Such Love ( Isaiah 53 v 10)

 1John 4 v10 reads ,'In this is love, not that we loved God,but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins''The opening words, tells us the kind of love God showed to us let these words sink into our minds,before we came to Christ we did not love God,we may have prayed to him ,attended a church,considered ourselves Christians .Like all of those who are unsaved we did not love God,we loved many things,our families,wives,husbands,sport ,money,and a mulitude of other things,but we did not love God.  Loving God means He must be first in our lives, we must see ourselves as He sees us,in our natural state it is impossible for us to love Him.Too many things get in our way,we wanted to walk the broad road,that leads to destruction,the narrow way was  not for us.We walked with our backs turned to Him,our will was not His .Next we are told,'but that He loved us',yes in our  unsaved state He loved us,amazing,yet it is true,but consider how much he loved us. He,' sent His Son to be  the propitiation for our sins'.There are those who don't like the word propitiation it is found in Roman 2 v17/3v 25,and it means that God had to be appeased by the sacrifice of his Son on Calvary,and in doing that,it meant that we could escape the punishment we deserved ,this happens when we place our faith in Jesus.The verse tells us why God did this,the answer is very simple, yet very profound, He loved us.

                                                       'For God so loved the world,

                                                        that He gave His only begotten

                                                        Son,thay whosoever believeth 

                                                         in Him should not perish but

                                                         have everlasting life'

                                                                     John 3 v16

                                                         

They did not forsake God( Hebrews 11 v 24- 27)

There are four brave men ,men of faith mentioned in the book of Daniel they are known as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego,they were part of the exiles taken from Israel by the Babylonians.They were also part of those chosen to be assimlated into that culture.Daniel was also involved ,the four of them  excelled in this program of assimilation, but they never took on the religion of Babylion.We see how Danilel took a stand in chap one when he would not partake of the food presented to him.He speaks of the God of  heaven  in chap 2 v28  ,and as we read the history of these four men we see how they may to some extent have been assimilated to some extent  in Babylion culture ,but they never forsook God, the threat of death did not weaken their faith. There is a saying ,'when in Rome do as the Romans do',that might be true to some extent,but like those four ,we must remain faithful to God  and His ways,even though it may mean,being  ostracize,being picked on,persecuted ,suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, many dear Chistians  today are experiencing all these things and more,in standing for the Lord Jesus Christ whom they love.

Heaven ( 1 Corinthians 2 v 9 )

There are very powerful telescopes ,yet no telescope can help one to see  heaven,if one could build a rocket that could go endlessly into speed,could one reach heaven?, no.The apostle  Paul  had a vision in which he was caught up into paradise.and the apostle John had a God given revelation of heaven. There are people who profess to have a experience of going to heaven,all I would say about such people, that  heaven is not a tourist destination.It is interesting that the apostle Paul never elaborated on his vision ( 2 Corinthians 12 v 4) So I am very sceptical as regards those heavenly tourist,it appears to me  that it is a way of cashing in from the sale of a book they have written. In Hebrews 11v 16, we read of the saints of old who longed for a better country -a heavenly one,and indeed all Christians should have that aspiration.We are foreigners and strangers on earth but by faith we believe in a place called heaven where God dwells,and  where all God's children will dwell.Yes it is a question of faith  in the eternal,all the unsaved has is what  they  can see or touch,and all that is temporal,and will soon be seen no more.I often wonder what heaven will be like, 1 Corinthians 2 v 9 ,tells us,'No eye has seen,no ear has heard,and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him'. Someone commenting on these words  writes,'These words tell us that the joys and glories of heaven,and the blessings God has in store for us,are so extraodinary that they cannot be conceived or understood by human minds or senses'.As for where heaven is,we will just have to wait and see.

Creation (Genesis 1 v 1/ Colossians 1 v 16)

I have just come in from my garden watching the bumble bees,I found them fascinating the bumble bee does not produce honey,the bee that does produce honey is called a honey bee.The bumble bee collects nectar a surgary liquid that provides them energy whereas pollen is a source of food for developing bee  larvae,They also play a role in pollenating flowers and crops, big time.I am just amazed and filled with awe at God's creation,The poet  Joyce Kilmes wrote ,'Poems are made by fools like me,but only God can make a tree'.Likewise I would add ,'only God can make a bee,and only God can make you and me.'.

                                                  'It all happened by chance,not a chance'

                                                                      R.C.Sproul

Man know thyself( 2 Corinthians 1 v 8 v 10)

 I read these words from a prayer,'Lord save me from myself', yes what honest words they are,spoken by a humble child of God.So many of us do not appreciate our weakness,and as the hymn writer puts it, 'prone to leave the God we love'.It was Socrates who said ,'Man know thyelf',for often we fail to see ourselves as we should,warts an all,Peter foolishly boasted that he would lay down his life for Christ (John 13 v37),and my he blew it big time.We may be saved but the old nature has not  been eradicated(1 John 1 v 8).Samson was a very strong man,but he had his weaknesses,Soloman was a very wise man,but he did evil in the sight of Lord (1 Kings 11 v 6). The apostle Paul was the greatest of the apostles ,but he declared ,that it was through Christ that he could do all things.(Philippians 4 v13)How serious do we take the words spoken by our Saviour ,'apart from me you can do nothing( John 15 v 5) Sennacherib and his great army were threatening Jerusalem ,here is what King  Hezekiah said to the people of God,'Be  strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or  discouraged because the king of  Assyris and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him. With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us to help us and to fight our battles''is the Lord our God.'( 2  Chronicles 32v 7-8) 

                                                     '  Stand up! stand up for Jesus!

                                                       Stand in His strength alone;

                                                       The arm of flesh will fail you,

                                                       You dare not trust your own;'

                                                                 Words G.Duffield

                                              

Waiting time. ( Psalm 37 v7)

 Waiting is a big part of the humam experience, I  wonder how many accidents have been caused,by people being impatient,likewise how many problems have been caused by being impatient.It is said patience is a virtue ,but alas not many have that virtue. In the movie Braveheart ,William Wallace is leading the Scottish army against the English,the English army was larger and more powerful than tha Scottish army. As the English army advances William's army grows apprehensive their enemy gets nearer ,and nearer,but they could hear  William Wallace's  voice cry out,'Hold,Hold,Hold the line.The English army is near upon them,when William cries out,'Now',the line kneels down and picks up long spears,which they used to impale the knights and their horses,and of course they won the battle that day.They would have not won if they had not waited,waiting is very important,especially waiting for that God's moment when He  will act. David was in a horrible situation,but he declares ,'I waited patiently for the Lord;He turned to me and heard my cry'.( Psalm 40 v1)In Psalm 27,David again is facing enemies,but David has put his confidence in the Lord,in verse 13 he declares,'I remain confident of this:I will see the goodness of the Lord in the Land of the Living'.Having said that He declares,for his benefit and for ours,'Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord'.  (Ps 27 v14)

Sowing and reaping.( Romans 1 v 24- 28)

 Our Saviour said,' One  sows and another reaps'(John 4 v 37) which is very true,this is a quotation from the book of Hosea,of what God  said to His own specical people.(8 v7)  They had forsaken Him. choosing other god's,and choosing the sinful pleasures of life.They had sown the wind ,now they were going to reap the sinful conequences of their actions.A certain upperclass man in the Victorian era embezzled funds for a particular cause,and he was sent to prison.When there a friend visited him,he was sowing mail bags,his friend spoke to him,saying I see your sowing,he looked at his friend and replied,'I'm not sowing, I'm reaping'.Whatever we sow in life,there will be a reaping.When Jesus said those words to his disciples ,He was reminding them of those of a former generations who had done the hard work,and it would be His disciples who would reap the benefits.Someoe has said, 'Many ministry succeeds, not by its own force and merits,but because of some saintly man who lived and preached and died and left an influence which was greater in his absence than in his presence'.