Be careful (Romans 10 v1 )

In Psalm 78 the writer reminds his readers to not be like their fathers,now it is a long Psalm 72 verses,and most of it is taken up with a history of a people who were stubborn rebellious,disloyal and unfaithful,(v8) .In spite of all  that God had done for them, rescuing them ,performing miracles, time after time,providing for them, making unreasonable demands of God, sinning against Him.Not content with what God give them what they demanded,the food they craved for, challenging God by saying,'Can God really spread a table in the wilderness'.?  They were challenging God who was not pleased. they would come to regret  what they had said, for God in his anger slew many of them v31.In spite of this they kept on sinning,in spite of all He had done, but when God slew them  ,then they sought Him,and remembered  all He had done for them,They turned to Him but it was insincere,their heart was not in it,So we could go on,this is how they behaved throughout their history.Our Saviour  said how they persecuted the prophets. (Matthew 5 v12},but not only that, they crucified the Son of God their Messiah.The Jews I believed have paid a awful price for what they did ,but we must be careful not to write them off.Michael Wilcock writes,'Down the ages many  supposedly Christian nations have despised,if not persecuted, the Jews,often in the name of God.The fact is we would know nothing of our Christian God were it not for Israel and Judah. There and there alone our Christian heritage,with all its ramifications, has its roots.'Salvation' above all,its central trunk, is from the Jews'.cp John 4 v 22.

Rest (Matthew 11 v 28 - 30)

I read recently the following in one of my daily readings called ,,'Word for today',the following story,'An old, tired -looking dog wandered into a women's garden.She could tell from looking at him that he had a good home. He followed her inside,down the hall, and promptly fell asleep. Two hours later,he went to the door and she let him out.The next day he came back , resumed his position, and napped for a couple of hours. This went on for a week. Curious, the woman pinned this note to the collar; ' Every afternoon your dog comes for a nap. ' The next day, the dog showed up with a note that read;'He lives at a home with 10 children- apparently he needs some quite time. Can I come with him tomorrow?.'I hope that made you smile,but in the humour we have an underlying truth, relating to the business of life,and the pressures that many people are under,that can often lead to burn out,weariness and stress.We can be driven by the challenges that life puts upon us.I heard my son preach recently ,and the subject was ,'Where is your garden? In biblical times people would have an enclosed garden,which they would go to in the evening to relax,Jesus had such a garden called Gethsemane which he often went to Luke 22 v 39.,Jesus needed that a place where He could go to relax and commune  with His Father.We all need such a place it may be in your car or out walking or wherever.Our Saviour said in Matthew 11 v28 ,' Come to Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens,and I will give you rest', where is your garden?

He is able. ( Psalm 121 )

It was George Muller who prayed that he would not like to a die a wicked old man,I prayed the same prayer recently,of course using different words.Like George I am an old man aged 79, and like George I feel very vulnerable.Let me stress this ,temptations do not cease when one gets older,it is Scrooge who sums it up,'We are all beset by foes,within and without,the devil,the world,the flesh,and for victory over these we are completely depended upon God'. How true those words are,and so I prayed to Him,I told I am not like Peter who foolishly boasted that he would not  deny his Lord ,saying he would even die for Him (John 13 v 37),and we know what became of that,yet the Lord was merciful and forgive him .So  I prayed for the Lord to keep me from  evil, for I know that the consequences of falling into sin can be very severe. The Lord heard my prayer,how do I know?well He answered me as I was reading a daily reading, it read ,'The Lord shall preserve you from all evil;He shall preserve your soul', Psalm 121 v 7 . In  Philippians  1 v 6,we read,'being confident of this,that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus'. God will finish what He started, He is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy. To the only wise God our Saviour be glory ,majesty,power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages,now and for evermore!Amen. (Jude 24-25)

Worthless no, Unworthy yes.( Romans 5 v 8)

I was praying and I said to God,'thank you for all I mean to you,words fail me to express what you mean to me'.You loved me when I didn't love you,and you continue to love me and treat me as a loving heavenly Father. Nothing I could do to deserve your great love ,I was the prodigal that went away from you,and  when I turned back to you ,you did not reject me,and turn me away,no ,you welcomed me back with open arms.  Many people could say what I  am saying,and say it more perfectly,how God  welcomed them home from their wanderings away from Him. The old hymn  says,'Though millions have come there's still room for one,there is room at the cross for you'.As long as this day of grace lasts there is always hope, there is a God who wants to restore you if you are a backslider,or if you are unsaved, to save you.If today you hear His voice don't harden your heart ,oh yes, God is speaking,remember you are not  worthless, God values you in your unworthy state,how much does He value you?.Well someone has said,We can never diminish  a person worth,for the King of Glory loves that person infinitely'.Look to the cross,look to the cross,see Jesus the sinless one,who left heaven to die on that cross,The hymn writer asks the question,'Alas! and did my Saviour bleed? 'And did my Saviour die? Would He devote that sacred head,for such a worm as I?. yes,Was it for sins that I had done,He groaned upon the tree?Amazing pity! grace unknown ! and love beyond degree!'

The Church. ( Hebrews 10 v 19 - 25 )

John Stott states the following,'Some people construct a Christianity which consists entirely of a personal relationship to Jesus Christ and has virtually nothing to do with Church. Others make a grudging concession to the need for church membership, but add that they have given up the ecclesiastical institution as hopeless'. In Ephesians 5 v 25 we read,'Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her'.Paul who  wrote those words writes in 2 Corinthians 11 of the great trials he had experienced,but then he adds,'Beside everything else,I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches'. Often those who leave the church are very critical of the church they have left,as they no longer identify with the Church.There are many people who stop meeting  with their local church,it is Philip Yancey who has written a book  called ,'Soul Survivor', He writes,'How my faith survived the Church'.We may have differences within the church but it does not give us the right to forsake the church.Jesus our Saviour tells the church  that He will not forsake them,so we should not forsake the Church in fact we are clearly told that we are not to give up meeting together (Hebrews 10 v25 ) We are all individuals, but we are all part of the body of Christ,the church needs us and we need the Church.  John Stott says three things about the church.

                                                 

                                             The church is central to history.

                                             The church is central to the gospel.

                                             The church is central to Christian living.

He will take care of you. ( Psalm 23)

 Often when preparing a word an old hymn comes flooding back to me,such was the case recently,I was  studying Psalm 37, a Psalm by David,it starts with these words,'Do not fret because of evildoers',the word fret has a meaning of anger , David was angry , displeased with wrongdoers.So what does he say we should do? bring God into the situation,God will deal with them. He also seeks to reassure the believers that God would look after them and provide for them and their families.Verse 25 reads,'I have been young and now I am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken , or his descendants  begging bread.So I return to that hymn that came flooding back to me,words by C.D.Martin.

                               Be not dismayed what'er betide ,God will take care of you!

                               Beneath His wings of love abide,God will take care of you!

                               Though days of toil when heart doth fail, God will take care of you!

                               All you may need He will provide,God will take care of you!

                               Trust Him,and you will be satisfied,God will take care of you!

                               Lonely or sad,from friends apart,God will take care of you!

                               He will give peace to your aching heart,God will take care of you!

                               No matter what may be the test,God will take care of you!

                               Lean weary on upon His breast,God will take care of you!

Hoarded resources. ( James 4 v 6 )

A couple in the church I attend have just lost their son,he was in his forties,I have known the family for a long time.The thing a the lad Simon at an early age had to have a kidney transplant,was also a special needs person. So his parents had to give him a lot of care and at times that was challenging but they loved him dearly,the couple had a daughter,and she supported her parents as best she could.  I would just say that Simon held down a part time job for a number of years and even learned to drive a car,but he still needed a lot of looking after.This death will affect them for a long time, death has that effect on many people, loss of a loved one can be exceedingly heartbreaking, the question is how does one cope?,human resources can only go so far in helping. So what is the answer?, the grace of God,Romans 16 v 20. speaks of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.We are saved by God's grace,but it does not stop there, He grants us grace everyday.God granted Paul grace with his affliction,that meant the strength to endure it. In 2 Corinthians 12 v 9, we read these words ,'My grace is sufficient for you',yes for you,what ever trial you are going through,He will by His grace ,grant you the strength to help you through.Annie Johnson Flint wrote the following,'

                                      'He giveth more grace as our burdens grow greater,

                                       He sendeth more strength as our labours increase;

                                       To added afflictions He addeth His mercy,

                                       To multiplied trials He multiplies peace.

                                       When we have exhausted our store of endurance,

                                       When our strength has failed ere the day has half done,

                                        When we reach the end of our hoarded resources

                                         Our Father's full giving is only begun.'