Heavenly minded. ( Acts 9 v 36 - 43 )

 Philip Yancy writes,'Rousseau said the church set up an irresolvable dilemma. How can Christians be good citizens of this world?' Philip mentions the many people he has met ,who disprove his argument. C.S.Lewis has noted , those most conscious of another have made the most effective Christians in this one'. I was speaking to a person who is in charge of a Christian mission that supports at least 50 causes, hospitals,orphanages, schools,etc.I could name another that works with children in 8 countries, they do a wonderful work.It is a very wrong saying ',that persons whose minds that  are on heaven are of no earthly  good'.It seems to me that it is the opposite of that, it is vital to realise how important loving good works are, they are the evidence of our faith,they do not save us,but they are evidence that we are saved.Jesus said by our fruits we are known.

                                                   'We are God's handiwork, created in Christ

                                                    Jesus to do good works ,which God pre-

                                                    pared in advance for us to do.'

                                                                  Ephesians 2 v 10.

Witnessing. ( Isaiah 55 v 10 -11 )

Often I have witnessed to those in the cults,J Ws, Mormons,it is very challenging ,often I became  frustrated with them,as they twisted the truth , and so often they were obviously not listening to what I had to say.On reflection it all seems to have been a waste of time, who knows ,my witness may bear in a coming day. I have also witnessed to many people again very little response, again I ask myself was it a waste of time?.  Yes it may have appeared to have been a waste of time,but I will still witness to people,I am not a prophet ,but as I read about those who were prophets ,they had a thankless task. Take one of the greatest of the prophets,Isaiah ,we read of his call to his ministry in Isa 6 , where he responded to God asking the question.'Whom shall I stand?,'And who will go for us?' Isaiah replied ,''Here am I ,Send me!'. God answers, 'Go and tell this people'. And what follows appears that they would not respond, and in fact they were going to be judged,so it was to be a very challenging task that Isaiah was called to take on.Tradition has it he was put to death probably under wicked King Manasseh's rule.Jesus said we are to be his witness'es Acts 1 v 8,so we must be faithful to that,yes all God requires of us is faithfulness,even if people don't respond, even if we have to suffer,yes even death.

A promise. ( 2 Peter 1 v 3- 4 )

 The precious promises are many in the bible ,and in all the years I have followed Christ, they have given me hope when I had no hope.They include promises for healing,for meeting our needs,for guidance,for protection,for strength,for power,and so on.They are promises from God, He does not lie,He will always keep his word, he never breaks a promise.Consider these words from Philippians 4 v 6-7,'Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present  your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus'. Remember faith is important ,without it we will receive nothing Hebrews 11 v 6, with it, we will be rewarded for it pleases God. We are told that we are not to be anxious about anything. what are you anxious about?,what's your anything?. next we are told,'that in every situation,',stop and consider those words ,a pause and thoughtful moment. Don't look about in despair,for here's the next thing we have to do,'By prayer and petition ,with thanksgiving.present your requests to God'.Then we are told,  '  God's peace,which transcends  all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus'.

John Calvin. ( John 3 v17 )

Calvin was a great Theologian, maybe one of the greatest,yet unfortunately as Philip Yancey points out that the church in Geneva were he was the minister made very many rules,towards the extremism that Jesus warned against.Here is a list of don't do's,'attending theatrical  plays, extravagant entertainment,naming children after anyone but figures in the Old Testament,reading , A father who christened his son Claude ,a name not found in the OT ,spent four days in jail.A child was beheaded for striking his parents,they drowned any single woman  found pregnant'. These are just some of the rules ,very little grace  or mercy shown,now of course one could say Calvin was a man of his time, but so was our Saviour, and he stood against the hardness of religious people's hearts,with their harsh judgements. That does not mean to say  that we shouldn't have standards,we are called to be holy,and not to compromise against evil, wherever it rears its ugly head..The epistle make it clear that sin will  be judged ,and those who live in a sinful fashion will be excluded from heaven, CP 1 Corinthians 6 v 9 - 10. Let us always take a serious view of sin,in the church and out of the church, but let us not become members the Pharisee club.

God is faithful ( Psalm 23 )

 Animals can be very faithful,I remember seeing a movie about a dog who would wait at a certain place for his master coming home every day ,he continues doing  this even after his master died,and continued to do he till he died , they erected a statue to that dogs faithfulness .People can be faithful to evil causes,unfaithful to good causes,unfaithful to  their husbands,to their wives,to their children.One of the great characteristics, of God is His faithfulness.  As a Christian I depend on His faithfulness, and what is more I have experienced His faithfulness,as  I have followed the Lord for over 58 years .The history of Israel is a very sad history, characterised by their unfaithfulness,time after time they forsook God.God did deal with them punishing them,chastising them in ,like any good father would.In one of Israels greatest times of suffering brought about by their extreme unfaithfulness, the prophet Jeremiah standing amidst  the ruins of Jerusalem declared, 'Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed,for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.' Dear child of God you may be experiencing difficulties and trials,God will  be faithful,he will never leave you nor forsake you.

Power ( Ephesians 6 v 10 )

I am going to use a  quote by Dick Lucas,' How do we appropriate power? The apostle Paul's surprising answer is that we receive it not so much by believing as by working. It is when we' toil and strive' at a God given task, that we receive God-given energy.If we hope to know in experience the work of God within us' both to will and to work for His good pleasure' we must set to work.Paul would never have said that,'power for service' is received by faith alone. It can be appropriated only by the faith that works, or to put it another way, by the work that relies on God to energize us as we try to do His bidding. As Paul toiled ( a particularly strong word, also used by him to describe his back-breaking manual work, tentmaking) in teaching with strenuous endeavour, God himself  granted strength and capacity for the work , God gives his power'.

                                                         From strength to strength go on;

                                                         Wrestle and fight and pray  ;

                                                        Tread all the powers of darkness down

                                                         And win the well- fought day.

                                                                   Charles Wesley                                                                                

God moves. ( Acts 17 v 24 - 28 )

In his lovely book ,'The Hidden Hand', R.C.Sproul  writes of God who not only sees us but is actively involved in looking after us .He writes the following,'He not only watches us,He watches over us. The child's most simple prayer is,''Please watch over Mommy and Daddy,Grandma'', etc.It is the watching over us that goes to the heart of divine providence. It is God's fatherly care for His creatures that the word providence encompasses. That means God is involved in human affairs, He is not like Aristotle's god, the  Unmoved Mover, who remains aloof and totally uninvolved with human history. Will Durant once compared Aristotle's god with the monarch of England. whom he described  as a ''do- nothing king who reigns but doesn't rule''.The biblical  God is not the unmoved. He is a moved and moving, rules as well as reigns.'                              

                                                   'God moves in a mysterious way

                                                    His wonders to perform;

                                                    He plants His footsteps in the sea;

                                                    And rides upon the storm'

                                                         William Cowper'