TEXT: ‘The people cry out, “The summer is gone, the harvest is over, but we have not been saved.”’ (Jeremiah 8:20 GNT). Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet. God called him to prophesy about the consequences of Israel’s wilful disobedience and idolatry. He spoke about coming judgment and saw firsthand the destruction of Jerusalem and thousands of Jews exiled to Babylon. He suffered persecution because he spoke the truth. His tears weren’t just for his own pain and suffering, but for God’s people and the misery they would suffer. Hundreds of years later, Jesus experienced the same grief saying, ’O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!’ (Matthew 23:37). 1. The Blessings of Summer There are three blessings about summer that lift people’s spirits including mine! Heat The coolness and rain of Spring turns to warm, sunny days and long evenings of daylight. It’s the time for T Shirts and shorts! It’s wonderful to feel the warmth of the sun on one’s back. Holidays The schools break up for the summer holidays. Living in Cornwall, some weeks we...
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TEXT: ‘I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word’ (Psalm 119:16). Why do Christians risk their lives smuggling bibles into atheistic countries? Because they believe in the power of the written word of God. Why do countries ban the bible, if there is no threat from just a book? The authorities may not know what the Bible really is, but controlling demonic spirits do, and they will do their utmost to prevent people from being exposed to God’s Word as the Parable of the Sower makes clear (See Mark 4:13-20). Herein lies a paradox. Countries where there is religious freedom have more bibles than they could wish for, but fail to read them, whereas those in bible-starved countries are desperate to get just a page because they believe it is God’s Word. In Part 1 we considered three things to do: Believe the Word; Know the Word; Learn from the Word. In Part 2 there are two more things to do. 1. Continue in the Word – ‘But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them’ (2 Timothy 3:14) Mastermind is a very popular TV Quiz programme. The quiz master often says,...
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TEXT: ‘I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word’ (Psalm 119:16). Psalm 119, the longest psalm, mentions “Word” (meaning God’s Word, the Bible) over 40 times, so its significance cannot be overstated. God’s Word is one of the keys to having peace in our lives, ‘Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble’ (Psalm 119:165). Today’s Teaching focuses on several things we can do to benefit from God’s Word. 1. Believe the Word In 1973 a work colleague started witnessing to me about Jesus. My first reaction was, “You don’t believe the Bible do you? There are things wrong in it!” I didn’t say that from knowledge, but because of what others had said. The Bible is very special and not the thoughts of man. ‘For no prophecy recorded in Scripture was ever thought up by the prophet himself. It was the Holy Spirit within these godly men who gave them true messages from God’ (2 Peter 1:20-21 TLB). The key to becoming a Christian is linked inseparably with God’s Word, ‘So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God’ (Romans 10:17) I believe that the Bible (Old and New Testaments) is God’s Word to man...
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TEXT: ‘So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God’ (Romans 10:17). Marconi is credited with being the inventor of the radio in 1920, after discovering he could send a signal over long distances. Turn the dial on any radio today and there are a multitude of programmes on the AM & FM frequencies. Digital radio and the internet now mean virtually anywhere in the world one can pick up the broadcast of that invisible signal. The Bible says, ‘There are many different languages in the world, and every language has meaning’ (1 Corinthians 14:10 NLT). What sounds like gibberish to one person is clearly understood by another. The Bible says, ‘Faith comes by hearing’, so what are you listening to? What we are reading and hearing is sending out a signal to us, and it will influence us in either a good or bad way, if we let it. God’s Word acts in the same way, sending out positive signals. When we understand it, we can act on it because faith has been created. The unbeliever remains unmoved because it sounds like foolishness to him or too good to be true. What can help us to tune in to faith’s frequency? 1. Listen with your heart...
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TEXT: ‘And the Lord turned and looked’ (Luke 22:61). This is the third and final part in the teaching “Jesus Looked”. Sometimes words aren’t necessary, as one look can convey what’s needed to be said, or get things done. In Part 1, we studied “Jesus looked” – in anger at the scribes and Pharisees’ hardened hearts, as a reminder to Peter when he denied Him, and His look of love at the rich young ruler. In Part 2, “Jesus looked” – in the temple, at those who were giving, and to see the one who had faith. Three more “Looks” to finish with. 1. Jesus looked up to heaven – ‘I will lift up my eyes to the hills — from whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth’ (Psalm 121:1-2). Jesus said, ‘I only do the things I see the Father doing’ (John 5:19). Perhaps that is a key for us. If through the eyes of faith, we can see the Father doing it, then we will have more confidence to use the name of Jesus to bring it to pass. When He wanted to heal – ‘Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed, and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.”’ (Mark 7:34)....
Learn MoreTEXT: ‘And the Lord turned and looked’ (Luke 22:61). Sometimes words aren’t necessary, as one look can convey what’s needed to be said, or get things done. Mark’s gospel mentions several times, “He looked” and these two words caught my attention and formed the basis for this teaching. In Part 1, we studied Jesus’ look; in anger at the scribes and Pharisees’ hardened hearts; as a reminder to Peter when he denied Him; and His look of love at the rich young ruler. In Part 2, we study three more “Looks”. 1. Jesus looked in the temple – ‘And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple. So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve’ (Mark 11:11) His disciples had wanted Him to look at the magnificence of the temple, but Jesus was more interested in what was going on inside the temple. He didn’t like what he saw. What should have been the house of prayer for all nations, had become a den of thieves. Revelation chapters 2 and 3 record when Jesus looked at the 7 churches in Asia. He commended, criticised, cautioned and cajoled them to do the right thing which...
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