My Garden ( Isaiah 40 v 29 - 31 )

 I have just come in from my garden,it is lovely to sit in it and enjoy it,and its one the places were I talk to God,and am reminded of a favourite hymn of mine.Some people for whatever reason don't like  this song,but I have always loved it,it's called,' In the Garden',it is about meeting and having fellowship with God. It reminds me of our first parents whom God placed in a garden and met with His children(Genesis3 v8)how wonderful that must have been.My son Brian was speaking as regards communion with God ,having a quite time, and he asked the question ,'where is your garden?',what he was stressing was the importance of meeting with God.Most of my prayer time is intercession,but it also includes worship and talking to God,my time in the garden this morning was very precious and very sweet, I  even sang  part  of that song,here are some of the words'And the joy we share as we tarry there,none other has ever known'.But we cannot always stay in the garden,our Saviour before He faced His ordeal went to a garden to pray,He felt overwhelmed, and we read an angel came and strengthened Him( Lke 22 v 43 ).As we follow Jesus the challenge is great and demanding,we cannot stay in our garden wherever that may be,But as Jesus was strengthened so God will strenthen us in our waiting upon Him ,to face the challenges that we have before us.  

Heavenly Minded . ( Reveation 2 v 1 v 4 ) 2

When Paul writes that we are to set our hearts on things above,where is Christ is seated, and that we are to have our minds on things above,not on earthly things,he is writing to Christians,to not let earthly things draw them away from God.It was the devil who offered our dear Lord all earth's kingdons,and their glories if only he would worship him,but the Lord refused ( Matthew 4 v 9ff) So we must not be enticed by what the devil  offers,and we can be,we can soon leave our first love Jesus ,for lesser things.Charles Swindoll writes the following,'When we fully comprehend the tempory and tentative nature of the current age,wise Chriatians seek to invest time in eternal matters'. Believers must always keep a balance ,'and not be enslaved to marriage, mourning, merrymaking,msrketing, and material things' ( 1 Corinthians 7 v 29-31) 

                                         'Remember all that we see with our natural

                                          sight is temporal,let them  not cause us to 

                                          loose sight of the eternal glories that shine

                                          afar.'          

Heavnly Minded ( Colossians 3 v 1-2) 1

There is a saying ,that being to heavenly minded,has the affect upon us ,of making us, no eatthly good ', Is that true? so I wonder why we are exhorted,'To set our hearts on things above,where Christ is ,and to set our minds on things above,not on earthly things'.(Colossians 3 v 1- 2) We must be a heavenly minded people,it is not that the things of this world are not important,but they should not be the all important think.The non -Christian sets their hearts and minds totally on things of this life with hardly a thought for God, He is relegated to a very minor place in their lives,they don't involve Him in their decision making, planning,or whatever,Being heavenly minded does not mean  we don't care  for this world and it's inhabitants, and its suffering.What evidence have I to show that this is true?.So here is some of the evidence,'The Salvation Army,The Medical Missionary News,Stand by Me,the Missionary Aviation Fellowship,These are all involved in giving help  to thousands and thousands of people,I believe they are only the tip of the iceberg.being heavenly minded will not take us  away from helping and loving people.

Humility. (Philippianns 2 v 5-11)

  There should never be any false humility in our Christian lives,one example of false humility was the character in Charles Dickens novel 'David Copperfield' ,Uriah Heep, he is remembered by the words,'I'm ever so humble',of course he was  anything but that, he is described as having a false humility,but one who was bitter and vengeful,a demonis character.That's a extreme example,or is it,Hitler boasted that the Third Reich would last a thousand years,it lasted 12 yrs, King Nebuchadnezzar full of pride  boasted of all he had done ,God immediatley dealt with him,and humbled him (Daniel 4 v28 ff. But of course pride is not only found in the great and mighty,we are all prone to be proud,proud of our accoplisments,and our possessions,our gifts,and a multitude of other things. The first sermon I preaced when I came to England  was Micah 6 v 8, 'He has shown you,O mortal , what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? . To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God'. We are told,'God opposes the proud but shows favour to the humble (James 4 v 6) And it was John Bunyan in his wonderful book 'Pilgrins Progress,wrote of the valley of humiliation,he went on to write.

                                            'He that is down needs fear no fall,

                                             He that is humble, no pride,

                                              He that is humble  ever shall 

                                               have God to be His guide'.

Failure ( Proverb 24 v 16)

 Richard Nixion visited J F.Kennedy after the failed attempt by Cuban exiles to overthrow the Castro goverment,it is remembered as the Bay of Pigs invasion.R. N,described Kennedy as being very agitated, RN said as he listened to him he realized that this was a man who never experienced failure,this was the first time he had experinced  the firey ordeal of failure. Failure comes to all of us ,often more than once, Failures can be devastating,a failed marriage,a failed career,a failed driving test, a failure in not being able to have children,and so we could go on .Someone has said that failure is not fatal,but for some it feels that way. There are plenty of failures in the Bible,but God didn't give up on them,take Peter ,he failed big time,but Christ did not give up in him. read John 21v 15- 17 ). The important thing to remember is that none of God's children are perfect,the next important thing to remember is, not to give up,that can be a  bigger failure None of us like failing,when I was young I didn't like vegetables but vegetables are good for us.Romans 8 v28 tells us that God causes everything to work together for our good,yes even failures.God our great teacher wants us to learn valuable lesson,like pricking the bubble of pride,that exsists in all our hearts,so that we may be more humble , and be less independant and more dependent on our Saviour,also we can have a deeper appreciation for those who fail and be more sympathetic towards them..

Growing .( Romans 8 v 28)

 Ronald Regan came across as a lovely man he had a great sense of humour,he also made very wise quotations,here is one, 'Growth does not come in your comfort zone'.  Romans 5 v 3 -4  reads,'We glory in tribulations,knowing that tribulation produces perseverance,and perseverance character; and character hope'.From the moment Paul became a Christian it doesn't appear he had a comfort zone,he had so many trials ,read his life,and the list of things he suffered, in all those things he never became bitter,he would look at such things not with the natural reasoning,but with a spiritual  understanding,which he passed on to the church of Christ,to you and to me.John Stott  commenting on Rom5 v 3-4,writes,'That we are not meant to merely endure suffering with a stoic fortitude,we are to rejoice in them.This is not masochism,however, the sickness of finding pleasure in pain. It is rather that there is a divine rationale brhind suffering. First, suffering is the one and only path to glory......Suffering can lead to maturity and can be very productive,if we respond to it positively,and not with anger or bitterness'.

                                                    'Suffering is not accidental,always 

                                                     remember God is sovereign,who

                                                     tells us that everything is working

                                                     for our good'

                                                     

                                               '

Escapism ( Luke 15 v 11 ff)

An actress asked herself a question,as to why a certain TV series she acted in was so popular?,here is her answer,''Its escapism. That was important in lockdown,but its still the case- the world hasn't got any better,has it?''I think it's true,when I was a little boy I loved the cinema,I even remember thinking,how wonderful to actually live in the cinema.it was all escapism.Looking  back on my childhood I cannot remember my father being violent,but my brothers and sister remembered .My mother left him ,with my brother, sister and me,life was difficult ,I suppose being very young I  could not process what was happening,and so I pushed it away. And so the cinema became my place of escape,that's the way it was for me,and for many people.The world has not got any better,the words of a song that was once popular,goes,  'Make the world go away',but of course it won't'.Some religious groups who profess to be Christians,teach that being a Christian ,will bring you wealth,health,  and prosperity,now that's escapisim ,but it's not what the Word of God teaches.Christianty is an escapism ,from what? well when we trust Christ as our Saviour, we escape the guilt of our sins,we escape sins power,and the consequences of our sins.Yes in the world we  will have tribulation,we will have trials,but by God's amazing grace we will be victorious.