Miracles ( Luke 1 v26 -38) 1

 They say there are four types of miracles,healing,exorcism, nature miracles,and resurrection,well that's what they say,I believe there are more than that.Here we are in the Christmas season when we remember a miracle ,in fact two miracles happened. In Isaiah 7 v14  we read,'The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son'Now that is truly a miracle,it is impossible for a virgin to bear a child,yet here we have a promise that it was going to happen. It would not happen for just over 700 yrs ,Gods word will be fulfilled no matter how long it takes .Bethlehem was to be the place it would happen. (Micah 5 v2)  The girl Mary had a visit from an angel who told her she was going to have a son who would be called Jesus,here was her reply 'How will this be,...since I am a virgin?'(Luke 1 v34) it was an obvious question ,It would take a miracle,a miracle which God performed (Luke 1 v 35)Don't let anyone rob you of this truth,and don't be blinded  by all the non-Christian  things which surrounds Christmas, it was truly a miracle.

Christmas ( John 3 v 16)

 My wife has been very busy buying and wrapping up the presents ,we have a very large family.A thought suddenly came to me about Christmas,I have never,I mean never, known anyone who has been saved at Christmas,I have been following the Lord for 61yrs,that's a long time, when I was a minister, I always sought to present the gospel to people.Im sure that many are going to sing the carols,enjoy the mince pies,and look at the nativity with baby Jesus ,Mary,Joseph,shepherds,and the animals.But they never go beyond that,so another Christmas passes into oblivion, My dear wife asked me, what do I want for Christmas,I really don't need anything,but I will appreciate any present I am given.As I was driving home recently,I said  to the Lord,let me see someone being saved,and then I added,let me lead someone to Christ,that would be the most wonderful gift of all.

                                                      'O teach me what it meaneth,

                                                       That cross uplifted high,

                                                       With one , the man of sorrows,

                                                       Condemned to bleed and die,               

                                                       O teach me what it cost Thee

                                                       To make a sinner whole;

                                                        And teach me,Saviour,teach me

                                                        The value of a soul'  (Words Lucy A.Bennett)

                                                         

Weakness (2 Timothy 4 v 16-17) 1

 The book  of Judges is about Israels failure to follow God, followed by God punishing them, then rescuing them when they called on Him. One writer  describes their turning to Him as mere remorse,not repentance.He nevertheless did rescue them, until the next time. He raised up individuals who were called Judges who would rescue them,one of the Judges was called Gideon (Chap 6 -7),for seven years they were being oppressed by two nations,they were in dire straits ,and then they called on God to rescue them, imagine it took seven years of oppression before they turned to God,he is very patient with his people,and with you and me. Now let's think about Gideon,he was to learn a number of lessons , one ,being weak is not a disadvantage, in v15 he says ,how can I save Israel?  My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family. The Lord answered,''I will be with you'' God does not leave us in our weakness no,He will be with us,today and all our tomorrows, when we go to work,when we go shopping or whatever,He will be with us, simply because He dwells within us,by His Spirit.

Don't be like Ephraim ( Deuteronomy 8 v 1 -5)

 I have just watched an old movie about people considered a coward,in the end he proved he wasn't ,and he succeeded ,and he showed that he was a very brave man. In the movie, the man had received four white feathers from four different people, indicating they believed he was a coward.There is stigma attached to being coward,the army take a very dim view as regards a soldier being a coward.There was a time when those acted cowardly would be shot. There are cowards mentioned in the Bible  ,we read the following in Psalm 78 v 9-12 it reads ,'The men of Ephraim,though armed  with bows,turned back on the day of the battle; the reason,' They did not keep God's covenant and refused to live by the law,They forgot what He had done, and the wonders He had shown them'.These people were armed,yes they had the means to win,but alas they turned back, The English archers defeated the French in the battle of Agincourt so bows an arrows were very effective weapons. Reason why they ran away,'They did not keep God's covenant and refused to live by the law',Ephraim the leading tribe in Israel,had forsaken God,if we forsake God  there are sad consequences .They had forgot what God had done,the wonders that He had performed for them.. Spurgeon writes,'Ere we condemn them,let us repent of our own wicked  forgetfulness,and confess the many occasions upon which we also  have been unmindful of past favours'.                                             

Marriage ( Hebrews 13 v 4 )

 In these days marriage in our society marriage is being ignored by many, some  people just live together,even  Christians are doing this,I am sure they have their reasons, but whatever the reason marriage is what God desires , The first miracle was performed at a wedding CP John 2, and in John 4  Jesus spoke to a Samaritan woman, who had been married five times,and the person she was living with was not her husband v 17.There Jesus was making distinction between marriage and living together, The  Samaritans accepted the first five books in the Bible,and it is there we read where the Jews and the Samaritans based the divorcing of wives that Moses had given Deut 24 v 1,it reads that he could  simply,' give her a certificate  of divorce and send her away',thats all it took ,so simple,One can see how abusive that could be, simply by what was said as regards the Samaritan woman.It was seen by Jesus to be wrong ,and  he answered the religious peoples as to why  Moses had given this rule. Jesus answer was because of the hardness of their hearts. Mt 19 v 8.In a sense they were making a mockery of marriage ,treating women in a wrong way,and going against the sacredness of marriage as God intended it to be.

That final step ( 2 Corinthians 8 v 9)

That final step comes on the last moment of our walk to glory,but sometimes on that journey we  struggle,   so much so that we  can't go on to towards that final step .There are two things that should help us,one is keeping our eyes on Jesus ,and the next one is the joy of  heaven . (Hebrews  12 v 3)We cannot fully grasp what awaits us in heaven,so many things clouds our vision.Of course we walk by faith,but sometimes our faith is weak,our loving heavenly Father understands.So let me mention some things as regards heaven, there you will never feel tired, you will no longer be tempted to sin, imagine you will never think a wrong thought,be it sexual, covetousness ,anger,hate, or experience coldness of spirit, all the bad memories will be gone.There will be no evil people ,no more wicked dictators,no more depression,no more despair.Our minds will be free from all confusion,no more mental illness,no more darkness,for the Lord will be the light thereof. None of this could  have  come about if Christ had not come,by coming to this sinful world,he made it possible for sinners to be forgiven and that we at last could go to heaven.if we simply accept Him as our Saviour.

Just a carol. ( Luke 2 v 8- 14)

A friend sent me a Christmas card,with the words of a carol written by Charles Wesley, I have never heard it sung, so I like to share it with you.

                                                      1      'Let earth and heaven combine,

                                                             Angels and men agree,

                                                             To praise, in Songs divine,

                                                              The incarnate Deity;

                                                              Our God contracted to a span,

                                                               Incompressible made man

                                                     2        He laid His glory by,

                                                               And wrapped Him in our clay;

                                                                Unmarked by human eye,

                                                                The Latent Godhead lay;

                                                                 Infant of  Days, He here became,

                                                                  And bore the loved Immanuel's name.

                                                       3         Unsearchable  the  love

                                                                  That has the Saviour bought;

                                                                  That grace is far above

                                                                   Or  man's or angel's thought;

                                                                   Suffice for us,that God we know,

                                                                    Our God was manifest below.'