Two momentous events ( Revelation 22 v13)

Most historians  when dating events usually put, 'BC meaning,'Before Christ',or 'AD stand for ;Anno Domomi', meaning ,'In the year of our Lord'.Now some historians are using two different terms,that are secular that avoids religious references, they are ,'Common Era and 'Before Common Era'.These secular terms make little sense to me and I'm sure to many people. For me as a Christian the most  important event in history is the comming of Christ, we must never forget this ,it is the only hope this world has,it is the only hope you and I have. Humanity left to its own devices,spells disaster,the technology that is being created. is wonderful,but it can be also bring disaster upon this world,we see this in so many pass leaders,who led people into do untold evil . Because of Christs first coming we have hope for the present ,when we embrace Him as our Saviour. But that is not the end there is another  momentous event.We will consider ,what that event  will be next time.

                                                   ' God comes down that man may rise

                                                    Lifted by Him to the skies,

                                                    Christ is Son of man that we

                                                    Sons of God in Him may be'

                                                     Words,'Christopher  Wordsworth.

You must be born again ( John 1 v 9- 13)

In John 3 v 7 our Saviour said ,'You must be born again',what did He mean by these words, Jesus spoke these words to a very religious Jew,and yet he did not understand what Jesus said.Jesus is talking about the vital importance of a spiritual birth,He is saying as you been born naturally so one needs to be born spiritually.If we are not born spiritually we cannot have a relationship with God unless we are born again,we are shut out from Him,we are not God's children.We may be very religious but that does not count,you may be a minister and you may have not been born again. If  you are not born again you are lost,you may have been baptised as a child as I was,but that does not make you a Christian,baptisim can save no one,baptisim is for believers,it is an open declaration of what  Christ has done for us. John the baptise,baptised people with water, he spoke of one who would baptise with the Holy Spirit. (John 1 v33) In 1 Corinthians12 v13 we read ,'we have all been baptised into one body by one Spirit',this is speaking of when we become a Christian when by faith we ask Jesus to be our Saviour.

Worshiping false gods ( 1 Corinthians 10 v 18 -22 )

I read a sad story of a women who died, and it was said of her she worshiped  her children, and another person whose dog died,said that he worshipped it.We should all love our children,and love our dogs,or whatever,but only God is to be worshiped, Exodus 20 v 3,tells us,'You shall have no other god's before me'. Thomas Watson wrote the following. 'The Valentinians held there were two gods;the Polytheists ,that were many;the Pesians worshipped the sun; the Egyptians,the ox and elephant; the Grecians,  .Deut 4 v39 declares 'Know therefore,this day,and consider it in thy heart,that the Lord he is God in  heaven above, and upon the earth beneath; there is none else'. Exodus 20 v 4 says,'You shall not make for yourself an image of anything  in heaven above or on the earth beneath, or in the waters below'.Yes humanity are so blind that they make their own own gods.and worship them', gods who are not gods.In Psalm 95 v5 (CPDV ),we read,'For all the gods of the Gentiles are demons,but the Lord  made the heavens'.So there is a very serious side of worshiping other gods,they are from the  devil himself,and only evil can become of that,they will lead straight to hell.

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Christ in you the hope of Glory ( Psalm 23 v 6 )

In Psalm 90 v10  we read,'Seventy years are given to us! Some even live to eighty.But even the best years are filled with pain and trouble; soon they disappear,and we fly away'Old age would be wonderful if we could go to the body shop.Samuel Johnson's reflection on this verse writes,'Unnmberesd maladies his joints invade,lay siege to life,and press the dire blockade'.One person said the following,''Even although one prays for an extension of life, if granted, it brings with it such weariness that we long to escape, a fact sufficiently true to experience,as Shakespeare reminds us,'Yet are these feet, whose strengthless day is numb, Unable to support this lump of clay,Swift winged with desire to get a grave'. Thomas Watson wrote; We come into the world with a cry,and we go out of  it with a groan.'Thankfully we have  more uplifting words from Spurgeon,'Mellowed  by hallowed experience, and solaced by immortal hopes, the latter days of aged Christians are not so much to be pitied,as envied.The sun is setting and the heat of the day is over, but sweet is the calm and cool of the eventide; and the fair day melts  away, not into a dark and dreary night,but into a glorious,unclouded,eternal day'.

Look up (Psalm 121)

 A.W.Pink said,'Remember dear reader that tomorrow will bring with it tomorrow's God',so why do we worry and fret?.Could it be that we take our eyes of God and focus just on the difficulty ,and we forget how He helped us in the past.Could be we are seeking for help in our situations at a horizontal  level,remember  what the Psalmist said in Ps 121 v1-2 ,'I lift up my eyes to the mountains,where does my help come from'. He does two things irrespective of the enemy of souls was saying to him,or what others were pointing out to him,the doom  and gloom merchants,nor does he look inward , no he looks up, he didn't look downward in despair,child of God  I  exhort to you look up.He then says as he looks up, he see's the mountains,how awe inspiring they are,but they are not as awe inspiring as the one who made the mountains ,and so he declares  my help comes from the Lord,the maker of heaven and earth, everything now falls into place. When we bring God into our dire situations, everything will fall into place

Adopted.( 1 John 3 v1)

In the book,'The Valley of Vision',I read,'O sovereign Lord,Thou art the Creator-Father of all men,for Thou hast made and dost support them; Thou art the special Father of those who know and honour Thee'. There  are two groups of people mentioned those have not trusted Jesus as Saviour, they are notconnected to God spiritually,God is a faithful creator,so He  causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good,and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous'  (Matthew 5 v 45 ) But the unrighteous our outside the spiritual  family of God,and receive no benifites spiritually,they cannot have a relationship with God who is Spirit.They are shut out from God while they live ,and when they die.All this can change  when one trusts Christ as  Saviour, then we are granted the right to become children of God,not born of natural descent,nor of human decision or a husbands will,but born of God ( John 1 v 12-13) The Bible speaks of the Christian being adopted brought about by the Spirit of God, ( Romans 8 v14-17 )that means we who were not  a people are now the people of God( 1 Peter 2v 10).Did we merit this ?no,it came about by  God's umerited favour.

                                                      'I'm accepted Im forgiven,

                                                       I am fathered  by the true and living God.

                                                       I'm accepted, no condemnation,

                                                        I m loved by the true and living God.

                                                        There's no guilt or fear as I draw near

                                                        To the Saviour and Creator of the world,

                                                         There is joy and peace

                                                         As I release my worship to you, O Lord'  (Words  Dave Bilbrough)

                                                         

                                                  

Them bones.( Epherians 2 v 1- 10)

In Ezekiel 37 the Lord brought  Ezekiel into a valley of dried bones,and he asked him a question,' can these bones live?.The bones repersented the spiritual deadness of the people of Israel,yes they were spiritually dead.What applies to to Isreal,applies to the unsaved of every nation ,all without exception are dead spiritually (Ephesians 2 v1),all unsaved can be likenend unto dead bones. As one watches sporting events with vast mulitudes of people looking on, what  does one see? most are dead bones. We must look with spiritual vision most people are  spiritually dead bones,every day I pray for dead bones.I see  people who have natual life ,but no spiritual life,and I hear the words that God spoke to Ezekiel,'can these bones live?'.Yes with God all things are possible Matthew 19 v26,So let us consider further what God said to Eezekiel,'Prophesy to  these bones and say to them,'Dry bones,hear the word of the Lord,this is what every preacher has to do,but we all have the same respomsibility.The word of God is vital ,for it will bring life and salvation,the natural creation came into being by God's word,so likewise  the new creation will come into being when the word of God is spoken.(1 Peter 1 v 23)Ezekiel obeyed God, the result was those very dried bones came to life and stood up on their feet ,a vast army'.Yes those dead dry  bones can live,with God all things are possibly,so let us be faithful and speak the word of God , and we will see those dead bones coming to life.