so he joined the cause,and he ended up a prisoner,and he says the following,''They'll take me out at dawn, and I  will die''.Yes there's usually a price to be paid to have ones liberty,but for all its idealism and sacrifice, it does not ,cannot, set humanity free,from their sinful nature,it is very limited,and often it can usher in greater bondage.Jesus said that those who sin are slaves to sin,(John 8 v34),and here is the fact,that means we are all slaves.(Romans 3 v23),And here is another fact many are in denial,and refuse to accept that,they think that the good they do , nullifies the sin they do,it doesn't. So what's the answer?,Christ, and only Christ,He and he alone is God's answer, only through Him can we be forgiven, and be set free from the power of sin.This was brought about through His death on Calvary,He paid the price to set us slaves free.

                                            'Would you free from your burden of sin?,

                                             come to Jesus'.

                                             

                                          

                                              

                                                          

Glorifying God. ( 1 Corinthians 1v 27)

 When does God get the glory?,when we are at our weakest,when David faced a giant, ( 1 Samuel 17) that Giant looked at that young man and mocked him, despised him.Looking on the enemies of Israel  must have thought,we are on a winner,victory is assured. I wonder what Israel was thinking,Davids brother didn't think much of him and told him so v28.Saul told him that he would not be able to defeat the giant v33, but David testified how God had helped him kill a bear and lion would help him  kill that giant.So he went forth with a sling and five smooth stones,and the giant mocked him.But David stood his ground and answered his mocking with the following words,'You come against me with sword and spear and Javelin, but I  come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty.......This day He will deliver you into my hands',and He did just that,and God got the glory.v 45-46. When does God get the  glory?, through our weakness and limitations,think of what Paul accomplished ,how?,in his own strength,no,in weakness,and in that weakness he glorified  the God who  impowered him in all His service (2 Cor 12 v  9)

                                           '   Our Saviour was crucified in weakness

                                              and He of all people exalted and glorified

                                              God'.  ( John 17 v 4)

That is the question. ( John 1 v 1 -5 )

                                                             THE  QUESTION (Words Patrick McAloon)

                 Who designed the snowflake                                 I don't know who made the snowflake

                  Who made the planet spin                                               So intricate sublime

           Who came up with new born babies skin                     But I can spot an artist every time   

                       Who created seasons                                         Oh, I can spot an artist every time    

                       The cycle of rebirth                                           Did the darkness and the stars witness  

            Who introduced the oceans to the earth                                 What happened long ago  

              Well whoever made the snowflakes                                      Perhaps only they know

               Made shadows where doubts lurk                                       Who invented the rainbow

                  I suspect an artist is at work                                              Who made the water fall

              I know when an artist is at work                                  Who came up with new born babies skin

               Who designed the snowflake                                            Some will tell you nature's random

                    I look for  clues or hints                                                    That beauty's just a quirk

            For traces of  the craftsman's fingerprints                                 I believe an artist is at work

                                                                                                              Sshhh , an artist is at work

                                                                                                               I say,look a genius at work.

                                                                  THE ANSWER

                        In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1 v 1)

   

                                                                     

To speak or not to speak. (Luke 4 v 22)

 Proverbs 29 v11 reads,' Fools vent their anger, but the wise quietly hold it back'.Well in case you think that I am mister perfect,which of course I'm not,I have a confession,I have been that fool so many times,ask my wife,and my children. So here we have  very wise advice ,one could sum it up in the words of Ecclesiastes 3 v 7(B) ,'A time to be silent and a time to speak'.One could widen the subject out as regards giving advice,we need to choose the time to do that,Charles Bridges has profitable things to say to us on this subject,'For how many things it would be far better never to speak; indeed to suppress in the very thought!' I am so glad for the times I didn't give vent to my feelings,but as I said sometimes to my shame I have. How often we have  judged people, and told others about that person, only to find out it wasn't true. We must be careful not to utter rash words and make rash judgements The religious leaders of  Israel  said many awful things about Jesus,and one day they will gave an account for every evil word they have uttered (Matthew 12 v36 -37 )In 1 Peter 2 v 23 we read as regards our Saviour. 'When His enemies hurled insults at Him, He did not retaliate, when He suffered, He made no threats,instead, he entrusted himself to Him who judges justly '.Yes there is a time to speak, when we have to speak the truth,defend the truth,and to tell the truth,and in our ordinary day by day conversation,may our speech be always be full of grace, to the edifying of those we speak to.

Heroes.( Psalm 6 )

 I wonder do you have any heroes?I  read recently of a war time hero, those who knew said he was not a nice person,he treated those under him deplorable. It is sad when you hear of hero worship,only God should be worshipped. One of the most outstanding people we read of in the bible is David, he achieved greatness through his deeds,and also through his words.Most of us love the psalms he wrote,and in those Psalms we have an honest picture of  David,it reveals to us his struggles,and indeed his weaknesses .He had many enemies\, and at times he felt overwhelmed, here are some of things he writes from Ps 6  ,'I am faint,my soul is in deep anguish,I am worn out,all night long I flood my bed with weeping,and drench my couch with tears,my eyes grow weak with sorrow.' He was being honest acknowledging his struggles and his weakness.God knows how we feel,there is nothing hidden from Him, so David leaves a perfect example of being honest with God.We are also instructed how important to cry unto God as David did,and as he did God gave him the assurance that,'He heard his weeping,He heard his cry,He accepted his prayers',in other words his prayers would be answered.Someone said the following.

                                          'Whatever God brings us into,He will bring us through'

Trouble ( Isaiah 41 v10)

The old spiritual goes ,'nobody knows the trouble I've seen '  , if I told you that we live in a trouble world you would agree?.One of Jobs comforters said,' It's human!  Mortals are born and bred for trouble, as certainly  as sparks fly upwards',( Job 5 v 7),he simple is saying that there is an inevitability about it,and I'm sure Job would have agreed with that,considering how he suffered. It is as if he is saying ,trouble hunts us,and dogs our footsteps, our Saviour said the obvious ,but its worth repeating, 'when you hear of wars and rumours of wars,( Luke 21 v 8- 9)  yes we hear plenty of that these days.but He goes unto say, 'do not be terrified'. Following ' Remembrance Sunday ',someone wrote,'Remembrance Sunday was a balm for our trouble soul', So many must feel sad weary, and troubled in these days but God is with the believer always,here is what He said to all His children ,'Do not let your heart be troubled,you believe in God; believe also in Me'. (John 14 v 1)

We can make a difference. ( Matthew 5 v 16)

 Two young girls in Ukraine were playing their guitar and singing in a park,when they were killed by a Russian bomb.The mother of one of the girls said the following,' How is it possible in the 21st century to do something like this'. Cast your mind back  to the last century consider the wars and evil that took place by civilizations,not ignorant savages,and yet such evil manifested itself,in the most cruel behaviour, why?. Well there is only one reason ,our sinful human nature, unrestrained its potential for evil  knows no bounds.Think of what we did to our Saviour, beware of putting man on a pedestal,and I mean any man.So  is it  all bad news? no, there is the good news,we have experienced the grace of God  through Jesus our Saviour , and that should make a difference.We are called the light of the world (Matthew 5 v14 )and we are told to let our light shine(5 v16),and if we do that we can make a difference.Firstly the world needs Jesus and  we are called to tell them about Him,the gospel is good news,it is life changing if it is embraced  people become better people Secondly, live and act like Jesus,after all He was the most loving person who ever lived,the world needs that love, we are called to show it.His was a generous love,he was continually pouring out that love ( John 11 v 36 ) Next His love was a sacrificial love,look on the cross,that speaks for itself.Yes we can make a difference,so let us do just that.