It is important. ( 1 John 1v 7)

 There is an old hymn written by E A.Hoffman , and the first verse goes ,

                                         'Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power?

                                          Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

                                          Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour?

                                          Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb'.

This hymn is rarely song these days,I suppose because it is thought that it would not make sense to modern ears, for whatever reason. The fact is not many preachers explain what being washed in the blood of the Lamb  means.In the OT sacrifice was practiced, blood was shed and the animal was sacrificed on an altar.the blood  was splashed against the altar, (Lev8 v 19)Hebrews 9 v 22 tells us ,the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without  the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins, (or there is no forgiveness).In Isaiah 6 v 5, sin has with it a real sense of uncleanness ,or even defilement, which cuts us off from a holy God.Unless that sin is dealt with,we will remain cut off from God in time and in eternity. Sin cuts us off from a holy God,but Christ death on the cross changed all that,it paid the price to set us free from sin (1 Peter 1 v 18 -19) .It also  cleansed us, or washed us from our sinful defiled state. (Rev 7 v 14  )

                                                     'O Cavalry!  O Cavalry !

                                             Where Jesus shed His blood for me,

                                                     O  Cavalry! O Cavalry!

                                              Twas there my Saviour died for me. (Words William Mc Kendree)

The value of a soul. ( Matthew 16 v 26)

 Stalin said,'One death is a tragedy,one million is a statistic',sad to say sweet uncle Joe appeared to believe that. Yes one death is a tragedy,but how more is a million deaths,for everyone is a individual,let not numbers blind us of the value of every living soul . The mad bad dictators value no ones life,they take little account of the those they murder,of those they send into battle,or of those they conquer and slaughter.But not only mad and  bad dictators see human beings as of little value,there are many who see money as more important than human beings.There is a movie called 'The Train', it is about the 2nd world war,the German's are on the run,but they want to take back to Germany many ,'Old masters painting'. The french resistance are given the task of stopping them.The German officer in charge saw the paintings of more value that humanity.So the train set of for Berlin filled with these wonderful painting which he worshipped, a french resistance person  was able to stop the train,from going to Germany on the train there were French people , they were taken off the train and shot The movie ends with the German officer and French resistance fighter facing each other,he asked the French man why he stopped the train he didn't value the paintings,but the french man pointed to the people the Germans  had murdered,in other words,that was why he was fighting. In Gods eyes one human being is worth more than  all the art works in the world.Lucy A.Bennett wrote the following.

                                                          On teach me what it meaneth,

                                                          That cross lifted high,

                                                           With One, the Man of Sorrows,

                                                           Condemned to bleed and die,

                                                           O teach me what it cost Thee

                                                           To make a sinner whole;

                                                           And teach me, Saviour, teach me

                                                                   The value of a soul!

                                                               

Look at the Cross. ( John 3 v16 )

 Romans 8 v 32 reads,'He who did not spare his own Son,but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also,along with Him, graciously give us all things'. Paul guided by the Holy Spirit writes these wonderful words to encourage his readers,and indeed every Christian, that God who give the greater gift ,He most surely will give the lesser gifts. I remember a preacher describing the lesser gifts as the wrapping paper, It goes without saying that the gift of His own Son,cost Him,this gift was beyond price,it caused Him pain beyond our understanding. The hymn writer wrote,

                                                'Well might the sun in darkness hide,

                                                And shut His glories in,

                                                 When Christ,the mighty Maker, died

                                                  For man the creatures sin' (Isaac Watts)

No one forced Him to give His Son,and no one forced  Christ to die on the cross,it was all voluntary,John 10 v18 ,speaking of Him laying down His life,He said,' No one takes it from Me,but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again'.Yes it was costly,it was  voluntary,but it was given out of love,' Octavius  Winslow wrote, 'Who delivered up Jesus to die?Not Judas, for money; not Pilate,for fear; not the Jews,for envy,- but the Father, for love'.John Stott writes ,'In giving His Son He gave everything. The cross is the guarantee of the continuing ,unfailing generosity of God'.

                                     'How do we know that God loves us, and will care for us?

                                                           LOOK AT THE CROSS

Our eternal home.( Revelation 21 v 5 )

I was visiting two fellow elderly people, they live in a residential premises,and the conversation came about heaven,and I was  asked the question will we know each other in heaven?.The point is this we do not a lot about our eternal existence ,we can be sure there will be no need of doctors or dentist,no hospitals,no motor cars,no TV,no falling out. Relationships will have changed no wives ,husbands,sons and daughters, and so on,oh yes they will be there,but they are no longer what they once were.The bible speaks of a new heaven and a new earth,what it will be like we do not know. In Isaiah 64 v4 we read,'Since ancient times no one has heard , no ear has perceived, no eye  has seen a God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for Him. We move into the NT, 1Corinthians 2 v9, it is repeated ,but in verse 10 we are told,that there are things God has revealed to us through His Spirit.Yes we can see and understand things that the non-Christian can't see.but there are things we cannot see we have now a limited understanding of, eternity is one of them.In Deuteronomy 29 v29 we read,'The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us,In Romans 11 v 33, we read ,'Oh the depth of the riches and wisdom of God! How unsearchable are His judgements and His ways are past finding out'.So rejoice in what we do know as regards our eternal existence, Now we see things imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror, but then  we will see everything with perfect clarity'. (1 Corinthians 13 v12),so be patient until that day comes,one thing for sure heaven will be wonderful,beyond our wildest dreams.

What's in a name? ( Psalm 121 v1)

It was William Shakespeare who wrote ,'What's in a name?,That which we call a rose by any other name would smell so sweet'.All names have  a meaning ,although I am called Bill, or Billy,my  Christian name is William,I can never understand why William can change to Bill or Billy.So what does William mean? Well it comes from the German  , 'Wil =desire', helm= helment protector'.from that ,people say it means ,'Resolute Protector'. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.Now in Proverbs 18 v 10,we read,'The name of the Lord is a fortified tower;the righteous run to it and our safe'.It is Charles Bridges writing on the term,' The name of the Lord, say's the following,'Not the bare outward words, operating as a charm, but His character ;'in other words  he is strong ,mighty,and the supreme protector.Israel often forgot this and looked to other god's,other nations,for the protection they needed. The question we ask is this when danger threatens where do we run to?,who should we run to?,the answer is simple to the Lord.He is the believers security and protector, he will not fail us.

                                             'How oft in the conflict,when pressed by the foe, 

                                              I have fled to my refuge,and breathed out my woe;

                                               How often ,when trials,like sea billows roll,

                                                Have I hidden in Thee,O Thou rock of my soul!

                                                                 Words William O. Cushing.

No scheme of man. ( Romans 8 v 31 -39 )

                   In Stuart Townends hymn ,'In Christ alone my hope is found', the last verse  reads,

                          ' No guilt in life, no fear of death, This is the power of Christ in me,

                            From life' first to cry, to final breath,No power of hell,no scheme of man,

                            Can ever pluck me from His hand, Till He returns or calls me home,

                                                    Here in the power of Christ I'll  stand'

 The words ,'no scheme of man', the words are very reassuring,as we read God's word we see so many occasions when God overthrew the scheme of man,as they sought to harm and destroy God's people.I think of Joseph,how his brothers sought to destroy him,likewise Potiphar's wife falsely accused him of rape,and he was thrown into prison.But in the end God overthrew their wicked schemes.Moses was preserved from Pharaoh's wicked decree, Haman's plot to destroy the Jewish people came to nothing. There are many more incidences when God brought to nought the wicked schemes of men. We must keep in mind that God is sovereign, hold unto that precious truth, As the words of the hymn puts it,

                        'From  life's first cry, to final breath, No power of hell, no scheme of of man,     

                        Can ever pluck me from His hand,Till He returns or calls me home,

                                                       Here in the power of Christ I stand'

                                                      

Saint Patrick. ( Acts 1 v 8 )

 Yesterday was St Patricks day, he is the Patron of  Ireland,he was born in Roman Britain ,at an early age he was taken as a slave to Ireland,and had a very hard time. After six years he managed to escape and returned home, eventually he became a cleric,and eventually he returned to Ireland to spread the gospel,it appears he may have had a vision of a man ,who told him to to Ireland, and so he obeyed.Let us consider a few things about Patrick,he did not get rid of all the snakes in Ireland.He is remembered as a Saint, but of course every Christian is a saint 1Peter 2v 9 tells us that all Christians are a chosen race , a royal priesthood ,a holy nation', we are all set apart for God.Speaking of the people who became Christians,he wrote,'Never before did they know God except to serve idols  and unclean things.But now they have become the people of the Lord,and are called children of God'.Wonderful truth ,but as to the present saint Patricks day it has nothing to with the gospel,it is just simply a day in which people declare that they are Irish,or of Irish parentage, for most people, religion does not come into it. Many do not know much about Patrick,and know even less of his God and Saviour. Let us rejoice and praise God for those whom God raised up to proclaim the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ,not only in history,but present day evangelist and missionaries.But let all of us who know Christ,remember that we also can and should tell people about our wonderful Saviour.