Preaching with a purpose

When I was a teenager I loved a hymn about a woman dying in poverty who declared ,"I have Christ what want I more." I wanted that to be true for me too.  We so easily get entangled in wanting what the world can offer us, gadgets, money, pleasure,fame, but if only we could realize that there is nothing to match having Christ in our lives.  He is all we need.  He is King of kings and Lord of lords.  If He wants us to have riches, we will.  If He does not He has something better for us, for He always has our best interests at heart.  Having riches and having to manage them ourselves can leave us with no time for Jesus.  When we trust Him to supply just what is best for us we are given such freedom to focus on Him and have Him as the centre of our lives.  What would you want, a living relationship with the Lord of Glory, or millions of cold money cluttering your life?

  You may wonder what had happened to me in the last week.  I was on holiday in Cornwall on the south west tip of Britain.  The weather was quiet reasonable and I enjoyed looking around a lovely garden near Penzance.  It is good to have a break from one's usual routine, to recharge one's batteries and be refreshed. However there is always One who goes with us wherever we are and we don't take a rest from our faith and our worshipping of Jesus.  He deserves all the worship we can give Him, at all times and it is good to know He is with us wherever we are and He is in charge of what happens to us. For the believer nothing is an accident, our Lord is with us and He is in charge.

"If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us, If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." John 1: 8 & 9 Forgiveness is available in Christ just by admitting to our sin and asking for it, if we ask believing. We confess to God.  We do not need to confess to any man on earth, in Jesus we have direct access to God.  No man except Jesus can stand between us and God and no man can declare us forgiven.  Jesus is our great high priest, we need no other.

I'm sure I come across as very hard line about abortion.  I do believe in absolutes but although the law of God says,"Do not commit murder" Grace says,"Come to me and I will give you rest."  Grace is God's undeserved favour which He gives to all who will turn to Christ for forgiveness. We all do terrible things in rebellion against God, but His love and forgiveness are there for the asking when we turn away from our sin and back to Him. When He calls us His Grace is irresistible and He gives us the faith to believe. He calls you to search for Him with all your heart and promises that you will then find Him. The slate is clean and you are clothed with the robe of righteousness which only Christ can give. What a wonderful salvation.

Being a christian isn't about being squeaky clean in your own right.  It's about receiving forgiveness from God through Jesus Christ. To receive forgiveness all you have to do is ask and believe. You may find some of my posts rather hard line.  Recently I have written about abortion.  I realise that there are many of you out there who have had abortions and I feel for you and don't want you to feel you are beyond forgiveness, that is not the case.  Sometimes we have to make very difficult choices in life and sometimes, often we get it wrong.  Many of you will have regrets at your decisions in the past.  Bring all your heart ache and loss and guilt to Jesus.  He alone is able to forgive, but He promises He will never turn you away if you come to Him. Although what you did is wrong you may have been pressurised by society, family and friends.  Whatever the circumstances, there is forgiveness to be found in Jesus.

 In so many cultures women are under valued.  If girl babies are aborted where will the wives of the future come from.  It is perniciously evil to under value women in any sphere of life.  At the beginning God said,"It is not good for man to be alone."  Then he created Eve directly from Adam, the God-given perfect mate for man.  Of course the fall came next and so the perfect partnership now has its problems. Marriage in our day is under threat.  Now that women are able to support themselves they are no longer willing to tolerate the behaviour of their husbands in the way their mothers did.  I am not squeaky clean in this respect having two divorces behind me. I am not seeking to point the finger at anyone, but we really do need to sort ourselves out and for men and women to value each other and support each other. There is so much fragmentation in life and sometimes it cannot be avoided, but where we can we should seek to work together.

  People spend so much time and energy on things which are not bad in themselves, such as watching football, following any sport.  Or there are people who go to concerts and the theatre.  All quite legitimate occupations, but it is the level of obsession with these things that is wrong.  Obsession is another word for worship and this belongs only to God.  How foolish to spend all of our time on these things and fail to, at least, look into how to gain eternal life. Surely the claims of Christ need looking at thoroughly, or are you prepared to just take a chance that life ends like a candle going out. Is this the case or will you have , as I believe, to face Almighty God without Jesus by your side.  Now that is frightening.

  I feel this is just the inevitable consequence of allowing any abortion.  All abortion is murder.  A precious human life begins at conception.  Already abortions take place in Britain simply because the baby is not wanted by the mother, or she has been pressured into it by others, made to feel she is incapable of giving the child a good life.  The option of adoption is rarely considered.  Many babies are aborted because they are considered less than perfect. Handicapped people are treated as lesser citizens and devalued. So it is but a little step to decide to abort unwanted girl babies. This has been offered in Britain recently.  Women are wonderful.  I know I am one, so who would want to abort one? Unfortunately there are always those who do.  I believe it is already rife in other countries.  When once a country goes down the vile road of allowing abortion it opens the gates to more murder still and for the flimsiest of reasons. Next...

Today we have seen Gareth Bale sold to Real Madrid for £85 million.  Is it possible that one human can be worth this much?  In fact infinitely more. If you have put your trust in Jesus you should know that He believed you worth so much that He died for you.  No amount of money can compete with that. Jesus was prepared to go to the greatest of lengths so that you might share heaven with Him. Money is fickle stuff, Jesus you can depend upon.