Hi all
I was again reading recently a Daily Devotion from the hand of F B Meyer a renown theologian and writer who is easily read and understood and i thought I would share it with you.
It was on the thought of the failure of the Christian to live up to his/her testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ in their lives.
Failure is something that creeps into all lives and yet for the Christian it allows self pity and a removal from the blessings of God.
When we fail there is a tendency as Adam and Eve did in the Garden to run away and hide from God when in reality it is Him to which we must run and hide.
God never changes yet it seems in our expression of emotions we do.
I have included an excerpt below of the devotion from F B Meyer which is a tremendous insight into the how deals with that which is broken.
Never feel that failure is something that God cannot deal with and restore a person who is willing to be renewed in His power.
Of course this is not just for the Christian.
God's Word also gives assurance that all who would come in Repentance and Faith confessing their failure of sin before God have the promise of peace with God through the finished sacrifice of Christ on Calvary's Cross.
Rom 10:13 - For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
God hears the genuine call to Him in repentance.
A broken life of sin can always be restored through Jesus Christ who declared that He was the only way that anyone could have access to God:
John 14:6 - Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
There is no need for the Christian or those without Christ to remain in broken pieces in this world.
'It was thus that our Lord dealt with Peter. He knew that in spite of his grievous fall, there was a strong undercurrent of devoted love, and He did not hesitate to entrust to him the care of His sheep and lambs. In a certain museum there is a lovely marble statue which was found broken into hundreds of pieces. The fragments were carefully collected, and with infinite patience fitted together. Finally a seemingly impossible task was accomplished, and the statue stands in all its original completeness and beauty. So the Lord Jesus will take the broken pieces of any life that will come to Him, and with His skillful and tender touch will remake it into something useful and beautiful in His service. This is the meaning of Redemption' - F B Meyer
Pastor Peter Skillen
Braehill Baptist Church
Belfast
www.braehillbaptist.org
Monday, October 6, 2014
Monday, September 1, 2014
SELF-WATCH
A great daily reading from F B Meyer this morning. (I highlighted the last paragraph as a soul searching thought for me).
Proverbs 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
SAID PETER to our Lord, "Spare Thyself this death of which Thou speakest--this bitter suffering and anguish shall never be Thine!"
These words are continually spoken still, and many are the voices that bid us spare ourselves--the voices of our friends who love us; the voices of prudence and worldly wisdom; the voices of our own wayward hearts.
Do not spare your judgment of yourself. Never permit yourself to do things which you would be the first to condemn in others. Never suppose that there are reasons for you to do a wrong, which, under no circumstances would you tolerate in your neighbour.
Do not spare yourself in confessing your sins and mistakes. Confession is one of the tests of nobility. Not a few are willing to confess to God, who never attempt to confess to men. It is a serious question whether that sorrow for sin is genuine and deep enough which does not lead the offender to ask his fellow-man for pardon, even as he asks his God. Nothing could be clearer than Christ's words, that whenever we remember that our brother has aught against us, we are to leave our gift at the altar, and go first to seek reconciliation with him, before we offer our sacrifice to God.
The supreme test of goodness is not in the greater but in the smaller incidents of our character and practice; not what we are when standing in the searchlight of public scrutiny, but when we reach the firelight flicker of our homes; not what we are when some clarion-call rings through the air, summoning us to fight for life and liberty, but our attitude when we are called to sentry-duty in the grey morning, when the watch-fire is burning low. It is impossible to be our best at the supreme moment if character is corroded and eaten into by daily inconsistency, unfaithfulness, and besetting sin.
You cannot really help people without expending yourself. The only work that tells must cost you something. Gold, silver, and precious stones can never be built into the new Jerusalem unless you are willing to part with them from the stores of your own life.
Peter Skillen (Pastor)
Proverbs 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
These words are continually spoken still, and many are the voices that bid us spare ourselves--the voices of our friends who love us; the voices of prudence and worldly wisdom; the voices of our own wayward hearts.
Do not spare your judgment of yourself. Never permit yourself to do things which you would be the first to condemn in others. Never suppose that there are reasons for you to do a wrong, which, under no circumstances would you tolerate in your neighbour.
Do not spare yourself in confessing your sins and mistakes. Confession is one of the tests of nobility. Not a few are willing to confess to God, who never attempt to confess to men. It is a serious question whether that sorrow for sin is genuine and deep enough which does not lead the offender to ask his fellow-man for pardon, even as he asks his God. Nothing could be clearer than Christ's words, that whenever we remember that our brother has aught against us, we are to leave our gift at the altar, and go first to seek reconciliation with him, before we offer our sacrifice to God.
The supreme test of goodness is not in the greater but in the smaller incidents of our character and practice; not what we are when standing in the searchlight of public scrutiny, but when we reach the firelight flicker of our homes; not what we are when some clarion-call rings through the air, summoning us to fight for life and liberty, but our attitude when we are called to sentry-duty in the grey morning, when the watch-fire is burning low. It is impossible to be our best at the supreme moment if character is corroded and eaten into by daily inconsistency, unfaithfulness, and besetting sin.
You cannot really help people without expending yourself. The only work that tells must cost you something. Gold, silver, and precious stones can never be built into the new Jerusalem unless you are willing to part with them from the stores of your own life.
Peter Skillen (Pastor)
Friday, July 18, 2014
Damp squib
Some interesting news from the 'www.wayoife.org' Friday news:
BAD NEWS FOR BIG BANG (Friday Church News Notes, July 18, 2014, www.wayoflife.orgfbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Bad News,” Christian News Network, June 24, 2014: “Nearly two years after the highly-publicized discovery of the elusive ‘God Particle,’ scientists have determined that the current Big Bang model cannot account for the existence of the universe. ... However, in a major setback to the secular Big Bang theory, scientists with King’s College in London announced this month that Higgs boson physics cannot account for the universe’s existence. ... ‘What [the scientists] found was bad news for, well, everything,’LiveScience reports. ‘The newborn universe should have experienced an intense jittering in the energy field, known as quantum fluctuation. Those jitters, in turn, could have disrupted the Higgs field, in essence rolling the entire system into a much lower energy state that would make the collapse of the universe inevitable.’ ... Dr. Danny Faulkner, an astronomer with Answers in Genesis, says the Big Bang theory has repeatedly conflicted with observational evidence. ... Likewise, Drs. Jake Hebert and Jason Lisle with the Institute for Creation Research propose that a belief in God--not the Big Bang theory--is ultimately foundational for understanding the universe’s existence. ... ‘The fact that such physics is possible or even meaningful would only make sense in a created universe that is controlled by the mind of God anyway. The study of how God upholds the universe today is the very essence of science.’”
BAD NEWS FOR BIG BANG (Friday Church News Notes, July 18, 2014, www.wayoflife.orgfbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Bad News,” Christian News Network, June 24, 2014: “Nearly two years after the highly-publicized discovery of the elusive ‘God Particle,’ scientists have determined that the current Big Bang model cannot account for the existence of the universe. ... However, in a major setback to the secular Big Bang theory, scientists with King’s College in London announced this month that Higgs boson physics cannot account for the universe’s existence. ... ‘What [the scientists] found was bad news for, well, everything,’LiveScience reports. ‘The newborn universe should have experienced an intense jittering in the energy field, known as quantum fluctuation. Those jitters, in turn, could have disrupted the Higgs field, in essence rolling the entire system into a much lower energy state that would make the collapse of the universe inevitable.’ ... Dr. Danny Faulkner, an astronomer with Answers in Genesis, says the Big Bang theory has repeatedly conflicted with observational evidence. ... Likewise, Drs. Jake Hebert and Jason Lisle with the Institute for Creation Research propose that a belief in God--not the Big Bang theory--is ultimately foundational for understanding the universe’s existence. ... ‘The fact that such physics is possible or even meaningful would only make sense in a created universe that is controlled by the mind of God anyway. The study of how God upholds the universe today is the very essence of science.’”
Friday, April 4, 2014
A crisis for teenagers and beyond
Hi All
I have been thinking lately about why so many young people and even young adults in their 20,30,40s see it necessary to take their lives to end what appears to them to be an unfulfilled life.
As someone who was brought up from a very young age in the confines of church surroundings I have found that I always had an underlying assurance that God was who He said He was and that He was always there as someone to confide in and ultimately rely on.
At the early age of 13yrs realising that I had sin in my life and that it needed to be dealt with, I trusted the Lord Jesus Christ for my salvation from sins curse and eternal security that only He can give.
I saw a witness from others that convinced me that God was One who would always be a constant in my life.
I did fail Him many times after my original decision yet I always knew of His loving and restraining hand on my shoulder.
Thankfully He led me in a way of His choosing so that with His blessing I am where I am today in His work.
Why I am relating this in thinking about a younger generation?
When I look at teens, twenties, thirties and perhaps even into forties I see generations that did not have the same influences from church based organisations and pastoral care that I was privileged to have.
Things like Sunday School, youth club, after church meetings, Boys Brigade and many other activities that kept me in touch with my God.
Many may well say well this church thing is wrong and it gives our children a false hope of a Deity that may be true but maybe is not true.
That may well be an opinion of those who are a stranger to God's love and care through Salvation however this man can attest to a supernatural keeping of my soul by His power.
Our children today and others who are adults in many cases do not have the surety that when humanly speaking all else fails there is a personage in God in whom they can turn to and He will always listen.
Whether that is a real relationship with God or not the teaching and assurance at a young age that God is there may well have saved many a young person's or older person's life as they sought to die. The teaching that there is a person in whom there is no change is definitely an assurance in life that counteracts despair.
Some might say this is Psychosomatic and that I am advocating that someone may well be saved by a false hope.
Obviously my earnest prayer is that many would see and believe in the Salvation that God provides through the death, burial and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ.
All really I am stating today is that there is a rise in suicides and depression illnesses because society has disposed of God and the hope that He always brought to past generations.
Is this disposal of God right for the people of this world
The problem is that God has been and currently is being airbrushed out of the lives of all and when it comes to despair then that someone (maybe a family member) in thinking that nobody in the human sense understands, will have no one not even God to turn to.
Why? Because they have never been taught about God and His love for the individual.
No matter what you as an individual think about God surely the thought of our children being taught wholesome truths from the Bible is more beneficial than the trash that they see on TV, computer type games and also listen to in their headphones.
Two passages of scripture stuck with me from Primary school days and have been a source of comfort and strength throughout the rest of my turbulent years and I leave them with you:
Isaiah 26:3-4 - Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. (4) Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:
Proverbs 3:5-6 - Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. (6) In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
May God be your help in times of despair.
He is always a constant in this world when all things around us fail.
Sin that we all have condemns us to separation from God in eternity but acceptance in belief and faith of the gift of His Son Jesus Christ and His sacrifice at the cross saves and seals us in salvation.
Act 4:12 - Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Thanks for reading
Peter Skillen
www.braehillbaptist.org
I have been thinking lately about why so many young people and even young adults in their 20,30,40s see it necessary to take their lives to end what appears to them to be an unfulfilled life.
As someone who was brought up from a very young age in the confines of church surroundings I have found that I always had an underlying assurance that God was who He said He was and that He was always there as someone to confide in and ultimately rely on.
At the early age of 13yrs realising that I had sin in my life and that it needed to be dealt with, I trusted the Lord Jesus Christ for my salvation from sins curse and eternal security that only He can give.
I saw a witness from others that convinced me that God was One who would always be a constant in my life.
I did fail Him many times after my original decision yet I always knew of His loving and restraining hand on my shoulder.
Thankfully He led me in a way of His choosing so that with His blessing I am where I am today in His work.
Why I am relating this in thinking about a younger generation?
When I look at teens, twenties, thirties and perhaps even into forties I see generations that did not have the same influences from church based organisations and pastoral care that I was privileged to have.
Things like Sunday School, youth club, after church meetings, Boys Brigade and many other activities that kept me in touch with my God.
Many may well say well this church thing is wrong and it gives our children a false hope of a Deity that may be true but maybe is not true.
That may well be an opinion of those who are a stranger to God's love and care through Salvation however this man can attest to a supernatural keeping of my soul by His power.
Our children today and others who are adults in many cases do not have the surety that when humanly speaking all else fails there is a personage in God in whom they can turn to and He will always listen.
Whether that is a real relationship with God or not the teaching and assurance at a young age that God is there may well have saved many a young person's or older person's life as they sought to die. The teaching that there is a person in whom there is no change is definitely an assurance in life that counteracts despair.
Some might say this is Psychosomatic and that I am advocating that someone may well be saved by a false hope.
Obviously my earnest prayer is that many would see and believe in the Salvation that God provides through the death, burial and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ.
All really I am stating today is that there is a rise in suicides and depression illnesses because society has disposed of God and the hope that He always brought to past generations.
Is this disposal of God right for the people of this world
The problem is that God has been and currently is being airbrushed out of the lives of all and when it comes to despair then that someone (maybe a family member) in thinking that nobody in the human sense understands, will have no one not even God to turn to.
Why? Because they have never been taught about God and His love for the individual.
No matter what you as an individual think about God surely the thought of our children being taught wholesome truths from the Bible is more beneficial than the trash that they see on TV, computer type games and also listen to in their headphones.
Two passages of scripture stuck with me from Primary school days and have been a source of comfort and strength throughout the rest of my turbulent years and I leave them with you:
Isaiah 26:3-4 - Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. (4) Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:
Proverbs 3:5-6 - Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. (6) In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
May God be your help in times of despair.
He is always a constant in this world when all things around us fail.
Sin that we all have condemns us to separation from God in eternity but acceptance in belief and faith of the gift of His Son Jesus Christ and His sacrifice at the cross saves and seals us in salvation.
Act 4:12 - Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Thanks for reading
Peter Skillen
www.braehillbaptist.org
Saturday, January 11, 2014
Time just flies and before you know it....
Hi all.
I have just realised that it has been some time since I last made any comment on this blog. I just kept putting it off and before I knew it over six months had passed.
So I will rectify this in the coming weeks and will seek to post more thoughts.
In thinking of my reasons for this I thought of the comparison that can be made with all of us as regards what God requires of us.
Many set up to take a look at God and the Salvation that He has offered through His son Jesus Christ and keep looking for a period of time however at the end of this examination there is the thought - I will get round to it someday.
Today in Northern Ireland the Police have made the comment that NI is facing a 'Road Safety Emergency' due to the number of unexpected deaths occurring on our roads in the past ten days.
The thought is of course that our lives on this earth are not guaranteed forever.
James in his New Testament letter indicates this:
James 4:14 - Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
The putting off of our reconciliation to God through the Lord Jesus Christ is something that we should be conscious of in the presence time and as James declares; the passing of life is but just a vapour.
2 Corinthians 6:2b - ..........behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
God indicates through the Holy Spirit that there is an urgency in seeking peace with Him.
The Lord Jesus Christ paid the price of our sin at the Cross of shame over two thousand years ago and only asks us to repent of our sin and have faith in His Calvary sacrifice that it was sufficient to appease God who is Holy and Righteous.
Christ paid a debt that we could never pay.
Are you still in the debt of sin to God or will you accept the gift of payment on your behalf.
We can put many things off and get away with it but putting of being right with God has dangers.
Hebrews 9:27 - And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
The Bible speaks of Heaven and Hell as being the result of judgement - A Heaven to be gained by those trust in Christ and a Hell to be eternally endured for those who reject Jesus Christ and His gift of Salvation.
That is why we have such a Saviour in Jesus Christ
Hebrews 9:28 - So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
Allow Christ to give you peace in your life and so having sins forgiven look forward to being in the presence of God for eternity.
Peter
www.braehillbaptist.org
I have just realised that it has been some time since I last made any comment on this blog. I just kept putting it off and before I knew it over six months had passed.
So I will rectify this in the coming weeks and will seek to post more thoughts.
In thinking of my reasons for this I thought of the comparison that can be made with all of us as regards what God requires of us.
Many set up to take a look at God and the Salvation that He has offered through His son Jesus Christ and keep looking for a period of time however at the end of this examination there is the thought - I will get round to it someday.
Today in Northern Ireland the Police have made the comment that NI is facing a 'Road Safety Emergency' due to the number of unexpected deaths occurring on our roads in the past ten days.
The thought is of course that our lives on this earth are not guaranteed forever.
James in his New Testament letter indicates this:
James 4:14 - Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
The putting off of our reconciliation to God through the Lord Jesus Christ is something that we should be conscious of in the presence time and as James declares; the passing of life is but just a vapour.
2 Corinthians 6:2b - ..........behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
God indicates through the Holy Spirit that there is an urgency in seeking peace with Him.
The Lord Jesus Christ paid the price of our sin at the Cross of shame over two thousand years ago and only asks us to repent of our sin and have faith in His Calvary sacrifice that it was sufficient to appease God who is Holy and Righteous.
Christ paid a debt that we could never pay.
Are you still in the debt of sin to God or will you accept the gift of payment on your behalf.
We can put many things off and get away with it but putting of being right with God has dangers.
Hebrews 9:27 - And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
The Bible speaks of Heaven and Hell as being the result of judgement - A Heaven to be gained by those trust in Christ and a Hell to be eternally endured for those who reject Jesus Christ and His gift of Salvation.
That is why we have such a Saviour in Jesus Christ
Hebrews 9:28 - So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
Allow Christ to give you peace in your life and so having sins forgiven look forward to being in the presence of God for eternity.
Peter
www.braehillbaptist.org
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