Be a Sower. (Psalm 126 v 6 )

After the great preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon died,a man told how he came to know Christ as his Saviour. Spurgeon was going  to preach at a very large premises at  Crystal Palace.Thousands were expected to attend the meeting,he wanted to check out the acoustics,so he got up on the platform, and spoke with a very clear voice the words from John 1v 29,'Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world',he heard  his voice echo around the hall. When he left, a man who had been in another part of the building, came out of the room he was in , knelt down,and asked Christ to save him.Years ago I read how Wesley was held up and robbed of his money which he had very little off,and as the man was leaving Wesley spoke to him,he said,'I have something more to give you',here is what he said,'You may live to regret this sort of life,if you ever do here is something to remember,'The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin (12 John 1 v7 ) Years later he met that man ,he had trusted the Saviour and had become a successful businessman,,he said to Wesley ,'I owe it all to you',Two remarkable conversions,let us all be faithful  in witnessing for Christ, and trust God to bless the word sown.

There is more. ( John 11 v 25 )

My son's family has had a death in there family,the cat has died,they are upset,yes a lot of people see their pets as part of their family, I understand that.It came up in discussion when my wife and I were visiting relatives,and a niece said I could pray in order to help that cat cross over.Well I told them I don't think so,and sought to explain ,that animal's ,lovely though they are,they don't cross over,the fact is when they die they cease to exist.We are told that God has placed  eternity within the human heart(Ecclesiastes 3 v11). One translation puts it like this,'has put eternity into man's mind' Derek Kidner writes, Unlike the animals immersed in time,we know something of eternity; enough at least to compare the fleeting with the ' for- ever.'.We are like the desperately near sighted,inching their way along some great tapestry or fresco in an attempt to take it in'.Again as someone else said,'There is something more to life than what we can see and experience in the here and now'.Within humanity there is longing for something more,and they are continually chasing a 'will-o'-the- wisp', a delusive or elusive goal',or to put it plainly,'Shadows'.The word of God tells us 'that the things that are seen are temporal,but the things that are not seen are eternal', (2 Corinthians 4 v 18 ) It is only as we come to know God who is eternal through Jesus Christ  we realise that we have been saved from a lost eternity, and saved to life eternal with God in heaven.

We have a choice ( Romans 5 v 17)

 When on holiday with my son and family, we viewed  a lovely garden,as I  walked around it, I thought how beautiful the garden of Eden must have been .It was a perfect in a perfect world. God the creator was pleased with what he had done,we read these words,'it was good' and  when He created  Adam and Eve and placed them in the garden He said that it was very good.All creation was in harmony with not one note of discord,Adam and Eve had everything going for them,they had not a worry in the world.Present humanity cannot grasp perfection,cannot appreciate what that truly means. Let us return to that perfect garden,to a moment in time when creation experienced a change,Romans 8 v22 tells us,'For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now'.That beautiful perfect garden had turned from perfection to imperfection.But of course something more serious had taken place place,those perfect human being were now changed,life would become a struggle,they would experience something we were meant to experience  ,death.That perfect nature was changed,they had now a fallen nature,and all kinds of evil was possible, God did not forsake His creation,but the crown of His creation had forsaken Him.But God had a plan a new creation,and the one who would bring it into being  would be Jesus.In their perfect state humanity had a choice Genesis 3 v2,they made the wrong choice,and we paid the awful price for their sinful choice.But now there is way back to God,from the dark paths of sin ,and all its consequences when we come as a sinner to Jesus.

                                                              'Make the right choice'

Littleness. ( 1 Corinthians 3 v 10 - 15 )

 Some of us are called to be missionaries ,ministers,deacons,yet there are many dear people who for whatever reason cannot do very much.It was Milton who said,'They also serve who only stand and wait'. We cannot all be at the battle ,but we can support those who are by prayer,the great Apostle Paul,knew the importance of prayer support, in writing to the Christians in Ephesus he wrote,'Pray also for me'.Never let us underestimate our prayers for others,they make a difference.We can serve God in many ways,think not about what you can't do,but what you can do ,be it ever so small. A widow woman give the little she had over to God,and God blessed it ,and it fed the prophet Elijah,herself and her son.( 1 Kings 17 v 7ff).A little boy handed over his lunch and Christ used it to feed thousands of people (John 6)A poor widow woman  give her last bit of money, two small copper coins ,worth practically nothing into the temple treasury,and our dear Saviour commended her highly for it.(Mark 12 v 41ff).If Christ places a cup of water in your  then that's all he demands (Matthew 10 v42)

                                       'Be not concerned how others view our smallness

                                        of gifts,or our smallness of giving,It is how Christ 

                                         views them,that's what is important.'

Good and Evil ( Isaiah 5 v 20)

 Let's consider some thoughts from Psalm 119 v 65-72. We will consider v66 ,'Teach me knowledge and good judgement,for I trust in your commands'.it is Michael Wilcock who writes the following,'It is Scripture that both promises and conveys the good things that the Lord intends for his servant. They include knowledge,which is an excellent gift,and good judgement.( the ability'to distinguish good from evil) V65 reads,'Do good to your servant,according to your word,Lord. How are we as Christians going to distinguish between good and evil?,the answer is very simple according to God's word.. We are  not left to ourselves to flounder blindly on the worlds idea's of morality ,which so many Christians alas are doing.We have the 10 commandments,and many other scriptures that help us to distinguish between good and evil. In v66  we read,'For I trust your commandments', yes we must trust God's word, in all things,in relation to morality and theology,if we do, we will be walking in the light,if we don't we will be walking in darkness. Remember what our Saviour said ,if you love Me,keep my commandments. ( John 14 v 15)

Little Children. ( Proverbs 22 v 6 )

I fervently believe in child evangelism,I believe the sooner one becomes a Christian the better,why  do I believe this,?.Well recently three young lads were sent to prison for a long time,for they were involved in the murder of a young lad. I thought ,if only they had found the Saviour early in life ,things would have been different. You might have come to Christ when you were young,and you have listened to a testimony of someone who had lived a wicked life,and you may have thought I didn't do such terrible things, I haven't much of a testimony. You are wrong , because you can testify how God has kept and saved you from those things,that's something you can praise God for.I wish I had not strayed from God for a number of years,and during those years I accumulated thought patterners that still plague me after 60 years following the Lord. It is truly wonderful the grace that saves us from sinning ,and the grace that saves in our sins,Just let me add ,we are all sinners ,children are sinners, and its amazing how soon they can manifest that,but if they come  to know Christ early as I have said,they can be preserved from what those three young people did.

                                                  'Jesus said , 'Let the little children come

                                                   to Me,and  do not hinder them.'

                                                             'Matthew 9 v14 '

Acceptance ( 1 John 5 v 14-15 )

                                                         'God grant me the serenity

                                                     to accept the things I cannot change,

                                                     courage to change the things I can,

                                                      and wisdom to know the difference'

Seemingly next to the Lord's prayer,it's the most used prayer in the world,I am sure it's not meant to be negative,some people may see it as that.  I think we balance it up by mentioning the will of God, is it always God's will to heal,to deliver us?.The fact is some things don't change even though we pray ,and pray,and pray, 2 Corinthians 12 v 7ff, yes with God all things are possible, that is very obvious,and we are encouraged to pray in faith for God to answer our prayers,which He does, If you are a Christian then God has answered the most important prayer you have ever uttered,the prayer to be saved.It didn't stop at that as Spurgeon says everyday that you are a Christion is a miracle.Over my long Christian life God has answered so many of my prayers,for four years my then wife and I trusted God to meet our needs while at Bible college,and He did,it was a trial but God brought us through it.God will answer our prayers ,but this is the key thing, if it be His will.this is not to discourage us praying,keep praying,in His will He will answer our prayer.If he doesn't then it was not His will. The prayer we are considering stresses the things we must do ,and what we must accept.