Serving this generation [ Matthew 28 v 18-20 ]

Many Christians get caught in a time warp, a favourite saying is,/ we always did it that way/, many of us are resistent to moving on. There are churches who have introduced laws that forbid there members to use certain translations,and fail to live up to the translation they use. Stop and consider, the great spiritual needs out there, and let us ask ourselves how best can we serve this generation?, what will it take to bring men and women to Christ?.The days of Billy Graham are gone.It was Billy who said,/ The world is changing, and with it the methods of evangelism will change also. But the message will not change, for it is timeless, meant for every generation/.Meant for every generation, so let us ask ourselves, and let us ask God how best we can serve this generation, for the times they are a changing, and we must move with the times. [Father help us to hold fast to Your truth, yet help us and guide us by Your Spirit, as to how best we can serve this genereation, in Jesus name ]

Faith in God.[ Hebrews 11 v 1-6 ]

The philosopher Bertrand Russell who was also an atheist,was asked, what if he tuned out to be wrong, and what if the pearly gates were neither a metaphor nor a fantasy,and he found himself faced by a deity he had always denied? Well , Russell used to reply, I would go up to Him, and I would say, You didnt give us enough evidence. I believe God has given us enough evidence,creation, the Jews ,and the historical Christ,and yet I know these will not necessary convince people of the exsistence of God,it comes down to faith, one must have a tremendous lot of faith to be an athiest. Of course many people do believe in a God, but let us remember that faith in a god is not enough, we must believe in the God of the Bible,that triune God , Father , Son, and Holy Spirit, and if we are going to be saved we need to believe on Jesus to be our Saviour.[ Dear God we thank You for faith, a faith in You as creator ,and the One who saves through Your Son , Jesus, Amen ]

Life [ Philippians 3 v1-11 ]

Our Lord Jesus said He had come to give life that was rich and satisfying, continually He spoke of giving and recieving life, eternal life.This life is different than the life that most of us think about, it is not based upon material things, or comfort,or perfect health, in fact it may mean the opposite of all those things. Oswald Chambers wrote,/Our personal property and possessions are a matter of indifference, we have to sit loosely to all those things, if we do not,there will be panic and heartbreak and distress/. Our Saviour describes the life that He gives as, a fresh, bubbling spring within us, [John 4 v14] within us, thats the important thing,there is no way to buy or purchase this life, it comes when Christ becomes our Saviour. If we have Christ we may loose everything, but have everything, because we have Him,and all that this means. It will mean taking up our cross and following Him, but in that experience, we will be surprised by a joy that is unspeakable and full of glory, and a peace that passeth all understanding.[ Dear Lord Jesus help us to look beyond our difficulties,to You, fill us with Your joy,and peace, Amen ]

Death [ John 11 v 25 ]

Death, now thats a bright thought to start the day with, mybe you feel like turning of this blog, as you dont fancy being reminded of death. Could be, you are grieving over the death of a loved one, or a friend, mybe you are facing death, because of an illness. The obvious fact is we will all be touched by death ,sooner or later we will loose someone close to us, and of course we will all die, science only helps us to delay the inevitable. We were never meant to die, but because of sin we all will, it can been seen as a natural act, but in other ways it is unnatural, thats why we try to avoid talking about it, and find it hard to come to terms with.In 1 Corinthians 15v 26, death is called an enemy, but in that chapter we are told of the resurrection, and how those who believe in Jesus, can know victory over death. I love those words in Psalm 23v4, which reads,Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me, a shadow cannot hurt us , and if Christ is with us then we have nothing to fear.[Dear God calm our fears as regards death, we thank You that through Your Son Jesus, sin can be dealt with, and victory over death is assured, Amen ]

Be prepared. [Ephesians 6 v10 -18 ]

The scouts motto is / Be prepared/,yesterday something happened which I was not prepared for, I was taken by surprise.It is Peter who exhorts us to be on our guard [2 Peter 3 v17 ], it is so easy to become complacent, to fall asleep on the job.We all know the dangers of falling asleep as we drive, but many people do, we all have read of king Arthur who fell asleep and burnt the cakes,these are all lessons for all of us to be on our guard, against the ,world, the flesh, and the devil.We must live in such a way, as to do battle, to stand our ground, to be prepared to fight the good fight of faith, that is why we need each day, to spend time with God,and right throughout this day to pray without ceasing. Let us be prepared for any attack , let us clothe ourselves with the whole armour of God, read Ephesians 6 v10 -18, as part of your preparation.[Dear God strengthen us this day against that which would harm us ,help us to be on our guard,in Jesus name Amen ]

Love one another. [1 John 3 v11-23 ]

I well remember all those years ago, when I was about to go to bible college a dear friend give me two things ,books, and a bike, the bike is long gone, but I still have the books. It was an act of kindness which I will always remember, till my dying day, Ive had many acts of kindness shown to me, by so many Christians. There are none so kind and thoughtful as the children of God, Christians are not perfect,but they can be kind and generous, and I thank God for them, I speak from a lifetime of experience. It is so easy to become critical of our fellow Christians, but today, stop and thank God for them, and as you have an opportunity show a kindness to them, do it out of love not duty. Our dear Saviour taught us to love one another, even as He loves us, He commands us to love one another,[John 15 v12/17 ], how did He love us, by dying for us, forgiving us, He continues to love us daily,in so many ways, let us follow His example. [Dear Lord Jesus we thank You for loving us in a million ways,help us to walk in Your footsteps, and to love others especially our fellow Christians. Amen ]

Something greater [ Ephesians 2 v 8-9 ]

Grace ,as we look at certain people, we may despair,but then we are reminded of the Grace of God,and that by that Grace they can be changed, they can be saved,let us remind ourselves that we should never put limits on Gods Grace.No matter how far a person sinks, the Grace of God is able to save ,when they call on Christ, In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul reminds those he is writing to of their former state, he goes through a list of sinful practices,/sexual sins, idol worship, adultery, male prostitution,homosexuality, thieving, greediness, drunkenness, abusiveness,and cheating. As we read that list, we are reminded of the Grace of God, that is trully amazing, so today if you are lost in sin, there is hope for even you.As we look at humanity, mybe our workmates, neighours, friends, family, or whoever, dont despair, pray for them, that they may experience the Grace of God, let us remember that were sin abounds , the Grace of God is greater.[Father help us to never despair at mans lostness, rebelliousness, help to look beyond these things to You the God of all Grace, in Jesus name Amen ]