Persecution 2 ( John 14 v 28)

 I wrote last time of the persecution of the church of Christ,that it went on for a long time,and I finished by saying ,'to believe that a Caesar might be  won  for Christ was  indeed to believe in miracles',well the miracle happened,Constantine the Great became a Christian ,he would reign for 31yrs.Much would change,but not everything,slavery didn't,some Christians saw it as a neccessary evil,it was taken for granted by many Christians,there were those like Gregory who spoke of the  evil of it.But Christianty did make a difference no longer were slaves of no importance for Christianity taught that in Christ they had a new standing ,spiritually  they were now equal citizens of the Kingdom of God, for in Christ,'There is neither Jew nor Gentile,neither slave nor free,nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus'.A new reality had come into being that in itself  was a miracle.In a world we expect things right now,but that's not the way things happen.There so many things needing to change in this world,awful things,the church is still being persecuted,Isalamic violence is beyond descrpition,a religion that holds a knife at the throats of its followers,if they dare to question their religion,or leave it.Yes there is so much that  needs to change.As for myself and many others we lift our eyes heavenward ,and pray even so come Lord Jesus, for  His coming  will be the final solution for this world.

Persecution (1 Peter 4 v12-19)1

For over 300yrs Christians were  persecuted under the Emperors of Rome the most severe persecution happened under Diocletian, it lasted for 8yrs. It was Origen  who said,'Should  the Romans embrace the Christian faith,'he had declared, then their prayers would see them overcome their enemies;or rather, having come under the protection of God,they would have no nemies at all'.The Christian church will always have enemies. of some sort or other,many Christians today are suffering in many places in this world,people scratch their head  and say ,why are they doing that?why indeed?.It was Peter who wrote,'Dear friends ,do not be surprised at the very ordeal that has come on you to test you,as though  something strange were happening to you.'And of course Peter would experence marytom,being crucified upside down,his fellow apostle Paul was beheaded. Commenting on the persecution under Rome one  writer declared,'to believe that a Caesar  might be won for Christ was indeed to believe in miracles'.We will look at  this next time.

Praise ( 2 Chronicles 20 v 1-29)

                                                                   Psalm 50 v23

                                                 Who so offereth praise glorifeth Me.

                                         'Let everything that has breath praise the Lord

                                        'I'll praise in the valley, praise on the mountain

                                        I'll praise Him when I'm sure,praise Him when I'm doubting,

                                        I'll praise Him when out numbered,praise when surrounded

                                                  

                                                As long as I'm  breathing I've got a reason to

                                                Praise the Lord,O my soul

                                                Praise the Lord,oh my soul.

                                         I'll praise when I feel it,and  I'll praise when I don't

                                         I'll praise cause I know you You're still in control

                                         Cause my praise is a weapon,it's more than a sound

                                          Oh, my praise is the shout that brings Jericho down.'

                                                     Words Chris Brown/Chandler moore.

                                                

                                       

                               

Suffering ( Luke 22 v 42)

 Job was a very godly man,we read,he was blameless and upright,that does not mean to say he was sinless, he acknowledged this in 9 v20 /40 v4/42 v6. We must never loose sight of the whole of humanities nature,it is a fallen nature,and the best of men and women are sinners.Job was a good father  CP. ch1,he helped others 29 v 12ff/ 31v 32.Now here was this good man and in a blink of an eye his whole whole fell apart,he lost one thing after another,all his flocks were taken,next his ten  children were taken yes all of them,next his health was taken.He didn't understand,what would the so called prosperity gospel say to all Jobs suffering.We need to accept the fact that good people will suffer we may find it hard to accept this.Job's wife did ,and even Job found it hard to accept.As a general rule God will preserve us from much evil,and He promises us that in His word, All things come under the umbrella of God's will all things,so it was for Job ,so it is for us,and so it was for Christ. Job didn't understand his  suffering ,but in the end he bowed to Gods will,as we must do.

                                                            'Renew my will from day today,

                                                            Blend it with Thine and take away

                                                            All that now makes it hard to say

                                                            Thy will be done.'

No giving up ( 2 Timothy 4 v 6-8)

 I love Pilgrims Progress it is about man on a journey his name  is Christiam ,He  meets all sorts of people they are called by strange names that sum  up their character.There is a point on his  journey they came to a  hill called Difficulty on either side there where two broad roads.He and his companions made a choice as to which way they would go, we read of a man called Formalist he chose to go to the left ,which  led him into a dark wood.Did he but know it, the road was called danger,and he lost his way forever.Christians other companion called Hypocrisy chose to go to the right, which led him unto rough ground , and full of holes.he did not know  that the road was called Destruction.Here he fell, and rose no more.As for Christian, he paused  and drank at a spring  to refresh himself. Then after looking both ways, he started briskly straight on up the hill called Difficulty.Let us remember the road that leads to heaven is not paved with gold,no there will be many difficuties on the way many inticements, God has not promised us skies always blue. Matthew 24 v13 tells us,that one who endures to the end will be saved, it  reminds us that the Christian life must be one of steadfast faith until the end of ones life,facing trials and persecution with perseverance.

Perfect ( 2 Timothy 3 v16)

 It is John Blanchard  in his commentary on James  writes as regards four things about God ( 1) 'His works are perfect. (2) His way is perfect.( 3) His will is perfect.( 4 )His word is perfect.Let us have  a brief look at these 4 things,'His works are perfect',in Psalm  139 v14  David declares,'I am fearfully and wonderfully made'.The word fearfully has with it  a sense of awe and respect.our whole body,look on the internet, consider what it tells us the body that has one trillion cells,think of that,and they it say it just happened, how blind they are,.( 2) 'His way is perrfect'.That is what we are told in Psalm 18 v 30, it could be as you read these words you doubt what is said,cast that doubt aside,He makes no mistakes,lean on these words and trust your God who makes no mistakes.(3 ) His will is perfect, Romans 12 v2 tells us that His will is good,pleasing ,and perfect,we can never go wrong when we walk in obedience to God's will (4) 'His word is perfect.' This wonderful bible has been miraculously preserved,in it we have the very word of God,a word  that brings hope to us,a word that never changes,a word that tells us about a wonderful Saviour . 

Memory lane ( 1 Samuel 7 v12 )

There are events  that one never forgets,after leaving Bible college we applied to missions and no door opened up,I managed a Christian book shop  until it closed, but eventually a door opened a church in England called me to be their pastor.And so the day arrived to set off on our journey ,my wife and our four children,in our little Morris Minor someone had bought for us.I read earlier that day  a reading from a devotional called 'Daily Light',it is just full of scripture,I read these words,'He lead them on safetly'(Psalm 78 v 53)  and then I read,'Behold,I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared'(Exodus 23 v20)What a wonderful word as we set of on our journey,two  things happened first we got a puncture but we got that fixed,next the fanbelt was loose ,but we got fixed also,and we drove through London and eventually we arrived safe and sound.It was the blind Hymn writer Fanny J.Crosby who wrote the following words.

                                                          'All the way my Saviour leads me;

                                                           What have I to ask beside?

                                                           Can I doubt His tender mercy,

                                                            Who through life hads been my guide?