Preaching and book

I preached in the Anglican Church last Sunday night for the carol service. I enjoyed it. I preached a gospel message. I hope that it hit the target. My first draft of my book is written. I will be sending it to my friend this week

The christmas message for St Johns

Genesis 3:15 (read this) You will have seen tonight from the readings from the Bible, that the Christmas story is not confined to the New testament. It started in the old in Genesis, and the lords coming was foretold by Isaiah and Micah. Isaiah 9:2. 6-7 Micah 5: 2-5 ( Micah tells where he shall be born) Why did he come? ( Your answer to that question, will determine your eternal destiny) In the Genesis account we see that, The devil had tempted eve to do wrong and sin entered the world. God however in this verse reveals what he will do. He says, “He shall bruise you head and you shall bruise his heel”. If you hit someone on the head, they die, on the heel they are wounded. ( this is the Christmas story) It was a prophecy concerning Jesus. It was saying that jesus would come and destroy the devil and his works. The devil may try to stop him, but the device the devil used to try to stop him became Gods instrument for salvation. Christ came to deal with sin At this time of year, we tend to think of Jesus the baby, coming to earth, and then we do not think of anything beyond that. We read the Christmas story in the passages we have heard, and we sing the Christmas carols that remind us of Jesus, but why did he come. ONE OF THE VERSES IN THE CAROLS WE HAVE JUST SUNG SAYS. A virgin most pure, as the Prophets do tell, Hath brought forth a Babe, as it hath befell, To be our Redeemer from death, hell and sin, Which Adams transgression hath wrapt us all in. Refrain Rejoice and be merry, set sorrow aside; Christ Jesus our Savior was born on this tide. The reason he came, is in the book of Genesis. Mankind lived in harmony with God until Pride got in the way, he took of the knowledge of good and evil which God had commanded him not to do, and sin entered the world and through Adam, it is imputed to us. We still have in all of us, the knowledge of good and evil which comes from that first sin. Sin is our nature. We think wrong things and we do wrong things. We lust, we bicker, we lie and gossip, so sin is not just the things we do, it is our nature. WE are all born in sin and God is holy and perfect and cannot abide sin. Sin has to be punished and that punishment is banishment from God in eternal pain. We call it Hell where God punishes the wicked and it will never end. 1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. 3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. 4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. 5. Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. 6. Thou shalt not kill. 7. Thou shalt not commit adultery. 8. Thou shalt not steal. 9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. 10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s. It is impossible for us to keep the 10 commandments. The purpose of them is to show us the truth about ourselves. We are sinners deserving Gods wrath, and yet, he sent his son to take upon himself the punishment for our sin. However, God is also love. How can a loving God, deal with sin that shows his love, but also punish it? Have you ever thought about that? Death came into the world because of sin. God warned that that if Adam took of the knowledge of good and evil, he would die. Sin entered the world and so now we all die, and we will face God and account for what we have done. God wants us to repent. Repenting is not just an emotional experience. It is not just sorrow. Lots of people feel sorrow, but they feel that because they were caught or exposed doing wrong, but they did not repent. To repent means to change your mind. If I walk in one direction and change my mind, that produces a change of action. I will walk in another direction. It is like this with sin. We put our lives in a new direction. God sent his son Jesus to die. He put on him the punishment that all of mankind is due for sin. Christ endured temptation as we do, yet not once did he succumb. His nature was not sin as ours is. Yet it was the punishment for sin that he took upon himself. He was mocked and despised. He endured a cruel execution. He was publicly humiliated. He was scourged, a crown of thorns was thrust on his head and spear stuck in his side. He was in great pain as he carried the cross up the hill to be put on it by having large nails put in his hands and feet. He hung there He dismissed his spirit. Jesus is the only person who could dismiss his spirit for death had not claim on him for he had no sin. When we die, our spirit leaves and enters death because of our sin. Death had no claim on him and he rose from the dead and for those who trust him, who repent, who accept his substitutionary death in our place, he promises that we will be saved. That although we die, it we die trusting in Jesus and his death on the cross in our place, then we do will rise and never see hell. It is not just an agreement of the facts that Jesus was a real person that he died and rose again. The devil believes that and he is going to hell. It is a surrender of our lives to Jesus Christ and trusting completely in him to save us. For we will of our own deeds never be good enough Luke 2: 8-20 The shepherds were afraid, the angel reassured them. He came to bring Good News. They were given a sign. You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. Mathew 2: 1-12 the wise men quoted the prophecy of Micah ( which we have read) V6” and you Bethlehem Land of Judah are by no means least among the leaders of Judah ( in the worlds eyes they were, but not in Gods) For out of you shall come forth a ruler, who will shepherd my people Isreal. The messiah, came from the least of the people of Israel, and yet of his reign there will be no end. He rose from the dead and he ascended to heaven and he offers himself to you for salvation. If you will trust in him with all your heart and repent of sin then he is faithful to forgive. Will you do that this Christmas?

John the baptist

Luke 1: 1-25 Luke wrote this detailed account for someone called Theopolis He opens the story with the promise of the coming of John the Baptist. It had been foretold that Elijah would come and call the nation back to God. However we now know that the prophecy meant that a TYPE of Elijah would come, and prepare the way of the lord. Elijah wore coarse clothes and he preached to the nation in the wilderness. John the Baptist did the same thing. Zacharia was chosen by lot. This happened once in a lifetime, or not at all to go into the that part of the temple, the holy of holies where the common people never went and where even the priests went on fear of death. To be chosen was an honour, and those who were chosen, would look upon it as a once in a lifetime experience to be before the alter, and experience God as they had never experienced him before. He would have been excited, but also have a holy reverence for the one he served and for what he was going to do while in there which was pray and burn the incense. An angel appeared. Priests went in on fear of death, and we are told that when he saw the angel, he was gripped with fear. He would have thought that God was not pleased with him in spite of his good life, and he was about to be put to death. Immediately the angel reassures him and says, “Do not be afraid” “Your petition has been heard”. What petion? Your wife, Elizabeth will bear you a son and you will name him John. It was the custom of the time that sons would be named after other members of the family, and there was no one in his family with that name. This would have caused a discussion. “Did you hear? Why has he given him that name? There is no one else in the family called John? We know that he called him john, in obedience to the lords command. Zacharias was overwhelmed. He asked a question, V18 “How shall I know this for certain? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years? The answere“I am Gabriel who stands in the presence of God and I have been sent to speak to you. Note” Who stands in the presence of God” It is like saying to him, I appear directly in front of God and he has sent me directly to you to tell you this yet you do not believe even though you know that these things were prophesied. Therefore because you have not believed, you will be silent until the boy is born. Zacharies was probably tired. Note this conversation started with the announcement. “Your Petition has been heard. In that respect Gabriel came at Zacharieses own request. Yet he did not believe. It is probable that he and Elizabeth prayed for a long time for a child who never came, and they had given up on asking and so when he is told that this request has been granted he does not believe because he has given up, and accepted his situation, and he thinks that God has said NO because now he and Elizabeth are too old to be parents. Sometimes God waits a long time to answer prayer, and when he does, we may be surprised at what he does. Malachi 4: 5 -6 Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. And he will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I came and smite the land with a curse. Gabriel was telling Zacharia that this prophecy was about to be fulfilled. Possibly he and Elizabeth had prayed that God would carry out this prophecy as he had promised, but he could never have imagined in his wildest dreams that the Elijah spoken of would be his son. You will recall that the disciples asked Jesus why the scribes said that Elijah would come first, and Jesus told them that Elijah has come and he was rejected by them. At that point they realised that he meant John the Baptist. The scribes were right, but they were also wrong. They did not see what was before their eyes. They did not recognise John as the fulfilment of this prophecy nor did they recognise Jesus for who he was. It should not surprise us that God carries out his will in ways that we do not recognise. Somehow the knowledge that John was the Elijah promised had not been communicated. His father knew it and presumably the family knew it, but that knowledge was not with the great and mighty. Large number of people came to John to hear him and be baptised into repentance as had been promised, but the hearts of others was hard. He prepared the way for the messiah, his cousin, and thus begins the Christmas story of Christ Coming to earth at the behest of the father in order that you and I may be saved. There may be those who come to carol services, who only come to church once every year, or for weddings and funerals. What they need is not the sentimental gentle Jesus the baby all meek and mild as in some of the carols, but the Jesus of the bible whom John the Baptist supported.

Sin and forgiveness

WE had PE day this morning. We had guests, which was good. however we also had writing things on bits of paper and either putting them on small bush so that people can see what was being prayed for or writing names of those we need to forgive or things we need to be forgiven for, taking the paper outside and burning it and claiming Gods promise of forgiveness. I have noticed over the years that everyone who has put this idea forward has been a woman. For me, it is symbolic and may have no substance. To obtain forgiveness, one must confess and repent, and unless one does that, then burning little bits of paper with sins on them has no meaning, and I know that I need deep cleansing at times. I need to do as the apostle paul did who said that he beat his body so that it becomes his slave. In other words he disciplined himself so that he avoided sin. He said lest having preached to others I myself should be disqualified from the prize. I think sin needs to be taken seriously. I was watching a video of Joan Bakewell recorded in 1970 interviewing Martin Lloyd Jones and on sin she put it to him that once sin brought shame, but now we make excuses and I think that is even more true now than it was then. Concerning forgiveness, I vividly remember a lady in my Amsterdam days say, "Do not make it cheap". I think we christians, myself included often make Gods forgiveness cheap. What we need is heartfelt, deep repentance, and then we are in fit state to do Gods work.

~Get ready for Christmas

Luke 1: 1-25 Luke wrote this detailed account for someone called Theopolis He opens the story with the promise of the coming of John the Baptist. It had been fortold that Elijah would come and call the nation back to God. However we now know that the prophecy meant that a TYPE of Elijah would come, and prepare the way of the lord. Elijah wore coarse clothes and he preached to the nation in the wilderness. John the Baptist did the same thing. Zacharia was chosen by lot. This happened once in a lifetime, or not at all to go into the that part of the temple, the holy of holies where the common people never went and where even the priests went on fear of death. To be chosen was an honour, and those who were chosen, would look upon it as a once in a lifetime experience to be before the alter, and experience God as they had never experienced him before. He would have been excited, but also have a holy reverence for the one he served and for what he was going to do while in there which was pray and burn the incense. An angel appeared. Priests went in on fear of death, and we are told that when he saw the angel, he was gripped with fear. He would have thought that God was not pleased with him in spite of his good life, and he was about to be put to death. Immediately the angel reassures him and says, “Do not be afraid” “Your petition has been heard”. What petion? Your wife, Elizabeth will bear you a son and you will name him John. It was the custom of the time that sons would be named after other members of the family, and there was no one in his family with that name. This would have caused a discussion. “Did you hear? Why has he given him that name? There is no one else in the family called John? We know that he called him john, in obedience to the lords command. Zacharias was overwhelmed. He asked a question, V18 “How shall I know this for certain? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years? The answere, “I am Gabriel who stands in the presence of God and I have been sent to speak to you. Note” Who stands in the presence of God” It is like saying to him, I appear directly in front of God and he has sent me directly to you to tell you this yet you do not believe even though you know that these things were prophesied. Therefore because you have not believed, you will be silent until the boy is born. Zacharies was probably tired. Note this conversation started with the announcement. “Your Petition has been heard. In that respect Gabriel came at Zacharieses own request. Yet he did not believe. It is probable that he and Elizabeth prayed for a long time for a child who never came, and they had given up on asking and so when he is told that this request has been granted he does not believe because he has given up, and accepted his situation, and he thinks that God has said NO because now he and Elizabeth are too old to be parents. Sometimes God waits a long time to answer prayer, and when he does, we may be surprised at what he does. Malachi 4: 5 -6 Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. And he will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I came and smite the land with a curse. Gabriel was telling Zacharia that this prophecy was about to be fulfilled. Possibly he and Elizabeth had prayed that God would carry out this prophecy as he had promised, but he could never have imagined in his wildest dreams that the Elijah spoken of would be his son. You will recall that the disciples asked Jesus why the scribes said that Elijah would come first, and Jesus told them that Elijah has come and he was rejected by them. At that point they realised that he meant John the Baptist. The scribes were right, but they were also wrong. They did not see what was before their eyes. They did not recognise John as the fulfilment of this prophecy nor did they recognise Jesus for who he was. It should not surprise us that God carries out his will in ways that we do not recognise. Somehow the knowledge that John was the Elijah promised had not been communicated. His father knew it and presumably the family knew it, but that knowledge was not with the great and mighty. Large number of people came to John to hear him and be baptised into repentance as had been promised, but the hearts of others was hard. He prepared the way for the messiah, his cousin, and thus begins the Christmas story of Christ Coming to earth at the behest of the father in order that you and I may be saved. There may be those who come to carol services, who only come to church once every year, or for weddings and funerals. What they need is not the sentimental gentle Jesus the baby all meek and mild as in some of the carols, but the Jesus of the bible whom John the Baptist supported.

Oswestry Live and other things

Oswestry Live happens tonight as does the last but one performance of "Last Tango in Whitby" tomorrow there is the Christmas parade. In the afternoon, I am going to the Dick Whittington panto and in the evening there is the final performance of "Last tango in Whitby" there is also dinner at the Simla tonight and the party tomorrow. It is my plan to invite all of the theatre the carol service at the Anglican Church where I shall be preaching and this coming Sunday I am attending the blessing of a wedding.

drop box

I am finally on drop box. I see that I accidentally erased holiday pictures and they are forever lost. I have learned from the experience now that I see dropbox is so convenient. I will also be using it for prayer letters.

Traffic light crash

I went to see F and finally got things settled in my mind. I spoke to her and her sister and it is clear that we can be friends and no more. I never got to talking about the demands that missions make on one. Their own concerns were enough. On the way back, I was driving and I came to a halt at traffic lights when a car that was turning ploughed into the lights. I am sure it was the traffic light post that stopped the car hitting mine. It is back to drawing board. the search goes on.

Luke 11: 1-13

Luke 11 I grew up in a time when the lords prayer was publicly recited in church and school assembly. Everyone knew it. That is no longer the case, and it was recited so often that I think most people gave no thought to its meaning. The disciples came to Jesus with a request. Lord, teach us to pray as John taught his disciples. We can therefore conclude that it was public knowledge that not only did John the Baptist call the nation back to god, and baptise those who believed, but he also taught his disciples to pray. Presumably our lord’s disciples were already familiar with prayer in the temple and the synagog However there had to be something different about the prayer of John’s disciples for them to put this request to Christ. I think the prayer that he taught them probably reflected his ministry. His ministry was about repentance and this would have been a very different sort of prayer to the public prayer in the temple and synagogue. WE COMMONLY CALL THIS THE LORDS PRAYER, but in fact it cannot be his prayer because some parts of it would not be applicable to him. He never sinned and therefore had no need to ask for forgiveness. It was the disciples who had that need. WHEN WE PRAY, DO WE THINK ABOUT WHAT WE ARE ASKING FOR, AND DO WE MEAN IT? How often have we prayed “Our Father”? Just those two words would have been vastly different to what the disciples were accustomed to. They had to go to the temple with sacarfices to come to God and yet straight away in that prayer they have access to God as a father. It is a close family relationship, not a distant one of appeasement. Hallowed be your name. God’s name is holly, and it not to be taken in vain or sullied. Give us this day our daily bread. This is a prayer for the basic needs of life, give us sufficient for today. Bread was part of the staple diet. They lived off the harvest. If the harvest was good, they had plenty, if it was bad they had less, or starved, so to say give us this day our daily bread was a reminder of their daily dependence on God to meet their needs. Forgive us our sins for we forgive those who trespass against us. DO WE? Jesus told his followers to forgive one another seventy times seven. He meant that we had to go on forgiving. The disciples were in a community situation, and it is inevitable that sometimes they would find getting along with one another difficult. Jesus is saying forgive one another for God expects you to and in as much as we are forgiving people, so our heavenly father forgives us. This is all about Christian character, and none of us finds this easy. Lead us not into temptation. It seems odd to think of the lord leading us into temptation. It is still dealing with the problem of sin. All sin starts with temptation and God has promised that there will be a way out. He does not promise that we will avoid temptation. In fact I think God is glorified when we do not sin. Jesus himself was tempted in the wilderness. “If you are the son of God, turn these stones into bread. If you are the son of God throw yourself off this high wall and angels will come and save you.” He resisted by using scripture, and I believe that he was tempted vastly beyond anything that he will allow to tempt us, and we can only be tempted by things we could do. I would never be tempted to throw myself off a high wall, because I know I would die, but he really could command the heavenly host, so for him, it was a temptation. He then tells the parable of the man who has locked up his house for the evening and a needy friend comes and asks for bread for an unexpected visitor. The man in the house refuses, but the friend persists in asking and so he receives. Jesus was not saying that if we persist then God will give us what we want. He does however say that we need to be persistent at prayer. It is our lifeline, and the thing we need to ask for it more of the holy spirit. He says that if you being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, HOW MUCH MORE WILL YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER GIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT TO THOSE WHO ASK? God wants us to ask in all sincerity for more and more and more of himself. There is an old song, “More more about Jesus, more more about jesus, 1. More about Jesus would I know, More of His grace to others show; More of His saving fullness see, More of His love who died for me. o Refrain: More, more about Jesus, More, more about Jesus; More of His saving fullness see, More of His love who died for me. 2. More about Jesus let me learn, More of His holy will discern; Spirit of God, my teacher be, Showing the things of Christ to me. 3. More about Jesus, in His Word, Holding communion with my Lord; Hearing His voice in every line, Making each faithful saying mine. 4. More about Jesus on His throne, Riches in glory all His own; More of His kingdom’s sure increase; More of His coming, Prince of Peace. That is what all of us need, and it we ask for it, we will receive.

The call of Ezekiel

Ezekiel 2: 1-5 Ezekiel 3 Ezekiel and Jeremiah were both of a priestly line and both of them were called of God to go to Israel and tell them what God said. They were both told that Israel would be stubborn and not listen. It would be hard work and difficult Ezekiel was commanded to eat the scroll and it tasted as sweet as honey. This was symbolic of receiving the word of God and taking it into his soul. We also need to receive the word of God and it will be like honey to us. Sweet and good for us. We need to read the scriptures and pray over them and understand and obey. However, to those whom Ezekiel was going to speak, the word of God would be like Gaul What is sweet to us and to those who receive it, it vile to those who do not want to listen In our day, we need to be like Ezekiel We are called of God not to be successful; we are called of god to be faithful We are to be faithful in our daily walk and we in this movement are called to be faithful in reaching the lost. In V 14, Ezekiel was enraged. Have you ever been enraged? I have. Remember, be ye angry and sin not. Sometimes it is right to be angry. We need to be angry at sin and we need to be angry at its consequences. But remember, sin not. We need to channel righteous anger into communicating the word of god to others. I find that I have a growing interest in sentences in the bible that mention a passage of time such as V15 For seven days Ezekiel caused consternation. He did not have a quick chat with people and then they got angry and they calmed down. This was seven days of pleading with them, telling them what God had to say and them resisting it. It must have been exhausting for him. V17 In OM, we have Job descriptions. From V 17, we read Ezekiels Job description. Although this was intended for Ezekiel, I firmly believe that in principal this for every one of us who believe. WE are to warn people and if we do not warn people and they die in their sins, God will require from us on the day of judgement some sort of penalty for not doing what he has commissioned us to do. It says here that he would require their Blood. I think that this was said to Ezekiel to give him motivation and also to give him a view of that final day, the day of Judgement so that he himself would be well prepared for it. We also need to take heed V21 this concerns the righteous people who sinned and they hear word of god, some may respond and some will not. It seems that although the house of Israel as a whole would be stubborn, there would be individuals who would and for their sake and also for the Glory of God, Ezekiel was sent. We are called to be FAITHFUL. WE ARE CALLED TO BE FAITHFUL IN SEASON AND OUT OF SEASON Whether we feel like it or not, it is our job to take the word of God to the lost with all the talents whatever they may be that God has given us. God does not promise that it will be easy, in fact he promised Ezekiel and Jeremiah that it would be difficult. They were both reviled and yet both did what God said. I have served in a few missions and I promise you there will be difficulties God uses them to allow us to get to know him. There are also times of great joy and rejoicing We need to have set before us the day of Judgement and what God will say to us. In all circumstances, we must be faithful in doing good. AMEN

Am I ready for a miracle?

Elisha and the shuamite woman. she had no son and she concieved one. A is visiting and she challenged us. God does not always do things in the way we expect

jeremiah

likewise. Jeremiah 1 Jeremiah 42 and 43 up to verse 7 In the first chapter, we see that God chose Jeremiah to be a prophet to the nations before he was born. He consecrated ( set apart) him in the womb. Jeremiah was an ordinary man. He said that he did not know how to speak for he was but a youth. He was not an older man, an experienced and eloquent speaker Verse 7 God says do not say I am a youth, to everywhere I shall send you, you shall go. Note that Jeremiah, did not argue about this, He got on with it and he knew that for the most part, people would reject what God had to say. V 7 ALL THAT I COMMAND YOU, YOU SHALL SPEAK V9 GOD TOUCHED HIS LIPS. How do we measure success? Jeremiah spoke what God told him to and he was ignored. He did not bring about a great revival. Indeed he was imprisoned, vilified and rejected. God did not call Jeremiah to be successful; he called him to be FAITHFULL We can have our campaigns and see very little success from them. I have participated in many such campaigns. I have learned a lot of life lessons from them. The society we live in thinks we are fools. They think that there is not absolute truth. They think that at best, we are harmless eccentrics and they certainly have no knowledge of Gods word. In some respects, it is similar to the society that Jeremiah confronted. People think we have nothing to say that is of any relevance to them. Nothing could be further from the truth. What we have to say is what God has proclaimed and it is the message of salvation. They will say “YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO IMPOSE YOUR VIEWS ON US” yet they will listen to anything else, as long as it does not confront them with sin. They want to hear about how they are loved. A spiritualist will be coming to the town and his advertising indicates that people should come and make contact with their deceased loved ones who will give them positive messages. ( they will believe them, for they want to be pleased and reassured.) but the messages they hear will be the lies of the devil The people in Jeremiahs day were afraid of famine, pestilence and being invaded by Babylon. They reasoned that it would be better to go to Egypt where life would be good. However they ask Jeremiah to pray for them. 42: 5-6 they promised that they would do what God said even if the message was not good. Jeremiah promised them that he would pray for them and that he would deliver Gods message and would not hold back one word from them. What does that remind you of? It reminds me of what God commanded Jeremiah in chapter one God told Jeremiah to speak what he spoke and to the people Jeremiahs words would seem comforting, but they were in fact a warning. He was saying, that he would obey God as he had always done and that he would say what God said, and it may not be pleasing to them. After 10 days God spoke God already knew what the people would do for he says that he has judged them and that they will all die in Egypt, by the sword, Pestilence and famine ( all the things that they wanted to avoid) God told them that if they stayed in the land, he would show them compassion and that the king of Babylon would show them compassion. They did not like that message. They did not want to be ruled by Babylon. It meant that things would be difficult, but God would be with them in difficult circumstances. They should not lean to their own wisdom On the surface they seemed to be turning back to God. I think they had a wrong view of God. Why did they ask Jeremiah to pray for them, if they were not going to obey a negative message? Why did they not pray themselves? Why invest hope in Jeremiahs intercession? I think they thought God would show favouritism. If they had petitioned God, he would be angry with them, but Jeremiah was like a good ambassador. God would do what they wanted if the case was presented by Jeremiah. Remember however, Jeremiah had warned them that he would not hold back one word that God said. Jeremiah then called the commanders of the people and delivered the message. He was accused of lying. They had no good reason to think that. Jeremiah had by that time a reputation for telling the blunt truth at the expense of his own liberty. Note that God said WHEN you go to Egypt, not IF V17 THE MEN WHO SET THEIR MIND TO GO TO EGYPYT. God knew their minds were made up and they were going to go to Egypt. Their minds were set. It was like saying, “God, here is my plan, I want you to protect us and carry out our plan.” They thought God could be appeased and do what they wanted. They send Jeremiah to the lord to pray, but in reality, it was God who sent Jeremiah to them and in so doing, God was Judging them for their disobedience Being set to go to Egypt in their minds was just as good as actually doing it. God has called all of us to faithfulness in all circumstances. He also warns us that disobedience has consequences Recently, I communicated with someone who said that she wanted to return to the lord and she would do anything. That sounded good, but did she do it. NO. We need to throw off all that hinders and keep God in front of us, obeying what he has revealed to us and not picking and choosing what we will believe and what we will not. That is what the people Jeremiah prophesied to did and they were warned that not one of them who went to Egypt would survive. Being faithful may have consequences for us. The society we live in is growing increasingly intolerant of God. They will believe anything but the truth. If we say we do not agree with the redefinition of Marriage we are branded homophobic, or if we say that we believe the bible, they will say, “That may be true for you, but it is not true for me”. Through it all however, Jeremiah did what God commanded him to do. He was faithful. He spoke what God told him to say, and we must do likewise

F

I checked last night and as I expected, no message from F. I will gently push just a little more. I need a decision

F and the way ahead, if any

I wrote to F. I have not checked messages to find out if she has replied. I will do so this evening. If there is no message I will push gently by suggesting a date for a meeting. By now she will have my letter. having been to an induction and a mens conference these past two weekends, I note with interest that at the induction was a couple. the woman I have known for some years and she is now married. As far as I know she was not married before and I think she is older than me. At the conference was a young man going around telling everyone he knew that he was getting married. It seems he had wanted to marry the girl from the very first date. INTERESTING.

That will be that.

F sent me a text saying that she and her brother are returning to their own country in about a year. this surprised me, but It also stirred me into action. I kept away from information technology yesterday. I prayed, and decided to write notes with a view to writing her a letter in which I will tell her everything and give her things to consider. I am praying about it and whatever she decides, that will be that.

Focus days

Our focus days were brilliant. I always look forward to them and I think these ones were the best with our team from all over the UK. We had a band form Glasgow and for me these young people were reminded me of what I attempted to do at their age in band. to communicate the gospel using music and getting people together to preach to them, but they were considerably better at it than I ever was. An American group distributed literature in a couple of schools that was very in your face and got negative news headlines. The band will not be allowed in Schools for two months which will effect their income and it will also mean that other christian agencies will not get in. I knew about the schools, but I did not know about the repercussions. I am plugging on writing my book. hope to have the first draft finished in the next few weeks.

terry virgo

I do not agree with some of what Terry Virgo says, however to the students at forum, I have to say that everything he said to them was good and wise. Abraham had faith, though he was old and sarah was barren. Doubt is not modesty and Moses refused the pleasures of Egypt. I trust that he spoke into their lives. Indeed he told them that they do not know how much God has invested in them. AS a mature man, I can look back and see that God has entrusted me with a great deal and I trust that for many of those students. He will use them abundantly. Virgo also emphasised the prayer meeting and the local church. All of which I approve of and I have written a chapter about prayer meetings in the draft of my book Yesterday when I went to lock, up the chapel, I found that I had to stay an extra half hour, because up to about half a dozen of them remained to discuss issues about the CU and Church. I think that is a vital subject. It was emphasized tome me in my university days by an individual and I am glad to see that it is policy On the previous night, I watched them as the listened to George Verwer. They laughed when the globe came out. Many of them stood to signify their commitment to mission. pray for them. George may be 75 years old, but he still appeals to young people.

keeping going in the faith. Having deep roots

Mathew 13: 1-23 Matthew 7:21-23 New International Version (NIV) True and False Disciples 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ I am going to do a series of three talks on the subject of “Keep Going”. How do we keep going in our faith? Ginny reminded us last week that not all who join OM went on to continue to serve the lord and Steve encouraged us to look at TRUE DISCIPLESHIP. I was considering looking at this subject and what they had to say seemed to me to confirm that I should do this. Let me start by saying that I do believe that true believers do go on, and for those who do not, let us not not comfort ourselves or them by saying they are only back sliden. They may be, but perhaps they were never truly saved. I think that is clear from Mathew 7:21-23 THE MULTIUDE. We are told that a multitude gathered to hear the lord and he got out on the sea in a boat to speak to them. I think that in our day, if that happened, or if we filled a stadium, we would count that as a great success. Jesus did not look at it that way. He saw it as a fulfilment of the prophecy of Isaiah 6: 8-13 We like statistics, and as guides they are helpful in our work, but ultimately that only statistics that will really count, are the names recorded in the Lambs book of life. I want to be sure that my name is in that book READ ISAIAH 6: 8-13. Isaiah was told that people would not listen, and Jesus referring to this prophecy was saying that it was still being fulfilled. People would hear the parables, but not hear or understand them, and that was what was happening with the multitude. They heard, but did not hear. They certainly did not understand. They were like the seed that fell on the path/road and immediately the birds came and ate the seed. It did not take route, and for many they heard the word of god, but did not believe it. Some fell in the rocky places and sprung up quickly, but did not have deep roots. Others fell among the thorns and grew and the thorns choked them. I have known people, who seemed to be good solid Christians, whom I respected and looked up to, but you will not find them naming the lord as saviour any more, or if they do, they have a lesser place in the estimation of the church, because their lives no longer have a credible witness. Some went on for a good number of years before they fell away. Their roots were not deep and the cares of the world overwhelmed them. I take that as a warning. I ask myself the question, “How deep are my roots?” I take stock of my life. I want to hear Jesus say to me “WELL DONE GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT, ENTER INTO THE JOY OR YOUR LORD.” Mathew 7: 21-23 warns us that for many, that will not be the case even though they expect it. Jesus further warns us Matthew 24:12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, Gary reminded us that sometimes we grow tired, physically and spiritually and we need to take a break, eat, be refreshed and that is what God did for Elijah I think some grow tired, spiritually and give up. When we feel that way, as indeed sooner or later we all do, I find comfort in this. Matthew 24:13 But the person who endures to the end will be saved. I find that glorious. It motivates me to go on. I think that is why Mathew has recorded that for us. To motivate us to keep going with that end goal in sight of being admitted into Gods presence when we pass from this world. There are people in the bible, who seemed to be faithful believers, but proved false JUDAS Mathew 26: 17-25 All the disciples said, “Surely not I” They could not believe that any of their own company would be a traitor, yet this had been fortold. Jesus said woe to him, it would have been better for him, if he had never been born. Judas was trusted with the money. When jesus sent the disciples out and they worked miracles, Judas would have gone out like all the others and worked miracles. He seemed to be just like the others. Seeking truth, seeking the lord, lamenting his sin. Yet, his heart was turned and even when Jesus handed him the sop that identified him as the traitor, Judas still did what was in his heart. He betrayed Jesus to his enemies. Judas proved to be like the seed that grew up among the thorns. He would have heard the parable to and had it explained to him, yet that did not stop him doing what he did. Let us look at someone else Turn to Colossians 4: 1-14 (read it) From this passage I conclude we are to be alert and devote ourselves to prayer. Paul names people in this passage. People who sent their greetings to the church at Colossi, one of whom was Damas. The fact that he is mentioned here means that Paul held him in high esteem. Indeed Demas was with him in the ministry while Paul had his first spell in jail IT SEEMED TO PAUL THAT DEMAS LOYALTY TO HIM AND TO THE LORD WAS BEYOND QUESTION. Turn to 2nd Timothy 4:9-10 9 Do your best to come to me quickly, 10 for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. 11 Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. The good, and loyal Demas had proved to be not so good or loyal. Paul is disappointed and lonely and wants Timothy to come and bring Mark with him for he was useful. In that one sentence Paul is saying that the person he relied on, “Demas” has let him down, and the person he had rejected “Mark” has now proved his worth and paul wants him. Sometimes it is the most unlikely people who truly have deep roots. Paul had argued with Barnabas about Mark and they had parted company. With passage of time, Paul has changed his mind. When I look back, I am so glad that I had a number of Barnabases who did not give up on me. They thought I was worth it. I trust they were right AMEN

I put the following in the village news letter. I had previously written an article in it where I said that faith was vital to life. Someone wrote a letter, that was not signed or addressed and left it at the chapel in response saying that they felt that they had to say that I only said faith was vital to life because I was not confident person. This is laughable, but it made me realise that what I had written was not clear and that I had to write something that was. Once I had written and submitted the following, I realised that if it were printed, it would come out at the same time as the "Uncover" course that the Quinta Church and St Johns plan to do as an evangelism event in the village. I think this is Gods providence. It could not be better. It is like saying we all have a problem and this is sin. If you take part in the course you will find the answer. Here is what I wrote in the village newsletter. Most people do not actually read the bible, yet they think that they know what is in it. When you actually read it a great deal of it will surprise you Mathew 5 and 22 reads as follows "Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. It is for this reason that I said in the last Wren that faith is vital, as indeed it is. This life is the journey to court and God is the judge. We are told in ~Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, This means we are all guilty of sin, it is our nature. We are all on the way to Gods Judgement, the question is will we settle with him now and accept the payment for our sin that he has provided in Jesus dying on the cross, or will we face him still guilty and face the penalty. In Pauls letter to the Romans Chapter one from verse 29 we read Being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil, full of envy, murder, strife deceit, malice, they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents. Without understanding, Untrustworthy, unloving, Unmerciful and although they know the ordinance of God that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but give hearty approval to those who practice them. I therefore say to all from 2nd Corinthian chapter 6 verse 2 For he says, "In the time of my favour I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you." I tell you, now is the time of God's favour, now is the day of salvation. The point is, we all need to settle the matter now. Tomorrow may be too late. In romans 6 and 23 we read For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. This is what we must do to get the gift of God, we must surrender and trust in Christ completely. When we know how unworthy we are, we marvel all the more at his love.

I found a frizbee

I found a Frizbee this evening as I walked round the office checking that it was locked up. I realised that it had to belong to the group in the conference centre who are mainly children. I took it in. I approached one of the men. He did not recognise it, but one of the girls thought that it belonged to a particular boy. I left, but I could hear a lot of young voices talking from the windows across the courtyard. They were terribley excited. I found it a great atmosphere. I loved it. Those who do not live here miss the opportunities for moments like it. I had heard one of the young women telling them the night before to say yes to Jesus. To invite him into their lives and there was nothing they could do but say yes and let Jesus in. Bearing all that in mind, as I heard all those young voices tonight over the courtyard. I prayed for the group. I have no idea who they are, but I prayed that many, if not all of them may be saved. I prayed that young womans message to them last night would bear fruit. AMEN

solved

As I expected, there were technical problems today after the upgrade, but they seem to have been solved.

Gods provision

I have returned from holiday. I hope I never forget the following. I recently upgraded my phone as I saw one at a price I thought good. this was my first holiday with it. I used my sat nav to get to destinations. However, one of the places I was booked into could not be found by my sat nav. Only the week before, I had seen my friend use his phone as a sat nav, so I decided to try mine to find out if it could locate the hostel I needed to go to. It did. My old phone could never have done that and without the new one, I would have been stuck for the night. I see it as Gods provision. He provided the phone, the bed to go to, the money and by watching my friend, I had instructions on how to use the phone as a sat nav just when I needed it.

Sign Language

A man who comes to the Conference Centre every year came twice this week. On Second occasion he brought his wife over. She is deaf and mentally retarded.  He pointed out the world map on our wall with the Logos hope and made a V shape with his hands and then little swimming motions.  I expect the V is the bow of the ship and the swimming motions are the ship sailing

2nd timoth 2

2nd Timothy chapter 2

I have always felt moved by Pauls letters to Timothy for I myself as a young man felt very similar to him.

It seems that Timothy was somewhat shy for Paul tells him not to let any man despise his youth and to stir up the gift within him.

Timothy in the first three verses, is being charged with the responsibility of teaching other men, and then theywould go on to teach. 

I presume that in this way the early church would multiply or certainly cultivate a good leadership team well able to teach.

Verses 3-7  Paul uses the imagery of a soldier , the athlete and the farmer.  The thing they have in common, it that they are single minded.  The soldier is not involved in the affairs of the world, the athlete endures difficulties to win and the farmer also endures to enjoy the benefits of the crop.

Think of andy murray. He got the best coach he could and trained in the best places in order to win.

So Paul is saying to Timothy that his life has to be like that. He needs to put in the effort to please the Lord. 

Paul gives to Timothy in versed 8-10 as an example of someone who is enduring.

If any one of us were trying to encourage someone in the faith as Paul was encouraging Timothy. Would we be able to give to them, our own lives as good examples to follow?  WE AUGHT TO BE ABLE TO.

Verses 11-13 the trust worthy saying

If we are FAITHLESS,  he is FAITHFULL.  That sounds very comforting, but in the context I am not so sure that it is.  I THINK IT IS A WARNING.

I think that in saying that he is faithful, and that he ( the lord) cannot deny himself, it is a warning to Timothy and to others that if we are not faithful then God is faithful to himself to carry out the punishment that he said he would. The context is in in verse 12

If we endure, we shall also reign with him; If we deny him, he also will deny us.

**Thus If we deny him, then God will indeed be faithful to himself by denying us.

Verse 14-19

It seems to me that none of the things Timothy was told to tell them would be new to the hearers for is told to REMIND  them and SOLOMLY charge them. In the presence of God not to wrangle about words.  Timothy was not telling them things they did not already know, he was reminding them.

Paul must have thought it necessary for them to be reminded.  We humans forget, or ignore lessons and we need reminding.

Verse 15, has always been of great value to me.   Tell the story of how I learned I could teach)

From this, verse, I realised that teaching was a solemn responsibility and that one day, I would be judged by God and have to give an account of what I teach. Therefore, I need to take care that on that day, I am not ashamed.  I have no idea how I may be influencing people for good or ill by the things I say and the things I write, but one day, God will show me.

For paul to bring this up must mean that this was going on.  You will recall that Paul had to rebuke those who said, “I am for Paul, I am for Christ, I am for whoever was their favourite speaker” and Paul says, Did Paul die for you? 

It is against this that Paul tells Timothy to be diligent in handling the word of God. 

Perhaps we have our favourite speaker, or our favourite author. People who have and are well used of the lord to win others and to influence them for good.  However, no matter how good they may be, they are not to take the place of what God has revealed.  Sometimes even the very best of authors and speakers get things wrong and it is up to us to make sure that our understanding of scripture is correct and not to accept something just because someone else says so..

I still find that there are things that I change my mind about.  We must be willing to be corrected.

A friend I have known for many years pointed out some areas of life where I have changed.  I said to him, well, there were reasons at the time for why I held to those views but when you are wrong then you need to be honest with yourself and admit you have been wrong and change accordingly to what the bible actually reveals and I hope that I go on doing that.

V 19. The lord knows who are his, ( we may not but god does)

Let all who name the lord abstain from wickedness. It is putting off wickedness that marks us out as belonging to the lord.

Paul uses the image of a large house where there are gold and silver vessels but also vessels of wood and earthenware. He is saying that we start as the vessels of wood and earthen ware.  Common and of no great value, but as we cast of sin then we become precious vessels for good work

Avoid worldly and empty chatter.  In this case, Paul is specific.  He names two people HYMENAEUS and PHILETUS.  He likened their talk to being like gangrene which spreads and is deadly.  These two people were going around saying that the resurrection had already happened, and by doing so they were destroying the faith of others.

We to need to be diligent in opposing false doctrine that could lead others astray.  The fact that people paid attention to these men, must mean that they were held in some esteem.

Paul is constantly warning Timothy to stay away from quarrelling.   He had to preach the truth

I have to conclude that as Paul emphasises avoiding quarrelling so much, this must have been going on in the church.  I can think of no other reason why Paul would say this to Timothy.

This is not to say that Christians never disagree ( because we do) but we should not quarrel to the detriment of others and ourselves. It is time consuming, foolish and leads to sin.

When someone opposes us, the gut instinct is to argue back.  Paul is saying to Timothy to stop and think and do the opposite. To be gentle in his reply so that perhaps his opponents may repent. We should not be involved in character assassination, and there are many matters that are only of secondary value.

His last devotion

Today, is a landmark day.  M led what is likely to be his final devotion before he retires.  For all my years in the church of scotland we had on the offering envelopes, "Where you treasure is, there will your heart be also".  This was his focus.  How do I cling to possessions?  He gave the image of the open and clenched hands and gave two examples. One is of man who made millions but gave most of it away we have benefited from the trust he set up and the other was CT Studd.  I first heard of him at university through a fellow student.

P led devotions

P led us in devotions today. I do not think he is a great speaker, but I always find that what he has to say is well worth hearing.  I always feel that I know more about him and the things that God has taught him and it is such blessing to me.  He told us about how his family were in Africa where he serviced a school and one day he was told that his job would change. He was very hurt.  I have known such hurt, but just like Job, I have come through.

I think Ps experiences have made him a humble man who is probably more capable than most of us realise and I admire him.

fun

There is just something lovely about having a five year old girl smiling into your face and talking and whom you know loves you and you love her in return.  It is fun to make her laugh.  Jesus told us that unless we become like  child, we cannot enter heaven.  A child is trusting, obedient and learning all the time and has to accept discipline

Book and Walmart

Walmart, whom I believe own Asda were mentioned in book distribution by this mornings speaker. He is at the ships office in the USA and have book warehouse.

As I think about that warehouse, it is on that scale that when I finish my book, and find a publisher willing to publish it that I need to aim. I need to have a wide vision for its distribution

Groundhog day

I love the film "Groundhog Day".  Bill Murray lives the same day over and over again.  In some ways, I am living in Groundhog day. An issue came up that I thought we had resolved a long time ago, but just like a bad smell, it is back

The apostle Paul

The Apostle Paul

ACTS CHAPTER 8: 1-3

ACTS CHAPTER 9: 1 22

Recap on Luke. 

He was a detailer, a doctor. Only he records that the man with the withered hand had a withered right hand.

He accompanied the Apostle Paul on his missionary Journeys. 

He wrote the book of acts, therefore the details here about Paul are the things that Paul told Luke about himself

God Chooses people and calls them to himself, and sometimes he chooses the most unlikely people (Paul / Saul persecuted the church and was not likely person for God to choose, or so it would have seemed)

I am an unlikely person.  As a young man I did not enjoy church and was determined to have nothing to do with it. 

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One day, I met a man (Gordon Jenkins) who impressed me, I sat under his teaching for many years and my view of church turned around.  I wanted to communicate the gospel to others, but I started out resisting it.

Paul persecuted the church.  I often wonder how he felt looking back at how he approved of the death of Steven.

When he was persecuted, imprisoned scorged and shipwrecked.  He would have known the thoughts of his persecuters for once they were his thoughts.

Ananias was to meet paul and to disciple him 

It is not surprising that he questioned the lord about this man for he knew that Paul persecuted the church

Note the lords reply

In Acts chapter 9 verse 15-16  God says. GO ( and you to will be going) For he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear my name before the gentiles and kings and sons of Israel, for I will show him how much he must suffer for my names sake.

The Jews were God’s chosen people, Now God was moving out choosing Gentiles and Paul was to be his instrument. To start this. 

Perhaps at this stage Paul did not know this, but it was certainly revealed to Ananias at this point.  Paul would have told luke and luke has written it down for us to read.

 I am deeply moved by TWO WORDS  in BROTHER SAUL

Saul must have wondered how he would have been received. To be called brother must have been such a relief and so welcoming to him.

Sometimes we may have to welcome the strangest brothers and sisters. Never the less, as God had choosen them then they are indeed brothers and sisters in Christ.( I am noted for being a bit strange myself)

Ananias greeted him as a brother.

Paul encountered many difficulties. There were times when he had to chastise the church because of sin, He had to courageously proclaim the lords name in the face of the enemy and he was a pioneer because he had to do something that had never been done before and was contrary to his culture.  He had to go to the gentiles. 

You may find that you have to do things contrary to your our culture.  You may find that brothers and sister even without meaning to will hurt you and you need to learn to forgive seventy times seven as jesus said. 

Paul knew that. He had to chastise and forgive fellow Christians and he had to forgive those who persecuted him and those who disappointed him by leaving him.

Yes sometimes there are disappointments we have to bear.

There will be challenges for you  I do not know what they will be,. But I have had my challenges. 

Tell the shelter story of the shelter

I could not have imagined then that I would be where I am now telling you this story to encourage you.  I have written the story for others on more than one occasion, It was painful that the time, yet probably one of the most useful things that ever happened to me. 

You have to believe that it is true that all things work together for good to those who love the lord, but that includes the hard things.

However, he was faithful to the end, and he did what God wanted him to do. And perhaps you will find yourself in situations where you feel tested and you cannot take any more.  May I encourage you to think of Paul and of Christ and how Paul was faithful and continued in the race.  Christ has called you, just as much as he called the Apostle Paul.  He promises that if you are faithful t him, he will be faithful to you, but he does not promise that it will be easy.

You will notice from the passages that I read that Paul spent a lot of time with the disciples and other believers before he went out.  I think it was in doing this that he got to know the lord better and it showed that although he was a great scholar he was still willing to learn.  We to must always be willing to learn, and in this life, if you are wise , you will go on learning.