Doctrine. [ John 5 v 39 ]

I have just finished studying Titus, written by Paul to Titus in the island of Crete and according to John Stott the theme of this letter is simply,'' Doctrine and duty''. J  Stott ,gives an outline of the Christian Life.
                              [1]Doctrine and duty in the church][1 V5-16]
                              [2] Doctrine and duty in the home[2v1-15]
                              [3 ]Doctrine and duty in the world [3v1-11]
Doctrine just means a set of beliefs, everybody has some sort of belief , even an atheist is ruled sort of belief, Stalin  believed in the teaching of Marx,So we have a world  that  is full of different beliefs. Because  humanity disobeyed God, and went there own way, and so we have a world that has chosen to not worship or follow God. Israel of old was used by God ,to be a witness for Him,  they had Gods word, which taught them the right way, as to God Himself, and His will. Those scriptures promised that a Saviour would come, the Jews for all of their history believed this ,and of course He did come in the person of Jesus. He declared that He was the truth and the life ,the only way to God the Father[John 14 v6 ].To know God we must know Jesus, the question you may  ask is why?. Because He said so, because only in Him can the barrier of sin be dealt with, only when it is dealt with can we have a relationship with a Holy God.

                                     A  prayer.
Dear God help us to see the importance of doctrine, as revealed in your word, in Jesus name we ask this Amen.


               

                                                                                                      

Peculiar people. [ John 15 v12 ]

I heard things about a local curch that is causing me concern, and yet as I read the letters to the churches, in the New Testament, it reminds me that some things never change. Most of the letters written to these church, voiced concerns, about  doctrine and behaviour. The great apostle  Paul who had to deal with so many difficulties in the churches, wrote,'' I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches''[ 2 Corinthians 11v28] It is easy to talk and gossip ,but that is not the answer, we need to pray, for those churches that are knowing difficulties. After all they are part of our Christian family, yes they may have different views on different things ,that we hold ,they are still Christians. There is a group of churches in England,
and they where known as the, 'Peculiar People', this  is taken from the AV,
and has an entirely different meaning now. Most people used the AV when this movement came into place, in modern translations it is translated,'' His own special people''. As one observes some Christian groups, and even may
I say, some Christians, we may be inclined to label them, peculiar people,
but let us remember, in spite of their strange ways, they are ''Gods own special people'' . So let us all without exception pray for those peculiar people who are Gods special people.

                                          A  prayer.
Dear God you know us your people, and how often we act in peculiar ways
we ask that in mercy You may perfect that which needs perfecting,as
individuals and as local churches, in Jesus name we ask this Amen.

Obedience [ Acts 1v 8]

I went up to a dear Christian brother and  spoke to him,he has just been diagnosed as having dementia, he is a former London City missionary. Even before he became a missionary he would visit ships in Tilbury docks, as I spoke to him he said how he still seeks to witness to people about Christ. His name is David, and I said to him you have witnessed to hundreds of people, yes people from all over the world. Let us never loose sight of this fact we all are called to be witnesses of Christ. Yes by our lives, but also by our words, you may have forgotten this , or neglected this , but we cannot shirk our responsibility to tell others about Jesus. How can we do it?,we are reserved, we are shy, we do not want to be known as a religious fanatic, we want to be liked, and accepted. People will  ostracise us, they may even
resent us, and what we have to say, make fun of us, pick on us .In looking back on my like ,and the times I have witnessed to people, I suppose I could have done it more tactful, with greater wisdom. Yes that is true, but I did try, I did pray,I  did obey,and the challenge to obey has not changed, to be a witness for Jesus.

                           Will you leave yourself behind
                            If  I but call your name?
                            Will you care for cruel and kind
                            And never be the same?
                            Will you risk the hostile stare,
                            Should your life attract or scare?
                            Will you let Me answer prayer
                             In you and you in Me.
                             [Words G. Maule/J L.Bell]

We will remember [John 22 v 19 -20]

Every year our country holds a day when we remember, those who died in the many wars our country  has been involved in, ,the following words are spoken,'' we will remember them''. It is John Stott who wrote the following,
''There are many warnings in scripture of the dangers of forgetfulness, and many  promises to those who remember. A bad memory was one of the main reasons for Israel's downfall'' CP  Psalm 106 v7/13.  Deuteronomy chapter v8]Again he writes'', Jesus had to make the same complaint to the apostles' Don't you remember...?[Matthew 16 v9].To the many who want something new, J.S ,writes,'' All conscientious Christian teacher,once they have been delivered from the unhealthy lust for originality ,take pains to make old truths new and stale truths fresh''. Many arguments ,and pain have been caused by people reading more into the Lords Table, communion, mass, call it what you will. It was never meant to be a war Zone, it is basically a time when we remember our Saviour, and His dying love for us. The bread and wine are nothing more than that, if we make more  of these simple symbols, we go beyond what Saviour taught us. For He said,'' do this in remembrance of me[John 22 v19],why ?lest we forget.

                                        A prayer
                        
                         King of my life I crown Thee now,
                         Thine shall the glory be;
                         Lest I forget Thy thorn crowned brow,
                         Lead me to Calvary.

                                Lest I forget Gethsemane,
                                Lest I forget Thine agony,
                                Lest I forget Thy love for me,
                                Lead me to Calvary.
                                 [Words by J. E. Mussey]

Propitiation [ John 3 v16]

Now I mentioned in my last devotional the importance of preaching, and indeed believing the whole truth, which God expects us to do. Now there was a person called C. H. Dodd who was uneasy with the whole idea of God manifesting wrath, it appeared inconceivable ,he took exception, to the word propitiation,'' which refers to satisfying or setting aside wrath,'' Dodd
would not accept this, And he committed the awful crime that no translator should commit, he changed propitiation, to ,expiation which refers to cancelling sin, in Romans 3 v25,and the two references in 1 John 2 v2/4 v10,propitiation is omitted. This is something that J Ws do especially in relation to the deity of Christ. Unfortunately  he has his followers,people
who continue to shy away from God, manifesting wrath. Dodd denied that
Gods wrath was personal. The fact of the matter is ,right throughout the
Bible God personally deals with those who sinned, both in the Old and in the New. The fact is this when Christ died on the cross, he experienced the
wrath of God ,that all who believe in Him would not. We cannot appease God, it is God alone, in order to do that. I quote D.A.Carson'' God the Father is thus the propitiator, and the propitiated, and God the Son is the
propitiation''
                                               A  prayer.
Dear God help us to see how awful our fate will be, if we do know Jesus as our own and personal Saviour Amen.

               [ I will return to my devotional 29th March, every
                 blessing.]

I am not an entertainer [ 1 Corinthians 9 v 16 ]

Dr Martyn Jones, having preached a sermon on the wrath of God, and having called it ' a controlling conception' of Romans where it occurs ten times, the said,'' I confess freely, I cannot understand a jocular evangelist Go back and read the lives of the men whom God has used in the mightiest manner, an you will invariably find that they were serious man,  sober men, men with the fear of the Lord in them''. Of course people do not want to hear about judgement, and sad to say there are many preachers, who do not
preach it, because they cannot come to terms with it. We must leave them with God who will judge all things,[James 3 v1 ],but I must remain faithful
to my calling to teach and preach the whole counsel of God. Recently I spoke to a Salvation officer, who said ,''we are doing those we minister to ,no favours when we do not mention sin''. In witnessing to someone recently ,the said person ''there you go mentioning sin again''. The awfulness of the cross reminds us of the awfulness of sin, and the absolute importance, of what the cross is all about. Without our Saviours death on the cross, every human being, would be lost in Hell, and would never enter Heaven, can never enter in ,it is impossible, as long as we have not had our sins forgiven.[Revelation 21 v27] Heaven is open to all those who ask Jesus to save them, and have  their sin forgiven. John 3 v36 reads,'' Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him''.

                                            A  Prayer.
Dear God help us to be faithful and to proclaim the whole truth of your word, in Jesus name Amen.

Peace be still [ Mark 4 v 35-40]

I was out walking, it was a lovely day, reminding me that winter is slowly going, I also noticed that there where blossoms on some trees. There was a wind blowing, a soft wind, not cold but pleasant, depending were it comes from, will determine what sort of wind it will be. But today it was a soft wind, tomorrow it could be a cold, and destructive wind, it caused me to think, how life is full of situations, in which we feel we are in a storm ,or we find ourselves, in a destructive storm, like a hurricane. Now of course I am using the wind as an illustration, of what live is like, none of us have control over the wind, it blows whatever way it chooses, or rather whatever way God chooses[Psalm 148 v8].Yes today a soft wind, tomorrow ,God knows, and most  important He is in control, the disciples where in a storm and Jesus was with them,[Mark 4 v35-40], the Lord is always with us. The
disciples were scared out of their lives, and so they go to Jesus who was sleeping, The wake Him with words,'' Master carest thou not that we perish?
They felt they were going to perish, but more than that they felt that He did not care. They were wrong on both accounts, they did not perish, and He most differently did care, Jesus rose up, rebuked the wind, spoke to the sea,
''Peace be still'', and the wind ceased and there was a great calm.


                             And He said unto them ,
                             Why are ye so fearful?
                              how is it that ye have
                              no faith.?
                              [Mark 4 v39]