Just keep on walking.( Genesis 19 v14/ 26) 1

In Genesis 5 Moses records a list of  people starting  from Adam to Noah,and in the midst of all those names we have one whom we are told  walked with God v22., his name was Enoch. John Calvin writes,'This holy man,whom the Holy Spirit excepted from the common order,was rare and almost singular'. JC  goes on to say ,' This one man , stood firmly in the season of most dreadful dissipation'yes this one,walking with God can be lonely experience,the narrow way restricts us and saves us,from much that is wrong in life.When I came back to the Lord 60yrs ago,my best friend  went his way,I went God's way. JC comments 'If we wish to live rightly and orderly, we may learn  to regard God more than men' Enoch lived a long time, he didn't become a drop out,like old father Thames he just kept rolling along. We do not read of what trials and difficulties he experienced I'm sure he had his share,but he didn't give up. nor should we ,we have to endure whatever comes at us, right to the end ,how? by God's grace.

                                                                ' No looking back and

                                                                  No turning back'

Be faithful ( Jonah 1 v 1- 3 )

 I read this recently.' The problem in politics is that operatives tell candidates what they want to hear rather than what they need to know'. Political parties do this, especially when it comes to an election,very few of them spell out the difficulties,one politician did it, Winston Churchill,'On May the 13th 1940 ,he told the House of Commons,' I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears,and sweat',he followed this by saying why,' We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind'. The OT prophets had to tell it as it was ,had to tell what people didn't want to hear, if they didn't proclaim God's word faithfully they would be held resonsible.(Ezekiel 33 v 8-9 )Things have not changed for the New Covenant Isreal,we are called  to proclaim the truth of  God,without fear or favour. In Romans 10 v 14, we read'And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?'the answer is they wont,likewise if the preacher only tells people what they want to hear instead of what they need to hear,there is a measure of guilt on them also.Romans 10 v15 declares, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news'.Yes it is a beautiful thing to proclaim the Gospel to people ,and that is what we are called to do, let us not fail in that task.

The Lord's table. ( 1 Corinthians 11 v 23 -26 )

 We had a lovely time on Sunday morning at our fellowship,it included what we call the Lords table,so we sang a song by Graham Kendrick,just let say I love many  of the modern songs.So as we sang the song,I wasn't happy with one of the verses which goes,'In this bread there is healing,In this cup there's life forever'.There are people who really believe that,I don't, they are symbols  ,that's all.and we must be careful not to transfer to them,what Christ can only do.the Catholic church have made the wafer a thing to worship.There are also those within the Protestant fold who likewise are what  one would call sacramentilist.Let us turn back to the Lord's table,what did Jesus say about it?, in Luke 22 v 19 -20 we read ,'This do in rememberance of Me',it is a rememberance feast,nothing else nothing more. The bread speaks of His body that was given for us,given to be a sacrifice for our sins,given to bear the wrath of God so that we don't have to bear it.The blood  we  are told it is a sign of the New Covenant which tells us that the Lord will forgive our wickedness, and will remember our sins no more.( Jeremiah 31 v 33 34 )The Lords table is symbolic nothing more nothing else,and yet very important ,in taking the bread and wine we are reminded afresh that it is all about Jesus and His work of salvation for us.

Out with the old in with the new, ( Hebrews 11 v 8 -16)

Father Abraham was called by God to leave his own country and go to the land God would give him,he was 75 and he was told by God ,that through him all the peoples on the earth would be blessed, indicating he would have children. (Genesis 15 v4) How did Abram react to this promise ? 'Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness '.This is a most wonderful verse, it answers the question of how those in the OT were saved,very simple the same way the saints in the NT were saved Romans 5 v1. Salvation is granted to us when by faith we trust in Jesus,the result is we become Children of God,and we are children of Abraham also Galatians 3 v29. Isreal's history  is our history,,we are no  longer foreigners and strangers,but fellow citizens with God's people and members of his household'. (Ephesians 2 v 19) All the promises in the OT are ours,everyone one of them,their future is our future,the old covenat is gone ,the new covenant has arrived,and we are new creations through our wonderful Jesus, our Messiah.,the moral laws remain,the legalist laws are finished,the temple is gone,a new temple has come into place ,not one built by human beings.Every Christian is a temple in which the Holy Spirit dwell's (/1 Corinthians  3 v15 / 2  Corinthians 6 v 16/).We God's new creation  have a wonderful future in that wonderful new heaven and new earth, in which we will sing a new song to Him who hath loved us and cleansed us from our sin.

                                                        ' Truly worthy is Lamb'

                                                  

There's none so blind ( Jeremiah 17 v 9 )

While out walking I stopped to talk to a fellow Irish man, he is  from the south,as we old ones  spoke of our different aliments, I will not tell you what they were,I don't want to depress you.He asked what age I was , I asked him what age he thought I was,and to my surprise he said 65,I lie not ,of course he was not wearing glasses.He told me his name was Mac Carry,the conversation came to spiritual things, I don't know if I made much headway,but I did try,one of things he said, that he did not sin,and he had no sinful thoughts.One is amazed that a person saying such a thing,it manifests just how  blind they are,blind to how vast is the gulf between sinful man and God the holy One.We have all  sinned and come short of the glory of God,he did not appear to think that applied to him.There is no one so blind  as those who cannot see,or who don't want to see.I pray that the Holy Spirit  would do His special work of convicting him of his sin , and of God's righteousness,and of coming judgement;(John 16 v 8.)

                                               ' Dear God you know the awful darkness

                                                of  peoples hearts,we cry unto you that

                                                by your Spirit,you will convict them

                                                of their sinfulness,and that they may flee 

                                                to Jesus the Saviour of sinners.Amen'

                                                 

                                                

The young man with green hair. ( 1 Samuel 16 v 7)

The question is does it matter how we dress when we go to our place of worship?, and the answer is ,well we will come to that.My pastor told a story about a young man who got his hair dyed green, to his parents surprise .He was a Christian so they didn't say much,so that Sunday they went to their place of worship and it was the young man with green hairs turn to welcome people at the door. Some of the regulars give him a funny looks,and thought, we must have a word with the pastor. Just as the service was about to begin ,a young lady came ,she had a ring in her nose and  a tattoo on her arm,after the service she came to the young lad, and told him that seeing him with his green hair,encouraged  her to stay ,and she would be coming back.She eventually trusted Christ and became a member of that church for many years. It may surprise us to know that God is not concerned as what one wears,unlike us God has always a bigger agender, and it goes beyond what we wear,or the colour of our hair.or our status in society.Our dear Saviour always looked at a persons greatest need,the salvation of their soul, and so should we.

Is This? ( Matthew 19 v16 )

Recently I got in to a conversation  with a young married man, he spoke of the wrong things that are happening ,and I ssked him,what did he think was the cause?.I don't think he understood the question,in the end I told him the answer,'sin'. Yes that is the answer ,well the conversation continued I mentioned hell,he didn't believe in a place called hell,this is were it got a bit confusing,for he went on to say that hell and heaven is now,if you are having a difficult life now that's hell,likewise if you are having a good life now ,you are in heaven. He also seemed to believe in reincarnation unknowingly buying into Hinduism,in that if one was having a it bad now , it was because you were bad in a former life,likewise if you are having a good life now,it is because you were good in a former life. So it waa a very mixed up conversation,His veiws were so far removed from the truth. he looks at the prosperous people ,and he thinks that they are in heaven,people like Howard Hughes,a very wealthy man ,but what a messed up life he had.Think of many of the rich and famous film stars,their infidelities ,their divorces, Hemingway committed sucicide.As to the poor and suffering they are not in hell,they are just poor and suffering,awful though it may be.

                                                      O what emptiness! without the Saviour.

                                                       Mid the sins and sorrows here below!

                                                       And eternity,how dark without Him!

                                                       Only night and tears,and endless woe!