is your church a healthy church Part 2

2 Timothy 3 verses 10-17

For example there was a writer called Bennett who was alleged to have said "Of course the water is safe to drink", only for him to die of typhoid. Dr Johnston once said "Nothing concentrates a man's mind so much as the knowledge he is to be hanged in a fortnight." 2 Timothy is Paul's last letter, written to the young Timothy. In this letter Paul concentrates on the Gospel and Christian duty. Paul concentrates on the grace of God and the outworking of that in the life of a believer towards God and towards others. So this is Paul's last letter to his young pastor Timothy.

2 Timothy 3 verses 1-10 - in these opening verses Paul outlines a very dark picture of human behaviour. When you read those verses you see a picture of the world in which Paul and Timothy lived and I think you will also agree a portrait of the world in which we live today. In verses 6-9 Paul outlines the behaviour of the false teachers of Timothy's day.

Verses 10-11 - Paul wants to encourage the young Timothy by reminding him of the example he had seen with Paul. In contrast to this the false teachers has lived a very different life. Paul begins verse 10 with a very emphatic 'You', emphasising a clear contrast between the young Timothy and the false teachers of verses 1-9.

'know all about' - literally you follow closely, or follow faithfully as a rule of life a standard of conduct. He has not only known it mentally, and assented to it, but has also followed it closely, but what has he known fully about Paul?

Paul speaks of 'My teaching' (or doctrine) which was seen in his 'manner of life' or way of life. Paul's conduct was consistent with his teaching. Oh, if only we could say that of every Christian today.

'My purpose' which was expressed in his 'faith' lived out in his manner of life.

'Patience' which is that self-restraint, fruit of the Spirit, when faced with provocation. The very opposite of anger in a given situation, such as the persecution and suffering which he had faced for the sake of the gospel.

'Love' - divine love produced in the heart of the yielded believer by the Holy Spirit. How very different from the self-love of the false teachers of verses 1-9.

'Endurance' - whilst under pressure, which does no surrender to circumstances and does not succumb under trial. This is one characteristic that we desperately need in the church today. Too many Christians give up too easily. Too many Christians expect life to be easy with no trials or tribulations on the road to heaven - Psalm 23 should persuade you otherwise.

'Persecutions' - coming form the verb 'to pursue'. Paul had once pursued the Christian believers from town to town in his zeal to persecute them. Now he too had experienced such persecution. Why would we expect anything different than our brothers and sisters in Christ?

'Sufferings' or 'afflictions.' Paul lists the places that he had faced such sufferings. These are recorded for us in Act 13 and 14. Take Lystra for example. Timothy would have been familiar with this episode in the life of Paul as he was a young man at the time and converted under Paul's ministry there. Paul was bombarded with stones and left for dead in Lystra. Timothy would have had poignant memories of this event.

Verses 12-13 here is a very important verse. Suffering and persecution is a normal part, and to be expected, of living a godly life. Those who determine to be constant in godly living take note of this. Godliness is not being sanctimonious, nor is it self-righteousness but a life lived according to God's Word. You see the devil will happily ignore a worldly Christian but faithfulness to Christ and the ways of God will draw his hostility. What a contrast the life of the evil impostors of Paul's day. This is the only time in the NT where 'impostors' is used of people. The word originally meant a wailer or howler, a juggler or enchanter. Over time it came to be associated with those who practiced the deception and with witchcraft. These false teachers were themselves deceived and have set out to deceive others. Their evil character has been described in verses 2-5 and the impostor's seductive part has been outlined by Paul in verses 6-9. The authorised version of the Bible spoke of these people 'shall wax worse and worse.' We would say they are going from bad to worse. The Greek has the sense of a man cutting a way through thick vegetation for others to follow him. Such is the description Paul gives to the false teachers who lead people astray from the Word of God.

Verse 14 - we have one of the great 'But as for you...' statements of the NT. In contrast to these evil impostors Timothy is to live a very different life. He is to 'continue in...' that is he is to abide or remain in the way of life and teaching in which he is already established. Timothy is not only to grab hold of the truth but he is also to allow the truth to grab hold of him. The truth must be believed and be seen to be believed in the manner or way of life lived by Timothy. Timothy's daily life was to reveal that the truth had taken hold of him. It is not enough to know the truth but also to be seen to live according to the truth. Again a lesson we all need to obey. As the evil around Timothy increases and persecution presses in on every side Timothy must stand firm in the knowledge that the truth of God does not change but remains constant and is unchanging in its character.

Listen to what Paul tells Timothy - hold on to the faith once taught 'that you have learned..become convinced of.' It was not just a mental assent but a truth that had wrought a change in his heart and life and in his way of life. He had become fully persuaded of the truth of God's Word. He had two reasons for his confidence:

First, he knows from whom he had learned that truth. He had learned from Paul, from Eunice his mother and Lois his grandmother. Their trustworthy character is the key to this. He had heard the truth from them but as equally importantly he had seen them live the truth each day. That is the key isn't it- we need to be seen to be living according to what we believe. There are enough Christians who do not live it the way they talk it today. That is why Paul has repeatedly emphasised his manner of life to Timothy - because he lived by the truth each day, even in the face of suffering and persecution.

You see the custom of the Jews was from the earliest age to teach their children the Word of God and to expect them to memorise it. We have lost that today, we should not be so quick to despise the memorising of scripture. Timothy's heritage was the holy Scriptures, the sacred writings (the OT) which his mother, grandmother and pastor Paul had taught him. Look at what Paul says - this is able to make him wise (in preparation) unto salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. The Scriptures that he was taught disciplined him in obedience to God and pointed to the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, through whom salvation would come. There is a simple little lesson for us all there - do not neglect to teach your children the Bible, the whole Bible and not just the NT. You know one of the field workers for Fields of Life gets angry when people only give children New Testaments. She says 'it is like giving them half a meal.' Think for a moment about Handel's Messiah - most of it is taken from the OT and yet it is all about Christ - the OT reveals Jesus Christ - it did to Timothy.

Verses 16-17 Paul now speaks to Timothy of the written Word of God. 'All' or 'Every Scripture is God breathed.' When writing to Timothy here Paul is speaking of the OT, the sacred scriptures but these two verses can be expanded to include the NT as well - when we place them alongside 2 Peter 3 verse 2 and verses 15-16, 1 Thess. 2 verse 13 and 1 Timothy 5 verse 18. These verses link the OT and NT writers together and Peter includes Paul's writings with 'the other scriptures.' Paul himself in 1 Thessalonians refers to his letter as 'the Word of God.'

Here Paul joins two Greek words together to speak of Scripture as being 'God-breathed' (theopneustos). This word is used only here in the NT and means literally 'God-breathed.' The breath of God. We know that only things that are living have breath. Paul is saying the Scriptures were breathed out by God, brought into being by the very breath of God. He then speaks of their usefulness:

Teaching the truth or doctrine. Both the content of the teaching and the action of obedience to the teaching is spoken of here. It is the impartation of knowledge which requires action. Scripture is inspired by God to transform and not just to inform.

Rebuking - which is to rebuke in order to bring about conviction of the sinner (Titus 1 verse 9). A good example of this is the letter to the Galatians. Correction - the setting right of that which is wrong, or the restoration to an upright position of that which has fallen. The restoration of a sinner to a right state with and before God.

Instruction - conveys the idea of training. Literally Paul uses the word for the rearing of a child. All believers need to be trained in righteousness and this must be by the application of the Word of God. This is to be both inward and outward.

Verse 17 the outcome of all this is that the Christian is perfect, brought to maturity by the Word of God working in their life so that they may be 'thoroughly equipped for every good work' which according to Paul in Ephesians 2 God has prepared in advance for them to do. The imagery here of being thoroughly equipped is of a vessel being fitted out and furnished for readiness. For Paul it is the Word of God which fits out, furnishes, the believer to be ready to live a manner of life worthy of a follower of Christ.

ConclusionIs you're church a healthy church when it comes to the Bible? If we believe that this is the Word of God, that it contains all we need to know for salvation and will enable us to be equipped to follow Christ - what are we doing with it? Reading it daily? Living it daily? Teaching it to our children? Are we using it in our lives to teach and train, correct and rebuke so that we commend the gospel? Well only you can answer that for yourself.

Amen.

Thanks to Alan

The misuse of Prayer

The Misuse of Prayer

Let me ask you a question: ‘Do you think it is possible to misuse prayer?’ I mean is it possible for us to pray in such a way that we are actually abusing the privilege which is ours through prayer? I think we misuse prayer far more often than we think or would like to think.

The Prayer of Jabez

1 Chronicles 4.9-10 contains the prayer of Jabez. A few years ago a Christian author called Bruce Wilkinson wrote a book with that title and it became an instant best seller. Some of you may have even read it. When I read the book, and listened to Christians discuss it, I was immediately uneasy with it. The gist of the book was that we too could ask God to bless and enlarge our territory and that if we were righteous God would answer positively. Many people bought into the ‘health and wealth’ premise of the book without realising that was what they were doing. Let me explain why. The prayer itself is a classical Jewish prayer in which the presence and protection of God is desired and requested. Jabez’s prayer was in fact a direct response to God because of his name (‘I bore him in pain’). The context of the prayer is that his name meant one thing but he desired that under God his life would in fact be the opposite. The prayer of Jabez is in fact similar to us praying ‘lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil’ when we pray the Lord’s Prayer.

Secondly I believe the context makes it clear that the prayer was specific to Jabez and not a general prayer (and promise) to all believers for all time. I think the reason a lot of Christians bought into the prayer of Jabez was a desire for blessing from God (nothing wrong with that) but that the methodology they applied was wrong – because the premise and the motive were both wrong. Let me explain a little further. I think that taking the prayer of Jabez and applying it as a general promise/prayer to all believers was actually to lift it out its context – as one of my lecturers use to say ‘a text taken out of context becomes a pretext.’ Meaning that it becomes the pretext for teaching something which it was never meant to teach. So how is this a misuse of prayer? Well, I believe we misuse prayer when we pray to ask God for His presence and blessing in order that our ‘territory might be extended.’ The motive is wrong. The motive is personal gain. I believe that praying the prayer of Jabez out of context is actually to misuse prayer because the motive is wrong. Listen to these words from James 4.3 and I Samuel 16.7. God told Samuel that it was a man’s heart that He examined when it came to anointing (blessing) him. According to James the purpose in asking and the purpose to which the answer will be put is of prime importance to God. In other words ‘What is my heart’s desiring in prayer?’ ‘Why is my heart desiring this in prayer?’ ‘To what purpose will I put it?’ Those are three very important questions to answer when we come to pray. They will, at the very least, flag up wrong motives in prayer and move us away from misusing prayer.

Two Men at Prayer – Luke 18.9-14.

I think another misuse of prayer is revealed in this parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. Verses 9-10 set the scene and the context for the parable. In verse 9 the reason for the parable is revealed – ‘those who thought themselves righteous.’ We can misuse prayer if we use it as a means of displaying our piety before others. The scene is the Temple, a place of both public and private prayer. The danger in such a setting is to pray for the benefit of others and not to actually focus on God. Let us look at the rest of the parable and see what it teaches us about the misuse of prayer.

The Pharisee

In verses 11-12 we have the prayer of the Pharisee. His prayer is summed up in the words of Jesus ‘he prayed about himself.’ There is the key to the misuse of prayer her – the focus was not on God but on himself. Friends I want you to listen carefully to what I am about to say here. Every word the Pharisee prayed about himself was true. His prayer was not unknown amongst the Pharisees. The Pharisee was a man dedicated to upholding and living by the teaching of the Law. In fact he went beyond the Law in both fasting and tithing. His prayer focused on what he abstained from and what he engaged in. The reality of his prayer was that it was a time spent contemplating himself and not engaging with God. He may have looked to God but he was actually focused on himself. There was no sense of sin, no sign of humility and he saw no need for the mercy or grace of God. His concern was not that God was present but who else was watching. He was more concerned with his status before men than his standing before God.

Before we jump on some high horse and proclaim that we would never be like that in prayer ask yourself; ‘Have I ever been at prayer and begun to think of how sinful someone else has been? Have you ever found pride entering your heart as you pray? Have you ever, with a certain satisfaction on your soul, prayed thanking God for saving you?’ Have you ever found yourself praying for the benefit of other people’s ears and not the ear of God? Have you ever found yourself kneeling in prayer and wondering what other people are thinking about you? Is there not a little bit of this Pharisee in us all at times of prayer?

The Tax Collector – verse 13.

What a contrast to the Pharisee. Jesus’ listeners would have expected to find a Pharisee in the Temple praying but not the Tax Collector. Tax Collectors were the social outcasts of the day. Hated by their own people for working for the Romans. Despised because they general overtaxed the people and kept some back for themselves. I want you to note that what this man said about himself was also true. But look closely at what he says – read verse 13. He places himself in a special category – he calls himself ‘the sinner’ not just ‘a sinner.’ What this man said of himself is in fact true of all mankind. There is nothing this man can do but throw himself on the grace and mercy of God. The prayer of the Tax Collector, like that of the Pharisee, revealed his heart. Listen to what Christ Jesus says in verse 14 READ. Once more we are reminded that it is what comes from our hearts in prayer which is examined by God.

Both of these men’s words were true. Both of these men lifted their voices to God in prayer but only one of them did so for the right reasons – namely the need of God’s grace and mercy. You see it is what comes out of our hearts that God examines in prayer. The selfish heart of the Pharisee was reflected in the words of his prayer. The repentant heart of the Tax Collector was also revealed in the words of his prayer. What about you? What do your words of prayer reveal about your heart?

To finish let me point out the main misuse of prayer which I believe these two passages speak of – wrong attitude of my heart. Prayer is misused whenever my heart is not right before God. Prayer is misused whenever the motive for my prayer is not the glory of God and the extension of His kingdom in the lives of others and in my life. Prayer is misused when my heart is more concerned about what others think and hear than what God knows about my heart. Prayer is misused when I forget before whom I stand in prayer.

I think there is only one simple application for us all. When we come to prayer we should do so with the warning of James 4.3 ringing in our hearts – read. Let us come to prayer with the right motives and seeking answers for the right reasons


Thanks to Alan

Prayer gets you there

When you read the bible God speaks to you. When you pray, you speak to God. Both are necessary and complementary in the Christian life. We are at time in history were prayer is very important. Yes prayer is important at all times but as we look and see what is happening in our world today we can see how urgent prayer is now. In Eph 5v16 "The days are evil" the Apostle wrote.

Ask yourself as a Christian "Do I believe prayer works?"

I will go out on a limb here and suggest that many Christians have never had their prayers answered. Sure they have read books that tell of others who have, and they may even know someone that has had their prayers answered but they themselves have not.

The key point to prayer is belief. Not that you believe you will get what you ask for, but that you believe God hears your prayers.
Old Mr Simpson from a church I went too was a great believer in prayer. He would spend the night in prayer if he knew someone needed support. Can you imagine praying all through the night?

Prayer is a gift from God.
Prayer is like a new tv. We may understand something about the tv but we also have to tune it in and get used to how it works. Sometimes we need to adjust the picture and fine tune it.
Prayer does not come naturally to us. If we are honest many of us rush out the house forgetting to ask for God's blessing on our day and go through the whole day without even saying hello to God.
I am as guilty as the rest and what a missed opportunity that has been.

A good way to help us pray is to pick a person to pray for each day


Be blessed

ARE YOU A HEALTHY CHURCH

Acts 2 verses 42-47

The book of Acts was written by Luke for a man named Theophilus. Acts is really volume 2 of Luke's gospel. In the book of Acts Luke continues the theme of his gospel that Jesus is the universal Saviour. Thus the theme of the book of Acts can be expressed as: The Word of Jesus progressed from Jerusalem to Rome and the New Israel, the Christian church, grew. Acts features Peter prominently at the beginning and then later concentrates on Paul. There are many references in Acts to the work of the Holy Spirit and the historical account of the missionary work of the early church. Acts is primarily a history book, it is not primarily a book of theology. Luke gathers information together, and it is not always chronologically related. If you Luke at chapter 1 verse 4 we find the purpose of the book. So that is the context of the book of Acts.

Acts 2 v42-47 - the immediate context is that the disciples have been filled with the Holy Spirit and they have spoken in other languages (which the crowds understood) and Peter has preached the gospel to those gathered around them. The result is that 3000 were added to the church that day. Luke then concludes this part of his book with a summary statement of the state of the embryonic church - verses 42-47. It is this summary which gives us the checklist for a healthy church.

Verse 42 - here is the list to check if you are a healthy church, which means checking yourself.

'Devoted to the apostles teaching...' they were a learning church. The word which Luke uses for 'devoted' here speaks of a steadfast single minded fidelity to a certain course of action. This was their settled heart, mind and will - to follow the teaching of the apostles. The teaching of the apostles was considered authoritative because it was the message about Jesus of Nazareth proclaimed by accredited apostles. It undoubtedly included a compilation of the words of Jesus (20.35), some account of his earthly ministry, passion and resurrection (2.22-24), and a declaration of what all this meant for man's redemption (1 Corinthians 15.3-5). In other NT epistles we read of the 'Christian tradition' which could be passed on to others - I Cor.11.2, 1 Thess.2.13, 2 thess. 2.15 and 3.6. Therefore submission to the teaching of the Apostles was a sign of a healthy church - for us that means submission to the authority of the NT is a sign of a healthy church today. The early church did not dispose of the need for human teachers of the Word of God. They had a whole hearted, whole mind and whole life steadfast faithfulness to obeying the teaching of the Apostles. It was not mere verbal consent or intellectual consent - it was consent by a life lived according to the teaching of the Apostles whatever the cost. Could this be said of your church? Of you?

'the fellowship'- they were also devoted to the fellowship of believers. This implies that there was something very distinctive about their gathering together as believers. There must have been some discernable external identity that meant the disciples, the 3000 and those added to the church daily were known by. They had a common identity in Christ. They were a loving church in fellowship one with another.

There are some of you who claim to be followers of Christ and will attend church for a few weeks and then will not attend for a few weeks and your devotion to your fellowship is weak. To be honest with you if it was your place of employment you would probably be sacked for poor attendance. I take no pleasure in saying that to you but if you are going to be a healthy church then some of you here need to seriously examine your commitment to your fellowship. The sign of a healthy church is one were the believers (there is the key word - the believers) are devoted to fellowship with one another. 'The breaking of bread' - many NT scholars have debated what this meant. Some have argued that it was a type of fellowship meal like the 'Haburah' meal of the Pharisees. It is generally agreed that it was meal which demonstrated mutual love and respect, recalled their earlier association with Jesus and was a paschal remembrance of the crucifixion of Christ. This meal expressed their joy of communion with the risen Christ and of fellowship with one another.

For many churches the 'breaking of bread' is expressed in the sharing of Holy Communion together. In coming to these communion rails we, together, are saying that in Christ alone do we find salvation. May I remind you that the sign of the peace is not an insignificant act in your service but is a reminder that we should be in fellowship with one another and an opportunity to correct any defects before we come to the table. Please remember that.

'Prayer' - both formal and informal prayer. Prayer was central to the life of Christ. He often modelled it to his disciples. We often read in the gospels of Jesus praying both in private and in public. I have always been struck by the fact that the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. They could have asked about all sorts of things from him but it was prayer that they wanted teaching about. How seriously do you take prayer? How healthy is the prayer life of your congregation? So prayer is on the checklist for a healthy church.

Verse 43 - The result of all of these is seen here. 'Everyone' - not just the believers but the whole community was filled with awe. The phrase which Luke uses 'to be filled with awe' speaks of something which was ongoing and not just a momentary reaction. It is the same with the wonders and miraculous signs - they were not just a temporary phenomena but something which was ongoing in the life of the early church and apostles, as you can see if you read on through Acts. So the people held the early church in awe because of their lives and because of the wonders and miraculous signs.

Verses 44-45 the early church expressed itself in communal living and sharing with those in need within their community. Please note this was a voluntary thing and not compulsory - because if you read on into Acts 5 you realise that people within the church still owned property and land. So this is not a compulsory requirement of all but the principle is important - that we should share out of our own wealth with those in need and that within a church fellowship we are to care, practically, for one another. Again Luke uses the imperfect tense to show that this was an ongoing pattern of behaviour involving both real estate and personal possessions. So let me ask you again - in light of this are you a healthy church? Yes we help the social services each month. Yes we help one another. But could we do more? Are our eyes and hearts open to the needs of others? Just something to think about.

Verses 46-47 - the early church followed the tradition of their Jewish heritage of meeting in the Temple and in their homes to share fellowship. They did this daily - now we understand the context of this period - Pentecost had just happened and they expected the immediate return of Christ. None of the apostles or believers have yet left Jerusalem and so meeting together daily was possible. When they started to move from Jerusalem to Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth such a practice became less and less possible. Yet the principle again is important and the manner in which they met is key - with glad and sincere hearts, praising God. Ask yourself is that the attitude of your heart when you come to meet in fellowship here - a glad and sincere heart, praising God? A healthy church - a healthy heart?

Look at how this summary ends. They enjoyed the favour of all the people (which will soon change as persecution comes upon the church) and God added, daily, to their numbers those who were being saved. So a healthy church is one where people are coming to saving faith in Christ - are we a healthy church then?

Let me conclude by asking you this question: Has God changed? Has God changed?

If God has not changed, and He has not, and His church once existed that exhibited all these characteristics, that lived in this way and that daily saw people coming to faith in Christ - let me ask you a second question: Can such a church exist again? Can such a church exist again? Or more importantly: Do you want your church to be such a church? Because only you can make it so. Are we a healthy church? Only you can answer if you, as part of this body, are healthy, spiritually healthy.

Amen.

Assurance

Among the gifts God offers us, one of the most valuable is ASSURANCE. Assurance for the Christian means joy liberty and peace. Their are two kind of Christians, those who are safe, and those who are safe and sure. Only those who are really sure are joyful.

The doctrine of assurance is one of the most clearest truths in the N.T. Look at the first Epistle of St John. "We know that we know" 2v2 "we know that we are in Him 2v5 "we know that we have passed out of death into life" 3v14 "we know that we dwell in Him" 4v13
The doctrine of justification and sanctification also show us clearly this assurance and it is worth reading and discussing with others.

There are many that are still tied to presumption and good works. Yes they have received the Gospel message but they have not grasped the clear message of Salvation being a free gift. They have not the joy of the person that has that assurance.

How does one truly know?

I trust not my own feelings, not my experience, not anything in myself but I TRUST THE WRITTEN WORD OF GOD.
God cannot lie. In fact I will go as far as saying "God is chained to His own word or put it another way God is chained to His promises to us" Thus we can trust God 100%


I know I am a child of God because He says so
God knows I am his child because He sees the work of the Holy Spirit at work in my life

Jac

This weekend I am off to meet my girlfriend/partner/soul mate in Edinburgh with my son. Jac is the most amazing female I have ever met and I never tire of telling her this. They say there is a honeymoon period in all relationships but we have passed that and its still amazing. I get butterflies when I see her each time. They say conversation is the thing that keeps relationships alive, well we can both do that.
So we will be going to dynamic earth and then off back to her house to meet up with her children(zaid and Eden both 14, yes twins). They are both fantastic teens and we get on like a house on fire. Their own father died when they were one, so they have no memory of him, which is sad but Jac has done an amazing job of bringing them up.

Anyway I hope everyone has a fabtastic weekend,

so what does God offer

What does God offer us?

I think it's important to understand what God does offer us before we decide to commit our live to Him. Lets face it, who signs on the dotted line before they read the small print.

We become the adopted children of God and that gives us certain privileges.

1. We have His spirit. We can cry out to God and He will hear us
2. We bear His name. Thus as adopted children we are legally recognised as God's children.
3. We bear His image. We are in a sense Christ like
4. We have His comfort.
5. We have His chastening. This may not sound like a blessing but God corrects us for our own good
6. One day we will share in His glory. Here we will see the promise come true.


To put it in a nutshell, God has promised us eternal life where we will forever live in bliss.


The small print................................................

1. we need to trust even when sometimes it seems impossible
2. we are to serve others
3. we are to spread the word of God with others
4. sometimes we will feel like giving up but that's when 1-6 kicks in



Lets be honest, make no mistake it can be tough and there will be hard times but God will bless you more than you will ever know.


Take the 28 day challenge

Read the Bible everyday and ask God into your heart. Truly seek Him and He will answer you

Offer

Guilt is the first consequence of sin. Condemnation and punishment follow as a result. That is the Scriptural order-sin, guilt, condemnation, punishment. We all have a conscience and we all feel guilt when we do wrong.

If we ever go to a court we will see the judge handing out a punishment for a persons crime. This is the way of most societies and those who have committed a crime will be punished. Scripture shows us that if we disobey God we too will be punished but unlike the courts God has offered us forgiveness. God tells us the punishment for sin is death but instead of us dying God has sent us His son to take our place.

On the cross Jesus took our place. We the guilty sinner should have died but God has offered the free gift of salvation through Christ. Because of Christs death God offers us forgiveness both from condemnation and punishment.

Right now you may be feeling there is something missing in you're life but don't really know what it is. Many people spend their life searching for a meaning to their life and find it in many ways. Drink, drugs, sex, gambling, money etc but the truth is most seldom find peace or hope in these things.

God offers us real hope that will last forever. The question is, are you ready to take Him up on that offer

Sinners

Are we sinners because we sin, or, do we sin because we are sinners?
Scripture shows us that we sin because we are sinners.

Lets look at what sin means.

Sin is missing the mark to reach God's standard. All have sinned(That is everyone has sinned, every single person past, present and future have sinned) and come short of the glory of God. (Romans 3v23)
As sinners we fail to fulfil the purpose for which God created us for. Not only do we fail but we fail utterly and completely.

Let us not fall into the trap and think that just because we don't do bad things that we are not sinners. When we think that way,we are judging ourselves by the worlds standards of what is good and bad. So far as reaching God's standard we fail 100% however good we think we are.

My brother is an Alcoholic and the hardest thing he had to do was stand up and admit that he was an Alcohlic. This was the first step towards recovering and I am pleased to say that 12 years on he is still drink free. The journey was not easy and he has faced many trials in that time but not one drink has passed his lips.

Lets face it, we dont want to be thought of as sinners but the truth is we are sinners and until we accept that we are we will continue to live a life that is not pleasing to God.


but there is hope and I will write more on this each week



be blessed