I was a shoplifter. ( Romans 3 v 23)

 I was coming out of a local supermarket when I heard someone shouting,I looked to see who it was,as I looked a young man was running towards me with a security person running after him. The security person gave up the chase, and the young man run off. I can only assume that the young man was a shoplifter,a lot of it goes on,sad to say.But it brought back a memory of myself that when I was a very young  boy, I attempted to steal something but was caught. As I said I was a very young boy,yet I knew that what  I was doing wrong,it bears out this fact, that our fallen nature can manifest itself at a very early age. It was David who declared,' Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me' ( Psalm 51 v3 ) Likewise in Psalm 25 v 7 he prayed,'Do not remember the sins of my youth,and my rebellious ways'.People speak of mankind's inherent goodness,the word of God teaches mankind's sinful nature. When  Adam sinned his nature changed, before he was sinless, but it also changed for all humanity (Romans 5 v12),for that sinful nature is passed on to every new born child. But God had a plan a new Adam would come in the person of Jesus,and through His death on the cross , all who trusted Him to be their Saviour  would be forgiven all their sins and they would receive a new nature and would be able to live a new life,an eternal life.( John 11 v 25 ) 

                                                  'Christ is the only hope for you and for me' 

But God promised. ( Hebrews 6 v18 )

 Daniel Defoe was born 1660, died 1731,he is remembered as the author of ,'Robinson Crusoe', he was a wealthy person,one of his activities was being a spy. He lived in London,and lived during the great plague in1665,when this happened there was absolute panic,with hoards of people fleeing London. Daniel was faced with a dilemma, he had servants to consider and all his business interest.His brother with his family were leaving the city,but Daniel remained uncertain. There were many  gullible people being taken advantage of by an army of astrologers,charlatans and quack doctors offering false promises of hope,Daniel was a Christian and prayed the following prayer, 'Well ,I know not what to do; Lord, direct me', He had his Bible with him,and he kept turning over the pages, he stopped at Psalm 91,and began reading it ,here is just one of the verses he read .'v3,'Surely He will deliver you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence'. On the bases of what he read he decided to stay,even though his brother was not sure, but as God promised, Daniel lived though that great plague.(  I would encourage you to read that Psalm)

                                               'When God gives us assurance through His 

                                                word ,He will keep it,rest assured of that.

The Cross. ( Luke 23 v 32 -49 )

                                                           Romans 5 v 8

         ,                         God demonstrates His own love for us in this;

                                    while we were still sinners,Christ died for us.

One of the Puritans wrote,'Lead me to the cross , and show me His wounds,the hateful nature of evil, the power of Satan.May I see there my sins as the nails transfixed Him. The cords that bound Him,the thorns that tore Him. Help me to find in His death the reality and immensity of His great love'.

                                         ' I sometimes think about the cross,

                                          and shut my eyes and try to see

                                          the cruel nails and crown of thorns,

                                           and Jesus crucified for me.

                                           But even could I see Him die,

                                           I could but see a little part

                                           of that great love, which ,like a fire,

                                           is always burning in His heart.'  Words W.W.How.

Two different aspects of looking on the cross,many see a cross, or a crucifix, and it means nothing to them.it is only when one comes to the foot of the cross,as a sinner, we declare in the words of Isaac Watts,'Love so amazing so divine ,demands my soul ,my life, my all.'

                                    

                       

And you shall receive power.(Acts 1 v 8)

 As I write  this I hear the wind blowing outside, John 3 v 8 .reads,'The wind blows wherever it pleases,you hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit'.Bruce Milne writing as regards the wind says,'While today we have better knowledge of its origin and nature,we have no better mastery of its direction. Essentially therefore  the new birth is from God,it is supernatural beyond human control or exhaustive human knowledge.'   One speaks of  being born again of the Spirit of God (John 3 v6) Great preaching cannot save anybody, no it is the power of the holy Spirit that makes it happen. It is that same power that changes and transforms lives,Corinth was a place of  great immorality,but the gospel was proclaimed in that place the result was God moved by His Spirit in that evil place and lives where changed.The apostle Paul and others ministered in that place many got saved.Later Paul wrote to the church and he pointed to those  who inherit the  kingdom of God,he goes unto say,'Do not be deceived; neither the sexually immoral  nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanders nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God'.so we stop there? no, for he goes unto to write,'And that is what some of you were.'  now, they were changed, how?, by the Holy Spirit working in their lives and bringing them to Christ.( 1 Corinthians 6 v 9 - 11 )

                                                                   A prayer

                           Dear Holy Spirit,as we witness to people convict them of sin and of their 

                           need of Jesus, in His name we ask this Amen.

Noise. ( Mark 6 v 31 -32 )

We live in a very noisy world,it is hard to escape it,airplanes flying overhead ,traffic outside ,and you may be unfortunate to have noisy neighbours. And sometimes Christian fellowships can be very,very noisy,a number of years we gave permission to a group of Christians to use of our Church premises, when we were not using it.It was not a very large building,but they brought in loud speakers and musical instruments,to say they were noisy was an understatement,the neighbours complained,it was really bad,and in the end we had to ask them to leave.I sometimes think that in some churches the voice of God is drowned out.I love singing hymns and spiritual songs,but they don't all have to be  overwhelming loud.We all know the term,' quite time,' when we get away from hustle and bustle,to meet with God,how we need that,it may be difficult, even costly,but it is important.Then in our quite time we may just hear that still small voice of almighty God.

                                   '  O God, '     Drop Thy still dews of  quietness

                                                        Till all our strivings cease 

                                                        Take from our souls the strain and stress,

                                                         And let our ordered lives confess

                                                         The beauty of Thy peace.

                                                         Breathe through the heat of our desire

                                                         Thy coolness and Thy balm;

                                                         Speak through the earthquake, wind and fire,

                                                         O still small voice of calm.

                                                              Words John Greenleaf Whitter.

                                                                   

. 

 

                 

He never give up. ( Hebrews 12 v 1 - 3 )

Although Jesus endured much in His life and in his death He never give up,it is in the Old Testament we  see clearly the agony of His suffering.Those who put Him to death meant business, in their blind hatred they never give up. Evil in this world is persistent,the cruel leaders hold on like grim death to power,not caring for the pain and hurt they are causing.Many abusers never give up,moving from one victim to another,and if they are not caught they will just keep abusing. The devil who knows his time is running out will continue in all his wicked ways,destroying  humanity, delighting in all his evilness.But in eternity God saw it all,saw the wickedness, perpetrated by fallen humanity.and the blessed triune God  devised a plan that He would rescue sinners,and he would destroy Satan's power (1 John 3 v 8 ) .So Christ came leaving the glories of heaven and entering the place we call earth,  a fallen world. He who was rich became poor,He who was sinless would bear  the penalty for our sins so that we could be forgiven,that was His task,facing  humanly speaking was insurmountable,and He never gave up,He kept right on  going, until on that cross He cried out ,'it is finished'. And so ushered in the fulfillment of God's redemptive plan,so that all who call on the name of the Lord would be saved. There is an old  saying it goes like this,'The perseverance of the saints',perseverance means to be persistent in spite of the difficulties that one may face,it means not giving up but pressing on by God's grace, it means no turning back

                                                'It matters not how the battle goes,

                                                         The day how long;

                                                         Faint not! Fight on!

                                                   Tomorrow comes the song'

Safe hands (Psalm31 )

 In Psalm 31 v 15 ,we read ,'My times are in your hands', again it is David ,' who is experiencing a  hard time,feeling under threat,he uses the following words to express the seriousness of what he was going through,'affliction,anguish,distress,sorrow, grief,groaning ,weak, lastly alarm'.What would you do or what  would I do,if we were in Davids place?.Everyday day I pray for people who are under threat for their faith,many people are in prison,serving long sentences.Of course life being what it is means we all will experience different trials,they come in different levels of severity, but they will come.It is William .Plumer, commenting on v 15 writes,' The whole of life,with all that threatens it,with all that continues it, is in the hand of the wise, good, powerful, perfect ruler of all things'.Our times are in His hands,Someone said the following,All my life's why's and when's and where's and wherefore's are in God'hands'.Henry F. Lyte wrote the following.

                                           'My times are in Thy hand; My God I wish them there;

                                             My life, my friends, my soul I leave Entirely to Thy care.

                                            My times are in  Thy hand,Whatever they may be;

                                            Pleasing or painful,dark or bright,as best may seem to Thee.

                                            My times are in Thy hand,Why should I doubt or fear?

                                            A Father's hand will never cause His child a needless tear.

                                            My times are in Thy hand,Jesus the crucified;

                                            Thy hand my cruel sins have pierced,is now my guard and guide.'