Thought For the Day

The monthly leaflet message.

November 2024 - Grace

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.
Ephesians 2v8-9

Grace is one of those words that is mentioned a lot in the Bible, but it’s meaning is often misunderstood and that can have great implications on the way we see our relationship, or lack of relationship with God.

Grace in the Bible is when we get something we do not deserve, often translated as “undeserved favour”. Undeserved meaning it cannot be earned by good works, it is not something that we can save up for and buy from God. It is something that God makes available to those who trust in Christ alone for their salvation.

For when we trust in Christ alone, we acknowledge that we do not deserve God’s grace just as we do not deserve His mercy. Instead we acknowledge our sin, our rebellion and lack of love towards God while recognising His grace and love towards us, paying the penalty for our sin at the cross through Jesus.

It is the ultimate example of undeserved favour, God showing his love and making a way for us to know Him and His salvation despite our rebellion towards Him. Would we make such a sacrifice for those who have sinned against us?

The amazing thing about God’s grace is that it does not just finish with salvation, God like a loving Father pours out His grace on His children throughout our relationship with Him.

Each time God answers prayer it is an act of grace towards us, we do not deserve the answer to prayer, we have done nothing to earn God’s favour, instead it is an example of God’s ongoing grace towards his children and it’s important that we remember to continue to walk in the mindset of grace. For it is easy to start to trust in our own self righteousness, to see ourselves as being deserving, to start to think that we can demand God’s grace, to somehow think that we have control over it or that God somehow owes us. It is at this point that we no longer walk by grace but once again fall into the trap of seeing ourselves as being deserving, or of having done enough to earn God’s favour.

Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.
2 Peter 3v17-18

October 2024 - Planning Ahead

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God ; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going."
Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 14v1-6

In this life it seems like we are always being encouraged to plan ahead. At school it’s about getting the right grades to get a job. At work it’s about earning enough to have a good life. As we get older we are encouraged to plan ahead and think about how we will face retirement.

However, after all of that comes one more stage, a stage of life we often try to avoid yet it will come to all of us.

Over the years I have flown into many countries having no idea where I will be staying, but just knowing that a friend will be at the airport to pick me up.

In the same way Jesus said to his disciples that he would prepare a place for them, they just needed to follow the way, and that way is through Jesus. His death on the cross made a way for us to come to God by offering us forgiveness for our rebellion against God that the Bible calls sin.

Many don’t like to think about eternity, it’s something for the future. Others think they will make their own way, that they will earn their way to God or that others will be able to change their destination after they have gone. Yet Jesus said there is only one way to the Father, and the Father has the keys of eternity in His hands.
A few weeks ago a friend was told that her illness was terminal and when she got home she wrote “It's another milage marker on the road to Home!”

For Julie was at peace because she was looking forward to going home, to being with her Lord and Saviour, Jesus. Just a few weeks later she peacefully completed her journey home.

Is it time to start thinking ahead and deciding on your eternal home? For as the Bible says:

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
Acts 4v12

September 2024 - Walking by Faith

While travelling back at night from my holiday the sat nav suddenly announced there was a road closure on the motorway and that it would guide me around the closure. As I started to follow the instructions it felt like I was going in the wrong direction and as the roads got smaller and smaller and seemed to go through residential areas everything within me wanted to abandon the sat nav and try and make my own route home. Could I trust the directions I was getting when they seemed to go against all logic? Did I have faith in the sat nav to get me to my destination?

In the same way the Bible talks about faith, putting our faith in God, putting our faith in the sacrifice that was made at the cross, trusting Jesus alone for our salvation.

It can feel as if the instructions are wrong. For some it can feel as if they need to add something to earn salvation, to buy Gods love, that trusting in Christ alone is not enough. For others there is the attitude that they don’t need Christ, that they can make their own way and know better than the instructions.

Yet faith is about totally trusting God and taking Him at His word, following in the direction He asks us to go without being able to see the end of the journey. Trusting Him for this life and the next is all that He desires and wants from us.

Walking by faith is not easy, it goes against all the logic of this world, however it is only as we step out in faith that we start to see and experience the Love of God in our lives and understand just how much he has planned for our care. The hardest bit as the disciples found was taking that first step.

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Hebrews 11v6

July 2024 - Peace in this World

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
John 16v33

God’s desire is for us to have peace in our hearts, a peace that is beyond the understanding of this world, because it is not a peace that is controlled by the world or the events that take place around our lives. Instead it is a peace from within, a peace that comes from knowing God and allowing Him to lead and guide us through the trials of this world.

It is a peace that God wants us to experience on a daily basis, a peace that leads to daily rejoicing in our lives for as the Bible says:

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, 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.
Philippians 4v4-7

This peace is not some kind of positive thinking, trying to blank out the problems of life. Instead it is about dealing with them with a helper, God himself who we can call upon at any time for wisdom and guidance.

As we trust the Lord and listen to His leading it allows us to navigate our way through the various trials we face, helping us to make decisions on things that we just cannot work out for ourselves.

We live in a world that loves to rob us of peace. Every day the media, internet and social media bombard us with things to be concerned about. Each item trying to add a bit more worry to our lives. A world that tries to focus our minds on endless issues, endless problems that we can see no answer to.

Instead God asks us to fix our eyes and our thoughts on Jesus, to seek Him for direction and to walk with Him daily, allowing Him to guide us through the chaos, experiencing Him on a daily basis, something that doesn’t just bring peace into our lives. As it overflows from us it allows us to bring peace to others. For how can we bring peace unless we have this peace ourselves.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
Matthew 5v9

June 2024 - Water from the Rock

The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. So they quarrelled with Moses and said, "Give us water to drink."
Moses replied, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?"
But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, "Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?"
Exodus 17v1-3

Have you ever been in one of those situations where you can see no way out? Family issues, finances or health, all of us can find ourselves in a situation that no matter what course of action we take just seems to end in disaster.

I’m sure the Israelites would have tried to find a solution, look for an oasis or stream, dig a well, but after all their efforts the problem remained the same.
In all their crying and moaning the one place that never crossed their mind as a solution to their problems was the great big rock in front of them. For them the rock was not the solution, it was part of the problem.

Yet it was this rock that God told Moses to go to and hit with his staff and from that rock came enough water to meet all their needs. The same God that they had been complaining about was offering to help provide for their needs through the most unlikely source.

When we are dealing with serious problems in our life it’s easy to push God aside. ‘What help is He going to be?’ As anxiety turns to fear we will even start blaming God for all our problems, never considering that God may have the solution if only we will humbly go to Him and ask.

In the Bible Jesus is referred to as the Rock (1 Corinthians 10v4), but not just any rock, a rock that can provide streams of living water. Refreshment to meet all our needs at any time.

As Jesus said:

“but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
John 4v14

When faced with trials and tribulations the solution may be as simple as going to the Rock of Christ and asking for help, for the God of the impossible is right in front of us and ready to help us in our time of need.

As Jesus said:

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11v28

April-May 2024 - The Cost of Salvation

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3v16

A few years ago I sold a book on ebay. It was a limited edition and so rarely available to buy. Over the following week I watched the bids increase to a level that seemed crazy.

Just as I thought the bids would stop, I was contacted by a man in the USA who wanted to bid for the book and wondered if I’d be willing to send it to the USA. I told him I’d be happy as long he was willing to pay the postage. The book was quite large and in a case, so I went to the Post Office and asked how much it would cost to post. It was a lot of money!

When I emailed the man back to tell him the cost I expected him to give up on the purchase, but his response was that to him it was worth the cost and with that he placed a bid that no one was going to beat. He was going to buy the book no matter what the cost.

Now for this man it was just a case of spending money, but when it comes to purchasing us from our sin, the cost is far more than money can buy. The Bible tells us the cost when it says:

For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
1 Peter 1v18-19

The cost of our salvation to God was huge and that cost tells us how valuable we are in Gods sight, it shows His love towards us, not because we deserve it or have somehow earned his love for again the Bible says:

Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5v7-8

It is hard at times to understand the depths of Gods love. The only way it can be measured is by the actions and sacrifices it makes.

In the same way our love for God, or lack of it, is shown by the actions and sacrifices we are willing to make.

Do we see knowing God as something worth having or would we rather make a short term investment in the things of this world? God has demonstrated at the cross how much he loves us. He just waits for our response.

March 2024 - Christ Crucified - Why?

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3v16

The Christmas message is a nice message, the baby Jesus born in a stable with shepherds and wise men visiting is something that can be put on in a school as a children's nativity play.

When we get to Easter and the message of “Christ Crucified”, it is the exact opposite. The death of Jesus on the cross was so horrific that a play that depicted the true humiliation and horror would probably be banned.

However, in all the pain and suffering there is often a small fact that is overlooked. Jesus died that way voluntarily. God himself allowed this to happen. But why?

When God created mankind, He created them to have a relationship with Himself. We see how in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve would spend time with God daily.

When man sinned, he became separated from God, sin was the barrier that blocked the way. At this point we tend to look at the loss that man suffered, we forget that God also lost the relationship He wanted.

God as a Holy righteous God could not just change the rules, or make an exception, to suit himself. To do so would have meant that He has set himself above the rules. Instead a solution needed to be found that fulfilled all the law.

The problem to be overcome was the penalty for sin. That penalty was and still is “death”. Not just physically dying, but spiritual death, eternal separation from God.

This is why Jesus died on the cross, to pay the penalty for our sin. It’s often hard to imagine that the death Jesus died is what our sin deserves. We just don’t see sin the way a Holy God does. We tend to see ourselves as being OK or think we can fix it, yet we read:

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 3v23

No matter how good or bad we may see ourselves in our own eyes, God’s judgement of sin is righteous.

The cross is the ultimate example of Gods mercy (not punishing us as our sins deserve) and his grace (offering us a salvation we do not deserve).

However, that gift is something that needs to be acknowledged and received. The offer is there, Gods love is there. Do we want a relationship with Him as much as He wants one with us?

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6v23

Do we want to accept a relationship with God through Christ, or do we just want to ignore the truth and carry on as we are? The choice is ours.

February 2024 - Celebrations

People hold celebrations and parties for many reasons, birthdays, engagements, weddings or other notable events or achievements worth celebrating. It’s a time when others are invited to join in with our joy and happiness.

This month a friend reached her 100th birthday and of course had a party to celebrate and so thoughts of celebration have been on my mind.

It was then I started to think about God and how he celebrates. It’s not really something we think about, but the Bible tells us that in Heaven there are celebrations for notable events just as there are on earth, but the main reason for celebration can at first seems strange.

In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
Luke 15v10

Repentance may see a strange reason for celebration but to God it really is a reason to party.

Repentance is much more than just saying “Sorry”. Repentance is about a change of heart that leads to a change of direction. It’s about coming to an understanding of the rebellion in our hearts towards God, our sin, and coming to the realisation that all the good works in the world are not going to help us and that our only hope is in the message of Christ crucified, Jesus dying on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin.

We start to recognise God’s grace and mercy towards us and as the Bible says His kindness leads us towards repentance.

Not as a way of earning salvation but as thankfulness for what He has done for us. For God is not worried about the age we reach in this life, He’s looking at eternity and where we will spend it, for His desire is that we spend it with Him and when we answer his call for us to come to him all heaven rejoices at the salvation that has come through Christ alone.

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
2 Peter 3v8-9

"Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion."
Hebrews 3v15

January 2024 - Peace on Earth

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests."
Luke 2v14

These are the parting words spoken by the angels to the shepherds as they watched their flocks by night during the birth of Jesus. A reminder to them of the whole point of Jesus birth and later his death on the cross, to bring us peace.

As we look around and read the news it can be hard to believe that any peace is on offer. All we seem to read about and see is conflict, yet God offers us a peace through Christ that the world can never give.

For the peace that this world offers is a peace from the outside, the idea is that if everything in the world was sorted and calm we would finally be at peace, the problem is that conflict starts within, from the heart of man, it then overflows and causes so much pain and distress.

God works the opposite way, Jesus said:

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
John 14v27

God gives us peace within by showing us that He will be with us whatever situation we find ourselves in, and that He will not leave us alone. Instead He will be right with us through all our trials and tribulations allowing us to experience the peace of God in some of the toughest situations.

As we spend more time with Him and come to understand His ways our peace grows more and more until even death itself is not to be feared. As the Psalmist says:

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
Psalm 23v4

That peace is available to all of us through Christ, we just need to cry out to God and ask Him to come into our lives and lead and guide us and to allow His peace to dwell in our hearts.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, 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.
Philippians 4v6-7

December 2023 - A Christmas Gift

Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.
Luke 2v11

As we come to celebrate Christmas, it’s easy to forget that over 2000 years ago, shepherds watching their flocks by night heard the announcement that the first Christmas gift had been given. It wasn’t a scarf or a pair of socks to keep the cold away, instead it was a baby, born in a manger.

For most people this event went unnoticed as it often is today. The people woke and went about their daily routines, missing the fact that the most valuable present in the history of mankind had been given.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3v16

In Jesus God had given a gift that would save man from his sin and make a way for us to be able to once again come to God, enjoying a real relationship with Him and dwelling in the peace and security that comes from knowing Him.

It is a gift that shows the depths of God’s love towards us despite our rebellion towards Him. He still desires us to come to Him and was willing to make whatever sacrifice was necessary to make a way and so the gift was given quietly in the town of Bethlehem.
Sadly this gift is often rejected, people have the attitude that they can get along fine without God and if they think about eternal things the assumption is made that they have been good enough to make it on their own.

Yet we read:

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast.
Ephesians 2v8-9

God knows that we have no ability in ourselves to free ourselves from sin no matter how good we are, hence His decision to pay the cost of our sin for us in the death of Jesus.
Just as at his birth, and indeed his death, Jesus was rejected by many, there are still those who like the wise men are willing to search out the Christ and when they find him, to bow down and worship Him. For the greatest gift we can give to God is not our money or our time, it is the gift of our heart, a heart that will love Him and thank Him for the grace and mercy He has poured out on us through Jesus.

Gifts are given and received at Christmas. What gifts will be given to God this year?

November 2023 Eternal Life

On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
Luke 10v25

This is a question that often gets asked, “Am I good enough?” “Have I done enough good things to outweigh the bad?”

It works on the assumption that somehow we can earn our way to eternal life by our good works. Sadly, the bad news is that this isn’t going to work. The Bible tells us quite plainly:

'All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God'
Romans 3v23

And there is no amount of “Good Works” that is ever going to remove our sin.

Instead God himself made a way for us to come to Him by sending Jesus to pay the penalty for our sin on the cross. This was not done because we have somehow earned something from God, quite the opposite. It is God displaying His grace and mercy towards us. His mercy, by not punishing us as our sins deserve, His grace by then giving us a relationship with Him that we have not earnt.

All we have to do is put our trust in the message of Christ crucified and accept that Jesus is the only way of salvation, for as Jesus said:

"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 14v6

This is where we require faith, a another word for “complete trust”. For it means that we need to put our total trust in Christ alone for our salvation, not trusting in anything we have done, for that trust must only be in Him.

It means we have to humble ourselves and accept that we can do nothing to save ourselves and that all our hope for eternity is in the love, grace and mercy of God alone.
As the Apostle Paul had to remind the church:

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.
Ephesians 2v8-9

Salvation is always and only available through faith in Christ crucified.

September 2023 For God So Loved The World

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
3v16-17

These two verses sum up God’s attitude towards man and sin. A subject that it is very easy to fall into one of two traps.

The first is to see ourselves as not good enough for God, to assume He cannot love us with all our failings. Yet it is those same failings that God knew about before Jesus went to the cross. It is those same failings, the same sin, that Jesus died on the cross to save us from. Jesus didn’t come to demand a perfect life before we could come to know Him, instead he made a way for that sin to be forgiven by paying the penalty for our sin on the cross and taking away our condemnation.

When Jesus walked the Earth he spent a lot of time with the sinners of the day, he never allowed their sin to become a barrier to his love and teaching and he never condemned them, instead he loved them and taught them the right way to live, teaching and telling them to “sin no more”. For through the love of God he wants to free us from sin and it’s hold over us. All we have to do is humbly come before Him and ask for his forgiveness and turn to his ways instead of the ways of this world.

Of course there is a second trap that we fall into, the trap of self righteousness. The trap of thinking that somehow we are good enough and deserve to be able to come to God on our own terms and merit. It was this type of person who finished up in endless arguments with Jesus as they tried to justify themselves by their religious lives. It was this type who Jesus gave the warning of “Woe to you…”

For the bible says

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Romans 3v23-24

We need to understand clearly that each one has sinned and that our sin separates us from God, yet in Christ there is a way to come to God for those who want to know Him. He does not force us to love Him, for no one can be forced to love, but he has made a way for those who want to come and know Him, for those who want to experience life as God planned it to be. Jesus made the way, the question is do we want to take it or will we continue to live under the illusion that somehow we will be good enough?

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 14v6

July 2023 A Real Hero

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
John 15v13

A few years ago I was invited to a Police awards ceremony at which the heroism of various officers was recognised. In each case the officer had put his own life at risk to save another, usually someone he knew nothing about.

It is these acts of selflessness for the benefit of others that we tend to view as true heroism, be it in the Police, the military, or just a passer by who risks his life for another. It is the true example of love towards another, known or unknown to us. A care that goes beyond personal loss. It is the type of love for another that the Bible talks about as being the greatest form of love and the type of love that God encourages us to have for one another.

With most acts of heroism we find it easy to see the danger that the one being saved was in, even when he or she doesn’t see it themselves. Our hero's are also aware of the risks involved, be it in a battle, the local river or a burning building, yet the hero is able to overlook the cost and risk to themselves and just focus on the one in peril. It is that act of self sacrifice, that willingness to offer themselves for another that makes them a true hero and shows mankind at it’s best, even in situations where their efforts fail.

Of course when we think of Jesus we don’t tend to think of him as a hero. He didn’t lead battles or rescue people from floods or fires, instead he rescued them from a peril that most cannot even see or consider, He came to save us from our sin and the dangers that sin puts us in. For the bible says:

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6v23

The heroism of Jesus can seem hidden from us, yet his act of selflessness was greater than any other hero. For his death on the cross was not a circumstance that he suddenly found himself in, the pain and anguish was not something he was forced to endure. He knew exactly what would happen if he was to fulfil his mission, and his love and care for each one of us drove him forwards.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5v6-8

The greatest act of heroism is easily overlooked because we don’t see the danger we are in, but be assured, the peril we are in is real, and our hero, Jesus, has offered us a way of safety through the cross.

May- June 2023 Blinded by Tears

But Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?"

"They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they have put him." At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realise that it was Jesus.

"Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?" Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him."

Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).
John 20v11-16

Life is often far from easy, we all go through different struggles, sometimes sickness, other times financial and of course one of the toughest, the loss of someone close to us.

It is at these times that it is very easy to get angry at God. Why has He allowed this to happen? It’s not fair!! Our upset and sadness so easily overwhelms us and we feel unloved and just assume that God doesn’t care or has forgotten about us. Just like Mary, it can be very easy to be blinded by our own tears, allowing our hearts to be hardened towards God and missing the fact that the Lord not only wants to help us get through these tough times but He is right in front of us if only we will look up.

For as it says in the Psalms:
The Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Psalm 34v18

Yet so often these words can sound hard and hollow as we struggle with the tears, often not able to see any way forward or any relief for the heart.

It's hard for us to comprehend that God understands, for when Jesus went to the cross it says the sky turned black. At the same time Jesus knew the pain of loss, for on the cross he never cried out from the physical pain, yet as he became sin, to take our place on the cross he was separated from the father and cried out:

"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
Matthew 27v46

God understands loss, He understands rejection, betrayal, injustice and all the other pains we suffer and is there to comfort us and strengthen us if only we will call out to Him for help.

For Mary, what appeared to be a cruel twist to her existing grief was turned into a moment of joy, she just needed to hear the Lord and look through the tears.

That same joy and peace in time of trouble and loss is available to us all, we just need to look to the Lord.

April 2023

Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
1 Corinthians 1v20-24

From the worlds point of view, Easter is a very strange celebration.

We have Good Friday, when we give thanks for a man cruelly tortured and sent to his death on a cross. This is followed by Easter Sunday, when we remember that same dead man rising from the dead with not an Easter egg in sight!

From a worldly perspective it makes no sense, and yet in the wisdom of God we see His love and mercy poured out on us through Christ. For through Jesus and his death on the cross God made a way for man to once again enter into a true relationship with God.

Man, since the creation, has been in rebellion against God, it’s called ‘sin’ and it is that sin that get’s in the way of us having a relationship with a Holy God.

We may not see ourselves as sinners, we may have lived a good life, but the greatest sin is not what is committed towards man, but what is committed towards God, for the Bible tells us that:

All have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God
Romans 3v23

And that sin has it’s consequences for again we read:

“The wages of sin is death…”
Romans 6v23

That death is eternal separation from God.

God in His love for us declares that He does not want anyone to perish but all to come to eternal life; yet the penalty of sin still needs to be paid. It is that payment that we celebrate on Good Friday. For as we look at Jesus Christ being crucified on the cross, we see God himself paying the penalty of our sin with a price that we could never afford. It is why we read:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3v16

As we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Day, it is much more than him coming back to life, it is the proof of his victory over sin and death, a demonstration that a way back to the Father has been made.

For many this all sounds a bit crazy, foolishness as the Bible says, but if there had been any other way that mankind could get back into relationship with God, Jesus would have never died on the cross. It is only as we truly understand our sinfulness and the love of God towards us that we truly begin to understand and celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

February 2023

Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
John 17v3

As Jesus was walking along one day, a man came to him and said:

“What must I do to inherit eternal life? “
Luke 18V18

It is a question that is often asked by individuals. It’s usually followed by a list of all the good things the person has done as a way of justifying why they should go to heaven. Others will justify themselves by their religion, how often they go to church or the prayers they have said. But in all these statements it’s about trying to be good enough for heaven, earning our place.

When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was he answered:
'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' Matthew 22v37

Too often we think we will justify ourselves by how we treat those around us, when the greatest commandment is about how we treat God.

Do we want to know Him? Do we want to spend time with Him? For God is looking at how our heart is towards Him.

Too often we want an eternal life that is different to the one that Jesus talked about. We just want to do our own thing rather than being in a relationship with God the Father. We want to “Stay at His house” but don’t want Him in our lives.

The eternal life that Jesus taught about comes from being in a relationship with God, knowing Him for who He is. Jesus made this relationship possible by dying on the cross to free us from our sin, making a way for us to come to a Holy God..
Speaking to His disciples, Jesus said:

"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."
John 14v6-7

True salvation through Christ means admitting that we have no hope of earning a way to God in ourselves, but instead we put our total trust in the forgiveness that is available through Jesus, the ultimate display of Gods love towards us and His desire to have a relationship with us.

For that is the point of the cross, that is the point of Christianity. It’s not about church, learning the Bible or being religious. It’s about knowing and spending time with God the Father and the change that this relationship can bring about in our lives. The question we have to ask ourselves is simple:

“Do we have a heart for God? A heart that is willing to humble itself and accept the forgiveness of the cross. If we do, the peace and joy of eternal life and the relationship with God can be ours today through Christ if we will just ask Him.

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29v13

January 2023

Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.
Proverbs 27v1

Just under a year ago I was preparing to fly out to Poland to do some work with a couple of churches. It was an annual trip to an area not far from the Ukrainian border and was almost routine; just sort out some cheap flights, arrange to be picked up and get on with the work.

Little did I know that within a few hours of my arrival war would break out just over the border. A war that has changed our lives, our finances, our food and heating in ways that I could never have imagined as I bought my tickets.

We can often start to settle into an attitude that we have things under control, that we have the future planned, yet so often it is the unexpected that totally changes our lives, wars, sickness or accidents. Life can be turned around in a moment and what was stable suddenly becomes unstable.

Being a Christian does not make us immune to the problems of this world, but through the relationship with a loving God there is a peace available in the deepest crisis.
When Jesus was talking about the future to his disciples he did not promise them a bed of roses, instead he told them the truth about what was coming and the problems and struggles they would face, not to scare them but to give them peace. Showing them that he was God and the future was in His hands.

Jesus said:

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
John 16v33

As trials come upon us we have the choice, to plan the future and try and work it out on our own, or to go to God and allow Him to lead and guide us and know His peace even in the most chaotic of times. To seek his wisdom for the way ahead and to look to Him to give us His peace and strength in difficult times.

A loving God is only a prayer away, His peace is available to us all, yet sadly He tends to be the last one on our list to call in times of trouble.

Christmas 2022

While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Luke 2v6-7

One of the carols that we often hear at Christmas is “O Little Town of Bethlehem”, and in the first line it says “how still we see thee lie”. It makes us think that the night Jesus was born was nice and peaceful, but just like Christmas today, it was frantic with people having to move around the country for a census and every hotel was room booked, to the point that Jesus was born in a stable.

Although the carol goes on to say:

How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given; so God imparts to human hearts the blessings of his heaven.

The arrival was witnessed by just a few shepherds quietly watching over their sheep. Everyone else was just too busy or tired from the events of the day.
Sadly it is the same today, so many things to do, but missing the whole point, the celebration of the birth of Christ. Something that on the outside seems so small and insignificant, yet on that night the Saviour of the World was born. The one who would pay the penalty for our sin, that, we may come to God and know his salvation.

The Bible tells us:

He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognise him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-- children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1v10-14

While the World advertises the latest “must haves” for Christmas, we easily miss the most important gift, for the true “must have” is Christ, a gift offered without cost to each one of us, yet missed and rejected by so many.

For God is not offering us some kind of dreary religion, He wants us to know the peace and joy we can have through knowing Him. All he asks is that we take the time to come to Him and love Him for who he is. For where is time spent is the true measure of where our heart is focused.

This Christmas take some time to spend with the Lord. And as the carol says:
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.

November 2022 - Foundations

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.
But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."
Matthew 7v24-27

When I had some building work done on my house it felt like the building inspector was turning up every day. Why? Because the builder was putting in the foundations and if they are weak, everything built on top will be weak as well. So the inspector checked every stage to make sure it was correct. Once the unseen foundation was finished the walls went up quickly.

So often in life we strive to make sure what is “seen” is complete, we rush into relationships, jobs, and rush around trying to gain the goods of this world while neglecting the foundations. Often we think we have got away with it and that all is well, for it is only when the storms of life hit us that we suddenly realise how fragile our foundation is and those storms often arrive without any warning. It is amazing how fast our world can crumble in a storm.

This is why Jesus taught the people to put their trust in his words, for the word of God does not change and it a foundation for life that will see us through the greatest of storms. He doesn’t promise to take the storms away, rather to be the strength, the foundation that holds our life together through the tough times.

The problem is that far too often we think we know better. In our pride we assume that we can build a better foundation and that we have thought of every eventuality, yet as we have seen in recent months, storms of the most unexpected type can impact our lives without warning. It is at those times we can cling to our foundations. For as the Bible says:

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
Psalm 46v1

The offer of the foundation is there, we just need to humbly accept it and allow Him to guide us through the storms of life. Then like the Psalmist we will be able to say:

The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
Psalm 18v2

Sepember 2022 - Trust

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3v5-6

All of us trust in different people and organisations every day. When I wake up I turn on the light and I expect the light to come on. I trust that someone at the electricity company is making sure I have power coming to my house, the same is true when I want a drink of water, I just turn on the taps, trusting that the water will flow.

Trust is when we hand control of a certain part of our life into the hands of another. The dictionary says that trust means “to believe in the reliability, truth, or ability of someone or something else.”

Reliability is crucial to trust, when I have worked in certain countries I have met people who have their own electricity generator because they cannot trust in the countries electricity supply, their lack of trust is shown by them making sure they have a plan B, something else they can trust in to supply their need. The most difficult part about reliability is that we often have to trust someone first to find out if they are reliable or trust in someone else's experience.

Truth is another important part of trust. Do we believe the person or organisation is telling the truth? Are they saying what we want to hear to win us over for their purposes or are they willing to tell us the truth, even if we don’t want to hear it?

Finally we come to ability. For even when someone is reliable and truthful, if the situation is beyond their ability, then much as we may want to trust in them, they will be unable to meet our needs or even understand what our real need truly is.

When it comes to God, many struggle to put their trust in Him, but when it comes to eternal things who else would you trust?

There are many who will say what we want to hear, but God as a loving Heavenly Father does not tell us what we want to hear, He tells us the truth, what we need to hear, the truth, even when we don’t like it. For His word says:

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Romans 3v23-24

He not only tells us the truth, but shows us that He has the ability to fix the situation by paying the debt for our sin through Jesus death on the cross. He asks us to trust in Him alone for our salvation. In this He shows us that not only is He truthful, but also that He has the ability to meet our needs and He is reliable in doing it. For unlike us He does not change His mind, as He says:

God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfil?
Numbers 23v19

Trusting God is what faith is about, learning to walk in His ways with the knowledge that in doing so he wants the best for us. The bigger issue is can we be trusted to follow His instructions?

August 2022 - Waiting Patiently

I waited patiently for the Lord ; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.
Psalm 40v1-2

When I used to do fire drills at work, we were always instructed to walk slowly and calmly to the exits so that everyone got out safely, and this was never a problem for the staff, after all it was 15 minutes off work so why rush!

However, I wonder if they would be so calm in a real emergency?

In these verses from Psalm 40 the writer is waiting patiently for God to answer, not only is he waiting patiently, but he is waiting in a slimy pit, he is not trying to make his own way out or call a friend for help, he is waiting for God to act. Waiting on God alone because He is the one He trusts to deliver him in his time of need.

The problem for many of us, is that we are unwilling to wait for anything, we want to send out our request for help and our patience lasts about 10 minutes before we look for a different solution, yet so often in the rush to make our own way out we finish up in a bigger mess than we started with.

God delights to help us in our time of need, and in these troubled times there are many needs, but we need to learn to wait patiently for Him, it is what faith is all about, trusting that God will act even when we cannot see the solution coming.

As with all problems it is very easy to become fixated on the issue, but when Jesus taught the people he explained to them that when they have problems they do not need to worry, instead they need to seek God and get on with the work that God has for them and allow God to deal with the problems of life.

As he said:

So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Matthew 6v31-33

The problem with trusting in God is that we need to get to know Him first, it’s hard to trust someone that we have no relationship with. This is the reason that Jesus died on the cross, that we may come to God and know Him as our Heavenly Father, having a peace in the toughest of times because we know He can rescue us from any of the pits into which we may have fallen.

The question is, will we wait patiently trusting in God or will we lose faith, lose patience, and panic, looking for another solution?

July 2022 - Peace

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
John 14v27

I have never liked roller coasters, it's not the ride that is the problem, with no steering wheel or brake it feels like all control is removed. The inability to control what is going to happen next is not something I look forward to. I want a peace that comes from being in control of my destiny. Thankfully I can avoid theme parks and their rides, but it’s impossible to remove myself from the roller coaster of life.

As we see prices increase and hear of wars and shortages, some real some just rumours, that same fear can start to creep in and overtake us as we feel things are getting out of control and our minds get swamped by endless concerns. It reminds me of when Jesus spoke to his disciples about events to come in the future, he said:

You will hear of wars and rumours of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
Matthew 24v6-7

He didn't tell these things to scare them, but to let them know that he knew what was coming and that his peace was available through all of it. It’s a peace that does not come about by removing the problems, rather it is a peace that comes from within; a peace from knowing God and knowing that He is in control.

For if we are willing to trust him he will lead us safely through the tight and narrow paths and get us safely to the other side

As King David wrote in the book of Psalms:

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Psalm 23v4-6

God's peace, from the inside out is available to all of us through Christ, all we have to do is ask him into our lives. For as he said:

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
John 16v33

June 2022 - Repentance

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
2 Peter 3v9

Repentance is one of those strange words that is often misunderstood. Many think of it as just a “saying sorry” or “admitting sin”. For others it is seen as a way of making themselves holy, a way of earning favour with God.

The Godly repentance the Bible talks about is far more than saying “sorry” or stopping doing something, it is about changing our mindset about something and hence our actions. It is a change that comes about through a change of desire in our life.

It is this desire that makes up the second half of repentance, for to change direction, to change our mind, there needs to be a reason. That reason is not about earning favour or salvation with God, for Gods love is poured out freely on us through Jesus Christ and all the good works in the world will never earn that love.

As the Bible tells us:

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast.
Ephesians 2v8-9

Instead repentance comes from a heart of thankfulness for the love God has poured out on us through Christ. It is the reaction of a heart that has fallen in love with God, that has come to know the wonder, awe and majesty of knowing the Father through Christ.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3v16

As we see God’s love poured out towards us at the cross, we make a choice of attitude. We open our hearts towards Him in thankfulness, welcoming Him into our lives and allowing His love to transform us, leading to repentance as we experience the blessing of knowing Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, or we harden our hearts. We reject his love and continue to live for ourselves as we see fit.

March 2022 - True Love

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the Lord.
Isaiah 55v8

As I look at the tragic events in the Ukraine, and indeed any other conflict around the world, this verse comes to mind. These conflicts come about because of fear, anger, pride and many other attributes that are not part of love.

The Bible says:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
1 Corinthians 13v 4-7

True love, the love that God is talking about in this verse, is not a romantic type of love, a love based on how we are feeling on the day. Rather it is a love based on sacrifice. The idea that we will go without for the benefit of another. That we will give up our rights to hold a grudge, that we will give up our envy, self seeking and bitterness for the benefit of another.

Whether it be a conflict between nations or in a marriage or family, the same issue holds true. Without a change of attitude, or a change of heart, there will never be any peace.

Even as we react in positive ways to tragedy, sending aid to those in need, defending the lives of widows and orphans, yet even then we can easily slip into a heart of hate and revenge and unforgiveness that rots our hearts from within. We refuse to change our ways until the other side changes theirs, leading to a stalemate of hate, distrust and a belief in our own self righteousness.

Thankfully when it comes to Gods ways, He does not think as we do, for we forget that we have all rebelled against Him for as we read:

The Lord looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.
Psalm 14v2-3

Yet God in His love towards us was willing to make the sacrifice to restore our relationship with Him. Instead of holding a grudge and punishing us as our sins and rebellion deserve, He instead made the ultimate sacrifice by giving of himself, and sending Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. The ultimate act of sacrificial love and forgiveness towards another.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3v16

A change of heart attitude is not easy, yet as we stand humbly before a Holy God and recognise our own sin and rebellion that was paid for on the cross, it should help us in turn to change our heart attitudes towards our fellow man in conflicts big and small, through the peace that Christ gives us.

February 2022 - What is Faith?

Now faith is being sure of what we
hope for and certain of what we do not
see. This is what the ancients were
commended for.
Hebrews 11v1

This month I have been asked to take a funeral, it was a strange situation, as the person who asked me to take the funeral is the deceased. Knowing what was about to happen, they asked me to take the service as someone who understood their faith.
Faith is something we all have in various degrees, it is the trust that we put in a person or item to do what it is supposed to. It comes out of the knowing, the interaction, with the person or item.

It is often said that it takes a long time to learn to trust someone, yet often we make decisions very quickly. For anyone who has flown into another country for the first time and jumped into a taxi, there is always a question of faith, of trust, in the driver. Is he going to take me straight to my destination or will he run up the bill taking the long way round? Is he looking after me as the customer or is it all about what he can get out of me?

Faith, trust in a person, is also something that is easily lost and very difficult to rebuild once someone has not kept their word or has been let down. Some years ago I was working with a man who had been delivered from alcoholism. He couldn’t understand why his wife didn’t trust the changes in his life, no matter what he said. I had to explain to him that over the years his wife would have heard him say many times that he had finished with the drink, only weeks or months later to return to it, and that it would take a long time for her faith, her trust, to be rebuilt and that the trust would not be built on words, but his actions and lifestyle and love towards her.

The disciples had the same issues with Jesus, they wanted to believe and trust, but often there was still a degree of doubt, that constant question of “Is this the one?” For Jesus was not asking them to trust him just with small things, he was asking them to put their whole lives into his hands and to trust him for eternity.
Jesus said to them:

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.”
John 14v6

It’s a big statement asking for a commitment to a new way of life, especially when the words and actions of the cross took place so many years ago. Why should we trust the words of the Bible rather than another book?

The answer does not come from an intellectual decision or a religious act. It comes from a step of faith, of asking God to reveal himself to us, of allowing Him to speak into our hearts. For when you have truly met with God, then you understand the true meaning of the gospel.

Jesus died on the cross so that we could have a relationship with God the Father, we just need to take that first step of faith, of trust, and ask God to come into our lives.

January 2022 - New Year Plans

New Year is the time when people often make their “resolutions”, their new plans for the coming year. Sometimes these are health related, a diet or exercise, for others it may be work related, planning a new career or business, while others make plans for work to be done on the house or garden or even plans for a holiday.
The bible tells us that it is good to plan ahead.

The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.
Proverbs 21v5

With a target we have a direction, something to aim at, a plan that we are working or saving towards. Without direction we just circle around aimlessly watching the time pass by, but as the writer of the proverb notes, plans should not be made in haste. It is too easy to rush into something without understanding all the implications and as such it is good to seek advice for again the Bible tells us:

The way of the fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice.
Proverbs 12v15

However, even with the best advisor we still don’t know the future and if there is one thing we have learnt, especially over the last couple of years, it is that things can change and change quickly in ways that we could have never predicted. At times like this we need an advisor, a guide who knows what lies ahead and we are told:

Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.
Proverbs 16v3

For only God knows what lies ahead in our lives, yet sadly He is the one we tend to avoid asking advice from. We are happy to blame and curse Him when things go wrong, yet very slow to ask for His help and guidance.

Maybe this is because God does not appear in our plans or resolutions as we look ahead. In our focus on the things of this world we totally ignore our spiritual needs, at best they are something for the future, even though we have no idea what the future holds.

We miss the fact that God has His plans for us. For even when things seem at their worst God says:

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Jeremiah 29v11

He has a desire for us to have peace and love in our lives, not just in the short term, but eternally. A desire for us to know the love He has for us a love that He has shown us through Jesus, if we will only seek after Him.
If we want to know those plans we need to put “Seeking God” on the list of resolutions for the New Year.

December 2021 - Christmas Gifts

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
John 3v16-17

At Christmas there is the tradition of giving gifts, some are small, a token of friendship, while others, given to those who are closer to us, have come at great cost and sacrifice.

Choosing the right gift is never easy, When my children were young it was always a subject of much thought. Do we buy something they need or something they want? Should it be practical or just for entertainment? Should it be just for the moment or should it be something that will last for many years? As a parent all of these things had to be worked through as well as how much we were willing to spend.

Jesus said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'
Acts 20v35

And so when it came to giving, God as a loving Father gave us the most valuable of gifts, his son, Jesus! He didn’t count the cost, He gave us a gift for all eternity, a gift that meets our real needs, even if we may not realise it at the time.

Of course giving is only one side of the gift, the other side is that the gift has to be received with the right heart. Too often a gift is looked on as an entitlement rather than something that is freely given with love and becomes about what we want rather than accepting the sacrifice of giving that has been made. Selfishness, self entitlement and self indulgence can easily creep in at this time of the year and it is something that as parents we need to be careful not to encourage.

That same attitude can creep in as we look at Gods gift towards us. It’s easy to look at the baby in the manger and ask what relevance or use this gift is to us today and reject the gift, and in doing so the giver, and the heart of love that went into the gift. For that baby, Jesus, a name that means ‘Saviour’ or ‘God saves’ is a gift that has been given to us to deal with our greatest need, our sin, yet sadly it is a gift that is rejected, left on the side as we concentrate on the things that this world promises will give us real happiness. We reject the perfect gift of peace, joy and eternal life through Christ to concentrate on the short term pleasures of this world.

The shiny and sparkly gifts this world has to offer draw our attention, but these things last just a moment in eternity. The gift of God that He offers through Christ gives peace and joy in a way the world can never give, a peace with God that leads to a peace with self and in turn the world around us.

The greatest of gifts is freely available to us all, if only we will take the time to unwrap it and receive it into our lives.

May the Lord truly bless you this Christmas time.

If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
Matthew 7v11

October / November 2021 - Do not Worry

"So do not worry, saying, ‘what shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of it’s own.”
Matthew 6v31-34

Fear and worry over the things of this world quickly escalate in a way that consumes our thought process and is able to take over our lives in a way that defies all logic. It only takes a bit of a rumour or a half truth and before we know it there is a stampede for petrol, toilet rolls or whatever else we have been told to worry about.

Now that doesn’t mean that these issues are not real, but the great danger with them is they start to dominate our lives, we start to live a life dominated by worry and even fear. That leads to a life that is rocked by every rumour and worry that the world passes along to us, and we literally become slaves to fear.

When Jesus spoke to the crowds, he didn’t deny their need for food, clothes and water, but instead asked them to look to God first. To seek the things of God, the things of eternal significance and allow God to deal with the needs of the day. He was asking them to put their trust in the Lords ability to provide, and for Him to be the foundation of their lives.

He asked them to “seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness”, to put the things of God into their correct place and allow God himself to be the foundation of their lives and to walk by faith rather than sight.

In return he offered them peace, a peace of heart.

As Jesus said:

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
John 14v27

When our lives are rocked by circumstances and fear it reveals to us the things that our lives are truly based on, it reveals how far away from the peace of God we have drifted and how the things of this world have become our security and foundation, the controllers of our life. For fear and worry come in when we are uncertain of the future, for we fear the unknown, the things that are outside of our control.

Through Christ God offers us eternal peace, a peace of knowing that He is able to meet our needs, not just for this life, but for the life that is to come. The peace of knowing and living with God Almighty is a wonder that is beyond our understanding, a wonder and peace that the world constantly tries to drag us away from by getting us to focus on the things of this world.

Jesus said:

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.”
John 14v1

His desire is for us to know the peace of God in our hearts, all we have to do is accept him into our lives and walk in his ways.

August 2021 - True Freedom

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour."
Luke 4v18-19

Over the last few weeks the news has been full of discussions about “Freedom Day”, the date when most of the Covid restrictions would be lifted. For some it is a day they look forward to with excitement, for others there is a feeling of nervousness and even fear.

Over recent years, campaigns for rights and freedoms have become ever more prominent in the news, many of those causes are legitimate and right, but the issue arises in how we use those rights and freedoms when we gain them, for it is all too easy to become selfish in our views towards freedoms and rights, seeing our needs and rights as being more important than the freedoms and rights of others. In our selfishness we fail to realise that with true freedom and rights come responsibilities. Responsibility that recognises others, for if we live a life of selfish freedom, our freedom ends up putting others into captivity, something that we need to think about very seriously over the coming months.

Of course all of these freedoms and rights are based on the physical, they focus on the idea that if we have the freedom to do what we want, then we will have peace and harmony in our lives.

When Jesus spoke about “freedom for the prisoners”, he wasn’t talking about early parole from the local jail, he was talking about true freedom, a spiritual freedom from sin. A freedom that would lead to a change of heart within, and that would bring peace into our lives, whatever the restrictions the world places upon us.

We see this sort of freedom and peace in the lives of Paul and Silas, two disciples who got falsely accused of a crime and as a result the Bible tells us:

The magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten. After they had been flogged, they were thrown into prison.
Acts 16v22-23

If a punishment were handed out without a court case or trial in todays society, they would have been calling solicitors, friends would be marching up and down with banners protesting and demanding their freedom, but what did they do?

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.
Acts 16v25

Physically they were bound in chains, sore and bleeding from their flogging, but even in those most desperate of situations they had a freedom in Christ, a spiritual freedom that gave them peace of heart through access to God in prayer that was not affected by the physical circumstances they found themselves in.

Even when found innocent, they did not use their new found freedom to gloat and protest, instead they went out and encouraged others, helping them to find the new found freedom which they had found in Christ.

You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbour as yourself."
Galatians 5v13-14

Freedom and rights may allow us the ability to do what we want but it will never change our hearts. The freedom that Jesus offers us through his death on the cross brings a peace of heart that is beyond the worlds understanding, a peace and love that just wants to bring the same to others.

June 2021 - Peace through Christ Crucified

But we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
1 Corinthians 1v23-24

The message of Christ crucified is often reduced to a method of getting a ticket to heaven, while prayer, combined with God’s love for the world, is turned into a spiritual online ordering service for blessing. The reason this happens is that we tend to see the world from the viewpoint of pride, thinking that we know what needs to be done to make the world and our lives better so if God would just change a few circumstances life would be so much easier.

Sadly no matter how much the circumstances of life are changed around us, the true issue of our life remains the same, that is our heart attitude. For no matter how many things we have or what rules or laws are put in place, without a change of heart our life will remain the same. It is this heart attitude that God wishes to change in our lives and that can only be done through the message of Christ crucified. Not only for the forgiveness of sins, but as an example of how we need to live before God. It is a lifestyle that brings real change into our lives, even when the circumstances around us remain the same, for God knows that the biggest issues in our life do not come from the pressures of life, but rather the desires of the heart.

Jesus said:

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, do not be afraid.
John 14v27

When Jesus died on the cross he offered us the gift of a new life, a life that starts with a change of heart, a heart change firstly towards God, but that then overflows into our daily lives bringing with it the peace of God that rules and religion can never give. They may bring order, but only the heart change that the Lord offers through Christ will bring us peace.

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
1 Corinthians 1v18

The problem with the message of the cross is that it leads us in the opposite direction to the way of this world and so we often reject God’s ways as being foolish or use the excuse that things have changed and His ways are now obsolete. However, no matter how many changes take place in society, no matter what new technologies come along, they can never change our heart attitude.

His desire for us is to experience a new life, a life that is lived to the full and that overcomes the issues that we face in this world. It is a peace that comes from knowing we are walking in His ways and that he is guarding our paths and preparing a way for us in the darkest of times. The hardest part is taking the step of faith and accepting that there is a different way available to us all through Christ. Too often we reject His offer of new life through Christ and press on, sticking with what we know.

May 2021 - A Loss of Relationship

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
John 3v16-17

One of the most poignant scenes from the recent funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh was of the Queen sitting alone, mourning the loss of someone she had loved for over seventy years. It was an image that resounds with anyone who has lost a loved one, for whether sitting alone or surrounded by a crowd, the loss that is felt is something that is deeply personal. For what we really mourn is the loss of relationship, the ability to share our life with that person and have them share their life with us.

Events of the last year have also led to other types of loss through social distancing requirements. For myself, just watching the grandchildren has often been difficult, with the endless desire to give them a hug and it is at times like this that we start to understand the true meaning of sacrifice. Of being willing to suffer the loss of something we love for the benefit of another, even those we don’t know.

Those ones we don’t know are the ones that Jesus taught his disciples to love when he told them to “love their neighbours as themselves” This godly type of love was not just to the neighbours they liked and it was not a love that was displayed in emotion, but in sacrifice. A giving of self, a willingness to lose out for the benefit of others.

Too often our talk of love is not about making sacrifices for others, but about others making sacrifice for us. Our desire is for us to feel loved rather than for others to be loved by us, rather than a Godly sacrificial love we display a selfish worldly love.

When it comes to this command to love, God, as a loving Heavenly Father, always leads by example, and we see that example in Jesus. For God in his love towards us was willing to suffer the loss of the sinless Son of God on the cross for the sins of the world, a world that had been rejecting him since the beginning of creation. It is that type of loving example that we are called to walk in and it’s not easy. Jesus likened it to dying to self when he said:

“If anyone would follow after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.”
Luke 9v23-24

Too often when people think of Christianity the first thoughts that come to mind are attending church and taking part in religious services while the basics of Christianity are about turning away from the selfish ways of the world and instead showing love through sacrifice to others, even those who reject the love being shown towards them. This turning is not to earn salvation, rather it is done in thankfulness for what Jesus did on the cross. As the apostle Paul said:

Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.
Romans 12v1

In these difficult times of loss and sacrifice we have the opportunity to get a glimpse of the sheer scale of the love God has towards us shown in the sacrifice that was made for us at the cross and realise that for Him, the relationship that he wants with us was worth dying for.

November 2020 An Uncertain Future

In these uncertain times it is becoming more difficult to plan ahead. Even something as simple as meeting friends and family at Christmas is subject to constant change. The uncertainty leads to frustrations as we see our plans made and then destroyed as the rules change once again.

From God’s point of view, these changes cover a very short period of time and in many ways show how short sighted we are. Our concerns are for the next few months or years, yet when God looks to the future He looks to our eternal well being, something that most do not consider.

We have the constant adverts on the television for insurance plans to cover the cost of our funeral, yet little consideration is paid to what happens after death. Where do we stand eternally before God? In the grand scheme of things our plans are short sighted at best.

Jesus said:
So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Matthew 6v31-33

Jesus was not saying that the needs of this world did not matter, he was trying to explain that there is an order of priorities and that our eternal well being through our relationship with God is something that needs to come first and that by putting it in it’s right place the other issues of the world will be put into perspective.

One of the great things about the relationship we can have with God through Jesus is the peace that He can bring to our lives in any and every situation.

As he said:
Peace I leave you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
John 14v27

The peace that is offered us through Christ is first of all a peace with God, a peace that is not just for today but a peace for all eternity. It’s not a peace as the world knows it. It does not mean that the storms of life all go away and that we get to live in a protective bubble, rather it is a peace that comes from knowing that no matter what the world throws at us, God as a loving Heavenly Father will always be by our side leading and guiding us. And it is always just a prayer away.

Maybe it’s time to start looking at our long term eternal plans rather then putting all our focus on the short term plans of this world?

October 2020 A Pause for Thought

Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Hebrews 12v10-11

We seem to be living in a time of endless restrictions, rules put in place that affect our daily lives. Some seem to make sense, others we question, but the goal is to try and protect lives. The problem is, that our desire for the protection of others is often far less than the desire to get on and do what we want to do, and when we want to do it! At it’s most extreme it can feel like a form of imprisonment for a crime we have not committed, losing out on life for the sake of others.

Sacrifice is not a popular word in todays society, the idea of losing out to self for the sake of another is not something that is seen as beneficial. Instead it is about demanding what we want. We may be willing to make a sacrifice for family or friends, but the more distant a person the less we are willing to give.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3v16

God, being a God of love, a God who truly cares for the future eternal well being of us all, is a God who has been willing to make sacrifices; not just for those who have shown love towards Him, but those who have rejected his ways and gone off in their own direction, what the Bible calls sin, The Bible states:

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 3v23

As the Bible shows us all have sinned, and yet despite rejecting God He made the ultimate sacrifice by giving His son Jesus Christ on the cross.

Jesus was willing to become a servant, to be imprisoned and restricted, to be beaten, tortured and finally crucified all for the sake of those who had rejected him. His love for those who did not know him led to restrictions and suffering that we cannot imagine.
So as we live through these strange times, as we are restricted from doing some of the things we love, maybe it’s time to do as the Bible says in Romans 12v3 and think of ourselves with sober judgement. Are we willing to make sacrifices for others or have we become self centred?

And whilst we are considering our love shown through sacrifice to others, it would be a good time to examine our heart attitude towards God. Is He a reality in our lives or not? And if He is, do we love Him and care enough to make sacrifices for Him?

Jesus was willing to pay the greatest cost, to lay down his life. How we respond to that shows our love, or lack of it towards God.

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
John 15v12-13

As life has been slowed down for us, take some time to think on the things of God. As it say’s:

Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.
Psalm 46v10

September 2020 What do we mean by sacrifice?

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
John 15v12-13

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic there has been a lot of talk about everyone having to make sacrifices, yet it is a word that has been used very loosely, as often we can fulfil an action, fulfil the law or the rules, yet the action does not come from a heart of sacrifice.

The definition of sacrifice is “to give up (something valued) for the sake of other considerations”.

It is not just about giving something up or having something removed, but it is the heart attitude we have towards that loss or removal. Is this about me or is it about others? Do I follow the rules and make sacrifices for the sake of others or do I follow the rules to keep myself safe? One is about sacrifice for others, the other is about sacrifice for my own sake.

A simple example would be some parents saving hard to send their child on a camp for a couple of days. It could be that they have a real desire, and are willing to suffer loss, for the benefit of their child. However, if as soon as the child is out of the door they start to talk about how great it is to have some peace and quiet, then we see that the sacrifice was not being made for the child but for their own benefit. So who receives the benefit? The heart behind the loss really starts to define what sacrifice is all about. Sadly, as we look at our motives, we often find out just how selfish we really are.

Sacrifice, the laying down of a life for the benefit of another is a theme that runs right through the Bible with the ultimate example being of Jesus dying on the cross. The sacrifice of Jesus was even more incredible because it was a sacrifice that was made for the needs of those who had shown no love or respect for him or towards God, it was a life laid down for the needs of sinners… us! For as the Bible tells us:

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 3v23

So none of us are deserving of anything from God, none of us have the right to demand anything from God, yet in His love towards us, He was willing to make the perfect sacrifice for our needs through Jesus Christ His son. In his sacrifice, Jesus forsook everything, he gave up heaven to be born in a stable, he gave up his status to become a humble servant and he gave up his life for the benefit of mankind.

If we are to be true Christians, followers of Christ. It means we are to follow his example in life, and even in death, but most of all in the way that we live and the sacrifices we are willing to make for the God we claim to love because He first loved us. Do we have a love for God that is enough for us to be willing make sacrifices for Him or is it just about asking for what we want? Is our real love for others or self?

During these difficult times our heart attitude towards sacrifice shows the level of love we have towards others or lack of it, while during our lifetime, our sacrifice towards God defines our heart attitude and our love towards Him. Sacrifice is a word easily spoken, but the reality and cost of living it is far more difficult.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.
Romans 12v1

July/August 2020 A look at foundations

"I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built."
Luke 6v47-48

Over these last few months the pandemic has changed the world for all of us in ways that a year ago would have seemed unimaginable. It has meant the loss of some freedoms and many have had to endure loneliness because of it. For some it has brought about financial worries, for others it has brought sickness, and sadly some have suffered the pain of losing a loved one without being able to say good bye.

Even the most basic assumption of being able to buy what you want when you want it has been changed by current events and it is at times like this that we start to find out what our security is based on. For when our world starts to shake and crumble we start to see what our trust is in, what is our world built on? Often we never find out until something is taken away.

Even for Christians the question has to be asked: “Is our faith in religion or the church or in our relationship with God himself?”

When Jesus talked about building the house on the rock he was not just talking about believing in Him and acknowledging his words, rather He was telling people that their foundation for this life and the next needs to be built on acknowledging Jesus as Lord and Saviour of our lives and walking according to His word, no matter what the storms of the world may throw at us; knowing who to draw close to in the storm.

Who we draw close to in a crisis shows us what or who we are trusting in. Is our first call to a friend or family? Do we look to society or government? Or are we willing to make seeking God’s advice our first priority in the storm? That is what faith in God is all about, not taking the obvious ways of the world, but seeking God for His paths and holding onto Him no matter how strong the winds may blow.

Over these past few months there have been many questions about how organisations and governments work, of how we as individuals help or hinder each other, yet few have asked what God is doing; and yet, as the eternal rock, He has been the one who has been there all the time offering us peace in the storm, if only we would cry out to Him and trust in His direction.

Maybe it’s time to take a fresh look at the foundations of our lives.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, 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.
Philippians 4v6-7

March 2020 The Sacrifice of Love

No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Matthew 6v24

Sacrifice is a great way to measure what is important in our lives. The people and things that are the most important are those that we will make sacrifices for. Where we will give up something and lose out to gain something that is more important to us in our lives. Even though we may not realise it, there is a definite order of what is most important to us.

As simple example is a lady I met who said she had no spare time to do anything. I asked her if she had any children and she did. I then asked if they had ever been in hospital and once again she said one of them had. I then said to her that it must have been very hard for the child with no visits from her mother. She looked at me in horror and said that she had visited every day. My response was, "I thought you had no time?"

The reality was that the time she had was being used for things that she regarded as more important, yet when the child got sick, the child was more important and so she would sacrifice the lesser important thing in favour of the child she loved. However, for other things she did not consider them worth making the sacrifice for.

For real love is an action, an action of sacrifice; of giving up one thing in favour of what or who we have a greater love for.

Another example would be our health; the doctor asks us to cut back on certain foods or drinks for the sake of our health. If we give them up, making the sacrifice, we show that our health is more important to us than the item we have been asked to give up. If we continue in our old habits, no matter what words come out of our mouths; our actions declare that our health is less important to us than the food or drink. Our sacrifice is of our health to the habit we love.

It is this idea of priority and sacrifice that Jesus teaches us about in this verse. Do we love God? We may like to say "Yes", but what do the actions of our life declare? What do we sacrifice to serve God? Or do we sacrifice our relationship with God because our true love is for the things of this world?

For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3v16

When God declares his love towards us is, it is much more than a warm sentimental feeling. For God in His love towards us was willing to sacrifice everything for a relationship with us. For the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross shows just what God would give up for us.

The question is what is our response?

The book of Romans says:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship.
Romans 12v1

Our love, or lack of love, towards people, hobbies, sports, material gain and even popularity is not measured by our words but the sacrifices we will make to gain them.

Where does God come on our sacrifice list today?

December 2019 A Christmas Thought

While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths, and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Luke 2v6-7

As Christmas approaches I often marvel at the size of some of the shopping trolleys I see at the supermarket. Piled high with every type of food and drink, I wonder about how many visitors are they expecting? For Christmas often becomes a time of hospitality, of being accepted into the home of others, while accepting others into our own homes.

Despite all the hospitality we show to each other, the Son of God is someone who is often left out at this time. When we watch a Christmas nativity we see the baby Jesus appear in the manger surrounded by a whole crowd of shepherds, kings, animals, angels and a whole host of others, while in reality most ignored the birth of the Son of God. Instead of being a welcome guest, he couldn’t even get a room to be born in, being left outside in the stable.

For most the birth of Jesus didn’t even disturb their sleep, let alone their lives, just a few shepherds keeping watch on the hills heard the call to go and see the new born king. The same was true at his death, once again rejected by men and left outside the city to die alone with just a few onlookers. The one who came to save us by giving his life for our sin once again is rejected and left on the outside of society.
Jesus lived and died to offer us eternal hospitality, yet we are unwilling to offer him any hospitality in our hearts. His desire is to spend time with us, he says:

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.
Revelation 3v20

Sadly the knock at the door of our heart is rejected and we cast him back into the darkness so that we can get on with the real desires of our heart. Just as on that first Christmas morning there is no room at the inn!

Why is it that someone who has given so much, who has paid for our eternal hospitality with his life receives rejection and hostility from those he came to save?
Will you offer him hospitality in your heart this Christmas?

He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognise him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to be children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
John 1v10-13

November 2019 The Thorns That Choke Us

Then he told them many things in parables, saying; "A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop-a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.
Matthew 13v3-8

This month we are looking at the parable of the sower, but rather than looking at the whole parable, let's just focus on one type of seed, the seed that fell among the thorns.

When Jesus explained the parable to his disciples he said the following:

The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.
Matthew 13v22

So often we talk about "getting round" to something, but there always seems to be something more important that gets in the way. The same is true in the Kingdom of Heave. So often people will talk about believing in God, but never having time for Him. They are too busy dealing with family, work, hobbies and interests, nothing sinful in themselves, but things that have been allowed to take priority over the things of God.

Sadly not only does this happen, but we are great at deceiving ourselves into believing it is not happening, but there are some simple tests we can use to test our hearts and to see what type of soil the seed has been sown in.

When Jesus taught his disciple to pray he taught them what we often now call "The Lords Prayer", it's a prayer for the disciples and puts things in an order of priority. Jesus said:

"This, then, is how you should pray:
"'Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.'"
Matthew 6v9-10

This prayer isn't just something to be learnt and repeated; rather it gives us clues to what should really the priority in our lives.

" Your Kingdom come, your will be done..."Show a God focused priority in prayer, that if we are truly following after God the priority in our prayer life will not be our physical needs, but our hearts desire to serve God and how that impacts our daily lives. When our prayer life becomes focused on blessing "me and mine", our focus has moved from putting God at the centre and instead our focus is on the things we want. Instead of being servants of God we rise up to be the commanders of God. We expect Him to do our bidding while we talk about getting round to the things of the Kingdom. When Jesus taught his disciples to pray their needs came at a lower priority to the desires they had in this life. What are the priorities in our prayer lives?

Jesus says a similar thing when he teaches us about not worrying (focusing on the trials of this world). He said:

But seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given you as well.
Matthew 6v33

Now Jesus wasn't saying that the issues of this life should be dismissed, he was just explaining about getting them in the right order, and if we are expecting God himself to deal with these issues, we can hardly go to Him with our demands when we have not met His.

So what is Lord of our life, what is it that causes us never to get round to the things of God? For those things that take priority are the things we truly worship, they are the things we have devoted our life to and make sacrifices to obtain.

It's easy to acknowledge these things, yet so often we continue to deceive ourselves. As James says:

Do not merely listen to the word, as so deceive yourselves. Do what I says.
James 1v22

The great deception is that we will get round to it, the truth is that until it becomes our number one priority we will always put it off.

The writer of the book of Hebrews acknowledges this problem when he says:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders us and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of God.
Hebrews 12v1-2

If we are going to follow after the Lord we need to take a good look at what is holding us back, what weeds and brambles have we allowed to grow up and block our paths. They may not be sinful in themselves, but when we let them take priority over God; our own actions confess what our heart is set on.

Again we can agree with these things, but do we act. Are we willing to put the things of God first in our lives, not tomorrow or next week, but now? Are we going to act and throw off the entanglement or will we stay put, held back by the things of this world? Only we can answer these questions, but when answered we will know the truth of our heart, the type of soil the seed has landed in.

October 2019 The Foolishness of the Message

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ways your ways," declares the Lord.
Isaiah 55v8

One of the great problems we face in understanding the ways of God is that we assume that He sees situations as we see them and that the solutions we see are the solutions God should see. We don't realise that in doing this we do not lift up God as being superior to us, instead we lower him to our way of thinking and raise ourselves up to His standard.

In the world we live in, strength and power are seen as the way forward, yet the Bible tells us:

But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things - and the things that are not - to nullify the things that are.
1Corinthians 1v27-28

This way of God is highlighted in the death of Jesus on the cross, from the worlds viewpoint we see failure, we see defeat and humiliation. Those who saw the crucifixion mocked Jesus and laughed at the pathetic sight before them, not realising that before them stood the way of salvation. The people who stood by could not understand that through this pitiful scene, the penalty of sin was paid.

Rather than accepting Gods ways as being the right and just way those who watched trusted in their own strength, ability and self righteousness. A trust that somehow they had earned their way to God.

The same way of thinking carries on to this day, people want the message changed to a more attractive one, one that would display greater strength or intelligence and yet the Bible says:

For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
1 Corinthians 1v21-24

Our attitude to the message of the cross, the message of Christ crucified for our sins, shows our attitudes towards God himself. Many laugh and say that they do not need God, others that they will earn their own way to God. For others it's just a story, a tale from long ago, nothing to be concerned about for there must be many ways to God, yet we are warned:

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
1 Corinthians 1v18

How do we see the message of the cross today?

September 2019 Grace and Mercy

This month we have been looking at God's mercy towards us, but God's mercy is often confused with God's grace and although there is a link between the two, the difference is also important for us to understand as it shows just how much God did for us through the death of Jesus on the cross.

The first thing we need to understand is how God sees us, we often assume that we are neutral before God. However Jesus said:

He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.
Matthew 12v30

For our attitudes when we are not for God mean that we are in rebellion against Him, it means we have rejected His ways and chosen to follow after other Gods and the things of this world, the Bible calls this rebellious attitude sin. And as a result of this sin the Bible says in Romans 5v10 that we became "Gods enemies".

Now in normal life we tend to show a minimum of care and concern for our enemies, but God being a God of love says:

Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
Matthew5v44

God doesn't say to just ignore them, not think about them or stay away from them; instead she says to have love and concern for them, praying about their needs and God as a true loving Heavenly Father leads by example. For our sin shows that we are enemies of God, for sin is rebellion against God, and yet still the Bible tells us:

God in his love for us had mercy for us to the point that He was even willing to pay the penalty for our sin on our behalf with the death of His son, Jesus Christ. The idea of making that kind of sacrifice for someone who has shown nothing but distain towards us shows the depths of God's love. He by His own work has taken down the barrier of hostility between us so that we can freely come to Him through Christ. Not through our own abilities or good works for as God's enemies we are in no position to negotiate.

More incredible is that as if God's mercy and forgiveness towards us was not enough, He then pours out His grace upon us, His unmerited favour. For not only does He forgive us and not punish as we deserve showing mercy, He then pours out His blessing, His favour, His grace upon us, by giving what we do not deserve, for we can never earn god's favour, if we did grace would no longer be grace.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3v16

God's grace and mercy are not a nice thought or feeling that He has towards us. It is a godly love, a love made up of action and sacrifice. That is the depth of God's love towards us, a love that is shown by pouring out his life on the cross.

Of His love towards us there is not doubt, it has been shown by his actions on the cross. In response to the grace and mercy that he has offered, what is our reaction to Him?

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of god's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship.
Romans 12v1

August 2019 Qualifications for Heaven

Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgement, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people.
Hebrews 9v27-28

For many, what comes after death is not given a passing thought... until someone dies, especially is they are close to us. Then it takes on an urgency as never before as we start to think about the eternal consequences and what comes next!

So often we start to justify why God would give this person eternal life, why He would let them into heaven instead of casting them out into darkness. We start to talk up how good the person was, almost as if convincing each other will convince God. Of course as the scripture above says, these arguments are pointless as the judge will be God himself. So it is Him that needs to be convinced.

Our arguments about the merit of a person usually focus about their lives and what they did for others, how the good in their lives outweighed the bad and so in our eyes they are good enough for heaven. Maybe they were religious, they went to church? We will argue with God that therefore they deserve a place because of that.

We may start to quote the second half of the ten commandments, they did not murder, commit adultery, steal, lie, covet or dishonour their parents although as Jesus said it's, not just the act of doing these things, but even the thought, so we may struggle with this argument.

All our arguments have one thing in common, they are based on the persons self earned qualifications, as if we can tell God who the best ones are and so should be let in.

God of course is not a man and does not see things as we see them, as the Bible says:

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord.
"As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts."
Isaiah 55v8-9

God judges us not on our relationship with each other, but on our relationship with Him. When Jesus was asked what the most important commandment was he replied:

"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the greatest commandment"
Matthew 22v37-38

When we start to look at things from God's perspective we start to see the truth of the Bible when it says:

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 3v23

And again

"There is no one righteous, not even one"
Romans 3v10

And again

All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
Isaiah 64v6

So when it comes to justifying ourselves before God on our own merit we have no chance.

It is a humbling thought to see the true depths of our sin and rebellion against God, to realise that in ourselves we have no hope, but at the same time, as we see the hopelessness of our situation and how grave the consequences are, it is at this point that there is hope for us. For only then do we realise the need for a saviour: Someone who will pay the penalty of our sin and cleanse us so that we can appear before God, not with a self righteousness, but a righteousness that come from God.

For God has made a way of salvation for us through Jesus who died on the cross to pay the penalty that our sins deserve; that salvation is available to all no matter how bad our sin is. We just need to get a revelation of the truth. Even on the cross one of the men crucified by Christ, in the last hours of his life suddenly got the revelation of what Jesus had done on the cross when he said:

We are being punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.
Luke 23v41

We need to understand our sin to understand our need for a saviour, sadly so often instead of seeing our sin we just try to justify ourselves. Yet, if we will accept our need, and reach out to God through Christ, trusting in His death on the cross alone for our salvation. Not the cross plus our works, but just the cross alone. If we will accept it and turn in repentance from our old ways and turn to the ways of God, there is salvation and a relationship with God himself awaiting us, not just now but eternally. For Jesus death on the cross is the only way for us to have peace with God (Colossians 1v2). It is not one of the ways, if there had been other ways Jesus need not have died on the cross, yet because there was no other way Jesus dies for our sin.

As he said:

"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
John 14v6

If we want to know what will happen to us eternally we just need to look at the way we are going and compare it to the ways of God.

July 2019 The Act of Repentance

"Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"
Peter replied, "Repent and be baptised, every one of you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins."
Acts 2v36-38

This month we are looking at repentance and what it really means. It's an important subject that is mentioned throughout the Old and New Testament.

Before Jesus started his ministry, John the Baptist was preparing the way with his message that focused around repentance. The bible says:

He went into all the country around the Jordan , preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
Luke 3v3

After John the Baptist was put in prison for his preaching, Jesus in turn continued with the same message.

From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."

Math 4v17

Not only did Jesus preach this message, but when he sent out his disciples it tells us that they continued with this same message.

They went out and preached that people should repent.

Mark 6v12

Not only did they preach it when Jesus was alive, but the scripture we started with in Acts 2v36-38, the first message after the death of Jesus, reached its climax in the call to repentance.

So repentance is taught in the Bible consistently, yet so often in our modern day and age we do not know what it really means to repent. It has been reduced to a way of saying "Sorry" to God; something that is said to clear the conscience and then moved on from with a clean start. However, as we look at what the Bible says we see that repentance is far more than a few words that are said.

When the Apostle Paul was teaching the Hebrews one of the foundations of the Christian life that he wrote about was repentance.

Therefore let us leave elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death.

Hebrews 6v1

The important thing to notice here is that is was repentance from "acts that lead to death". Acts, actions, lives lived in disobedience to the ways of God; a turning away from our rebellion to God and instead living our lives in obedience. This is the very core of repentance; it's about turning to God. It is about acknowledging Him as Lord of our lives and if He is Lord, then He has the say in the way that we live our lives and the direction we should be going in.

Now at this point we could start to say that this is all for the benefit of God, but when God leads us to repentance it is for our benefit, for he is turning us away from actions that lead to death. It is Gods grace and favour and his desire to see us blessed that leads him to guide us in godly living. It is like someone putting up a warning sign, it's not because they want to spoil your fun, it's because they don't want you to get hurt or killed. Such is the leading of the Holy Spirit that leads us towards repentance.

As the bible says:

God's kindness leads you towards repentance.
Romans2v4

So what is the action of repentance, how does it work?

Repentance is an interaction between man and God; it is when the Holy Spirit speaks into our hearts and convicts us of sin. This is shown very clearly on the day of Pentecost. For when the people heard the message that Peter preached it says:

When the people they said:

When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"
Acts 2v37

The Holy Spirit had touched their heart and now they needed to know what to do in response, for true repentance is in response to the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. It leads to a reaction that makes an about turn, a change of heart direction, from following the ways of self and sin to following the ways of God. It brings about a change of direction that comes from the inside and works its way out into the way we act and live in this world. Without that change of heart that results in action there has been no true repentance. It was a warning that John the Baptist gave to the religious leaders of the day.

Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not say to yourselves, ''We have Abraham as our father'. For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham
Luke 3v8

These men trusted in their religion, their heritage, but their hearts had become hardened towards God and that sadly is the opposite of repentance, hard heartedness towards God. A heart that rejects the ways of God and has become so hard it can no longer be penetrated by the Word of God. Its close cousin is being "stiff necked". This was what God called people who had heard the call of repentance, but had refused to turn themselves to the new direction; instead they had become stiff necked, continuing in the same direction regardless of God's warnings towards them.

God is patient with us because He loves us, but if we to not respond to the call to repent, we only have ourselves to blame. Has the Word of God penetrated our hearts far enough to change the direction of our lives or do we continue on the same old course?

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
1 Peter 3v9

June 2019 Who or What do I worship?

They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator - who is ever praised. Amen.
Romans 1v25

Many years ago I worked in a remote village in a very poor part of West Africa and attended an idol burning service for a man who had just become a Christian. We went into the village and waited outside his hut while he went in to get his idols.

I must admit, when he came out, the idols looked nothing like what I expected them to be. I imagined some carved images, but instead it was an assortment of items that included some clothing, a pot, a few sticks and the weirdest of all for me was a small rock about the size of an apple. I watched as the service took place and these various idols got broken up or burnt, but was a still baffled as to the significance of these items, why would he worship a rock?

As we walked back to the church in the next village someone started to explain to me the significance of these things. It turned out that the man had been chased by some kind of wild animal and had picked up the rock and thrown it at the animal that then ran off. In thankfulness for saving his life he then worshipped the rock as it had saved his life. It was a similar story for each of the items and in their culture they then worshipped the spirit of the item and these items the became a focus for everything good or bad that happened in his life.

It was only after he had become a Christian that he had seen the truth behind what was going on and now saw the rock as nothing more than a rock, but to make sure that he did not drift back into his old traditions he had destroyed the rock completely to prevent himself from falling back.

Of course we would claim to be far more educated and we would never bow down to a rock, we would never allow ourselves to have something like that become the focus of our lives controlling our actions and fortune.

Yet it is amazing what we will dedicate our lives to above all other things. We will live our lives in total dedication to gain the things of this world with other parts of our life put into submission to gain the thing we have set our heart on. This is what true worship is all about! It's much more than singing a few hymns or saying a prayer, it is a total heart dedicated towards a goal, be it work, fashion, family, cars or some hobby or sport. The things that dominate our lives and the decisions we make are the things that we worship.

It is so easy for our hearts to get fixed on something and to not even realise that it has become our God. After all, how many have dedicated their lives in pursuit of the house of their dreams, a building that they have dedicated their lives to, that they have given their life for, it has become their God and it is made of brick and stone. Mere manmade rocks!

Maybe we need to take a good look at our lives to see just what we are bowing down to.

Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'"
Luke 4v8

May 2019 The Cost of Forgiveness

For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Matthew 6v14-15

These words of Jesus were spoken just after he had taught his disciples to pray, for a forgiving heart is something that God has towards us and as part of the Christian life, asks us to have towards others. It's not an easy attitude to take because when someone upsets or hurts us or one we love, everything within us wants revenge, to keep a score of the hurt, to see that person suffer as we have suffered. It is the natural way of this world.

Thankfully God's ways are not our ways and as a God of love He is willing to forgive our sin even though we don't deserve it, for that is the very nature of forgiveness. It is showing a love and mercy towards someone who is undeserving of our compassion, someone we have been offended or hurt by. It is not earned, it cannot be bought, true forgiveness is something that can only be given by the one who has been offended. It comes from a heart that is able to overlook the offence, who values the relationship more than the retribution. That is the love and forgiveness that God poured out on us through Jesus on the cross.

For our sin is offensive to God, sin is simply rebellion against God, rejecting Him and His ways and going off on our own; Calling his word a lie, rejecting his love and instruction towards us, offending the very heart of God.

Forgiveness costs, it means forsaking our revenge, however for God when he forgave us it was much more than that. For He not only forgave us and then walked off and left us. The forgiveness God gives came at a huge price, for He first needed to pay the penalty for our sin. He paid for the damage we had caused through the blood of Jesus: Jesus literally laying down his life for us.

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
John 15v13

Forgiveness means laying life down, it is not easy, but afterwards it brings peace into our life. For the failure to forgive only sows bitterness into our lives. If left unchecked it starts to consume our whole life infecting all the other relationships we have, a slow acting poison working through the whole of our life.

Forgiveness is not only hard to give, but it is also hard to receive. It requires humility on the part of the recipient. So often we want to be able to earn our forgiveness, to do something to repay the free gift we have been given as a way of easing our conscience. It's easy to let our pride get in the way and reject the hand that has been held out towards us and instead of creating peace we create even more animosity to our own loss.

The best thing we can do in thankfulness for the forgiveness we have received is to pass that same gift on to others, to forgive as we have been forgiven, to lay down our life for others.

"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into you lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
Luke 6v37

April 2019 The Foolishness of the Cross

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written:

"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate."
1 Corinthians 1v18-19

Christ crucified is one of the most difficult hurdles for unbelievers to get past because from a worldly viewpoint it looks like a scene of total hopelessness, of defeat, humiliation and weakness.

If Jesus was the Son of God surely he could have just come down from the cross and God himself would have sent lightning bolts down to destroy his enemies. This sort of thinking is nothing new, as Jesus was crucified those who passed by said exactly the same thing:

"He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! He's the King of Israel ! Let him come down from the cross and we will believe in him."
Matthew 27v42

We live in a world where strength and intelligence is valued, yet faith in God means walking in the ways of God that are often in total contradiction to the ways of this world, because God does not see things the way we do. He loves to use the weak to prove himself; He loves to confound the ways of the world. Even the apostle Paul writes:

That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
1 Corinthians 12v10

For it was only when Paul recognised that he could not do something that he trusted in God and allowed him to work through him. It is a principle that in our worldly way of thinking we find hard to accept. In the natural we always look to have the best, the strongest, fastest and most intelligent, yet God is able to look past all that and use us and save us in our weakness.

To become a Christian the first thing we do is admit our weakness, our inability, and our failings. We have to get to a point that not only do we recognise our failings before God, the sin of our life, but we also need to get to a point where we admit that we have no solution for our sin. That we cannot fix the situation by our own abilities or good works and that we in humble weakness come before God to accept the forgiveness that came through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross all those years ago.

To recognise and confess that the one we mocked, the picture of weakness and death was in fact the strength and power of God being revealed and that through that act of weakness and sacrifice the payment for our sin was made and the gift of salvation offered to mankind. Not by our own works or deeds, but through the death and resurrection of Christ alone.

The message of the cross is a message of power through weakness, it goes against all the basic principles of the world that we live in, for it is not the ways of this worldly kingdom, but it is the way of the Kingdom of God .

Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stringer than man's strength.
1 Corinthians 1v22-25

March 2019 Eternal Investments

And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.'
"Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and goods. And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry."'
"But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'
"This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich towards God."
Luke 12v16-21

In this world we live in we are bombarded with plans for our future: pension plans, investment plans, equity release, funeral plans, every day a new plan for how we will be provided for during the days of our life.

Now there is nothing wrong with preparing for the future, however the problem with the future is we do not know what it holds in store for us. Life can change in a moment, so the plans we make need to be held lightly. Who knows how many days we have left in this life?

And it's at that point that the plans of this world end, you may put your funeral wishes in your will, but it doesn't have any impact on what comes next. For the Bible tells us:

Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgement.
Hebrews 9v27

...for we will all stand before God's judgement seat.

Rom 14v10

It is a subject that we often do not want to talk about; instead we push it to the back of our mind and convince ourselves that it's not as serious as people make out, or just assume we will be OK because we have lived a good life, at least in our eyes. However, it will not be us doing the judging and the standards will not be the standards of this world but the standards of God.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by good works, so that no one can boast.
Ephesians 2v8-9

God is not interested in how good we have been by the world's standards, in fact he says:

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 3v23

God is judging us for the sin in our life and how far we have fallen short of His standard. We may do well by the world's standards, but Gods standards are far higher, higher than anyone of us can meet by our own effort.

Instead he has made a way for our sin to be forgiven through Jesus Christ, Jesus has become our "righteousness, holiness and redemption" (1 Corinthians 1v30). These are things that we can only obtain through Christ and by putting our faith in the work of Jesus on the cross.

Just like any worldly investment plan there is a cost, money and effort need to be put into the plan. The same is true when we accept Christ, it's not just about believing in what Jesus has done but walking in his ways, following the plan he has laid out for us in thankfulness for what he has done, for he is the only way to salvation.

I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.
John 14v6

After this life eternal judgment stands before us, it is a matter of heaven or hell!
We may have invested in many plans for our worldly future, but have we invested in the eternal plan that God has provided us through Jesus Christ?

January 2019 A Party Invite

Jesus replied: "A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is ready.'
"But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, 'I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.'
Another said, 'I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.'
'Still another said, 'I just got married, so can't come.'
Luke 14v16-20

I must admit I've never been a great fan of parties, I'm much happier at smaller events or meals so there is often that moment of dread when I find I have been invited to a big gathering, especially when it's someone I don't know very well. I have to admit that my mind starts to work overtime for an excuse as to why I cannot attend.

However, when I really start to look at why I don't want to be somewhere, it's really about my selfishness. I want to do what I want to do! I'm not willing to give of my time even though the person inviting me has put time, effort and money into the invite. I may my excuses, but they are just that, an excuse not to go, a way of allowing me to do what I want to do.

In this parable Jesus is talking about the invitation that God has sent out to each one of us to come and be with him, not just now but eternally. And just as in daily life we see in the parable those invited make their excuses not to attend. For some it was work, for another a new purchase, for yet another it was a relationship. Each in his own way declared that they had things going on in their lives that took priority over going to the banquet just as we declare to God that we have other things that are more important, other things that rule our lives. As the Bible puts it:

You are slaves to the one you obey.
Rom 6v16

We don't like to think of ourselves as slaves to these things, but whatever rules over us, the things of God or the things of this world. Those are the things that we have submitted our lives to; they are the desires of our heart and the things that are the priority in our lives.

When I make my excuses not to attend what I am really saying is I have other things in my life that I view as more important than your celebration!

When Jesus was asked what the most important commandment was he said:

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength."
Mark 12v30

Then he said:

"The second is this: 'Love your neighbour as yourself.'"
Mark 12v31

God knows our needs and desires, but he's asking us to get them in the right order.

If I miss the odd party I may miss out on some great food and memories. If we fail to attend the Lords invite the consequences have eternal implications!

December 2018 A Light in the darkness

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord."
Luke 2v8-11

There are a couple of verses in Isaiah that say:

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,"
Declares the Lord.
"As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than yours ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."
Isaiah 55v8-9

And there is no better example of this than the birth of Jesus.

The birth of Jesus had long been expected. The Israelites knew the promises and had been waiting for the day, but they missed it because of a very simple mistake. They assumed God thought as they did. It is a mistake that they made then and it is a mistake that we still make today. Instead of learning the ways of God and understanding how much greater His ways are than our ways, we assume that he uses the same logic as we do, that He sees the situation just as we do and would therefore act the same way that we do.

God as an Almighty Father looks far further than we do, His plans are not just about us and our private world, he looks to the eternal,l not just the here and now, he is looking at the heart, to our spiritual well being, not just to our physical well being.

If I had been planning the arrival of Jesus, the Lord of Lords and King of Kings I would have had the best maternity suite available. Important people would have been informed and a full press release distributed to the press. The birth would have taken place in the daytime when everyone was ready and the news would have been broadcast far and wide.

Yet the birth of Jesus took place in the night in a stable with only a few animals looking on. No great crowds gathered, instead the world slept on and yet God was showing us symbolically the spiritual state we had truly fallen to and just how great our need of Jesus is.

The first thing to note is that Jesus was born into the darkness, symbolic of the spiritual state of the world around us then and now.

Talking about himself Jesus said:

"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
John8v12

Jesus birth was symbolic of that light shining in the darkness but again as scripture says.

The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
John 1v5

We reject the light because it is not what we want. So often we say one thing with our mouths but are hearts are set on something else.

Again Jesus said:

This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness because their deeds are evil.
John 3v20

When it talks about evil deeds we often think this doesn't concern us because we have not murdered or stolen. However, when God talks about evil, he is talking about acting in an ungodly way, acting in disobedience to His ways. When we understand this we start to understand that so often we do not want to follow the Lord at all, but instead just want to fulfil the desires of our heart, even if by the world's standards they may be looked on as good things.

And yet on the hills around Bethlehem shepherds went on with their work, watching out. For a shepherd's job in those days was to look after the flock, not just to keep the sheep fed and watered, but to protect them from wild animals. As such their job meant they kept watch in the darkness. It was to these watchers in the night that the angels announced the birth of Jesus. Those watching out and understanding the dangers of the night, to them the light was seen in the darkness.

At this time of year will we be the ones who watch out in the darkness? Or will we be distracted by the things of this world, the material gain, the celebrations of this world rather than the celebration of God?

For the light is not found in the loud and noisy, but in the stillness as we look out with our hearts towards God.

November 2018 Dead to the Father

The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them.

Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.

Luke 15v12- 13

In the parable of the lost son, Jesus sums up in a simple example the depths of rejection we show towards God by our actions and desires.

In this parable we have a young man who has grown up with a loving father, yet never appreciated what he had. Instead he was constantly looking at what he thought others had and his desire for their ways grew within him.

James puts it quite simply:

But each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
James 1v14-15

For this young man he had spent so long looking at the ways of the world that the desire for those things became his obsession until they ruled his life. To give us an idea of just how much those things had taken over him, he asked his Father for his inheritance. His desire had so overcome him that he treated his father as a dead man, for an inheritance is only given out after death.

This young man was figuratively saying that his father was dead to him, that he only wanted him for his goods and nothing else. The relationship, his fathers teaching and advice meant nothing compared to his desire for the things of the world. It was not as if he was even going to invest his inheritance in something useful, he just wanted to use it to chase after the perceived excitement of this world. He would be free to do his own thing in the way he wanted, when he wanted.

How this must have broken his father's heart as he watched his son walk off into the distance. The pain of the financial loss would have been nothing compared to the feeling of total rejection that his son had shown towards him, but what could he do? Sometimes love has to let go, to allow someone to go the wrong way to understand the true value of the right way.

We can look at this tragic tale and think that we are above this kind of thing, yet we so often do the same to our Heavenly Father. From the earliest days man has rejected the ways of God in favour of the instant gain of this life. In the garden of Eden Adam and Eve threw away their daily relationship with God for the perceived benefits of this world. They ignored God's warnings and followed the ways of Satan.

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it, she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
Genesis 3v6

Adam and Eve had their eyes taken off God and fixed on the freedoms and benefits of a life without God, no longer would they seek God, but they would be wise in their own eyes making their own rules, doing the things they wanted to do.

Sadly for Adam and Eve it was only after they had walked away from God that they started to truly understand the consequences of their decision.

Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realised they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
Genesis 3v7

Adam and Eve suddenly had their eyes opened to their true spiritual state. Instead of the freedom and benefit they had been promised, they now became slaves to sin, separated from God. So it was with the young man in the parable. In his initial excitement at being able to do whatever he wanted he missed the fact that the world was taking away from him everything he had received from his father. The world was bankrupting him in ways he could not have imagined. It was not until everything had gone and he suddenly found himself feeding pigs that his eyes finally opened to the depths he had fallen to.

When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!
Luke 15v17

The realisation came to him that he had become a slave to his own disobedience.

Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey - whether slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness.
Romans 16v16

Too often we don't realise the true value of the things we have and are instead constantly drawn into the slavery of wanting more, not realising the pain and loss it causes us. It often takes a real disaster in life to being us to our senses. Sadly this is so often the case with those who have drifted away from God. The little things of the world slowly draw them away and before they know it they have become truly spiritually bankrupt, not realising how far they have gone and how much they have lost.

At this point it is easy to try and play the blame game, to give a reason why we have finished up in this state, so justify ourselves before man and God. To give God a reason why He should forgive us, as if somehow God owes us, as if our temptations and desires are the fault of another. Thankfully this young man in the parable did no such thing, in fact he did quite the opposite. He took a good look at himself, it was not the world who had forced his money out of his pocket, it was his own desires. It was the desires of his own heart that had got him to this point and only now did he truly see the benefits of his father's ways and teachings.

He saw his situation and state as being of his own making. Instead of making excuses he would ask for undeserved mercy from his Father. No excuses!

His opening words to his Father were:

I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.
Luke 15v21

He no longer sought position or fame; instead he was willing to become a servant to his father. This is true repentance. A sorrow that is not about us, but the harm and damage we have done to others.

Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.
2 Corinthians 7v10

He was truly sorry for the harm and rejection he had shown towards his father, he had a true shame for the squandering of the blessings his father had provided with a goal to turn his life around and walk in the ways his father had shown him. This wasn't about coming back to save up some money to go and do it all over again, this was a life time commitment to follow the ways of his father.

God's love is beyond understanding; his forgiveness and mercy know no bounds, if we will only recognise our true state and turn to him with our lives, not making excuses, but turning in true repentance to walk in his ways. Not claiming any righteousness of our own, but recognising the true state of the pig pen we are in; then the Lord is willing to take us back to himself and treat us as a son, not because we deserve it, but because his love is greater than any other love we will ever know.

The Bible says:

Do not think of yourselves more highly than you ought, but rather with sober judgement.
Romans 12v3

Let us look at ourselves before God in the light of Christ, not in the light of others. Let us look at our hearts; is it a heart that serves the Lord or a heart that want the Lord to serve us? Is it fixed on the things of God or the things of this world? What are our desires and goals? What are we truly putting our heart and soul into?

With sober judgement it is easy to find we have drifted far further than we would like to admit. It may be a long and tough walk back, but at the end there is a loving father watching out for us with a loving heart that desires to bring us home.

"But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate."
Luke 15v22-24

The amazing thing about the Father in this passage is that he not just allows his son to come back as a servant as he asked. His joy at having his son back was so great that he called for a celebration. For his son was alive to him again, the relationship was fully restored. The father placed a ring on his finger, a robe on his back and sandals on his feet. He wanted to show the whole world as well as his son that the relationship had been restored and his son had been put back in the position he had thrown away. Once more this son carried the covering of the father, once again he came under his protection.

This kind of love can be difficult for us to accept or give. There is always a tendency to bear a grudge or assume that a grudge is still bore against us. Yet God as a Heavenly Father does not treat us as we deserve but instead celebrates and welcomes us back into his household.

I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
Luke 15v7

October 2018 Fear of the Journey

During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear.
But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."

Matthew14v25-27

Fear of the unknown, of what we do not understand is very common and appears in many forms. Fear of people from other countries or backgrounds is often caused by fear of the unknown, our minds filling in the unknown with assumptions that are usually fearful in nature. Fear of flying or travel, concern of what we mind find or catch! Fear of trying something different because we are unsure as to whether we will like it or not. Sometimes these fears are a minor irritation or cause the odd diversion in life, other times these fears build up to a level that they prevent us going forwards at all or cause real damage or phobias in our lives.

It is often the fear of the unknown that stops people coming to know Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. The fear of becoming some kind of spiritual weirdo, the fear of what church is all about, the fear of not knowing how it all works!

Thankfully with the things of God, we have a loving Heavenly Father who wants to lead and direct us, it's like having our own personal guide to lead and direct us. He does not wish to see us embarrassed or made to look stupid, instead He cares for us as a loving father would care for his children. All we need to do is keep our eyes fixed on Him and our ears open to His instruction and He will get us through the storm.

As the Psalmist says:

The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
The Lord is with me; he is my helper. I will look in triumph on my enemies.
Psalm 118v6-7

In the same way as we reach out to the Lord and are led by him, so we have victory over the things that have held us back, not a victory in our own strength, but a victory because Christ is with us.

Coming to the Lord is not something to be feared, rather it is the beginning of a journey in which the Lord wants to lead us in each step.

August 2018 The Foolishness of the Gospel

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
1 Corinthians 1v18

For many the thought of Jesus dying on a cross over 2000 years ago seems an irrelevance to our modern lives. After all, the Romans crucified hundreds if not thousands of people, most were guilty of crimes but some were innocent, so what was so special about the death of Jesus?
The death of Jesus was unique because not only was Jesus innocent of crimes before men, but he was without sin before God. As the Son of God he had been born in human flesh and lived as a man, yet was without sin; something that no one else has ever managed. For the Bible tells us:

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 3v23

So when Jesus died on the cross he was not dying for his own sin, but instead went to the cross to pay the penalty for our sin. He died in our place so that through his sacrifice we could be saved. He literally paid the death sentence for our sin on our behalf. For God could see that on our own we have no hope of eternal life, all of us remain dead in our own sin, only in Jesus could that penalty be paid. For again we are told:

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6v23

Jesus paid a penalty that we could never pay and did it without cost to us. He literally gave his life in our place as a free gift so that all those who accept him and his sacrifice may come to God, who through Christ becomes our Heavenly Father.

From the outside it may seem like rubbish, foolishness, a crutch for the weak and needy to lean on. Yet for those who have been truly willing to accept the message of the cross it opens up a whole new life. Jesus described it as being “Born Again”, literally seeing the world and life from a whole new viewpoint, experiencing the power and knowledge of God in their lives.

It is not about religion or church attendance, it is about a living relationship with God Almighty that has been made available to all who will accept it through Jesus Christ our Lord.
God has poured out His love towards us in Jesus Christ, do we have the godly wisdom to follow his ways or do we view it as the world sees it, as total foolishness?

It may seem insignificant, but our decision has consequences both now and eternally.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3v16

July 2018 The Fear of God

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Proverbs 9v10

There is often a false belief that God has changed over time, that the God of the Old Testament was a God of fire, hell and brimstone, whilst the God of the New Testament is a God of love and grace. This false belief paints the picture of God as a benevolent Father who, because of the grace of the cross, indulges us and turns a blind eye to all our wrong doings.

This is the same God before whom the Israelites quaked in fear from just hearing His voice, and He wasn't speaking in anger at this time, He had come on a visit!

On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightening, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled.
Exodus 19v16

Even Moses, the great man of God trembled in the presence of Almighty God.

The sight was so terrifying that Modes said, "I am trembling with fear."

Even Jesus told his disciples that they should have a healthy fear of God.

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
Matthew 10v28

God, our Heavenly Father is a God of love grace and mercy who loves us so much that He would send His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sin. He is a Heavenly Father who loves us to come into His presence and bring before Him our needs and concerns, yet at the same time we need to remember that He is a Holy God and treat Him with the respect that He deserves.

"He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a man, that he should change his mind."
1 Samuel 15v29

The God of the Old Testament is also the God of the New Testament. Jesus reiterated this when He declared that He had not come to abolish the Old Covenant but to fulfil it.

Do not think I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them.
Matthew 5v17

The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is still Lord today! Just as of old when He would not condone sin, so He remains the same today!

In the Old Testament, when the Israelites, as God's chosen people, elected to walk in holy fear of Him, obeying the rules He had given and lovingly serving Him wholeheartedly as their only God, God kept His covenant to love, protect and provide for them.

And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and will all your soul, and to observe the Lord's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?
Deuteronomy 10v12-13

God wanted them to serve Him in the right way because it was for their own good. They would benefit from the fruits of living a righteous life.

Sadly the Israelites, just as we do today, decided to make alliances with those who served other Gods. Instead of remaining a holy people who had their hearts set on God alone, instead they chased after the things of the world. Instead of putting God first and living in His blessing they set their hearts on the things of this world first. Not only that but they formed alliances with those who chased after other Gods and so polluted the pure message of salvation that their lives should have portrayed to the world. By their lives they lowered the way of salvation and claimed other ways as equal to god Almighty; to God their sin was like the sin of Adultery.

During the reign of King Josiah, the Lord said to me, "Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every spreading tree and has committed adultery there."
Jeremiah 3v6

"'Return, faithless Israel', declares the Lord, ' I will frown on you no longer, for I am merciful,' declares the Lord, 'I will no be angry forever. Only acknowledge your guilt - you have rebelled against the Lord your God, you have scattered your favours to foreign gods under every spreading tree, and have not obeyed me,'" declares the Lord.
Jeremiah 3v12-13

God's heart was broken at the unfaithfulness of His people and he sent one prophet after another to call them back to himself that they might know His blessings and mercy yet they refused. They had set their hearts on other things and despite God's warning and discipline to bring His children back into line they firmly rebelled against God until finally they got taken off into captivity far from God's Promised Land. Yet even there God hoped they would recognise their sin and turn back to Him.

I the Lord do not change.
Malachi 3v6a

Sadly today, Christians, God's church treat the one we claim as Lord and Saviour in the same way that Israel did. When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was his answer was simple:

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.
Mark 12v30

Our hearts our desires were to be set on the Lord our God and through that loving relationship He would bless us. God himself tells us not to be concerned about the ways and the things of this world, instead He tells us to set our hearts on Him and His ways and he will provide our needs.

But seek first His kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.
Matthew 6v33

So long as we remain faithful to His covenant, God as a God of love is the one who is always faithful to His children.

That does not mean that we do not sin, God knows we sin and has made provision for our forgiveness

If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not live according to the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
1 John 1v6-10

However, if we abuse His grace and mercy towards us, if we remain unfaithful and run off after other gods and the things of this world. If we are determined to enter into an adulterous relationship then we can only expect Gods wrath and anger to be poured out on us.

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?
Romans 6v1-2

The Bible warns us:

If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgement and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.
Hebrews 10v26-27

God will not be mocked, especially by those who claim to call Him their Lord and Saviour, for there is no Lordship without service.

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
2 Peter 3v9

Just because God has been patient with us until this point does not mean He has not seen what is going on in our lives, He is patient wanting us to come to repentance but his patience does not last forever.

Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my father who is in heaven. Many will say on that day, 'Lord, Lord,' did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me you evildoers!'
Matthew 7v21-23

God is a God of grace, mercy and forgiveness, yet He is an awesome holy God who deserves out utmost honour, respect and worship and there are times when we need to have a holy fear of God to give us the wisdom we need to keep us on the right track!

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Proverbs 9v10

June 2018 The face of God

"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace."
Numbers 6v24-26

I never been a great fan of telephones, I find them very impersonal because I cannot see the face of the person who is calling as face can say far more than the words themselves.

When my granddaughter calls my name, her face and expression say so much more than the words on their own. Her face shows me if she is happy, sad, excited, frustrated or tired. As a child I remember when my Mum came in the room, most of the time she had a happy face, but if I had been bad she would have a face like thunder, I knew from her face, before a word was even said, that I was in trouble! Good or bad, to see the expression on someone's face, we need to be in their company.

God's desire has always been to have his face shine upon us. That doesn't mean that it shining on us is guaranteed.

My heart says of you, "Seek his face!" Your face, Lord, I will seek.
Do not hide your face from me, do not turn our servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, O God my Saviour.
Psalm 27v8-9

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.
1 Peter 3v12

If we sin then the Lords face does not smile upon us, yet through Jesus death on the cross He has made a way for our sin to be forgiven so that the relationship can be rebuilt and once more His face can shine upon us.

However, there is another thing that needs to happen for Gods face to shine on us. It may sound simple but it is the main reason we miss out on the many blessing that God has for us. We do not go to meet Him and face Him. Instead of seeking after God, "seeking His face", we decide that there are other things, people, hobbies and interests that are far more important than God. Instead of seeking God we start chasing round after the things of this world with the idea that when all that is sorted, then maybe we will have time for God in our lives.

Jesus when he was teaching taught on not worrying about the things of this world. He didn't say they didn't matter, but he taught his disciples to put them in the right order (Matthew 6v25-34). The important message he gave was this:

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.
Matthew 6v33

When we put God in the right place in our lives, when we give Him the priority and attention He deserves, He in turn makes His face to shine on us and blesses us by helping us to deal with the issues of life. Sadly we so often miss that blessing as we devote all our energy to fixing the things of the world first.

Just as God blesses us when we seek His face, so also that blessing is passed on to others. When Moses met with God it says:

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord.
Exodus 34v29

When we spend time in the Lords presence with his face shining upon us we start to reflect that light towards others. We cease to just be blessed in ourselves, but we become a blessing to others, pointing them to the Father through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.

Our Heavenly Father desires to have His face shine upon us, not just in our times of need and sorrow. He desires face us daily, do we have the same desire towards him?

May 2018 Do not worry

So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.
Matthew 6v31-33

A few days ago I was on a train when a lady came on board with a huge luggage bag. It was so big that she could hardly move it and it took two of us to get it stored safely.

Afterwards I asked her what was in the bag and she explained that she had been visiting Worcester for a couple of days, but wasn't sure what she would need, so had packed everything. In fact she had packed so much that she had struggled to look around because of the weight and size of the bag she was carrying. Instead of rushing around packing, she would have been better off taking a moment to check the weather forecast. It would have led to a much lighter load.

It's a simple example, but it shows how often the weight of worry, especially about the unknown can weigh us down to the point we can hardly move forwards any more.

Jesus said:

"Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?"
Matthew 6v27

Instead he says to seek Gods ways and Gods direction and the problems of life will be sorted out. However, as always we think we know best and we struggle on trying to control the future, working out the different scenarios that could happen and then planning how we will react to them and then planning how we will react to the possible outcomes of those plans. It is exhausting, as our minds race around in constant planning and worry, yet at the end we have got no further forward.

When we follow the plans and directions of God, not only does he provide, but he puts things in perspective, he shows us what is important, what is eternal and what will pass away. He is there to guide us, to help us through the issues of the day.

For our worries tend to be focused on the day to day things of this life, money, health, family, material things. Yet rarely do we actually worry about the true future, eternal things. In our seeking and worrying about the things of this world we ignore the real need in our life, the need to know God, the need to know his eternal salvation. For no matter how much money we have, no matter how long we live, there will come a day when we pass away from this life and we stand before God in judgement.

God will not be looking at our bank balance, how nice a house or car we owned, the clothes we wore or the size of our family or even the church we attended. When we stand before Him the question will be did we come to know him through Jesus Christ as he commanded us? Did we seek first his kingdom and his righteousness?

If we are going to worry about anything, let's make sure it is the important things. And yet as always, if we will trust in God, even the eternal he has taken care of for us through Jesus, if only we will trust in him.

April 2018 Waiting on the Lord

I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand
Psalm 40v1-2

For a couple of years I did a job as a delivery driver. The job wasn't too difficult, just a case of taking the parcels to the person waiting for them.

Most of the time the job went well but I remember one particular day that turned into a disaster. I had been given a large delivery for a company that I knew well and so I set off dropping off my various parcels until I got to the nice big heavy one. I'd delivered everything else so this was to be the last delivery of the day. I arrived at the company expecting some help to unload as usual, only to be told I was in the wrong place. In fact I was in the wrong town. I had got the right company but I had broken the golden rule of delivery driving, I hadn't read the delivery address; I had just assumed it was the same as always… This parcel was to be delivered straight to site. Instead of unloading and going home I was sent back up the motorway in the opposite direction. Needless to say I was embarrassed and late home. I felt such a fool.

Good preparation is crucial for success and in our Christian life it is also of vital importance. This is where waiting on the Lord becomes so important, checking the plan that God has in store for us so that we are not caught out by our own assumptions. It is so easy to rush, to think that we will save a few minutes, yet I have lost count of the times I have messed things up through lack of preparation, be it a DIY job or an exam; preparation is crucial and the more complicated the task the more we need to make sure we are prepared.

Waiting on the Lord is a vital part of the Christian life; it is the preparation for the task ahead. Waiting to hear from God, for Him to speak into our spirit and give us the direction we are to go in. Of course waiting is not something that we like, we just want to get on with things and as such it is too easy to go off without a clear sense of direction.

The same is true as we start to fall into the slimy pits that life so often throws at us. Our instant reaction is to struggle and fight as hard as we can to get out, often with no real idea how to do it and so we become exhausted and go under. It is at times like that where we need to learn to take a moment to be calm and seek the Lords guidance, because he is the one who has the rescue plan in hand, he is waiting to lift us out of the pit if only we will stop struggling and look at him, following his direction. It is like a man drowning, not realising that the life ring is right behind him to pull him to the side. Even in the midst of the greatest of tragedies, God is waiting, he has the plan. Are we willing to wait for it?
.

March 2018 The foolishness of the gospel

The gospel message is the message of good news. Not good news of this world, but good news from God himself. It is the message of hope and joy for those who want to know God as their Heavenly Father. It is a message that so changed the lives of the early disciples that they could not wait to tell the world of what God had done for them. It really was the "good news" that all mankind needed to hear, and still do need to hear today.

It is a message that has come at a cost. It is a message that was only made possible by the death of Jesus on the cross. A message that is not always easy for people to accept. It is a message that many reject and look down upon, yet despite all this it is the most incredible message of Gods love poured out for those would would want to know Him.

But we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to gentiles. 1 Corinthians 1v23

The gospel message from the outside looks stupid. The idea of someone dying on a cross 2000 years ago being able to effect our lives today seems like an old fairy tale. The cross was a place of cruelty, of torture and death, hardly the centre of a message of Good News from a loving God. Yet if we look at what happened at the cross, we see that everything we need for eternal life was accomplished there.

The first part of the gospel message is to understand our needs, to understand that before God we are sinful. When we compare ourselves with others and measure ourselves by our own standards, we can seem fine in our own eyes, yet when we measure ourselves by Gods standards, we see just how far we have strayed from the path that God desired for our lives. Instead of seeking after a relationship with Him we have put the things of this world first and set our hearts on fulfilling the desires of the flesh, pushing God aside as an afterthought.

When Jesus was asked what the most important commandment was, he didn't start off with "thou shall not murder or steal". He said:

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." Matthew 22v37

Our heart attitude, our desires and thoughts show us what is the most important thing in our lives and when we are honest with ourselves, we have to admit that God is often far from first place. He has usually been replaced by our love of self, our own selfish desires.

It can be hard for us to admit that we are sinners, but the Bible is clear when it says:

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 2v23

Without understanding our sin and therefore our separation from a Holy God, we cannot see our need. We realise our need for a doctor when we are sick, if we think we are alright we do not see the need for outside help. The same is true spiritually.

However, even when we admit we are sick and full of sin, what is our response? Many just think that by doing good it will somehow overcome the bad they have done. That is a bit like me breaking the speed limits all day long and then driving legally the next day to make up for my crime. God expects us to be doing the right thing, not to be using those deeds as a way of cleaning the bad deeds of the past. The problem we have with the penalty for our sin is that it is death. There is no way that we can make ourselves holy because we cannot afford to pay the penalty. For the Bible once again tells us the penalty for our sin when it tells us:

For the wages of sin is death.
Romans 6v23

The death it is talking about here is not just a physical death, but eternal spiritual death, separation from God. There is no parole, it is an eternal separation in a place we call hell. A penalty that none of us would be happy to pay.

This is when we see the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. When there was no hope, Christ died. He didn't die for his sin for he had none. The death he died he died for our sin. The separation he suffered he suffered on our behalf. This is the good news that God proclaims to each one of us.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6v23

All we need to do is call out and accept the gift that God has offered.

It's simple, but in the worlds eyes it is pure foolishness, even the Bible tells us that.

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
1 Corinthians 1v18

The truth is there for all to see, will we act on it and accept the gift of salvation through Christ? Or do we laugh at the weakness of the cross and carry on as before?

By this gospel you are saved, if you hold on firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
1 Corinthians 15v2

Many have heard the message of Jesus Christ and many have treated it as foolishness. Yet to those who will accept the message there is a peace and joy that enters their life that is beyond understanding. Peace and joy not only in this life but eternally and all through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross.

February 2018 Who is ruling who?

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"
The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'"
"You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they realised they were naked; so they sowed fig leaves together and made a covering for themselves.
Genesis 2v1-7

As I go round sharing the gospel message, one of the regular objections I hear is; "why does God allow certain things to happen". Whether it is a natural catastrophe, a man made disaster of a family issue, it is amazing how quickly God gets the blame. It doesn't matter that the person has never listened to God or even wanted to; they have gone their own way and disobeyed the rules God laid down for our own benefit, but then complain that things have not worked out the way they wanted. For so often we want to just go our own way without any thought about the long term consequences.

Sadly, we often think that we know better than God to the point that many see no need for Him in their lives at all. For others who do believe, they spend their time telling God how He should run the world and what needs to be changed rather than looking at the change that needs to take place within themselves. It is as if we want Almighty God to bow down and listen to our wisdom and instruction. The created wants to tell the creator how things should be done.

We think that like Adam and Eve we are more than capable of covering up our mess before God with a creation of our own hands, some good works that will somehow erase our sin. How foolish we must look before God, yet we continue in our pride and disobedience before God with the attitude of mind that says "We will not surely die!"

We don't see that spiritually our disobedience, our sin is killing our relationship with God; we start to convince ourselves that God did not mean what He said and that for some reason He will understand and look the other way. Now we have people saying that God should change with the times, almost as if God is some kind of follower of human fashion and tradition. God's views do not change like the views of man. Man when he is left to his own devices constantly wanders away from God increasing sin upon sin as we seek the desires of the flesh. God on the other hand is a rock that never changes. His rules, his laws remain constant and just as well for us they do. For if God kept changing His mind we would have no solid foundation to base our lives on, no consistent standard or rules by which to live. Instead of the peace that comes from living within the boundaries God has set, we would be running wild doing what we wanted no matter what harm came to ourselves through it.

God does not change, sin remains sin. Instead of us asking God to change the rules and submit to our sinful desires we need to do as Jesus did, submit ourselves to Gods ways and live in obedience to them. Showing that He is the one we serve rather than expecting Him to serve us; putting things in the right order, that we might bring glory back to God.

The Kingdom of God, it's ways and it's rules work in opposition to the sinful ways of this world, they always have and always will. We each have a choice as to which road we will follow. But if we choose the ways of this world, we cannot blame God when His warnings come to pass and we finish up eternally separated from Him. Walking Gods way is not easy at times, but the rewards far exceed the costs involved, do we wish to walk that way, or do we think we know better than God?

Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of Gods mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12v1-2

December 2017 The Perfect Gift

All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" - which means, "God with us."
Matthew1v22-23

This is the time of year when I often get asked by family the dreaded question; "What do you want for Christmas?"

It's always a difficult question because there are plenty of things I would like, but how much are they willing to spend? However even when thoughts of cost are removed, what do I really want or need? I enjoy building models so this year when asked I said that I would like a really good LED desk light so that I would be able to see more clearly what I am making. It sounds a bit boring, but it is something that would allow me to work inside rather than in a cold garage, so for me would allow me to get more done. On the outside it's just a lamp, but to me it opens up a whole host of new opportunities.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3v16

When God sent Jesus as the perfect gift for all mankind he did not arrive as everyone expected. The Jews at the time wanted a leader who would lead a revolt and push the Romans out of the country giving them freedom. They wanted someone who would change their world so that they would be happier in it. Sadly we still try to do the same today. We are looking for that gift or item that will change things and make life suddenly so much better.

We have the same with work, with finances; if we just had more all would be well. If only some changes took place with my friends, family, neighbours; then my life would be great. So often the gift we want is something to change the world around us so that we will be happier in it. We wonder why God will not change the things around us to the way that we want them to be.

When we look at the life of Jesus we see a man who by worldly standards had nothing and was treated badly by all around him, yet had total peace in his life. It was an example of what God wants in each one of our lives, he wants to give us a peace that the world can never bring, a peace that is not swayed by the things of this world or the emotions of life, that does not get rocked by the things that surround us because we are firmly rooted in God. In a relationship with our Heavenly Father that holds us firm not matter what is happening in our lives.

When God sent Jesus, he sent the most expensive gift he could send, a life to be given in our place; not just to free us from sin, but to open up a whole new spiritual life. Like that desk lamp, it is not a means to an end, for when the light of Christ comes into our lives we can finally see to do the things that God has laid out for us. We finally see the new life, new direction, new way of thinking that God has in store for us. A way that will bring true satisfaction no matter what the world throws at us.

Jesus may not look like an exciting present, but he came to open up a whole new world of opportunities for us. Is he a gift we will accept, or just cast aside as we look to the latest thing the world has to offer? He is the perfect gift, we just need to really appreciate what we need for true peace in this life and the life to come.

But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!
Romans 5v15

November 2017 Passport Control

Just as a man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgement, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
Hebrews 9v27-28

As I flew in from Poland a couple of days ago, I watched as a young girl pushed her way ahead through the crowd as we waited at passport control. It was quite amusing to watch as she got to the front of the queue and was suddenly called forward to the check point, only to realise that her Father had her passport! All that rush to get to the front only to be pushed aside to wait until her passport caught up with her. Her embarrassment was plain for all to see, but once her father had caught up all was well, but it shows how easily we can think we know what is happening and that all is well when in fact we have forgotten to make sure that we are qualified for the next step.

As I write this I am about to leave for a funeral, for many a time of sadness and loss: it is a time when we think about our relationship with the deceased. Did we treat them well? Did we part on good terms? However, it is also a time when we come face to face with our own mortality; it is a time to think about what happens after our mortal bodies pass away: What comes next and am I ready for it?

As the verse in Hebrews says, we will all die, and after that we will face judgement! That spiritual passport control that decides if we will be granted a welcome into heaven or be left outside to perish in hell. What will that judgement be decided on? Is it about how good we have been? Have we attended church enough? Have we been a nice person?

As I entered the UK , passport control did not ask if I was a nice person, they did not ask if I travelled a lot or had a house in the UK . All they checked was my citizenship, my passport that showed that I had a right to come into the UK .

For the Christian, his citizenship is in heaven, he is a citizen through faith in Christ Jesus and his death on the cross. His goal is to live the ways of the kingdom, not only in the future, but right now in this life. For whenever I travel, no matter what country I am in, my citizenship is always British and my behaviour reflects on my home country.

In the book of Philippians the apostle Paul says:

Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven.
Philippians 3v17-20

As I attend the funeral today, no amount or praying will change the judgement for our dear sister: Her judgement will be on what she did with Jesus Christ. Did she accept him as her Lord and Saviour? Had she fully trusted in him for the way of salvation and turn her life to serve him? Or did she live for the things of this world with no thought or care for the future?

All of us will face the judgement at some point, it is the only test that is crucial to pass in life, yet so often the test we fail to think of or prepare for until it is too late.

October 2017 A Wayward Son

There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them.
Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need.
Luke 15v11-14

This parable is always one that I find very uncomfortable to read, it shows how easy it is to move from doing things God's way to following the world!

This young son had been working for his father for many years, yet had never really appreciated what he had. His eyes always looked to the horizons, looking at the life that others had and the more he looked at it the more it become the focus of his attention; until the time came when his desire for the ways of the world exceeded his love and loyalty to his father.

We read that he asked for his share of the estate, at first we might look and say that it was his, so why shouldn't he be able to use and spend his belongings as he wanted. However, at that point the estate belonged to his father; it would only pass to his sons when the father died. So in asking for his share of the estate, he is basically declaring his father as dead to him. His love for his father and his ways had grown so cold that he just wanted to take his inheritance and go.

It must have been heart breaking for the father to have that said to him, yet he let him go. For sometimes we have to allow our children to experience loss so that they appreciate what they have.

Sadly we do exactly the same thing today, for the heart of man is constantly being drawn away from God, from the eternal benefits of serving God to the short term gain of worldly excitement. We assume that everyone is having a great time when in fact everyone is looking for the very thing we already had. That empty space in our lives that can only truly be filled by a relationship with God, everything else is just a cover, a substitute for the real thing.

Even sadder is the way that the things we chase after suddenly take hold of us, our lives become a slavery to trying to keep up with the latest technology, the latest fashions. Before we know it these things that we sought after have taken over our lives, they cease to be something that was an occasional pleasure and become things that totally rule our live. We drift from being in control to the one being controlled as we find we are trapped by the directions we have taken.

When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.'
Luke 15v17-17

The hardest bit about coming to our senses is that after a time we just think this way of living is normal, for we realise that everyone else is going in the same direction. How could it possibly be wrong? Coming to our senses can take a long time; instead we sit and complain about our lot, we blame others, the government, the system, even God gets put in the firing line. We refuse to come to our senses and admit we have gone the wrong way!

Turning back to God is not easy, for this young man to return to his father meant losing everything he had, the life, the friends, but also his pride. He would have to stand before his father and ask for forgiveness and admit his failure and disobedience. Turning back to God is the same; it is not a moment of pride, but of shame, of confession of our lack of love and desire for our Heavenly Father. It is a turning to His ways rather than ours, for as we come to Him we admit we are lost and bound up in sin without Him. It is what repentance is all about. Turning back to the ways of God and leaving the ways of the world behind. It is not an attempt to bring bits of the past with us, but an admission that all we need and the life direction we need to take is now in the hands of our Heavenly Father whom we are now asking to have mercy on us.

Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.
Luke 15v23-24

One of the greatest parts of this parable is the joy the father had in receiving his son back from the clutches of worldly death. The father, rather than rebuking him and dismissing him, wrapped his arms around him and welcomed him back with great joy and celebration.

So it is when we turn away from the slavery of this world and turn back to our Heavenly Father. Jesus said:

"In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
Luke 15v10

September 2017 - What is truth?

For this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me. “What is truth?” Pilate asked.
John18v37-38

I was listening to a funny story a few weeks ago about a mother who was telling her child off for lying. She insisted the child told the truth no matter what the circumstances. As she finished rebuking the child she said she was busy and that if anyone phoned the child was to say she was out!

Truth is something we say we want to know and live by, but would often rather ignore. We complain when someone lies to us, yet ignore our own lies and sadly when it comes to deceiving us, lying to us: the person who does it most is ourselves. The Bible says:

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
Jeremiah 17v9

And this deceitful heart has consequences, for as Jesus said:

For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.
Matthew 12v34

So why do we lie and ignore the truth?

Well I think if we are honest we all know the answer to that one! We do not want to face up to something, be it the consequences of our actions or just looking for an excuse not to do something we don't want to do, so we lie to get away, to lead others on a false course so they will not see the truth of our involvement; We do it to escape the blame.

However, the strangest lies are the ones we tell ourselves. I have never been a fan of the dentist and so when a few years ago I damaged a tooth, my initial reaction was to just ignore it, to lie to myself and convince myself that if I just ignored the problem it would go away. I wasn't just lying to myself, I really wanted to believe the lie I was telling myself, I did not want to admit the truth and get the required treatment. Sadly the time came when I had to recognise the truth and go and see the dentist.

We do the same things with God. We have His words in the Bible, one of the statements Jesus made constantly was "I tell you the truth…" It was often a truth that people did not want to hear, indeed they tried to silence him by sending him to the cross, yet the truth still speaks out today and it is very simple.

We might not like it, but the truth is that we are sinners, all of us. We might think we are doing well by the standards of this world but the fact is that by God's standards we have fallen short by a long way.

The Bible says:

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 3v23

We might not like that truth, but that is the truth according to God. We can lie to ourselves and tell ourselves that we are a good person, that people like us and trust us, that we have done good things. However, we deceive ourselves because when it comes to eternal things; it is not others or ourselves that will judge us. It is God and it is His standards we will be judged by. He has made those standards very clear; more than that He has told us the penalty for not meeting those standards.

Again the Bible teaches us:

The wages of sin is death.
Romans 6v23

When the Bible talks of death in this verse it is not talking about the day we drop dead. It is talking about eternal death, separation from God; A place of torment that is called Hell. Not for a few weeks or months, it is eternal, it never ends. For man in his sin cannot stand before a Holy God, we need to be freed from our sin, something that we cannot do in our own strength, for if the penalty for sin is death and separation from God, how can we pay the penalty and be with God?

The answer is found in Jesus who was sinless, yet was willing to pay the price for our sin on the cross and take our place. For God does not want to see anyone perish, instead it says:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3v16

The price for our sin has been totally covered by Jesus. Again it says:

The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 3v23

In Christ we are set free from sin and death and adopted into the family of God, a family of love and life, both now and for eternity.

God has made a way to set us free, but of course we have to take that step of faith and believe the truth that He speaks, humbling ourselves and accepting the gift of Jesus. It is not easy, for the voice of this world cries out against the ways of God and tries to deceive us into thinking the situation is not as bad or as urgent as the Bible says. So instead of following Jesus and the truth we follow a lie. As it says:

For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
2 Timothy 4v4-5

Despite the arguments of the world there are not lots of ways to God, there is only one way and that is through Jesus, accepting the forgiveness that comes through him and walking in his ways. There are not lots of ways; there are not different options for different people. There is only one truth and only one way. Jesus!

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
John 14v6

August 2017 - A Walk of Faith

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he earnestly rewards those who seek him.
Hebrews11v6

Faith is a subject that many struggle with, many will say they believe in God, but faith is much more than believing; Faith is putting that belief into action. Faith is something that is done, an action based on a belief because we trust in that thing or person.

A simple example of faith is when you turn on the lights. You believe that if you switch the lights on, they will work, and your action is a trust that it will happen. You have a belief that the electricity company is producing electricity, you believe the power lines are all working as they should, you believe that all the fuses in the house are set correctly and that the light is wired to the switch. You believe it so much that when you want to see in the dark your step of faith is to switch the lights on. It is a step of faith because you have trusted in the unseen, you haven't inspected the wiring or phoned the power company, you just trust them to get on with their job and fix any problems. If you had no faith in the lights working you would not even bother going to the light switch, you would just light a candle instead.

Many years ago I worked in an area of Sierra Leone and at the time the electricity hardly worked. In the house I stayed at they didn't even bother trying the lights, they just lit a candle instead. They had lost all trust in the power company's ability to generate electricity and their actions displayed that lack of trust. By not turning on the lights they showed faith, but in a negative way, they showed a trust in the failure of the electricity and acted accordingly.

So we see that our actions are determined by faith, it can be a positive faith or a negative faith that we would call unbelief or doubt, either way our actions are the outcome of our faith.

The same type of thinking accompanies our spiritual beliefs. As the verse in Hebrews says, if we do not believe in God we will not even bother seeking Him. However, even if we believe there is a God, how we perceive God, how we think of His character and His instructions effect how we act before Him.

Faith in God starts at the simplest level; we must believe that he exists! If we do not believe that He exists we will never seek Him. Like my friends in Sierra Leone, we will not even bother trying the lights, so we will not even bother trying to find the Lord.

Once we believe there is a God then our actions, based on our belief display what we think about God. If we think He is of no relevance, that He can do nothing in our lives so it is pointless seeking Him, then we will continue in our belief, but not bother seeking Him. If however we believe that God can be found and that it is worth the effort, that He does reward those who seek Him, then the Bible urges us to seek Him out.

If we want to come to God, our next struggle is the sin in our lives. If God is a holy God, how can we come to Him in our sin and have any kind of relationship with Him?

It is here that we see why Jesus dies on the cross. In our sin there is no way to come to God, so God made a way through Jesus. For when Jesus said:

I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 14v6

Jesus was showing that through his death on the cross he had paid the penalty for our sin so that we could be free and share in his righteousness before God. However, once again a step of faith is required. Do I believe Jesus died for my sin or doubt and not act on it? Or do I believe and trust and take a step of faith towards God, trusting that I can come to Him cleansed through the blood of Jesus?

This is a picture of the ongoing Christian life. Seeking the Lord, seeking His direction and then taking a step of faith to walk in that direction; to believe what God has said and the consequences of our actions, for better or worse, and act in faith accordingly.

Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.
Romans 10v17

If we want to know the direction that God wants us to go in, if we want to know His ways, then we need to be listing to what He says and reading our Bibles. For the Bible is not one of many ways, the words of Jesus are the only way. If there had been other ways through which we could get to God, then Jesus would not have died on the cross for our sin. He would have shown us another way. However, because there was no other way, Christ died for us. That can be a hard step of faith for us to accept, but if we will accept it and act on it in faith, then we can know God as our Father.

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.
Hebrews 11v1-2

The great men of God of history are those who have listened to God, believed what He has said and acted accordingly. For them their final reward will be those great words:

"Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things: I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share in your master's happiness.
Matthew 25v21

Do we want to join those great men of faith?

July 2017 - How Can a Man be Righteous?

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you. Psalm 89v14

Righteousness is a foundation of the personality of God, it means that God is "morally correct" in his dealings with man and means that he does not cheat, take shortcuts or show favouritism. Combined with justice it means that we have a God who means what He says and does what He says. His words and actions are in total agreement and just in every way, it means that we can trust God to keep His word and promises, but it also means that the justice and judgments He speaks of will also be upheld.

The problem with God being perfectly righteous is that it shows the flaws in our own lives, it shows our sin and displays to us how far we are from God's standards. It is why the Bible says:

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 3v23

We can fool ourselves and tell ourselves that we have been good enough and that we are without sin, but again the Bible tells us plainly:

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1v8-9

We may be able to fool others, in the stupidity of our pride we may even fool ourselves, but God knows the motives of our hearts. When He gave the Ten Commandments as a guide to our lives they only showed us more clearly how often we fail.

So the question has to be asked:

How then can a man be righteous before God? How can one born of woman be pure?
Job 25v4

The usual solution man comes up with is that we will do "good things" to make up for the bad we have done. Yet those good things are what are expected from us, they do not cover over the sin of our lives. Doing the right thing for a day does not make up for the disobedience of the previous day. God's standard of righteousness would be perfection every day, a standard we just cannot keep. So how can a man come before a righteous God? How can we come to know Him?

Well the easiest way would be for God to just forget our sin existed, to just wipe it away. However if God did that he would no longer be righteous and just for the Bible tells us clearly, "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6v23) and that penalty has to be paid. We need someone to pay the penalty who has not committed any sin. As we look around us there are many "good" people by the world's standards, but no one who could pay the penalty by God's standards, so God himself paid that penalty by sending Jesus to die in our place.

For when we see Jesus dying on the cross he is paying the penalty our individual sin deserves. So often we don't think our sin is serious, we haven't murdered or stolen, yet we have missed the first and greatest commandment:

"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment."
Matthew 22v37-38

The truth is that we have all rebelled against God and his kingdom, put simply our sin is "anarchy", rebellion against the king and hence it carries the highest of penalties.

Thanks be to God, who as a loving Heavenly Father does not wish to see anyone perish, but all to come to know Him for who He is. To be set free from our sin so that we can be righteous before God, and that is what he accomplished by Jesus dying on the cross. He paid the penalty for our sin so that the just and righteous requirements of God have been met, but at the same time Gods love, forgiveness and mercy have been poured out on us in Christ.

Of course this only matters if we have a heart after God, a desire to know Him and the new life He has for us. God gives us free will and we have the choice to come to Him through Jesus or reject His offer of life.

The Bible tells us plainly:

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Rom 6v23

The gift is there if we will humbly come before God and accept it and the new life he sets before us. What will you choose?

May 2017 - Repentance

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."
Matthew 3v1-2

Repentance is a word that seems to be out of fashion in the church today or at least misused. Today it is something that we often like to ignore, a part of the gospel that might put people off coming into a relationship with God, instead we should just focus on Gods love for us.

Well Gods love for us is amply demonstrated in Christ, we see Jesus dying on the cross for our sin, God has certainly not held back in His desire to show love for us. However, Gods love was far more than just words. God in His love acts for our benefit.

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
John 15v16

So often in our dealings with God we want a one way love relationship, a love that God gives to us while we give nothing back. It is not a demonstration of our love for God, rather a demonstration of our selfishness, of our single minded desire to put ourselves front and centre. Our idea of a relationship with God is to have him as a bolt on to our current life. It is as if we want everything the world has to offer, but we want to add on a spiritual insurance policy of Jesus as Saviour. Repentance is either ignored or reduced to a simple "saying sorry" with a desire to be wiped clean to start all over again.

It is nothing new, it's an issue that has always existed between God and those who call themselves His people. For as we focus on our self and our needs, our hearts harden towards God and we cease to show Him the love He deserves, indeed we often put God into a position of some kind of spiritual servant whose only role is to make sure we are happy and blessed. Our hearts are hardened towards the needs of a loving God.

Repentance is when we turn from that selfish self centred way of life and turn our hearts towards God. It is far more than a set of words or a prayer. It is a turning of our hearts towards God.

God says of repentance: Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God...
Joel 2v13

For repentance is an act of turning our heart and lives towards the ways of God and putting him in His rightful place in our lives. It does not mean that we live a perfect life and never sin again, if only that was true, but it is a conscious heart desire to turn towards Gods ways that is from the inside out. It is a change of heart direction that takes place not because we are forced to, but because we have a heart desire to please a God who we claim to love. For without repentance there is no love from us towards God.

Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but world sorrow leads to death.
2 Corinthians 7v10

Repentance is when we see the harm we are causing God and change our ways. Just saying sorry is like a man beating his wife, only to buy her some flowers, before beating her again. Repentance is when the heart changes and the actions change. For if there is no change, there is no repentance.

John the Baptist said to those coming to him:

Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.
Matthew 3v8

In modern English "Actions speak louder than words".

One of the great things about God is he never changes, many think that once Jesus died on the cross that somehow God changed, yet the message of repentance is a message we are to preach until Christ's return. It was a message Jesus preached:

I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Luke 5v32

He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and ride from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
Luke 24v46-47

Notice that Jesus talks about forgiveness and repentance as part of the same message; he does not separate the two. Indeed Jesus was quite blunt on the subject:

...But unless you repent, you to will perish.
Luke 13v3&5

When Jesus sent out his disciples, the message they gave was the same:

They went out and preached that people should repent.
Mark 6v12

Repentance was central to the ministry of Jesus and after his death and resurrection it was still a central focus of the gospel message.

When the Holy Spirit touched the hearts of those listening to Peter on the day of Pentecost he did not tell them to pray, he told them to repent (Acts 2v38). It was an act from the heart that defined itself in the action of baptism. They had turned their hearts to God in repentance and now followed in the footsteps of Jesus, following him in baptism as a symbol of the heart change within.

Only a few verses later we read of another gospel message being preached and again the climax of the message is about repentance.

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.
Acts 3v19

Repentance was not an extra to salvation and forgiveness; it was an essential component that showed the heart change towards the Father in the hearts of those listening.

When Paul spoke of repentance in Hebrews 6v1 he spoke of it as a basic foundation of any Christian's life, an elementary teaching, of repentance from acts that lead to death and a turning to God. For in repentance we lose the sin and ways of this world, but we gain a closer walk with the Father, we gain a closer understanding of the walk of Christ, we are putting off the ways of this world and clothing ourselves with Christ.

We can kid ourselves with simple words, we can offer false hope to others with a repentance free gospel, but without repentance we will surely perish for without repentance we have no heart towards God no matter what our words might say.

April 2017 - Ten Commandments

When we think about what is important to God, the ten commandments are the things that usually come to mind, the ten simple rules that god handed to Israel.

"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

"You shall have no other gods before me.

"You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.

"You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

"You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

"Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you. Six days you shall labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns, so that your male and female servants may rest, as you do. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day. ?Honour your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

"You shall not murder.

"You shall not commit adultery.

"You shall not steal.

"You shall not give false testimony against your neighbour. "You shall not covet your neighbour's wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbour's house or land, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour.? Deuteronomy 5v6-21

So when Jesus was asked what the most important commandment was, you would expect him to quote one of these commands, so imagine the confusion when Jesus quoted another scripture that appears a bit later in Deuteronomy 6v5.

?Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?? Jesus replied: ?? Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.? This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it:? Love your neighbour as yourself.? All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.?
Matthew 22v36-40

For the Jews at the time had fallen into the error that so many of us fall into today when we think of God, we reduce pleasing God to a set of rules with the idea that if we obey the rules all will be well. The relationship with God falls aside and instead we create a dead religion based on nothing more than some simple terms and conditions. It would be like getting married to someone purely as a legal obligation, without any relationship, a technical marriage with no love or heart in it; Going through the motions in a cold mechanical way with no desire for one another.

When God gave the commandments he said:

These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.
Deuteronomy 6v6

These commandments are to be obeyed out of our love and relationship with God, not as a way of earning our way to Him. They are to be lived out as a symbol of the love and relationship we have with God the Father. Without that relationship they become nothing more than five heartless laws that if obeyed keep society materially safe.

God has always desired us to love Him in the way that He has always loved us. He was willing to invest everything to have a relationship with us, even giving Jesus on the cross. A gift given that we could be set free from the bondage of sin and come to Him in love and without fear.

Our hearts guide our lives; they drive us in the direction we want to go. If our heart is set on God, on knowing Him and loving Him in the way He asks, then our hearts will lead us to a relationship with Him. Without that heart, at best we will be left with an empty religion, a set of heartless actions.

Yet if we will turn our hearts to God, crying out for Him to save us from our sin and reveal himself to us, the we can enter a relationship like no other; a relationship with God himself.

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. Revelation 3v20

March 2017 - What is a Christian?

The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.
Acts 11v26

This month we are looking at what it means to be a Christian. It's always an interesting question that tends to come with a whole load of different answers about morals and religion, denominations and services. Yet the real meaning is a follower of Christ, but what does that mean?

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me."
John 14v6

In this simple statement Jesus really starts to sum up the basics of what a Christian is.

First Jesus is the way; his life was the perfect example of real Christian living. It wasn't just his words but his actions that spoke to the people around him. However, Jesus was much more than just an example to follow; through his sinless life he was the only one who could offer his life as a penalty for sin for others, for each one of us is born into sin and continues to sin. So for the Christian, the route to God is through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, admitting our sin before God and accepting the forgiveness that can only come through Jesus Christ. It is recognising that Jesus in not "a way" to God, he is "the way", the only way. No one is coming to the Father, any other way.

That sort of statement is often hard for us to accept, we like to think we are good enough, that we have done enough to earn our way to God, yet for the true believer there is the acceptance that the only way to forgiveness of sin is through the blood of Jesus and that alone. It is not Jesus plus my good works, it is salvation through Christ alone.

So were do the good works fit in?

If we have come to know God through Jesus Christ then our lives should be transformed by that relationship, if they are not transformed we have to question if there is a relationship. As we come to know the Creator of Heaven and Earth we can only offer our lives in thankfulness and submit our lives to him. Not doing these things because we have to, but because we desire to live in the way that God wants. It is living the Jesus way.

Another part of the Christian life is the truth, the fact that Gods word is truth, the Bible. It is so tempting to only pick the bits of the truth we want and to leave out what we don't like and then try and alter Gods word by adding in the things we want. Yet God is an unchanging God. He does not change according to fashion or the whims of society. Jesus himself had regular conflicts because of the truth yet he never watered down the word of God or added in ideas to make it more acceptable, for is he had he would have been lying and the truth would not have been in him. Do we want to know the truth, no matter how hard we may find it, or would we rather just follow a lie made up to keep us happy. A man driving the wrong way down a road may have his pride saved by agreeing with his direction, but the fact is that without the truth he will never get to the destination he is aiming for.

The final part of Jesus statement was that he is the life. Through Christ and his death on the cross we start to experience real life, spiritual life. Jesus likened it to being 'born again' as a whole new spiritual world opens up before us. This life through relationship with God gives us a joy, a hope and a peace that overcomes the things of this world. The direction that God gives us through His word again save us from being slaves to sin and the ways of this world and set us free, no matter what circumstances surround us. As Jesus put it: "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full" (John 10v10).

The problem with Jesus words is that even when we know the truth, we still have to decide if we are going to follow him in faith. Many people great and small heard his words, yet only a few decided to follow him. Those are the ones they called Christians.

January 2017 - Peace of heart

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Psalm 46v1

As I look back at 2016, I see times of great joy, times of sadness and times of sorrow and pain. However, the things that I notice about all these events are that they are all things I never expected to happen and good and bad, the Lord has got me through them all.

I have leant over the years that there is little point worrying about the future because I have no idea what is coming my way. The newspapers and television love to bring fear into our lives by presenting us with endless possible "what if" scenarios because sadly it's far easier to scare people than to bring peace into their lives.

Thankfully Jesus came to bring us peace, a peace that is within and that overcomes the fears of this world. It doesn't mean that the dangers and fears of the world are removed and that we live in some kind of protected cotton wool world, far from it. Instead Jesus showed by his own life and death that God is able to take us through the toughest of situations, if only we will trust in Him, He does it by giving us peace in our heart, a peace that is hard to explain until you have met with and know God for yourself.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14v27

The strange thing is that so often we want the peace of God in our hearts, yet we are reluctant to change direction. Instead we carry on in the comfort of what we already know, even if what we know is uncomfortable. It is like being overweight and knowing we need to get some exercise and change our diet, but are afraid that we may ache a bit or our friends will see us; so instead we stay in front of the television and eat a bit more cake.

Yet for those who are willing to take the step it is a life changing experience. So it is with knowing God, once you get to know Him and His ways you wonder why you didn't get to know Him earlier. God only ever wants the best for those who choose to follow Him and he is always there to help, encourage and carry us through the tough times if only we are willing to go to Him.

It's a bit like a gym membership; you have to go to the gym to get the benefit. So it is with the Lord; you have to seek Him if you want to find Him. I thank God that He is always there for me, if only I will call.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these tings will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6v33-34

I wish you a blessed 2017, a year that is blessed by knowing God through Jesus Christ.

Christmas 2016 - The Value of a Gift

Again the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. Matthew13v45-46

I've never been a fan of Shakespeare, I never got the point of the plays I read at school and so became bored. The only exam it would affect was my English Literature O level and so I have a grade that is appropriate to the effort I put in... fail! The fact is I put no value in that qualification so why would I struggle through what I considered to be a boring book and suffer the loss of my time?

Years later I was working in Sierra Leone in West Africa with a mission organisation that also distributed educational books at subsidised prices. In just a few days we sold over one ton of the complete works of Shakespeare, people queued for hours in the hot sun to purchase a copy so that they or their children could do well in the English Literature O Levels! What a difference there was between us, I never saw the value where the children of Sierra Leone did.

Our hearts desire really is the thing that puts the value on anything. Why do certain paintings sell for so much? Because a number of people have set their heart on owning it and will pay whatever they have to get it.

Sadly the same is true with the Kingdom of God. We are approaching Christmas and all sorts of effort will go into buying presents, visiting relatives, making food and watching the films on the television, yet for most God will be on the outside. They may notice Jesus in the crib at a nativity, but the thought of taking the time to worship him is far from their minds, there hearts are set on the things of this world.

We can make excuses that we are too busy, but we could make time if it was our hearts desire. The truth is we just don't have a heart for God.

Sadly this is exactly the opposite of our Heavenly Father, for while we may not have the time for him, he made the time for us. He was willing to pay the ultimate cost of Jesus being born in a stable, living as a man and then dying on the cross for our sins. His heart was set on us; he saw value in us and was willing to pay the highest price when no one else wanted us.

So at this special time of year take the time to see the value of the gift of Jesus and when you really see the value, take the time to worship the one who has given everything for you.

October 2016 - Heart Transplants

Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, although for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5v7

Organ donation is maybe not the usual subject for a mini sermon, but after spending time in hospital with a man waiting for a transplant, it has been a subject that has been very much on my mind.

The problem we face is that a blood donation is relatively painless; blood is given, but the only real cost is a sharp scratch and the time it takes. Although the donor has given of themselves, they do get up afterwards and go home. However, the fact is that when organs are donated, the donor is usually dead. There are the odd kidney donations when someone donates one of their kidneys, but sadly the same cannot be said for hearts and lungs. The donor, sadly, has lost their life! Yet thankfully, despite their grief at their loss, there are relatives who are willing to allow parts of their loved ones to be donated so that others may live.

That is the real difficulty as we look at transplants; the donor dies that another may live.

As we look at Jesus and the cross we see a similar situation; we, the patient, are dying in our sins and despite our best efforts, the diagnosis is terminal leading to eternal spiritual death and separation from God. That in itself can be a hard diagnosis to take in. With my recent stay in hospital it was easy to make light of my diagnosis, yet the fact was it was a serious situation that humour was not going to take away. Sometimes the diagnosis is so bad we just ignore it, hoping that somehow it will all just go away, yet untreated like most things the situation only gets worse.

To bring us spiritual life, not just now, but eternally, we need a transplant, a spiritual transplant, and that is what Jesus did on the cross. He gave his life to remove our sin that we could be spiritually reborn, having a new life through him.

However unlike most donors, Jesus gave his whole life, everything for us. He was not forced or killed in an accident, he voluntarily layed down his life for us showing us just how much he loves us. As Jesus himself said:

"No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father." John10v18

For us as the sick person we need to take steps to receive this spiritual transplant. First we need to acknowledge our true situation, that we are sinners without hope. That in ourselves we cannot remove our sins; no matter how much we try to cover them up.

Secondly we need to realise that the only answer is through Jesus and that the answer, although free to us, came at a great cost. If there was any other way that God could free us from our sins he would have never allowed Jesus to go to the cross, but because there was no other way, Christ died. That is why Jesus said:

"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14v6

Finally we need to accept the gift of life, accept the life donation and start to live a life worthy of the gift we have been given. Not to earn the gift, but in thankfulness for all we have received. Like a man getting a new heart, he does not receive it just to lie in bed as he did when he was sick. He wants the new heart so that he can enjoy the new life that the new heart brings. The same is true when we accept the new life that only comes through Jesus.

The question is will we acknowledge our diagnosis and take the only treatment available?

August 2016 - Problems of a sinful heart

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Galatians 5v19-21

We live in a world that sadly no longer takes responsibility for it's' actions. Whatever the problem, whatever the issue, we always want someone else to blame. Sins big and small; be it anger and jealousy, impurity or fits of rage, all these sins come from the state of our heart. For sin is rarely an accident, we do not act at random but we act from the desires of our heart. A desire that wants to put us first, our desires, our interests, our happiness; our hearts desire!

Only when our heart has desired do we than plan and act on that desire and the greater the desire the greater the force that we will use to get the desire of our heart. For when our heart is truly fixed on something we will use everything at our disposal to get it. Even to the point that we will break the law, create division and hate and even go to war. It is a fact that we find hard to accept, that our hearts can be so evil and deceitful, the Bible tells us:

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? Jeremiah 17v9

One of the great problems is that we are so used to the deception of our hearts we even deceive ourselves. Instead of admitting that the real issue is an attitude of heart we blame others for the influence that others have had on us or the wrong others have done against us. These things however only affect the ways of the world, the ways of the flesh. If our hearts desire is the things of this world then when we lose these things we will react in anger. If however our hearts are not set on these things no anger arises. No jealousy or desire to get these things back.

A simple example is the dustman. I fill my bin with items and he comes and throws them into his truck and carries them away. I have no anger towards the dustman; I feel no loss, for there is nothing in my rubbish that my heart desires. I don't go chasing the dustman up the road asking for my rubbish back because it has no hold over my heart.

Now imagine I drop my wedding ring in the rubbish and the dustman takes it away. Suddenly that black plastic bin takes on a whole new value as I rush out to stop the dustman pouring it into their truck. Maybe I have already missed them and drive frantically after them to see where the truck is emptied trying to get back an item that has real value to me. The same process has taken place, rubbish has been removed but my reaction is based on my heart attitude towards that rubbish.

Even stranger is that our desire for something can increase as soon as we are told we cannot have it. Many years ago I served on a mission ship and on arriving in Liberia the crew was told that we would not be able to go ashore for three days. It was such a strange time for on a busy working week I would often not go ashore for days on end, yet as soon as I was told by someone else that I couldn't do something my heart seemed to do nothing but desire to go ashore.

Sadly this is the way of the world and the way of mans heart that goes right back to Adam and Eve, for Satan tempted them with some fruit from the one tree they had been told not to eat of. They where surrounded by thousands of fruit trees all producing great fruit, yet their desire was set on the one fruit they should have not eaten and so they disobeyed God, entering into sin, no caring about the lost relationship just to get some short term benefits of some fruit. How often have we caused upset, anger, discord and jealousy as we have sought to get what we want at any cost or have had the same thing done to us.

So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.
Matthew 6v31-33

God offers us a real peace, a real life away from the strife of the world. Not by giving us all the things of the world but by changing the desires of our heart. For if our heart is set on Him and His kingdom, we move outside of the jealousies of the world, it no longer has the hold on our hearts that it once held and we are freed to be at peace with God. Jesus was the ultimate example of this; he gave up everything of this world to die on the cross for the Father and through this surrender brought a way for man to have peace through God.

No matter what your circumstances, no matter how great the struggles or the hold that sin has on us, Jesus died on the cross to allow you to come to God and have a real peace of heart, a peace that overcomes the world and can never be removed. That is the offer to each one of us through Jesus. That desire to be truly fulfilled only comes when the heart is truly satisfied and that can only come through the peace that God gives us.

For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
Colossians 1v19-20

July 2016 - Uncertainty in Change

Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
James 4v13-14

Many years ago I was being driven through the Philippines when my driver pointed to a cross by the side of the road and asked me what it was. I assumed it was a cross to mark the place when someone had been killed in an accident. My driver turned to me and said I could not have been more wrong, it was in fact the cross on the top of a local church. Only a few years before Mount Pinatubo had erupted burying some of the local towns and the church right up to the roof.

Many years later I had another adventure, riding a motorbike from Worcester up to Nordkapp, the most northerly point in Europe. The journey was 6000 miles and done in 10 days. I spent months making sure I was physically fit enough as well as making sure the motorbike equipment and clothing was ready to deal with the cold and wet weather. I was careful to plan my route and to take into account as many dangers as possible, and when all was ready, I set off. I rode in rain and snow, dodged reindeer and managed to cross unmade roads, a truly amazing experience. I felt I could have ridden around the world. It therefore seemed rather ironic that less than a week later I was air lifted to hospital after being knocked off my bike on my routine commute to work. I didn't see that coming!

Life is like that, plans are made, but no matter how hard we plan the things that catch us out are the things we just couldn't have imagined. As a nation we will face many challenges over the coming months and years, some will cry that it was the wrong way, others that this is the right way, all based on little more than guesswork, for none of us really knows what the future holds.

It's at times like this that we can feel very vulnerable, the certainties that we assumed would never change and so put our trust in suddenly get removed. It's like the very foundations of our world are moving and falling away. Our peace falls away and we start to panic. Who do we trust? Who will keep their promises? Who really knows what's going on?

Thankfully with God He does know what's going on in the world, but more than that He knows what is going on in our hearts. He knows what we need to have real peace, not a peace that is dependent on the world and our situation, but a peace that remains no matter what is going on around us; a peace in knowing that someone has the best in mind for us.

Jesus said:

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10v10

God wants us to have a truly fulfilled life, not a life where we are just a passenger, but a life where He is there to guide us and share the journey with us. A journey already walked by Jesus
.
God desires to see us stand firm in this world, to be at peace, sharing His joy. Through Christ He offers to be the foundation of our lives; a foundation that cannot be rocked no matter what circumstances come against us, for God has seen it coming from afar.
Jesus said:

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundations on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.
Matthew7v24-27

In our lives storms will always come and go, some we may think we can predict, others catch us unaware. God sent Jesus to die in our place and to show us the way to the Father, a way to peace, joy and security, we just need to accept it into our lives.

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me."
John 14v6

June 2016 - Peace in the Storm

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
John 14v27

When people talk about peace they tend to think of it as being in an environment where there is no tension or stress, no fears or worries; living in a situation that gives total peace, because there is nothing to be concerned about. As such we strive in life to have enough money and goods to be able to hide ourselves away from the world with enough of a barrier to keep our dislikes at a distance.

Sadly of course this never brings a true peace because there is always another thing in the world to be concerned about. Even when we have everything, there is the fear of losing it all! The truth is that the worlds idea of peace can be lost in a moment and in many ways is an unobtainable illusion; what the Bible calls "chasing after the wind".

When Jesus speaks of peace in our lives it is a totally different type of peace, a peace that comes from knowing God and as we grow in that knowledge of God, knowing that He is in complete control and that if we go in the way He shows us, He will always get us through. Rather than focusing on the physical Jesus showed us how to look to the spiritual, to the ways of the kingdom of God. To seek after it and through that receive a peace from God that the world cannot understand.

So do not worry, saying, "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?" For the pagans run after these things and your heavenly father knows that you need them. But seek first his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Matthew 6v31-34

God's peace always starts on the inside and means that no matter what storms this world throws at us, we can have a peace in God that this world can never take away. It's a peace that grows as our relationship with God grows. For as we come to know our Heavenly Father through Christ we realise that He is more than powerful enough to deal with any of the issues we face, if only we will trust Him and hand them over to Him. The problem is that so often we reject God's peace and try to do it the world's way.

April 2016 - Parable of the Sower - Thorns

Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Matthew13v7

This month we are looking at the seed that fell among the thorns. Jesus later went on to explain what this part of the parable when he said:

The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. Matthew 13v22

Throughout the Bible thorns only have one ending, they are burned (Matthew 13v30), so it is important for us to think about the weeds in our lives as if we are investing our lives into those thorny weeds we need to be aware that they have no eternal value. They will bear no eternal fruit.

However far more important is that the resources of our life that are used up by these thorns could have been used for the eternal things. These thorns hold us back from doing the things the Lord wants us to do, they steal the time the Lord could use to speak to us and to use us for the furtherance of His kingdom and so we are encouraged by the apostle Paul when he says:

...let us throw off everything that hinders us and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Hebrews 12v1

Paul knew that it's very difficult to move forward when tangled up with thorns, especially the huge thorns found in Israel. These thorns catch hold of us and our clothes making it hard and painful to make any progress. The only way is to cut down the thorns and burn them for they have no use. They are not made of a wood that can be made into furniture; they are not even made of a wood that burns at the right speed to burn and cook with. They burn in an instant and provide nothing in return.

We start to understand why Paul said not to get entangled, for like all sin, once we get involved it can be very difficult to break free again. Our spiritual lives are held back until we break free and then comes the real question; "Do we want to be free?" For so often the sin that entangles us is more attractive that Gods ways and instead of breaking free we actually walk into the thorns and allow ourselves to be captured again even though we know the pains of being set free.

The solution that Paul offers is simple, to desire the Lord more than the sin. As he says:

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning it's shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12v2

Jesus is our example; he never got entangled with the world and its desire. His focus was on the will of the Father and while his focus was on that the things of the world could not creep in and ensnare him.

For us who struggle there is always hope and freedom available through Christ for the only time he became ensnared with thorns was when they made them into a crown and placed them on his head, and even then Jesus was not distracted from the course the father had called him to. He set an example and overcame and through the power of God he is willing to help us be set free for he came to set us free from the bondage of sin and lead us into eternity if only we will follow in his ways.

"When you ascended on high, you led captives in your train." Psalm 68v18

April 2016 - Parable of the Sower - Thorns

Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Matthew13v7

This month we are looking at the seed that fell among the thorns. Jesus later went on to explain what this part of the parable when he said:

The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. Matthew 13v22

...let us throw off everything that hinders us and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Hebrews 12v1

The solution that Paul offers is simple, to desire the Lord more than the sin. As he says:

"When you ascended on high, you led captives in your train." Psalm 68v18

March 2016 - Parable of the Sower - Rocky Places

Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.
Matthew13v5-6

It is a sad fact that many who set out to follow Christ soon fall away and a large number who fall do so because they have no root! It's so easy to think about Christianity as being the time spent in church, the time spent ministering to others, the poor, the sick, the needy. However these things are the "seen" activity, they are to parts that grow above the surface.

To continue to thrive above the surface a plant needs a constant supply of water and nutrients and these come through the roots. Roots that are often pushed through tough and difficult soil, but that keep going down until they find the supplies the plant needs. For without them as soon as the sun comes out and the surface of the soil goes dry the plant will quickly wither.

For the Christian that nutrient and refreshing comes through time spent with God, not in the presence of others, but time alone. Time spent in prayer and meditation on the Word of God are the unseen root that supplies the needs of our spiritual lives. Without them we quickly fall away, withering in the heat of spiritual trial.

It would be nice to say I know a short cut to sending down roots, but just like any relationship, it becomes stronger through time spent together and there is no way to short cut time. The putting down of roots may mean we have to miss out on some of the perceived excitement, the greenery that everyone sees. However, it is time well invested, for even Jesus, the Son of God, knew the importance of spending time with God. He made the time, morning, noon or night to find time to spend in prayer, talking and listening, being spiritually watered through his time with the Father. So strong was this root that it meant he could withstand all the trials the world threw at him, even death on a cross.

Jesus didn't say there "might" be trials; he assured us they would come. It's that warning to get the roots down into the father as far as possible so that we would not be those who fall away, but those who stand form no matter how much the sun burns or the storms of life blow.

The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.
Matthew13v20-21

February 2016 - Parable of the Sower - The Path

Then he told them many things in parables, saying; "A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants where scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop - a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. He who has ears let him hear." Matthew 13v3-9

This month we are looking at the first part of the parable of the sower; the seed that fell on the path and was taken away by the birds.

Most of the time when we think about a path we think of something covered in concrete or tarmac, but the type of path here is a hard dirt path. A place that has been walked on so many times that the grass has worn out and the earth has become so compressed that it can absorb nothing. A seed landing on the surface has nothing to grip onto; it just sits there until a bird spots it and takes it for its lunch.

When Jesus spoke this parable, those listening at the time would easily understand the analogy, for they would have seen their own seed taken by the birds. However Jesus wasn't lecturing on farming, he was talking about the state of mans heart towards God; our ability to absorb and take in the word of God and for it to produce fruit in our lives.

Hardness of heart is nothing new; Gods constant complaint to the Israelites was that they had hard hearts towards Him. They would claim to be seeking after him but would instead keep walking the same old path they had always walked until their hearts had become so hard there was little God could do to get his word through to them.

As time passed by not only had their hearts become heard but it was so long since any seed had taken root in their lives that they no longer even understood what the seed was. They would cry out to God for him to speak when the answer was right in front of them.

Nothing has changed today, people ask why God does not do things, but they don't see what god is doing right in front of them, our ways so hardened that it we not accept Gods word.

The saddest thing is that when God sows seed into our life through His word, it is for our benefit, he wishes to see a crop raised in us, the fruit of the Spirit.

But the fruit of the Sprit is love joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Galatians 5v22-23

If we will allow God to speak into our lives, soften our hearts towards him and seek him, ploughing up that hardened path and walking in His ways; that fruit can be part of our daily life. A life that can be set us free and given new life in Christ; we just need to allow the Lord into our lives.

January 2016 - Religion or Relationship?

If you look the Oxford Dictionaries for the word "religion" you get a few options. "The belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or Gods." or "A particular system of faith and worship".

For many this is exactly what their religion is, it's about a system of doing things in the hope of pleasing God, but while the "doing" is going on there is no "knowing". God himself remains distant and the worshipper just hopes they have done enough to get to God. It would be like being married, but never meeting your spouse but instead just provide and put things in order in the hope that if you do enough they will want to meet you. An earnt relationship, rather than one based on love.

When it comes to God we will never be able to earn a relationship. God is Holy and we are sinners. The Bible tells us plainly:

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3v23

In other words none of us are good enough for God and there is nothing we can do to make ourselves holy enough for God. The prophet Isaiah said:

All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. Isaiah 64v6

We can try our best but no matter how many layers of good works we do, no matter how much "religion" we perform, we will always be separated from God by our sin.

This of course is not good news for those wanting to earn their way to God, for God wants us to realise our sinfulness, not because he wants to be mean and nasty to us, but because it is only when we get to the point of knowing we can't make a way to God that we start to open our eyes to the fact that God has made a way. It's a way that is by faith and is about us putting our total trust in Jesus who as a sinless man died on the cross in our place. He paid the penalty for our sin that we may be free through him. For God wants a relationship with us because he loves us more than we ever love Him and he would pay the price through Christ for our salvation which he offers to us as a free gift. It is that "free" gift that for so many makes the work of Jesus so difficult for many to accept. We want to do something to pay our way, even if it's only a part payment with Jesus doing the rest. To do that means we don't fully accept Christ's sacrifice, that we consider it lacking and requiring us to finish the work. To come to God through Christ alone requires humility, the admission that Jesus is the only way and that without him there is no hope.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2v8-9

God has done all the work though Jesus and if we will accept that gift and open our hearts to his ways then he will come into our lives. The religion will be replaced by relationship, a knowing of God. Not knowing about God, but experiencing Him and his personality in our lives. God himself has done all the work and He just invites us in. Not waiting for us to be perfect but making a way in our imperfection. That knowing God, allowing Him to enter our lives will change us from the inside out in a way that no religion could ever satisfy, for true refreshment of our souls comes only though Jesus.

December 2015 - Keeping Christ in Christmas

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her and he ate it. Genesis 3v6

There is no greater picture of the spiritual battle we face in Western countries than the battle of Christmas. Christmas, a time when we remember Jesus, the greatest gift ever given to man, but that the world seems determined to move into a dark corner replacing him with all the glitz and glamour of this world. The adverts scream at us from the television, billboards and the internet, a constant barrage of temptations and worldly desires all there to take our focus off of Christ. A time of remembering the joy of a gift given and received is turned into a selfish festival of fleshly want.

Those same temptations that fooled Adam and Eve at the dawn of humanity still fools us today as the desires of the flesh outweigh the cry of our spirit. Christ is moved from his position as Lord of our lives and replaced by worldly objects that bring us short term happiness in the flesh that spiritually kill us, taking us away from the freedom a loving Father has given us through Christ, replacing it with a slavery to the things of this world.

Just as Adam and Eve got fooled, so we fall for the same trick, instant gain leading to long term loss. For Satan's goal has always been to get our eyes off of Christ, it has always been to get us to bow down to foreign Gods made of gold, silver, wood, stone, plastic and circuit boards. The materials may change over the years but the results are the same.

Even the church is not immune from this issue, how often we almost close the church down at Christmas so that we can have a holiday! So that we can have a break from God and get on with all the things we want to do, indulging the flesh while the Father sits on the sidelines looking on. The person who gave the greatest gift is excluded while we selfishly celebrate our love of material things.

That does not mean that God does not want us to celebrate the birth of Jesus with our family, but how easy it is for Jesus to be moved out of that central position, for the greatest gift to be passed over for the things of this world. If it's the birth of Jesus we are celebrating, if it's that gift of life we are giving thanks for let us make sure we are giving thanks to the giver of life and that we do not get deceived by the one who only wants to bring us spiritual death.

Let us make sure at this year that Christ is first in Christmas!

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12v2

November 2015 - Worth Searching For?

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Jeremiah29v13

It is amazing how often I lose something, but whether I find it comes down to a number of things. The first of which is can I be bothered to look for it, and when I say look, I mean to search, to put some effort in and move things out of the way, to really look.

So often in our Christian life we want God to move in a greater way, but we are not willing to move stuff out of the way to look. It is as if we want the item we are looking for just to appear right before our eyes. As I have learnt so often in life, so often I cannot find the item because it has become covered up with other things, just the general clutter that seems to accumulate around me. God desires to be found by us, He desires it enough to send Jesus to die for us! So after all of that effort He is not going to try to hide himself. The problem is that the clutter of life not only builds up around us, but if we are honest, is more important than finding the Lord. God has ceased to be a priority in our lives if He is buried below the worldly clutter of our life.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.
Matthew 6v33

It's easy for us to make excuses about how important all of these other things are, bills to be paid, children to be cared for, work to be done, God knows all this. Jesus walked and lived as a man and knows the cares of this life, yet he made time for the Father, time with his heavenly Father was a priority.

Too often we come to God and tell him that once we have finished dealing with all the hassles of life, then we will have time to spend with Him. Then we will set aside time to really search for God with all our heart. Sadly this too is an excuse we use to justify our time away from God, the truth is that as soon as one event is dealt with another will come along and if something doesn't come along we will seek out something else instead. If God is not a priority today then the uncomfortable truth is that he will not be a priority tomorrow. There is always one more attraction in this world to keep us away from God. Do we even see these things as a burden that is taking us away from the Lord or are they the desires of our heart? We are not forced away from God, we choose to go and we choose to keep going. Jesus has made a way back; he is offering us an alternative way if only we would take it.

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11v28

I think the real question we have to ask ourselves is very simple. Is God valuable enough to me to search him out or am I happy to get on without him?

I know when I have lost something that if it's not of any value to me I will quickly give up. How valuable is the Lord to us? Is he valuable enough to move the clutter of our life out of the way and to seek him with all our heart?

We can blame many things, but sadly we need to put the spotlight back on ourselves. What is my eye set on? What is the desire of my heart? The thing that we are seeking first will tell us very clearly!

The Church - Gods family

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. Ephesians 3v14-15

If you have ever been to a family event when you are not part of the family you will know how odd it can feel. People are polite and it can be an enjoyable time but there is always that “knowing” that you are not part of the family and no matter how much you try, you never will be, because no matter how hard you try you have been born into a different family.

With the family of God it can seem the same, you can feel on the outside, you can be around Christians yet you do not feel part of the family, there is something different.

Thankfully with God we all start off outside his family, no one is born a Christian, you cannot inherit a relationship with God from someone else. Only through Jesus Christ can we all be adopted into Gods family and share a common ancestry that comes through Christ. No matter where we have started out from, it is only through Jesus Christ and his death on the cross that we can come into the family of God.

And once in that family we have a new heavenly Father who wants the best for us, who wants to see us develop and grow in him, changing us from the inside to understand his ways and thoughts. Not only do we have a Heavenly Father helping us to understand the family traits that he wants to see in us, but we also have other brothers and sisters who can help to show us the way forward in Him. That is what the church is about. A family of adopted children who have all come into the same family through Christ.

In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will. Ephesians 1v5

August 2015 - Taking responsibility

Today we live in a blame culture society, we no longer wish to take responsibility for issues but instead look for someone else to blame for the problems in our lives and in the world around us. We want to be able to ignore all warning signs and instruction and then when things go wrong pass the blame to someone else so that we can feel good about our decisions and direction.

It is why so often we hear people blaming God for the problems in the world and yet we are the first to ignore his instruction. We want everyone else to obey so that life will be good for us, the one who disobeys. We question why God allows things to happen, why doesn't he force the issue, yet with the same voice we say that we want free will, the choice to go our own way. What we are really saying is that we want the blessings of obedience without being obedient and so we continue on our path of destruction.

As we follow the path we take comfort in the fact that so many are going the same way and so we must be right in the path we are taking, we follow the ways of the world as we go with the flow. Yet God warns us:

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. Matthew 7v13-14

Why is it that so few find it? The answer is simple; we don't look for the right path. We do not have hearts that seek after God, but seek after ourselves and our own selfish desires. We don't like the idea of anyone being over us and so rebel against God and his ways.

Yet God loves us so much he has a constant desire to see us return to the right way, to experience the eternal blessings of following in his ways. He sent Jesus to show us the way and to make a way, that narrow way back to God through Jesus Christ.

I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14v6

The prodigal son in Luke 15 assumed he knew it all, that he knew the best way to go until eventually his eyes became opened to his true situation.

How we need God to open our eyes to reveal to us the true situation of our hearts, that we may take responsibility for our situation and stop blaming others, but instead coming in true repentance to God who will so willingly receive us.

July 2015 - Who is my heart walking after?

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.
But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.
Psalm 1v1-2

For many, turning away from God is a gradual process; it's something that develops over months and even years. It often starts with the oldest trick in the book where the enemy puts seeds of doubt in our mind just as Satan did in the Garden of Eden, "Did God really say…" (Genesis 3v1). The deception came because instead of listening to what God had said they started to take advice from elsewhere and that advice contradicted the word of God. Unwittingly they had entered "the counsel of the wicked". They had started to listen to ways that would slowly lead them away from the ways of God.

We often do the same, we know what the Bible says but we do not want to do it so we look for someone who will agree with us in our disobedience towards God. We will often find someone who is doing what we want to do and once we find them we join with them in their sin with the justification that everyone is doing it. Before we know it we have slipped from just listening to "the council of the wicked" and now "we stand in the way of sinners." We actually start to identify with those who live in disobedience to god and justify ourselves by them.

Soon however we fall to the next level, we "sit in the seat of mockers". At this point we don't just sin ourselves, but we mock those who are trying to go the right way, we discourage them in their walk and encourage them to join us in our disobedience to God. We cannot bear the thought of others going in a direction that brings conviction on us, so we mock them, hoping that they will join in our rebellion.

This is why we need to keep the word of God, the Bible, close to our hearts. Meditating on what it says, thinking about what is written and why, that we may be guided in Gods ways and experience the blessings he has for those who obey him.

It's a challenge to each one of us, where are we before God? Listening to the ways of this world? Joining in with them? Encouraging others to join us? Or do we have a heart after the Lord, delighting in his ways?

For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. Psalm 1v6

June 2015 - Breaking the rules

But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord. Jonah 1v3

To my shame, many years ago I was caught speeding in my car. As I shot up the motorway a police car saw me and pulled me over.

As I sat in the back of the police car the officer showed me the speed they had caught me at and told me I would get some points and a fine. I just smiled and agreed.

The office questioned me as to why I was not upset. I explained that I knew what the speed limit was, that I had broken the limit and as a policeman he was doing his job in stopping me speeding. The only person I could blame for my situation was me. I knew the rules and I knew the consequences and dangers of breaking the rules. As I sat in the police car getting my ticket I was facing the consequences of my rule breaking.

Jonah had got himself in a similar situation, God had given him a set of instructions and Jonah decided to do exactly the opposite, in fact the place he set out for was in exactly the opposite direction to where God wanted him so when he finished up in a storm he only had himself to blame.

The problem is that so often we don't want to accept the blame, we start by blaming the rules and the enforcer of the rules and yet the speed limit was there for my safety and the safety of everyone else. God's rules are the same; they are not there to take life away, as if God was some kind of spoil sport. God knows the outcome of certain ways of life and seeks to protect us not only in this life but eternally. Our eternal safety is precious to him, so precious that he would send Jesus to die for us to make a way by which we can be with him eternally. Of course many of us don't want to take that route; we don't want to live according to God's ways but instead wish to live our way, like a stroppy child we know best.

However for following a different route there is always a cost and God as a God of justice has to enforce those rules. If we want to go our own way there is a cost to page, eternal separation from God, it's a place the Bible calls Hell.

When we stand before God in judgement there will be no point protesting about the rules or the enforcer of the rules, all we can expect is swift judgement and the consequences of that judgement.

God has made a route through Jesus, a way to him both now and eternally. When Jesus hung on the cross God was putting up a signpost showing the way.

Thankfully we can always turn around and follow the way that God has set before us through Jesus; a way out of the storms of life and into a peace that can only come through Jesus.

Jesus answered, 'I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.' John 14v6

May 2015 - Election promises

For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the amen is spoken by us to the glory of God.
2 Corinthians 1v20

As we go through another general election we listen to all the promises of the various politicians and yet they all have one common flaw. They are all based on what they assume the future will be. They are promises made about things that there is often very little control over.

In 2007-8 we had the global banking crisis, a crisis that had a huge impact around the world and still does to this day. No matter what promises had been made by politicians around the world, in a matter of weeks those plans had been thrown into turmoil by events outside of their control. Those promises are made on the same assumption that I might promise it will snow this winter, it has in past winters, but then again it might not. It is beyond my control, I can plan for snow, but my plans will fall apart if the snow does not arrive and I will have wasted my time in the planning and preparing.

Thankfully when dealing with God we are dealing with someone who has already seen the beginning and the end and knows all the bits in the middle, this is why it is so important to a nation to stay close to God and follow His ways as he really does know what is coming, He knows the future.

When God makes a promise it is not based on a hope or a guess, Gods promises are based on certainty, faith in God is not a hope in a politicians dream, it is based on the certainty of the Word of God, that God himself can back his promises because he has the resources to do so. Not only do we know that God has the resources, but though the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross we know that God has the father heart desire to do so. He loves us so much that He has already paid the cost of our salvation.

If our life is built around the things of this world and their promises then we need to be aware that nothing is certain and that are plans are at best based on a vain hope that we know best. When we give our lives to god, when we live according to his promises then we know that no matter what happens he will be here for us in this short life, but also we will be with him in the life to come.

"Praise be to the Lord, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses." 1 Kings 8v56

April 2015 - Spiritual Poverty

"Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5v3

We live in a world obsessed by material gain, we judge a persons life by what they have, their house, their car, the size of their bank account or income, even the number of children or our worldly position are all looked on as markers of success.

However, when Jesus talked about the Kingdom of Heaven he was not talking about the things of the world, he was talking spiritually, so when Jesus talked about "the poor in spirit", he was not talking about those with little in the physical bank but those lacking spiritually, those who are poor spiritually, poor in their relationship with God.

So how would we know if we are poor spiritually? An easy way is to look at what matters to us, what do we spend our time seeking after? Are we searching for the things of God and his desires and our desire to know him better or looking at how we can get a new car, bigger house, maybe a new relationship? What is it that occupies the centre stage of our life, what are the real heart goals of our life?

When Jesus said "blessed are the poor in spirit" it did not mean he wants us to be poor in spirit but the first stage to fixing any problem is recognising we have a problem in the first place. At a recent health check the nurse told me I was overweight, not really news I wanted to hear because I do not like the idea of going on a diet, but I am aware of the problem and that is the first stage to dealing with the issue. Sadly for so many, they do not even know they are spiritually poor, eyes and desires are fixed so firmly on the short term things of this world that God and eternity are not even thought about, they may be spiritually bankrupt, but they have not yet realised and may not until it is too late.

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6v21

Let us be honest with ourselves, where is our treasure? Even for those of us who claim to be Christians, are we really seeking the things of God, are they central in our life or are they moved to the side, a hobby that we participate in when it suits us? It's a hard thing to see ourselves and our heart as so often we deceive ourselves, but if we ask the Lord he will reveal these things to us and he will show us our true state.

You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. Revelation 3v17-18

The good news is that Jesus does not want us to stay in spiritual poverty; he wants to lead and guide our lives so that we truly can become rich in the Kingdom of Heaven , rich in him. We just need to open our eyes and cry out to God, setting our heart on Him and allowing him to work in our lives. Jesus died so that we may have a full eternal life, a life of spiritual riches worth far more than the things of this world. It's all there if only we will open our eyes to our true state and reach out for more.

March 2015 - Easter Thoughts

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5v21

As we celebrate Easter we remember the death of Jesus on the cross, but at times it can seem remote, something that is nothing to do with us. However, when we see Jesus on the cross, he was held there not by the nails, but by his love for each one of us. He died there because of the joy set before him, the joy that once again we could have a relationship with God, free from the bondage of sin. Set free with a righteousness from God, a righteousness that we could never earn through our own good works. We could not earn salvation because the cost was too high, the only way they could be earnt was by paying the very penalty Jesus paid for us, death. As the Bible says that is the cost of our sin.

" The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6v23

In faith we trust him to have paid the debt we owed as a ghift given to us free of charge. Faith in Christ means trusting in him to have paid the whole price leaving nothing for us to pay, there is nothing that we can add or that needs to be added for our salvation, Christ was sufficient. Now we live our lives to glorify God not to pay the debt for our sin but in thankfulness for the price that has been paid by Jesus.

Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. Romans 12v1

Easter is a remembrance of death, but through Jesus it's also a remembrance of the new life that we can have through Christ, we give thanks that God views us with such love that he was willing to pay such a high price for us. All we have to do is accept the free gift in faith.

February 2015 - My ways are not your ways

“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55v9

When things don't go the way we expected it's very easy to lose our faith in God. So often we have stood on a promise or a verse that God has given us and we are sure he is going to fulfil his promise, then disaster comes. What we thought we had been promised falls apart before our eyes and at that point we can so easily be led astray by that deceiving voice "Did God really say…" (Genesis 3v1) and before we know it our faith starts to fail us.

So what are the reasons these things happen?

Well God is much bigger than this article, but let's just look at a few things that can so easily cause us these issues.

"Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Matthew 6v10

So often we do not seek Gods will on a subject at all, rather than "thy will be done" it's more of a "my will be done". We have decided for ourselves what the Lord needs to do, found an appropriate scripture without seeking the Lord at all. Rather than being led of the Spirit we have decided emotionally what Gods answer should be and we then try to force our will on him. Often this is not done in a malicious way, we are often desperate to see God move in the lives of a loved one and we start to think that God is obviously thinking the same way we are, we start to think that Gods thought patterns are the same as ours. We start to make God in our own image rather than realising that our minds need to be transformed so that we can understand his ways (Romans 12v2).

In a similar way we will grasp onto a scripture that another Christian has given us, but again it is so easy to pass on a verse to someone just to give them a hope and a comfort instead of seeking the Lord for his direction. We need to be careful when we get that word of encouragement, is it from the Lord or is it just someone wanting to see us lifted up? 1 John 4v1 tells us to test the sprits to see if they are from God, it's so easy for someone to become a false prophet when they have been moved by emotion rather than the Lord.

However there is another way that we think God has failed us when in fact he has answered our prayer in every detail. This is when we are looking according to the flesh rather than walking according to the Spirit. God has given us a promise and we in our minds have worked out just how that answer to prayer will look. God has spoken but we have put our interpretation on His word rather than seeking the Lord for His interpretation. The apostle Paul was someone who often prayed for believers to have revelation, for God himself to show them His will and ways in a situation but this requires us to have ears.

"He who has ears to hear, let him hear." Luke 8v8

So often we miss the answer to prayer because although we have listened to the Holy Spirit we have then translated Gods words in the way we would like to see them played out. We then see what we think is a failure of God when actually we are blind to the miracle, to the fulfilled promise that is staring us straight in the face. In our moment of doubt we walk according to the flesh and step away from God when in fact at that time we need to seek the Lord even more. We need to seek his wisdom, his understanding and the Holy Spirit is the only one who can teach us those ways.

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. James 1v5

We are not the first to miss the answer to a promise because we looked in the flesh rather than allowed the father to lead us by his spirit. When Jesus came he was rejected by the Jews, the very people to whom he had been promised, but because they had their idea of how a conquering king who would set them free from slavery would be in their minds, they missed the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who died on a cross to set them free from spiritual slavery. The Jews looked on a short term deliverance where God so often looks on eternal deliverance.

If you have a situation that has not worked out as you expected don't pull away from God, instead get as close as you can, ask for his comfort but also his understanding, ask Him to show you his ways that are so much greater than ours and then you will be able to say that is truly is "a good and perfect will" (Romans 12v2).

January 2015 - A Tree and its fruit

Thus, by their fruit you will recognise them. Matthew 7v20

As a teenager I used to go plumb picking with my brother to earn some money in the school holidays, as we would walk up to a tree the only thing that we looked at was the amount of fruit and how easily we could get at it. There was nothing better than a tree that had branches loaded with fruit that we could get to easily. We didn't care about the size of the tree, we didn't worry about the number of leaves or how old it was, all that concerned us was the amount of fruit.

In our own lives we can sometimes get a little bit confused over what the fruit is, we can look at all the stuff we have, our belongings, our career and bank account and think that those things are the fruit of our lives, but the fruit that God is looking for is the fruit of the Spirit, fruit that has come out of a relationship with God. Sadly so often our lives are filled with branches full of leaves, but there is no fruit. All our effort has gone into being a better looking tree with many branches and leaves, but there is no fruit that anyone can pick from our lives that would lead them to a taste of God. For it is only as we take our nutrients from God, as we root our lives firmly in him that we can produce the fruit that God really wants to see in us.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5v22-23

Sadly so often we disguise our lack of spiritual fruit by trying to hide behind the foliage of this world, the physical successes of life. Adam and Eve did this in Genesis 3v7 where they made coverings of leaves to try and hide what was lacking spiritually. The covering was there to hide the truth from God, but God looks straight at the heart of man, he is not distracted by outward appearance.

If we want to have true fruit in our lives, fruit that will last eternally rather than just a season, we need to be coming to God for his provision and nutrients in our lives as these fruits are heart attitudes. Just as apples grow on apple trees, so the fruit of our life depends on the type of tree, if we want Godly fruit then we need to be a Godly tree and that means being planted in the right place, firmly in Christ. As he becomes the centre of our life, he gives us the resource, the nutrients we need, the spiritual strength to produce fruit at the right time by changing our lives through the changing of our heart attitudes.

However, many of the fruits that God wants to see in our lives often mean that God has to do a bit of pruning in our lives; it can mean that we go through struggles to prove that the fruit is real. A fruit like patience often means that God has to allow us to wait to show the fruit is present, self control only shows itself when we are in a situation where we would lose control and become angry. Just like a good fruit tree, it often takes years of care and work by the farmer to get the best out of the tree. So as we allow God into our lives and obey his ways, accepting his pruning and care, we too will see fruit in our lives that benefits us and all those around us.

I guess the question is, do we want to show Gods fruit in our lives or are we happy to hide behind the leaves of this world.

December 2014 - Christmas Gifts

At Christmas there can often be quite a struggle to buy presents, what do they want? Do they already have one? And of course when we do know what they would like, can we afford it? If only money was no object!

Of course if you are God and you have the power of creation, the ability to just speak things into being then what gift would you give to those you love? How would you go about choosing the perfect present? Let's think about what a gift should really be. A gift is something freely given, it's something that is a token that shows the relationship we have with the other person and the more we know and relate to a person, the more personal we want that gift to be.

When we look around at the world we live in, the wars and conflicts, the poverty and despair we can often think of many things in our mind that God could give to the world to solve our problems, but God knows our real needs and so he sent Jesus, his greatest sacrifice for those he loved.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son… John 3v16

When God gave Jesus he was he was looking at the real problems in our lives and our real needs. Sadly wars and conflicts, poverty and famine and despair are all symptoms of our own inner issues. So often the wars and conflicts of this world are caused through our own sin, our inner greed to have something others have. At the same time poverty is so often the result of the few wanting the resources of the many. They are real issues that start in the heart of man.

To make things even more complicated we all do it, it has become our nature. Romans 3v23 tells us that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God". Each one of us has fallen short of the standard set by God and in Jesus God showed us that standard. So often we measure ourselves against others to give ourselves the comfort or p[ride that we are better than others, but Jesus was the benchmark that God sent to show us the true attitude of our hearts. We can try and restrain our action and words, but without a change of heart our inner attitudes stay the same.

For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. Matthew 12v34

God knows that the only way to have real change in our lives is to give us a new heart, to give us a new start and this is what he provided through Jesus. Jesus came and lived among us, he showed us how to live a truly godly life, a life that gave real love and respect to all around, a life that showed how God thinks and acts and Gods real desire and love for each one of us and then finally through the cross, he made a way that each of us could share in that life. How we could be spiritually born again through faith in Jesus.

Jesus declared "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." John 3v3

Jesus offered us a way to have a spiritual rebirth that we might be changed from the inside out. By starting on the inside the overflow of our heart is changed, as we grow closer to God, as he reveals more and more of his ways to us we start to understand his ways, to know his peace, his love, his strength and through these things we start to see the world as God sees it.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12v2

God wants to give us a new start, a new life starting from the inside out. It's the opposite of religion. Religion tries to change the inner person by working on the outside actions, God works the other way. He doesn't ask us to fight to get to him but just to come to him in faith and accept the path and the new life he offers through Jesus.

As the angels spoke to the shepherds on the hills before Jesus birth they praised God saying:

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests. Luke 2v14

In that simple birth, that simple gift of Jesus God was offering us everything we could possibly need and want. Peace with God and through a changed heart, peace with each other and peace with ourselves, not only for this life but eternally.

Jesus was the one gift that we all really need to accept, but just like any gift, it needs to be received with gratitude and thanks.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3v16

What and amazing gift of love we have in Jesus.

November 2014 - Hope

“For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29v11

As I write this they are about to pick the lottery winners, people around the country will be living in hope that today is their day. Yet at the same time they know in their hearts that there is only the remotest chance of winning. Their hope is based on chance, a very small chance of winning, but it would be best to wait until the numbers have been picked before ordering a new Ferrari.

Today that is how we tend to think about hope, it's not a certainty, it's just a chance that something might happen. The more we have a hope in something the more likely we are to act on that hope. When I go out to my car I have a very high hope that it will start. I make no other plans for how I will travel. I expect to get in and go, that's my level of hope in my car. Now with my motorbike it's a different matter, the battery tends to go flat so I often go out earlier and check that it will start and have a battery charger at the ready just in case. Once again my actions are based on my level of hope.

So it is with God, our actions show our level of hope in him. Many have no hope at all, they would not even consider calling out to him in prayer. Others are more like the lottery ticket owner; but don't expect anything to happen. Others as they grow in hope treat God like my motorbike, they do believe he can work in their lives but are not willing to trust him fully, always having a plan "B" on standby. However God wants us to have him as our plan "A", he wants us to learn to put our hope in him more and more and that hope when it's acted upon is called faith.

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Hebrews 11v1

Now you may say that you find it very difficult to have faith in a something unseen, in the promises of God, how can you be expected to trust in someone or something you have never met?

However most of us have never met the manager of the Bank of England and yet we believe the promise that he makes on the top of every bank note. A bank note is just a promissory note. It is worth a few pennies, just a bit of paper and some ink. It's only value is the promise on the top "I promise to pay the bearer on demand the sum of…". And yet we display total faith that the shop keeper will accept our money. We don't expect a shopkeeper to do a quick credit check on the Bank of England to make sure it can cover its promise. We act in total faith on a simple promise, if we didn't we would all have a bag of gold under the mattress.

Gods' promises are just the same, they are a promise that he makes but we have to put our hope and faith in those promises and in his existence.

You will seek me and you will find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29v13

Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Hebrews 11v6

God is there, he exists and we just need to seek him. It's all a matter of hope and faith.

October 2014 - Ears to hear

He who has ears, let him hear. Matthew 11v15

For me the greatest joy of being a Christian is having a relationship with God himself, to know the creator of the universe, the God of heaven and earth. It sounds almost arrogant, as if I was someone special, and yet through the forgiveness that came through Jesus Christ I am able to have a relationship with God. Not because I am special or have live a sinless life, but because Jesus lived a sinless life and paid the penalty for my sin on the cross and through that forgiveness I can come to God as a Heavenly Father. It is incredible to think that the King of Kings and Lord of Lords wants to spend time with me, but that is the truth. Praise God it's not just me he wants a relationship with, Jesus died on the cross that all of us can find a way to God through him, not by our own abilities, but by a simple act of faith, a trust in the finished work of Jesus. I could never earn my way to God; it is by a simple act of faith, as he has called me, I simply listened and responded to that call. That is Gods grace that is available to each one of us.

It sounds simple so why do more people not hear Gods call?

Jesus summed it up very simply in one of his favourite sayings "He that has ears, let him hear". Let's be honest, very often we don't want to hear. I've noticed that many of us seem to suffer from selective hearing. I know that if my wife shouts out that she needs help with the washing up, then my hearing seems to deteriorate, I become deaf to her call because she is not saying what I want to hear. Yet if she says that she has a bar of chocolate for me, I get a miraculous healing and can hear her from the other end of the garden. So often we do not hear God because we do not want to hear him, we do not have a heart after God, instead we have a heart set on ourselves and what we think our life needs. The things of God are not important to us.

Jesus had the same when he walked this earth, thousands went out to see him, but thousands did not. They stayed at home getting on with business, the things of God where not important enough to drag them away from their daily ways, even for a few hours. However, if we set our heart on finding God and hearing his voice he will speak into our lives.

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29v13

Of course it's one thing to hear God speak; the problem then comes with what he has to say. As Jesus taught many heard his words, but still did not hear what he had to say. They wanted to see the miracles and experience great things of God,

but for his words to make a real difference in their lives they would have to act on them and so often we do not want to follow the instructions, we want short cuts. I have this problem with flat pack furniture, I open the instructions and in my pride I think I know a better way, needless to say it never seems to work out. So it is with God, when he speaks into our lives we need to pay close attention to what he says, not my pre conceived ideas, and then when I hear properly obey. Will it mean changes in our life? Of course it will, but the best things come at a cost and the results are worth it.

One group who really struggled with Jesus words where the Pharisees and teachers of the time. They heard the words of Jesus and understood them, but they feared that it would take people away from their teaching, that they would lose their authority over the people. They liked to keep people in bondage to their rules and regulations as it kept them in power (Luke 11v37-52). They hard worked so hard on being religious but even though they heard and understood his words their hearts remained hardened

So how can we hear God today?

I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18v3-4

Young children are so willing to learn, they do not have preconceived ideas and they are willing to accept new things in our life. It's only as we get older and get stuck in our ways that we struggle to accept change. If we want to hear God we need to humble ourselves before God and just call out to him and be open to his response. In the Bible we have the account of Samuel in 1 Samuel 3v1-14, this was the first time Samuel had heard God speak and at first he did not understand it or even who was speaking, so often it can be like this when the Holy Spirit speaks into our hearts, we are expecting something big and spectacular but God just speaks quietly requiring hearing ears to listen.

God is not trying to hide from you, he wants to be found and wants to speak into all our lives, it's just a matter of us having a heart towards him and wanting to listen.

The Lord said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by."
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after that came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the entrance to the cave.
Then a voice said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah".
1 Kings 19v11-13

September 2014 - The church

And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. Colossians 1v18

So often the church is thought of as an organisation, a building, a denomination, a place to be visited for weddings and funerals and the odd Christmas carol service, however Gods sees it as something very different. When God looks at the church he sees a body of believers, a family made up of those who have accepted salvation through Jesus Christ and who now worship him as their Lord and Saviour.

The church is the body of Christ, those who are part of the family of God and this only comes about through Jesus Christ. This is important for us to understand because so often we can think we are a Christian because our family was 'Christian' or we attended a particular church, but none of that makes us a Christian in the eyes of God. Each one of us has to come to God as an individual and accept that Jesus died for our sins and only through him can we know God as our Father and receive eternal life through him.

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me." John 14v6

It is important to understand this because although in church we can learn about God and be taught the message of salvation, going to church does not in itself make us a Christian, it is only by us individually repenting and coming to God through Christ that we become a Christian and as we do we become part of the body of Christ, the church.

Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. John 3v5-6

Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God - children born not of natural decision or a husband's will, but born of God. John 1v12-13

When we repent and turn to Christ Jesus called it being born again, a way of explaining the spiritual rebirth that takes place. We are literally reborn into the family of God, the church!

The local church then becomes the part of the family that we belong to, and just like a family when there is a baby in the house, the church is the family that care for that baby as it grows, the church is there to protect, feed and care for the child. Without a family to care for it a baby would soon die if left on its own, so the church has the role of spiritual family while always helping the child to know their new spiritual father in a greater way. It is because of this that churches vary so much as they adapt to meet the needs of those who are in its local family. The meetings that take place, the worship, the teaching are all there to meet the needs of the local family and like all families, no two are the same. This means that some churches can consist of thousands of people in a service in a huge building while others may be a handful meeting in someone's home. Each one though is fulfilling the need as the Lord leads them.

Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. Romans 12v4-5

Now some would say that you do not need to go to church to be a Christian, and this is true, salvation is through Christ alone. However the church is described as a body and if we do not take our place in the body we rob the body of our function and do not fulfil the role that God has given us, we are not caring for the other members of the family. For just like a child, as it grows it not longer just receives from the family, but is expected to give, to help and take up duties within the family. This too is an important part of our spiritual growth that takes place within the church, the family of God. At first we just receive, we have teaching, we enjoy worship, we concentrate on our spiritual growth, but as we grow in the Lord we start to take up our responsibilities towards others within the church, to care for them and their needs, we grow up into parents, we start to use the giftings God has given us for the benefit of others within the body.

Finally don't expect the church to be perfect, it's full of sinners saved by the grace of God, but in a good church, those sinners will have found a relationship with God, they have found the way through Jesus and they will be happy to show you the way and have you as part of the family.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came through Christ Jesus. Romans 3v23-24

July 2014 - Love and rejection?

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love, real love, is not love until it is given away. Real love is always aimed at another, it is not about us and our wants, it's about the needs and desires of the one we love. Love always wants the best for the one we love; it puts their needs above ours and gives from the very core.

In the old King James version of the bible the word was translated as "charity" and in some ways that helps us to get a better understanding of the biblical meaning of love. When we give to a charity we give with no hope of getting back, the donation is only for the benefit of the one who receives the gift; the desire is for their benefit alone.

True love is sacrificial; it gives at a cost to self for another. When Jesus talked about love it was a sacrificial love, but Jesus did not just speak about it he demonstrated it by making the greatest sacrifice, the greatest act of love for us.

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. John 15v13

This is not the romantic love that we think of these days, this is the type of love of a parent sacrificing themselves for a child, of a soldier sacrificing himself for his comrades. It's displayed in outward acts that do not count the cost to self; this is the "love" that the bible talks about.

The Bible says that love is the greatest (1 Corinthians 13v13), but it does not come without risk. For the greatest threat to someone who truly loves is rejection, rejection from the one they love. When I was young, when a girl no longer wanted to go out with you, we used to call it being "dumped". It summed it up so well, that feeling of everything we are is worth nothing in the eyes of the one we love. We are reduced to mere rubbish, it's a pain that is beyond anything physical, it cuts deep to our very soul. It's a pain that we think no one else can understand; it's a pain that is sometimes so brutal that we never want to love again for fear that we will face that rejection pain again. How can anyone else understand that pain?

And yet God does understand, in His love for us he made the ultimate sacrifice for us at the cross. He gave everything in Jesus, he endured physical and emotional pain, but more than that, he faced the pain of rejection. Even now as we choose to go our own way he faces that ongoing rejection from us.

He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. John 1v11

He came to those He loved, those He created, and yet we rejected that love. Each one of us has sinned, each one of us needed Jesus to die for him; it is his love for us, his desire to set us free from sin that held him to the cross, that is the amount of love God has for each one of us and yet so often we still reject that love.

Gods love is so great for us that He did not wait for us to love Him, instead he poured out his love for us through Jesus. It wasn't mere words, but real action, real self sacrifice, real selflessness and He continues to display his endless patience with us as we continue to reject Him. You may have felt rejected in the past, you may have been "dumped" and experienced that pain of rejection, but you can be sure that God will never reject you. He has already demonstrated his love for you in Jesus at the cross. When someone has demonstrated that level of love towards you, you know you will be safe in their hands.

But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5v8

God however does not just want us to stay as we are; He sees in each of us what we can truly be. His desire is to see us grow and experience real life, a life that only comes through knowing God. That's not about having a religion; it's about having a relationship, about knowing God Almighty, the maker of heaven and earth.

No matter who has rejected you, no matter how hurt you feel, God wants to lift you out of the rubbish and give you a brand new life.

I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10v10

June 2014 - Just for emergencies?

I call on the Lord in my distress, and he answers me. Psalm 120v1

For many the only time they want God in their life is when something important is happening, "hatches, matches and despatches" (births, marriages and deaths) as my Dad would say. God is only called upon in situations when we feel we can no longer manage ourselves, we treat him as a breakdown service. Outside of these occasions we really do not want him in our life.

When I take my motorbike overseas I do have breakdown cover, but I've never needed it. Before I go away I take the bike to a mechanic who checks everything and services it. Parts that are faulty are replaced and the bike is prepared for what lies ahead and anything of any concern is discussed and my mind put at rest. Instead of worrying about breaking down, I'm then free to get on with enjoying the ride, safe in the knowledge that someone with far more mechanical knowledge has checked everything through. Even better is the fact that I have his telephone number with me so that when the odd issue has arisen I've been able to check it out with a quick call.

This is more like the relationship God wants with us, he does not want us to have to go forward alone, trying to work out if everything is going to be OK and then being unprepared for the emergencies that arise. He wants us to have an ongoing relationship with Him, for us to be able to call on Him at all times, good and bad. He wants us to allow Him to work in our lives, showing us the weak parts that need strengthening and the bits of our life that can lead to spiritual and physical failure.

God knows us far better than we know ourselves, but more than that He knows what is in store for us. He wants to see us reach our full potential, to give us real life, fulfilling life.

The thief comes only to steal and destroy; I have come that they might have life, and have it to the full. John 10v10

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to give you hope and a future". Jeremiah 29v11

His desire is to help us experience real life, to open our eyes to the spiritual world that is out there, to share his ways with us and for us to be His friend. Can there be any greater privilege in life than to be a friend of God.

As we grown in our relationship with the Lord we realise that God himself wants to be involved in all aspects of our life, preparing us for what lies ahead as He leads and guides us. All we have to do is call on Him.

The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. Psalm 145v18

May 2014 - Are you lost?

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost. Luke 19v10

There is a bit of autobahn near Duisburg in Germany that has a road junction on it that has fooled me many times on my travels through Europe . The problem is that I keep missing the sign! It's not that the sign is missing or faulty, it's just that the city I want is not mentioned on the sign and instead it lists a different city on the route I want to take. The information is right in front of me, it just doesn't appear in the way I would have done it. These days it's not too bad, as soon as I have missed the junction…again…I quickly recognise the wrong road and know a different route I can take to get me back on course; how different from the first time I got it wrong, I just kept going! I didn't even know I was lost; I was absolutely convinced I was on the right road and it wasn't until I suddenly entered a place called Essen that I realised my mistake. Until that point everything had seemed fine. Everyone else seemed happy with the route, I didn't see the locals panicking; why should they? They wanted to go to Essen , to them it was home, but it was not where I wanted to be. My pride in my sense of direction and ability to learn routes had been my downfall, I had assumed I knew it all when I should have spent a bit more time looking at the map and checking my route.

Spiritually it can be the same, in life we see everyone going in the same direction so we just assume that is the route we should take as well. It often doesn't occur to us that they are not going where we want to go, we just follow the crowd which is fine if you want to go the same way the crowd is going. However if you want to go somewhere else it means you are on the wrong path.

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. Matthew 7v13-14

So often when God speaks to us the sign is not as we would expect it to be, Gods ways are not our ways and we can often misunderstand the sign or the message someone is trying to give us. Many years ago I was out on my motorbike and watched a car going round a roundabout that was pouring petrol all over the road. The driver had forgotten to put the petrol cap back on after filling up. I followed him up the road and flashed my lights at him a few times but got no response so I pulled alongside him, but still he just ignored me. Finally I got in front of him a forced him to stop. The driver was quite aggressive; maybe he thought he was going to be the victim of road rage. However, when I explained the reason for pulling him up he changed completely, he went from aggressive to thankful realising that I was actually trying to help him.

As a Christian there is a similar dilemma. If I believe what the bible says and I have a love for those around me, surely I would want to warn them of the danger they are in. The problem is that people can take the warning as a sign of aggression, a sign of superiority, a sign of knowing better when the truth is that I'm trying to share the fact that I've got lost on that same route. Being a Christian does not make me superior to anyone, I'm a sinner just like everyone else. The only difference is that I have accepted the forgiveness that comes by grace through Jesus Christ. I have accepted the free gift of salvation, the fact that he paid the penalty for my sin on the cross. It's not like I have earned anything, there is nothing I can do to earn Gods grace and favour. The life I live for the Lord is out of thankfulness for what God has done for me.

Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. Romans 12v1

We are urged to live for God out of thankfulness for what we have received, not out of an attempt to earn Gods favour. The problem is that at times Christians can forget the fact they are sinners saved by grace, instead we start to trust in our own good lives. At that point we slip into pride, a sin that God hates; we reject Gods grace and replace it by our own abilities and good works, we become blind to the fact we have once more taken a wrong turn and can often travel many miles before we realise the truth and have to humbly turn round in repentance and get back on the path God has laid out for us. As we are warned in the Bible;

So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you do not fall. 1 Corinthians 10v12

If you are reading this and you realise you are lost, that you have no relationship with God through Jesus Christ; that you have no idea of your eternal direction; then at least you are already part way to getting on course. You know you are lost! Now you just need to finds someone who can show you the way. That is what the church is for; it's not there to judge people; that's for God to do. You may think your sin is beyond forgiveness, that you are worse than anyone else. The truth is we are all very similar; the same sins grip us all.

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. 1 Corinthians 10v13

God knows you, he loves you and he wants a relationship with you. He sees the direction you are going in and frantically tries to warn you of the consequences of the route you are taking. It's up to us if we heed those warnings or stick with the crowd.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. Romans 3v23.

All have sinned, you are not alone. Will you accept Gods path to eternal life through Jesus Christ?

April 2014 - Good enough for eternal life?

As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher”, he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Mark 10v17“

This man who came to Jesus wanted the answer that so many want, how do I get eternal life? What must I do? How good must I be? How can I earn eternity? We know from the next few verses (Mark 10v19-20) that he believed he was living a good life and this was in many ways the check up to see that he had done enough.

This young man was looking at how Jesus lived and the teaching he gave and has come to the conclusion that he is a "good" teacher, a good role model for him. Jesus response pushes the young man into thinking about just what he means by "good". How was this man measuring good, especially in respect to his own life?

Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good - except God alone.” Mark 10v18

Here Jesus has challenged the man on who measures what is good. In his own eyes, measuring himself against others, this young man could probably justify his statement by saying he was good. Compared to a murderer in his own eyes, he would be right. However, Jesus takes him to the very heart of sin by stating that only God is good. In this statement he is saying that if only God is good, then by default everything else is not good. In other words, no matter how much effort this young man put in, he would never be good in comparison to God. As Romans 3v23 says:

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God".

In eternity how we measure up to each other is of little consequence as we don't control eternity. In a football match the different supporters can have their view on an incident, but in the end it is the referee who makes the decision, based on the rules of the game. Jesus was letting the young man know that in eternity God is the referee and his decision is final.

In Mark 10v19 Jesus says to the young man

"You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honour your father and mother'."

The young man thinks at this point he can justify himself by his obedience to these commandments, but he has missed the point. These commandments are there to show us how to live, but they are also there to show that we cannot justify ourselves by our own efforts.

Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. Romans 3v20

This man was trying to justify himself as holy using what God had given to show him he was a sinner.

Jesus had asked the man about his understanding of the commandments, but there was one commandment that Jesus had left out, the first commandment:

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." Mark 12v30

It's the commandment that makes us face the reality of our sin because it shows our heart attitude towards God. The young man who had come to Jesus thought he had everything sorted out in his life, he thought he would be able to justify himself before God because of his actions. In Mark 10v21-22 it says:

Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, Then come follow me."
At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth .

Jesus had moved past the external appearance of self righteousness and gone straight to his heart, he had showed him that the things of this world, the things that he was rich in were more important to him than God. He may have done well in the eyes of the world in his fulfilment of many of the commandments, but he had failed on the main reason for keeping the commandments, God himself. The truth was that the man loved the things of this world more than he loved God. He realised that although he thought he was giving his life for God he was only giving up the bits he didn't mind losing. When Jesus asked him to give up his money the man realised what his heart was set on, he knew he was a sinner without any hope of eternal life.

If we are honest, we would all say the same and so we come to the realisation that in our own strength we have no way of obtaining eternal life, instead we will spend eternity away from God, in hell. We would echo the words of the disciples:

"Who then can be saved" Mark 10v26

As Jesus replied

"With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God." Mark 10v27

Although Jesus had shown that there was no way for a man to be made righteous through his own ability, he did not say there was no hope. Instead he spoke of a hope that would come through God himself, a righteousness that he would provide and did provide through the death of Jesus on the cross.

Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for mans sin, meaning that the only way to the Father was through his work on the cross. This means that to come to God we need to humbly accept the forgiveness that was made available through Jesus and realise that in his sight our good works mean nothing. As Isaiah the prophet said:

All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. Isaiah 64v6

Our own acts of righteousness are nothing in comparison to the holiness of God, the only thing that can make us righteous enough for God is God himself, which is what he did in Jesus.

But now a righteousness from God, apart from the law, has been made known, to which the law and the prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and our justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. Romans 3v21-24

God has done everything we need through Jesus, the questions we need to ask ourselves is:- who we are trusting in? Who is our faith in, ourselves or Jesus? To which one will we trust our eternity?

March 2014 - The cost of running away?

The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me." Jonah 1v1

Jonah was a man who had experienced God in his life, he was a prophet (2 Kings 14v25), so would be used to listening to God and to acting on his instruction. However like so many of us, Jonah wanted to serve God, but only when God was doing what he wanted God to do. When God called Jonah to go and preach in Nineveh it was a step too far for him. He was happy to preach among his own people, a people he loved and cared for, but now God was calling him to speak to those he did not naturally like, people who he considered Israel 's enemies. Jonah didn't want to see the Ninevites being blessed by his God, he would rather they perished as we see in Jonah 4v1-2.

So Jonah decided to run away from God and sets out for the city of Tarshish , why Tarshish? Well the answer is quite simple; Tarshish was a centre of import and export, a nation of sailors who traded with all the nations around them (Ezekiel 27v12 & 25, 38v13), a place where Jonah could do business and make money. Located towards the western end of the Mediterranean , Tarshish was also about as far away from Nineveh as Jonah could get. So Jonah had totally rebelled against the instruction God had given him, he would run away from his calling and go and make some money instead.

For many who fall away from serving God it's exactly the same, something inside suddenly says I don't want to serve God any more, I don't want to do what God has called me to do! So we run away and straight into the arms of the world. We try to fill the vacuum with new gods of gold and silver, of worldly success and knowledge. Just like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden we replace serving God with the things that are pleasing to the eye and appealing to the intellect (Genesis 3v6). We will blame others or circumstances for our falling away, but ultimately we choose to be disobedient, we choose to run after our own gods and we pay the price for it.

“But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord. Jonah 1v3

Jonah made the deliberate act of running away from the Lord and on the day he boarded the ship I'm sure he would have convinced himself that all was going to be well, it was probably a nice day, the sea looked great and he was off on a new adventure. OK Nineveh would perish, the word of the Lord would not get preached, but he could console himself with the thought of getting on with a new life in a foreign land and making some money. but right from the start it would cost him. No longer walking in Gods blessing he now started to pay the price of his new life, he would pay the fare, the cost of running away.

Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up.“ Jonah 1v4

All of us have storms in life; some are just the ebb and flow of life, others are sent by the Lord to get our attention and this storm certainly got his attention, but he stayed resolute in his determination to keep running away. While the sailors cried out to their gods, Jonah went downstairs and closed his eyes to the situation and went to sleep (Jonah 1v5). Jonah knew the reason for the storm; he knew it was his sin, his disobedience that was causing the calamity that endangered not only him but all that surrounded him, but he couldn't cry out to God, he couldn't face the Lord because he knew the Lord would tell him to turn around, so he continued to suffer along with all those around him. So often we forget that others often suffer for our disobedience to the Lord and yet still Jonah slept, ignoring a storm that could so easily kill him.

Finally the sailors cast the lot to find out who was responsible and all eyes turned to Jonah, he had already told them he was running away from God (Jonah 1v10) but with so many different "gods" did it matter. Jonah however was not running away from a cast idol, he was running away from the real God.

"The Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land." Jonah 1v9

For superstitious sailors this was probably the last thing they wanted to hear, they now understood the reason for the storm, they could see it was getting worse and they had no idea how to stop it. Only in their desperation do they finally turn to Jonah and ask him what to do and at this point we see the change that has taken place in Jonahs life. Jonah had started on this journey because he had no love for the people of Nineveh , a people who worshipped strange gods. There was no way he was going to give his time and energy for them but now he starts to understand that his life belongs to God and he turns to the Lord in repentance.

"Pick me up and throw me into the sea," he replied, "and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you." Jonah 1v12

Finally Jonah stops sleeping and ignoring the issues of life and addresses the true reason for the storm, it's him, it's his sin, and it's his fault. We can blame so many things but until we will be truthful with ourselves and the Lord the storm just continues. Jonah was waking up to the reality that you cannot run away from God.

Jonah was also learning to love others, he recognised that his sin was endangering the lives of others and he was now willing to give his life to save them. These men were not Israelites and didn't serve God any more than the Ninevites did but finally Jonah was willing to give his life for others, he was starting to learn to see the world as God sees it. Just as Jesus in obedience to the father sacrificed his life on the cross for those who did not love him, so Jonah sacrifices his life in obedience to God that others may be saved.

Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. Romans 12v1

Jonah was learning what it really means to serve God, it was more than the words that came from his mouth, and it was also the servant attitude that came from his heart.

At this point Jonah has given everything, any worldly goods he had would have been thrown into the sea with the rest of the cargo. Jonah just put himself in the hands of God, even if it meant losing his life and yet God honoured him and saved him, not only did he save him but he restored him to the ministry he was called to and Jonah went in obedience to Nineveh and preached a message of repentance, a message that he now fully understood. God restored him and the people of Nineveh turned from their sin. This wasn't the end of the lessons Jonah needed to learn, the Lord had plenty more to teach him about His ways, but it was a new start going in the right direction.

“I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten…” Joel 2v25

February 2014 - Busy Making Bricks

Exodus 5v9 "Make the work harder for the men so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies."

The Israelites had prospered in Egypt, their numbers had grown and they had been fruitful (Exodus 1v6). Egypt in the Bible is used to represent the world and worldliness. Egypt at this time was powerful and rich and for the Israelites it had provided all they needed to prosper but as always where Gods people start to thrive, the enemy comes in and conflict occurs. The Egyptians had no desire to see the Israelites increase in number and become powerful as they thought they would be a threat to them (Exodus 1v9-10).

At the same time we have to wonder what was happening in the Israelites relationship with Almighty God, the first time we read of them crying out to God in Egypt was once persecution had started (Exodus 1v7). Like so many of us today we don't want to have God involved in our lives until trouble comes, only then do we turn to him for deliverance. This is one of the ways that the world so often draws people away from God by fulfilling the desires of the flesh it dulls the appetite for the spiritual. It's an old trick of Satan's going right back to the Garden of Eden. Man had a great relationship with God with God wanting him to rule over His creation (Genesis 1v26 & 28). But Satan as always wants to have the glory taken away from God and in Genesis 3 we have to account of the fall of man. The serpent didn't walk up to Adam and Eve and tell them to disobey God, he used his usual subtle route, and he offered them something that was appealing to the flesh, intellect and pride. The fruit was attractive to the eye; it looked good, smelt good and at first would taste good. It would give them knowledge and would make them like God (Genesis 3v6). Little did they realise it was knowledge of sin and death, a knowledge that would kill them.

The Israelites had done well but as Gods people he wanted them set apart for himself and the only way that could happen was for them to give themselves totally to Him and stop serving money and we all know that's not easy when the world and its shiny baubles are twinkling in our eyes. So often when problems come into our lives we can think that God has forgotten us but God does not miss a thing. As the Egyptians started to put slave masters over the Israelites they started to cry out to God about the injustice in their lives and yet they had not realised that for years they had been slaves to the ways of the world, it's just now their eyes had been opened. Now instead of making things for themselves they now made bricks for Pharaoh.

Notice when God spoke to Moses from the burning bush (Exodus 3v7-8) God does not say "I will make them comfortable in the land of the Egyptians", he said that he wanted to take them completely out of Egypt to the land that He would give them, a land flowing with milk and honey (Gods blessing). It was not enough for God to see the Israelites living in Egypt and doing well at business, he wanted them to be his own separate people living under His provision. How often do we want God to work in our lives, not so that we are set apart for him but so that we are more comfortable in the world we live in?

In Exodus 5v1-9 we see Moses and Aaron going to Pharaoh and asking him to set the Israelites free so that they could serve their God. Instantly we see two things happen. Firstly Pharaoh refuses to obey God, after all as Pharaoh he had set himself up as God. But then he increases the work for the Israelites. His idea was to keep the Israelites so busy they would have no time for God (Exodus 5v9). As always the world wants to keep anyone wanting to serve God captive to the ways of the world. Just like the serpent in the Garden of Eden he dismisses Gods word as a lie (Genesis 3v1) and tries to steal it away from those crying out to God. For the Israelites crying out to God it looked at first as if God was doing nothing, they had cried out for deliverance and things just seemed to have got worse, but God had far more planned for them than they could imagine. He wanted to prove beyond any doubt that their deliverance was a miracle from God, that he would do everything needed to set them free they just could not see it as they looked with worldly eyes at what was happening around them.

Romans 12v2 says "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good pleasing and perfect will."

So often our minds are locked into the thinking of the ways of this world, our ideas of success and failure are all based on the world's standards but God wants to set us free to live His way and that starts by crying out to Him. By telling Him that we want to be free, not that we want our lives patched up but we want to be set free completely. This is what Jesus came to do; his whole life was about setting men free, people where freed from sickness, disability even death during is life; but in his death he made a way for us to be free eternally. He made a way for us to be delivered out of slavery to sin and to be free in him, free to worship God and to bring Him the glory He deserves and as we spend time with Him, as we read the bible and pray our minds start to get transformed so that we start to see and understand Gods plans for our life. Only then do we realise that he has greater things in store for us than we could ever have dreamed.

The question we have to ask ourselves is, for whom are we working? Where is the products (bricks) of our lives destined? Is it for some task master, to build up another's kingdom? Is it for ourselves, to build up our own little kingdom of worldly wealth? Or are we living to serve God to follow Him and lift his name high?

Jesus came to set us free, we just need to cry out to Him in repentance. If we will do that he will come into our lives and set us free. You may think you are trapped but God is greater, the stronger the trap the greater the deliverance.

"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed" John 8v36

Prayer Meeting

Thursday 12/12/2024 at 7:30 PM

Due to the popularity of the "Texting over WhatsApp" prayer meeting that developed over the lock down period we are going to continue the format for the time being. The current format has allowed us to move away from giving the Lord a shopping lis...

More Details

Sunday Morning Service

Sunday 15/12/2024 at 11:00 AM

A time of prayer, worship, teaching, communion and fellowship as we seek the Lord together. All welcome. We meet at Worcester Early Years Centre, Manor Farm, Lower Wick, Worcester, WR2 4BS. Please make sure you have read the current Covid-19 in...

More Details

Evening Service Upper Welland

Sunday 15/12/2024 at 6:30 PM

A time of prayer, worship, teaching and fellowship as we seek the Lord together. All welcome. We meet at Upper Welland Methodist Church, Upper Welland Rd, Malvern WR14 4LA Parking: Please park on the church side of the road, downhill fr...

More Details

Afternoon Bible Study

Tuesday 17/12/2024 at 1:15 PM

Daytime bible study in Powick held at 10 Alton Park, Callow End. WR2 4UJ. Contact 01905 425976 for details....

More Details

Lower Wick Bible Study

Tuesday 17/12/2024 at 7:30 PM

Our weekly time of bible study held at 58, Canada Way, Worcester. Tel 01905 425976 for details....

More Details

Prayer Meeting

Thursday 19/12/2024 at 7:30 PM

More Details

Sunday Morning Service

Sunday 22/12/2024 at 11:00 AM

More Details

Evening Service Upper Welland

Sunday 22/12/2024 at 6:30 PM

More Details

Afternoon Bible Study

Tuesday 24/12/2024 at 1:15 PM

Daytime bible study in Powick held at 10 Alton Park, Callow End. WR2 4UJ. Contact 01905 425976 for details....

More Details

Lower Wick Bible Study

Tuesday 24/12/2024 at 7:30 PM

Our weekly time of bible study held at 58, Canada Way, Worcester. Tel 01905 425976 for details....