Words (Psalm 19 v 14)

I wonder if you have opened your mouth ,and wished you hadn't spoken, and you wished the ground would open up and swallow you. It is James who points out how difficult it is to tame the tongue ( James 3 ) no one is immune from opening their mouths and putting their foot in it. Take Moses ,in Psalm 106 v33 we read that he spoke unadvisedly with his lips,or he spoke rashly,he was angry with Israel, who were complaining not for the first time,that there was no water.So God told Moses to speak to the rock and water would come out of it. Moses didn't do that,he said to the people ,'must we bring you water out of the rock', he then struck the rock with his staff,and water came out.In his rashness he said 'we' ,instead of God.God rebuked him and told him he would not bring Israel into the promised land (Numbers 20 v12) Think also how Peter denied his Lord( John 18 ) those words he would always remember with shame.Someone said,'Some words once spoken can't be taken back. Nor the pain that they cause' Let us be careful as to what we say,let our words be words that will bless and not hurt.I leave you with this little  children's chorus.

                                        'O, be careful little tongue what you say

                                          Be careful little tougue what you say,

                                     For the Father up above is looking down in love,

                                            So be careful little tongue what you say.'

                                             

                                             

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Meaning, ( John 1 v 1-18 )

 A  life with Christ means ?, well what do you think it means? it means one has found the meaning of life, that's a precious thing to know.It means we know why we are here, when we know Christ as our Saviour the mystery of life is revealed to us,we see that the universe just didn't happen,that's impossible.The Bible tells us tells us why evil exists ,and its consequences,we look at evil, and we don't have far to look,everyday we are confronted with it,wars and more wars,murders and more murders,rapes and more rapes,and so on .Yes sin brings its consquences, we rightly say no one is perfect,but then you may say,surely in all of history there was one perfect being with no flaws,no faults,no hangovers,there was one exceptoon Christ,yes he was the the only perfect person.This  person whose birth we celebrate every year,who was the same as us,yet not the same,for He was also the Son of God in Colossians 2 v9,we are told 'For in Christ lives all the fullness of  God in a human body'.He who came from heaven born of a virgin,came  to rescue sinners and bring them to heaven.What is the meaning of His awful death on the cross?,it is described as a sacrifice for sin, ( Hebrews 9 v28 ),a sacrifice in which He bore the wrath of God,so we would not have to bear it,when I say we ,I am speaking of those who put their faith in Him as their Saviour,that is the meaning of His coming,until we enter into that personaly ,life will never have meaning,it will always remain a mystery.

                                                    'We will continue walking in the dark,

                                                     until we trust Christ who is the light

                                                      of  the world'.

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All equal. ( Galatians 3 v 23 - 29)

There's a song from the,'The slave songs of the United States',which at one time was very popular,here is a verse from it.

                                       'Some times I'm up, sometimes I'm down

                                                           Oh ,yes, Lord.

                                        Some times I'm almost to the ground

                                                            Oh ,yes,Lord.

Well if you were a slave you can understand those words,they had good reason to feel like that,it is amazing that many slaves became Christians.At the time of our Lord when Rome ruled millions of people were slaves,and many becames Christians.That give then a new standing in life ,for they became children of God,and in God's eyes they were precious. There are many disadvantaged people in life in so many countries,who are very poor,uneducated,born into a religion that has a cast system,and those in the lower casts are looked down upon.Then there are religions that treat women as inferior to men,which can be very abusive.The good news is this ,God's love is not discriminatory,it reaches out to everyone,and through accepting Christ as their Saviour they become children of God. 

                                             'In Christ nobody's become somebody's'

How big is our God?. ( Ephesians 3 v 20)

 Its so easy to get down, problems are piling up,family problems,lack of money,illness,and so we go on,and we might be like Elijah filled with despair (1 Kings 19),or like Elisha's servant when the enemies of Israel surrounded the city they were in,he cried out in fear,'what shall we do?'Elisha spoke to him ,'Don't be afraid.Those who are with us are more thatn those who are with them'.And Elisha prayed,'Open his eyes Lord ,so that He may see,and the servant looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire'. (2 Kings 6) In Psalm 78 v19 we have these words spoken by a unbelieving Israel.'Can God provide a table in the wilderness?',spoken in unbelief.There is a childrens chorus written by Nigel and Jo Hemming that goes,

                                                'Our God is a  great big God

                                                Our God is a great big God

                                                Our God is a great big God.

                                                He's higher than a skyscraper

                                                And deeper than a submarine,

                                               He's wider than the universe,

                                               And beyond my wildest dreams

                                               He knows me,and He loves me,

                                               Before the world began,

                                               How wonderful to be part of 

                                               God's almighty plan'

Better. ( Romans 8 v28 )

 Ecclesiastes 7 v 8 reads 'The end of a thing is better than its beginning', we can look at this in different ways, we see it in the lives of people in the Bible  like Joseph,think of all he suffered the hatred of his brothers ,being  sold into slavery ,falsely accused of rape,put into prison ,but in God's providence all that changed.Think about David and the trials he  had during King Sauls reign,but again in God's providence it all changed for the better.I know of people who had awful childhoods but again in the providence of God things are better now.Possible you are facing trials now but in God's providence things can change to a better ending.Let us look at another aspect of this verse ,as regards healing, now I speak as one who experienced the lost of my first wife from cancer ,she was a young woman in early 30s,I prayed she would be healed,but in God's will it didn't happen. It makes me very sad when I see these so called faith healers exploiting people financially,they give people false hope,they have a lot to answer for.Let me just say if it is God's will, healing will take place.Let me share a story,about a couple in  Uganda they came to the Kisiizi hospital,the woman looked thin and pale they had attended many other facilities,spending a lot of money with no improvement.She was examined and was told she had advanced cancer  and it was to late for surgery to help.The staff prayed for them and left them alone for a little while,when they returned  to their surprise they found them both smiling.'The couple told them  that nobody had told them the truth as regards her diagnosis,and they had lost their faith.but now they were at peace again ,and trusting in God, knowing that this life is not the end of the story.'

                                                 'For the Christian the end will always

                                                  be better than the beginning'

They need to hear, ( Romans 10 v 14)

I have just finished reading a biography of  Robert Murray McCheyne a minister of the Free Church of Scotland ,he ministered in the 19th century.He did not live very long dying at the early age of 30,his ministry lasted but 7 yrs ,yet in that 7yrs he accomplished so much. He was an evangelical in other words he was faithful to the word of God, he spoke of a perishing world. He had a great burden for the souls of humanity,and if people died without Christ they would go to hell. When one becomes a minister it is vital that one is faithul in proclaiming the gospel of our Lord Jesus .Sad to say there are many who do not do this,but we have to leave that with God ,none of us are accountable for other ministers,we will only be held accountable as to ourselves,it is an awesome responsibility,a minister has.Yet it does not only apply to ministers it applies to all Christians, we are called to be witnesses.Coming back to McCheyne ,before he found Christ he said although he had many ministerial friends he could find no one to talk to him about his soul. No friend who cared for his soul,none to direct him to the Saviour. He said I had no minister to take me by the hand,and say,' come with me , and we will do thee good'.

                                                            'Tell them about Jesus'

To love the unlovely ( Matthew 5 v 43 - 48)

 I was in a restaurant recently,and the person who was taken our order had a mannerism that was off -putting,not pleasing or likable,not a person you would want to give a tip to.I was not the only one in our group who thought that,we commented on her,in a negative way.It was later I felt convicted by the Holy Spirit,and prayed for forgiveness,and asked the Lord to help me love the unlovely.Our Saviour showed love to many unlovely people,in Matthew 8 we read how our Saviour reached out and touched a man,we may  say so what, well it wasn't just any man ,he was a leper.Even today  in some countries there is a great stigma attached to anyone with leprosy.No one would have touched that leper,but Jesus did,and He also healed him.(I am not saying that lepers are not nice people)There are unlovely people everywhere even in the Christian church ,why should we love these people,because Jesus loves them,and He tells us we must love them,He tells us that we are to love our enemies ,and pray for those who persecute us. ( Matthew 5 v 44).It is easy to love nice people,but a real challenge to love those who are not nice,but that's the challenge we face.There are 4 different words for love in Greek, stergein that word  describes family love ,then there is eros that can mean physical love,next there is philia love describes real love that is warm and affectionate,lastly their is agape ,it is to love those who do not love us,it does not mean that we let people do what they want to us but as William Barclay says by God's grace to not strike back or seek vengence.Let us never forget that God loves the ungodly,that was us but He still loved us.

                                                    'Thy foes might hate ,dispise ,revile,

                                                      Thy friends  unfaithful prove;

                                                       Unwearied in forgiveness still,

                                                        Thy heart could only love.'