Wealth Does Not Bring Happiness

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Augustine Birrell was the Secretary of State for Ireland in the closing days of the 19th century. He and his wife happened to be driving through London one day and drove past a mansion. The mansion was so impressive that it took their breath away. Mrs Birrell looked at the mansion enviously and asked her husband who owned it. She said to him, “Whoever owns that mansion must be a very happy man.”

Her husband informed her that it was owned by Barney Barnato, who was at that time one of the world’s richest men. Augustine Birrell said to his wife, “Perhaps for all his wealth, he is not happy.”

He was indeed correct, for it was later revealed to them that at that very hour, Barney Barnato had committed suicide. He had jumped overboard from a ship travelling from South Africa.

Many people foolishly think that material possessions can bring happiness.

True and lasting happiness is not to be found in any material possession, but in seeking first the kingdom of God.

Jesus said, in Matthew 6:33  “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

In Mark 8  36-37  Jesus said “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”

Christian Hope

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Atheism leaves mankind without hope and without meaning. If this world was not created by the Lord God and is simply the product of time and chance, then our lives are completely without hope and meaning. The British philosopher, Bertrand Russell expresses the hopelessness of atheism in the following words, which he wrote:

“The life of a man is a long march through the night, surrounded by invisible foes, tortured by weariness and pain, toward a goal which few can hope to reach and where none may tarry long. One by one as they march, our comrades vanish from our sight, seized by the silent orders of omnipotent death. Brief and powerless is man’s life. On him and all his race the slow, sure doom falls, pitiless and dark. Blind to good and evil, reckless of destruction, omnipotent matter rolls on its relentless way. For man, condemned today to lose his dearest, tomorrow to pass through the gate of darkness, it remains only to cherish, ere yet the blow falls, the lofty thoughts that ennoble his little day.”

 How different is the Christian view of life. The writer of Hebrews said that hope is the anchor of the soul, sure and steadfast. (Hebrews 6:19)

Hope is not simply a ‘wish’; rather,it is a certain and sure reality for every believer. Hope is established on the promises of God, who cannot lie. He has promised eternal life to all who put their faith in His only begotten Son ( John 3:16)

Rom 8  18,19  For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the anxious longing of creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.

How do we Explain the Origin of the Universe?

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Many years ago, Sir Isaac Newton had an exact replica of our solar system made in miniature. At its centre was a large golden ball representing the sun and revolving aound it were small spheres attached at the ends of rods of varying lengths. They represented Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, and the other planets. These were all geared together by cogs and belts to make them move around the ”sun” in perfect harmony.
One day as Newton was studying the model, an atheistic friend stopped by for a visit. Marvelling at the device and watching as the scientist made the heavenly bodies move on their orbits, the man exclaimed,” That is a really expressive thing! Who made it for you?”
Without looking up, Sir Isaac replied, “Nobody”
“Nobody?,“ his friend asked.
“That’s right! I said nobody! All of these balls and cogs and belts and gears just happened to come together, and wonder of wonders, by chance they began revolving in their set orbits and with perfect timing.”
The unbeliever got the message! It was foolish to suppose that the model merely happened. Is is even more senseless to accept the foolish notion that there was a big bang and everything that exists in our universe simply came into being by mere chance.
How much more logical it is to believe what the Bible says, “ In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.” (Gen 1:1)

(Psalm 14:1) “ The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God.”

Living under the Lordship of Christ

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To own Jesus Christ as Lord will make a difference in the everyday decisions we make in our lives. We must be willing to pay the price of discipleship.

 The truth is well illustrated in the life of American businessman, Jack Eckerd, who was the founder of a very large drugstore chain in America.

Shortly after his conversion, he happened to be walking though one of his stores when he noticed the magazine racks with their glossy copies of Playboy and Penthouse.

 Although Eckerd was retired from active management, he called the president of the company and urged him to get rid of those pornographic magazines. The president protested because substantial profits were gained from their sales.

 Being the largest stockholder, Eckerd himself stood to lose a lot of money by such a decision. Eckerd remained firm in his objection and he prevailed. The offensive magazines were removed from 1700 drugstores.

When he was asked what motivated him to take this action, Eckerd replied,” God wouldn’t let me off the hook!”

NIV  Luke 9:23  Then he said to them all: “Whosoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”

Love Triumphs over all Obstacles

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A young man and woman were engaged to be married and were looking forward to their wedding day. However, the wedding was postponed because the young man was called up for military service. He continued to write letters to his sweetheart from the field of battle. Letters regularly came and went in which they expressed their love for each other.

The one day the young woman received a letter in handwriting with which she was not familiar. In it, the woman read these words, “There has been another battle. I have lost both arms. I asked my comrade to write for me, and to tell you that I release you from our engagement to be married, for now I will not be able to work and support you.

The letter was never answered.

The young woman left on the next train and travelled to the military hospital where the young man to whom she was engaged, lay.  When she found him, she approached his bed and flung herself down by the side of the bed. With passionate words, she said, “I will never give you up. These hands of mine will work for you and we will live our life of love together.”

1 Cor 13 4-10  “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away.”

The Power of the Gospel to Transform Lives

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The story is told of a college professor who visited the Fiji Islands. Being agnostic, he critically remarked to an elderly chief, ” You’re a great leader, but it’s a pity you’ve been taken in by those foreign missionaries. They only want to get rick through you.  No-one believes the Bible any more. People are tired of the threadbare story of Christ dying on a cross for the sins of mankind.  They know better now. I’m sorry you’ve been so foolish as to accept their story.”

The old chief’s eyes flashed as he answered. ” See that great rock over there. On it we smashed the heads of our victims. Notice the furnace next to it? in that oven, we formerly roasted the bodies of our enemies. If it hadn’t been for those  good missionaries and the love of Jesus that changes us from cannibals into Christians, you’d never leave this place alive.

You’d better thank the Lord for the Gospel; otherwise we’d already be feasting on you. If it weren’t for the Bible, you’d now be our supper!”

Psalm 19: 7-8  “The Law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.”

 

THE IMPORTANCE OF STEADFASTNESS

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John Wesley was a man used mightily by Christ for the building of His church in the 18″‘century. He achieved much in his life time but not without considerable opposition, but he remained steadfast.

Consider the following page from John Wesley’s Diary:

Sunday morning, May 5th, preached in St Ann’s, was asked not to come back anymore.
Sunday p.m., May 5th, preached at St John’s, deacons said, “Get out and stay out.”
Sunday a.m., May 12th, preached at St Jude’s, cant’ go back there either.
Sunday p.m, May 12th, preached at St George’s, kicked out again.
Sunday May a.m. 19th, preached at St somebody else’s deacons called special meeting and said l couldn’t return.
Sunday p.m., May 26th, preached in meadow, chased out of meadow as a bull was turned loose during the services.
Sunday a.m., June 2nd, preached out at the edge of town, kicked off the highway.
Sunday p.m., June 2nd, afternoon service, preached in a pasture, 10,000 people came to hear me.
James 1:12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

Beware of Anger

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contributed by the Rev. Paul Seiler

If a rattlesnake is cornered, it can become so frenzied that it will accidentally bite itself with its own deadly fangs. In the same way, if we harbour hatred and resentment in our hearts, we will be hurt by the poison of our own malice. We may think that we are hurting our enemies by displaying our wrath, but the real harm is inflicted deep within our own soul. Anger can also cause us to do and say things which we may come to deeply regret.

Consider the following true story:

A certain young man wrote a nasty letter to his father.

A Christian friend with whom he worked in the same office advised him not to send the letter because it was written in a fit of temper.

The young man was so angry he did not listen and sealed up the letter and asked this friend to mail it for him. Instead, his friend simply slipped it into his pocket and kept it until the next day.

The following morning the young man arrived at the office looking very worried. He said to his friend, “l wish I had never sent that note to my dad yesterday. It hurts me deeply, and I know it will break his heart when he reads it. I’d give 50 dollars to get it back!”

His friend took the envelope from his pocket and handed it to him and told him what he had done. The young man was so overjoyed that he actually wanted to pay his friend 50 dollars!

A fool always loses his temper, but a wise man holds it back. (Prov. 29:11)

Losing Faith in Atheism

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contributed by the Rev. Paul Seiler

George Bernard Shaw was a brilliant man. His stories have delighted many and his writings show great genius.

Yet he was an atheist and he rejected the message of Scripture and placed his trust in his own systems of belief.

George Bernard Shaw was a rationalist which means that he based his view of life on his own limited human reason.

His system of belief provided him with no comfort in later life. Throughout his life he could not find lasting inner peace, and he slowly lost confidence in what he believed.

Shortly before he died in 1950, alter experiencing the horrors of two world wars, he wrote, “The science to which I pinned my faith is bankrupt. Its counsels, which should have established the millennium, have led directly to the suicide of Europe. I believed them once. In their name I helped to destroy the faith of millions. And now they look at me and witness the great tragedy of an atheist who has lost his faith.”

It is surely the case that the fool has said in his heart that there is no God.

Psalm 10:4 In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, “There is no God”.

Proposed New Year Resolutions for 2017

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From The Minister

It is customary at the beginning of a New Year to make certain resolutions. There are those who resolve to lose some of the weight that they have put on over the Christmas season.

There are those who resolve to do more physical exercise.

We make all manner of resolutions concerning things that matter to us. As Christians we should be committed to pursuing a holy life for this is God’s purpose for us.

According to the Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Church in Ephesus, God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless (Ephesians 1:4). The Holy Spirit, speaking through Peter, exhorts believers to be holy because God is holy (1 Peter 1:15).

The writer of Hebrews warns that no one will see God without holiness (Heb.12:14). We are not saved by our attempts to live a holy life, we are saved by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus (Eph. 2:8,9).

However, if we have been born again and have become citizens of Christ’s eternal kingdom, then we have God’s Holy Spirit living in us, and He will be engaged in the process of making us holy. We are not saved by our attempts to be holy, but we are saved unto a life of holiness (Eph.2:10).

Two proposed resolutions for 2017, based on Psalm 1.

I RESOLVE TO READ AND MEDITATE UPON THE SCRIPTURES REGULARLY AND CONSTANTLY AND NOT TO BELIEVE ANTHING CONTRARY TO GOD’S WORD.

I RESOLVE TO PURSUE A HOLY LIFE AND TO SHUN ALL WICKEDNESS.