New life ( Romans 6 v 1-14)

 I heard recently of a minister who refused who to baptise a man ,many people knew this man by reputation that he was a scoundrel who had not repented of his sins .It was John the baptist who challenged the religious elite whom he felt were very wicked,that they should bring forth fruit in keeping with repentance (Matthew 3 v8) John spoke of another who would baptise with the Holy Spirit and  fire,the one he spoke of  was Jesus .Cp  1 Corinthians 12 v 13 which reads,'For we were all baptised by one Spirit so as to form one body whiter  Jews or Gentles slave or free and we were all given the one Spirit to drink'.Water baptism is not for the unbeliever,but for the Christian,it is a personal confession  of ones faith in Christ. It is saying I have died with Christ,my old life is gone,  and as Jesus was resurrected and so I am also resurrected to live in newness of life,dead to sin but alive in  Christ Jesus

                                                          'I give myself to Thee

                                                          My Saviour and my God,

                                                          To be Thine own for evermore

                                                          O help me to renounce      

                                                         The hateful works of sin,

                                                         The empty vanities of life,

                                                          The flesh that strives within.

                                                              Words Emily Symons

 

He is able (Romans 5 v 8 )

 I want to bring to some thoughts from Isaiah 50,Israel is in captivity in Babylon,and they are complaining that God has forsaken them,in fact they are saying ,he has divorced them.Of course this was rubbish He had not forsaken them but He had dealt with them because of their sins ( v1) The prophets had spoken to them but they did not listen,and just kept on sinning.We expect that of the unsaved but they were the  people of God, they should have known better. In verse 2 God declares He had come to them ,but He got no answer they turned a deaf ear to Him,He reminds them of His power that could save them,with those well known words,'Is my hand shortened at all, that cannot redeem them,  reminding them of His power. Never underestimate the power of God ,He is all powerful,He can save the chiefest of sinners ,hear what the apostle wrote,

                                                'Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves

                                                 full acceptance; Christ Jesus  came into the

                                                 world to save sinners of whom I am the worst'

                                                                  1 Timothy 1 v15

Trust Him. ( Habakkuk 3 v 16 - 18)

So it's all over for another year, one has to laugh at the words of a song, ',I wish it could be Christmas every day' imagine the turkey dinners we would consume,I dread the thought. Now back to reality back to the future,it goes without saying we don't know what the future holds, but there is someone who does, ''God'' Thats very important to be reminded of that, but He is not just a spectator, He is a sovereign God who rules and reigns over all things,if that is true why?yes that why again. Tozer writes that He is all knowing, all powerful,and absolutely free. Consider the last one absolutely free.We do not have the answer as regards ,'the riddle of permitted evil'. or the mystery of permitted evil. The Westminster Confession tells us,'His not the author or approver of sin,nor is he blameworthy for it' .Because God is sovereign we can have hope,our times are in his hands,that means the good times and the bad ,and some very bad time.Bad things happen to God's children,in Philippians 2 v29 we read'For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him,but also suffer for Him'.Romans 8 v28  tells us that all things work together for good  to those who love God'.  All things, yes even evil things, I may not understand these words,but we must exercise faith in our sovereign God  and His will for our lives,and not to give up on God, whatever the new year brings.

                                       'I know who holds the future,and He'll guide me with His hand,

                                        With God things don't just happen,everything by Him is planned;

                                        So as I face tomorrow with its problems large and small,

                                         I'll trust the God of miracles,give to Him my all'.

Three things Ephesians 6 v10 -20) New Years day

 As we enter the new year ,I would like to mention  three things,that I feel are very important for all Christians ,including myself,I'm not sure if I mention them before ,.even if I had,I want to mention them again

                                                              'The first one'.

The apostle Paul writes the following ,'But one thing I do : forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead' (Philippians 3 v13 )The apostle had a long history ,full of so many things,he wrote 14 epistles if you count Hebrews,which I do,a tremendous achievement by any standard.He established a number of churches, suffered so many things in his effort to spread the gospel,of course he also had discouragements . But he does not linger on those things,he refuses to dwell on them,he does not become a prisoner of the past,nor should we. Unfortunately many of us are so caught  up with past that we do not move forward,

                                                               'The second one'

 It is very simple yet very challenging, 'Pray,Pray,Pray',  in Ephesians 6 v 18-20 the apostle Paul  mentions prayer 5 times.each bring a challenge to us,a challenge we need desperately to rise to.Make the coming year a time of communing with God,tell Him everything.

                                                                  'The third thing'

Last but not least,don't starve your soul,read the word of God, memorise the word,get to understand the word of God ,use the available helps to do that,and most of all  rely on the Holy Spirit. The word of God is food for your soul,so don't starve it. Our Lord Jesus said 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word  that comes from the mouth of God' (Matthew 4 v 4.)

Why, ( John 13 v 7)

In 1Corinthians 13 v12 we read, 'Now we see things imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete,but then I will know everything completely,just as God now knows me completely'.In many ways we know many things and understand many things,but in spite of that there are so many things we don't know and understand. Many things are hidden from us,why did this and that happen .There are many unsolved mysteries in life, death ,pain ,loss, etc,and the inevitable why, raises it's head,when certain tragedies happen ,and we want to know why,and then we turn from faith to leaning upon our  understanding,and so we start to turn away from God.Many people stumble over the why not been answered. The hymn writer William Cowper wrote,God moves in mysterious ways,we can sing these words,but are we willing to accept what we sing,that is the question. The last verse  reads,'Blind unbelief is sure to err, and scan His work in vain; God is his own interpreter,and He will make it plain'.The fact is,that only in heaven  will we know more fully. We will never have perfect knowledge ,even in heaven,for only God is omniscient.

The in between time (2 Peter 3 v 3- 13)

Christmas day is come and gone ,soon it will be the new year,in a way the world has been living in an in between time,it began just over 2000 years ago, a child was born  grew up to became a man,and then ministered for about 3 and a half years,and then died on a cross,rose again remained 40days  and then went back to heaven from wench He had come.And so the in between time came unto being,the next  big event  will be His coming back again.It feels like it will never happen,whats keeping him from coming?. Peter writes that where will be people,he calls them scoffers,who will say,'Where is this ''coming '' he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation''Peter declares that the present heavens and earth are preserved for fire ,which will user in judgement and destruction of the ungodly.Until that happens we are to live godly lives.The day of the Lord will come like a thief,God does not want people to perish,and perish they will,if they have not Christ as their Saviour. This old tired earth and the heavens will be no more ,those who are His  will dwell in a new heaven and a new earth , where righteousness dwells.

                                                           'Will you be ready?'                  

Change ( 2 Corinthians 3 v18)

 The only person who never changes is God,because He is perfect,so He doesn't need to change,but it goes without saying everyone changes to some degree. I am a Christian a long time,but I still need to change in fact it is part of what being a Christian is all about,in Romans 8 v29,we read ,'For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of' his Son'. Now that is unimaginable yet that is God's  purpose for every child of God, he knows we cannot do it in our own strength,so He has given us His Spirit to help us,and His precious word to guide us. Let me say this none us will be the finished article until we reach Heaven. A quotation from  Louis Berkhofs book a summary of Christian Doctrine,(it is a very profitable little book) 'Sanctification and Perseverance' Sanctification may be defined as that gracious and continuous operation of the Holy Spirit by which He purifies the sinner, and enables him to perform good works.We will always have to contend with sin, characterized by a constant warfare between the flesh and the Spirit ( Galatians 5 v17),which leads us unto the importance of  Perseverance in truth and in holiness, aided by the Holy Spirit.

                                            'So what's it to be ?change for the better or the worse?'