Historical miraculous events. (Matthew 9 v 1-8)

My wife and I are holidaying in the island of Malta,so I am doing this blog from the hotel we are staying in.So far the internet is working,I am praying it will continue to work while we are here . In the northern region of Malta there is a bay called St Paul;s bay, it gets it's name from that moment when the ship that was carrying  Paul  to Rome to stand trial before Caesar was shipwrecked on the island of Melita,now known as Malta ,read about it in Acts 27-28. Two  miraculous things happened while Paul was on the Island,he was bitten by a venomous serpent and he surviived,there were those who thought he was going  to die,Next  he healed the chief man of the islands father,we read that Paul prayed for this man and laid hands on him and he was healed.These two things  really happened,they are historical events ,we should make much of the fact that the Bible is a historical book, not a book of mythology in other words made up stories.Moses was real the miracles recorded during his life really happened.Jesus was a real person,born of a virgin,miraculously performed miracles, died and rose from the dead, are true historical facts,I make no apologies for declaring that. One of the most miraculous things he ever did was to die on a cross that our sins could be forgiven. 

                                                  'It took a mircle to put the stars in place,

                                                   It took a miracle to hang the world in space,

                                                   But when He saved my soul ,

                                                    Cleansed and made me whole,

                                                    It took a miacle of love and grace.

                                                                   John Peterson

                                                     

Are you thirsty?. ( Revelation 21 v 6)

 Precious gems and gold are valued by most people,but I tell you what's more precious  ,water,if we have no water we die,water is essential to life itself.If the farmer does not get rain  his crops will die,and the knock on affect of that is people die for lack of food. The natural water quenches our thirst,but our Saviour spoke to a lady at a well,   (John  4 )and He said,'Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water  I give them will never thirst .Indeed the water that I give them  will become in them a spring of water wellling up to eternal life'. v 13-14. Jesus is using water as a symbol,that points us beyond the natural water,what is the cry of  mankind, ''I thirst, I thirst'',Mankind has a want in them,and to fulfill that want,they get addicted to drugs,nicotine food,sex,gambling, obsessive  shopping,sport etc.I knew a lady who had an obsession ,everyday she kept looking for that which would make her happy,her life was ruled by that,she never succeeded in really being happy.So let us return to what Jesus said about giving us living water,what does He mean?,He means that when we ask Christ into our lives,we will experience a truly fulfilled life.the hymn writer declared .

                                                 'O Christ in Thee my soul hath found,

                                                  And found in Thee alone,

                                                  The peace ,the joy I sought so long,

                                                  The bliss till now unknown.

                                                   Now none but Christ can satisfy,

                                                   None other name for me:

                                                   There's love and life and lasting joy,

                                                    Lord Jesus,found in Thee.'

I wonder, ( Revelation 4 )

I wonder do you ever think of heaven?,I do,there is so much we can say about it,There will be many things that won't be there,here are some of them.'Never again having to repent,never again having a bad conscience, no wars,no racism,no shame or guilt,no power struggles, no unjust laws,no suffering from hunger,no class system,no homelessness,no sadness,no disappointments,no longer feeling inadequate, no longer feeling left out,no more failures'.I'm sure one could add a lot more to that list. Next ,what will we have in heaven?.'Total fulfillment,total joy, total health,life eternal,the company of angels,saints, and God, perfect knowledge,perfect contentment. The victors crown,the crown of rejoicing,the crown of righteous- ness,the crown of life and the crown of glory'.Yes there are many other things we could say,the most important thing is we will be with our great triune God,Father,Son,and Holy Spirit .

                                              'Only a few more years,only a few more cares;

                                              Only a few more smiles and tears,only a few more prayers.

                                               Only a few more wrongs,only a few more sighs;

                                               Only a few more earthly songs,only a few good -byes.

                                               Then an eternal stay; there an eternal throng;

                                               Then an eternal,glorious day;then an eternal song'.

                                                                       Words J.L.Pattison.

                                                

Friendship . (John 15 v 13- 17)

 Friends are very important,I look back and think about some of the friends I've had ,one in particular stands out ,his name is Pat,I believe God sent him into my life at a crucial time.I had just come back to the Lord. I was still very vunerable,but Pat befriended me,and for those early years he was there for me.He did his best to support and encourage me,now my dear friend is in a nursing home suffering from Parkinson's disease.His life was filled with serving God,supported by his dear wife,the last time I spoke  to him I told him I loved him. Such friends are very precious,I value the friends I still have,the fact is we all need friends and we should value them,and thank God for them. But of course the greatest friend that anyone can have is Jesus,He is the perfect friend, I treasure His friendship above all others. I often tell Him  I love Him and could not live without Him he is unique.He is not only my friend but He is also my Saviour.That means He was prepared to die for me on the cross .When I think about this ,I'm  overwhelmed at such love,greater love hath no man than this.Friends come and friends go .but He is with me always,helping me,comforting me,strengthening me,loving me,and when I come to pass through the valley of the shadow of death,I will fear no evil,for He will be with me.

                                                     'I've found a friend;oh,such a friend!

                                                      So kind,and true,and tender!

                                                      So wise a Counsellor and guide

                                                      So mighty a Defender!

                                                      From Him who loves me now so well

                                                      What power my soul shall sever?

                                                      Shall life,or death,on earth,or hell?

                                                      No! I am His for ever'   (Words J.G.Small)

The real gospel . ( Romans 1 v16 )

 It was said of Spurgeon  ,''He preaches the real gospel,and God blesses him'', there are many god'swho are not  god's,so there are many gospels that are not gospels.There are so many supposed gospels ,and that's all one could say about them,when examined in the light of God's word,they are not real gospels  at all.There is only one gospel, the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ,it appears to many a foolish assumption, but it's not,it is foretold in scripture , One person wrote the following,'It is reckoned that there are 300 to potentially 400,predictions or prophecies of Christ in the Old Testament.These prophecies point to various aspects of the Messiah's life,death,and resurrection'.Another commentator points to the  historical  evidence of Christs existence by Roman and Jewish historians like Tacitus,Joseph,and Suetonius.And of course we have the four gospels acounts of our Savious existence.From a real Jesus we have a real gospel,a  gospel that is good news,to a broken world,a sinful world,a lost world,the real gospel shines as a light of hope where there is no hope,it is a sure and certain hope.Looking at the world as it is,the future has a cloud of depression hanging over it. It was Dante who wrote about the gates of Hell,with these words written on it ,'All ye who enter here,abandon all hope'',but with Christ  as our Saviour we have a sure and certain hope of heaven. ( Colossians 1 v 27-28)

                                                  'The real gospel is about a real Saviour

 

You have a choice ( Luke 14 v 15ff)

 Lets continue to look at Matthew 22 v14 ,and the opening words,'For many are called',I think back since I become a Christian the many people I have witnessed to,in sermons,in personal encounters,and even now on my blog.People who have heard the gospel call,and yet ignored it,walked away,put it out of their mind,or tried to,or thought some more convenient day and that day never came.There is an old saying which goes, ''Strike while the iron is hot'',means to take advantage of an opportunity as soon as it arises, before it disappears or becomes less favourable. When we hear the gospel we are being given the opportunity  of being saved,being forgiven,being set free from our sinful ways,of receiving eternal life,of having a relationship with God.There is so much more we could say,It is the mercy of God being shown to you,offered to you,by the grace of God,you see this Gospel is the power of God unto salvation,neglect all this to your cost.There is a modern song that goes,'Many are called ,but few choose to go',very true,here are some words from that song.

                                              'When the Spirit moved ,some calls you don't get twice,

                                              Friend that's just so.

                                              Don't gamble with heaven,don't sell your soul.

                                              Many are called few choose to go,that narrow road'.

                                              ' Hear this, there may not be a tomorrow for you,

                                               believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,and you shall 

                                               be saved'

Called chosen. (Acts 20 v31)

 Matthew 22 v14 reads,'Many are called ,but few are chosen', Who does the calling?,all of us who know the Lord ,to some degree, how otherwise would people hear about Jesus and be saved,as Paul puts it,how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them(.Romans 10 v 14) You may think leave it to the professionals,not so that is a cop out,we all have a responsibility to witness to others.I  personally get frustrated that those who are ministers and are neglecting to proclaim the gospel.They rarely mention sin or speak of hell ,it's as if they are afraid of offending people,but in doing that they are offending God. Many are hearing the gospel now  through the internet,in the town where I live I saw a team of people witnessing in our town center, that encouraged me.The call of the gospel  goes out to many but our Lord says ,'few are chosen'.some people may struggle  with what Jesus said,but if Jesus said it then it's true we must accept that in the end salvation is a work of God,we must see that in it's fullness ,our responsibility is to be faithful in whatever way we can by telling  people about Jesus.