‘For he endured as seeing him who is invisible’ says the Bible about Moses. END OF STORY? – Sometimes I really don’t know!

May it always be said about us as born again believers as it is said about Moses: Hebrews 11:27 “for he endured as seeing him who is invisible”. (RSV) The NIV says “he persevered because he saw him who is invisible”. Thinking about the word endured I am thinking about standing still. Perseverance seems to be talking about being on the move. Tell me if I am wrong. But the Collins dictionary seems to support that somehow. But I like the Luther translation best. It almost says in the German Luther Bible that Moses was hanging on to the Lord. Althougn he did not see him he was hanging on. That is FAITH! It is good to have something to hang on to. Or is the Lord not having us in his hands? But we are prone to forget, are we not?

wd

POSTIE + says this year: “Christmas is looking good” With other words dress to impress —for Christmas.

The WESTPAC BANK is on the same wavelength: ” Have money on hand to meet the holiday expenses. TREAT THE FAMILY*. Ask about a personal loan TODAY!”

Westpac: Have money on hand/ to make essential purchases/Spoil yourself this Christmas/Ask about a personal loan.

THE BIBLE says: Luke 2:10,11 -click on address!

*The family is a great motivator. Some people will do for their loved ones what they will not do for themselves.

wd

Second Corinthians 12:11 — I AM NOTHING = 0

Luke 11:6 — I HAVE NOTHING = 0

John 15:5 — I CAN DO NOTHING = 0

Write in front of the 3 noughts the big 1 = 1 000

HE IS

HE HAS

HE CAN

D.R.

That is a difficult lesson to be learned.

wd

Hebrews 13:14

When I was a young believer, and that is many many years ago, I read a sentence by a man called HJ Stilling. He said” Blessed are those who are longing for their heavenly home, because they will get there.”(Selig sind diejenigen, die das Heimweh haben, denn sie sollen nach Hause kommen.)

One of the reasons why that saying is still with me is that I do have the longing for my heavenly home. Another reason is probably that I have never felt homesick. I don’t know what that is all about. For 26 years I used to live in Germany, then 13 Years in Thailand and from then on here in the beautiful country of New Zealand. But Germany is not my home and Thailand is not my home. And Aotearoa (NZ) is not my home. My home is in heaven.

You probably know what being homesick is all about. I have actually mentioned that before. I have read that the only cure for people who are homesick is: GO HOME!

Hebrews 13:14 says,” For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. Praise the Lord!

Peter in the Bible is is speaking about the tent of this body. He says that in Second Peter 1:13. And in Second Peter 1:14 he says that he will soon put it aside. And in Second Corinthians 5:1 Paul talks of the destruction of this earthly tent (Body) . After the destruction of the body we will have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.

We know all about tents. We are staying here one or two days and then we are moving on. I did that once with the children at Matauri Bay. We were in the process of packing up and the neighbour lady said to us,” What a pity that you have to go home on a beautiful day like this.” “No”, we said, “we are not going home, we are moving on to Tauranga Bay. Tauranga Bay is for us the ‘Dreaming Place’ “.

But the problem with us is that we are not behaving as tent dwellers but as city dwellers! Ask yourself, “Am I a city dweller or am I a tent dweller”.

wd

John 6:67,68

In Germany I used to travel quite a bit by train. I remember sometimes the crew of the train announcing: End of the journey. All passengers please leave the train! What a relief for us passengers to have finished the long tiresome journey especially on a very hot day in summer. Finally we had arrived at the beautiful place where we wanted to spend our holidays.

Our life is also a journey! We are doing this and we are doing that. We are looking here and we are looking there. We are seeking here satisfaction and we are looking somewhere else for…….. yes, sometimes we are not even sure what we are searching for.

But we are all searching for something. Where do we find what we are looking for?

Simon Peter in the Bible found what he was looking for. He found the person with the eternal words. He found the Lord Jesus Christ. Or rather we should say the Lord Jesus Christ had revealed himself to Peter.– Peter had arrived at the eternal destination. He believed that the Lord Jesus Christ was the Holy One of God. He did not only believe that, but he also knew it. End of the journey for Peter. We can know also. But we must believe like Peter. But as I have said already it is by revelation. And that is also the end of the journey or us. There is no better destination. What a relief and what a joy!

Also the question Jesus asked the twelve is very significant. We would probably say Please don’t leave me. What can I do for you to make you stay with me?

Not so the Lord. He says:”You do not want to leave too, do you?”

wd

A couple of days ago I attended a concert were two Gospel Songs were played and sung. Quite a number of old and not so old Gospel Songs are going around in my head at the present time. Not only the tunes but also the beautiful words as well. Because he lives I can face tomorrow. Let the lower lights be burning. Shackled by a heavy burden. etc

And then all of a sudden I remembered my mother!

She had a little flat under the roof. But on the same storey apart from her flat was a single room which was still under construction. It was unfinished for a very long time and my mother went there to pray.

She had always two books with her, the BIBLE and — you guessed it, a hymn book. You cannot compare the Bible with a Christian hymn book, but what an encouragement it is to read how the saints over the centuries have praised the LORD! Praise the LORD!

wd

It is really good that we all still remember that Christmas has to do with GIFTS!

THE BIBLE TALKS ALSO ABOUT GIFTS AND ALSO ABOUT THE GREATEST GIFT

Ephesians 2:8; Romans 6:23; Second Corinthians 9:15; Hebrews 6:4; John 4:10; Acts 2:38; Acts 10:45; First Corinthians 13:2

Click on the verses and read!

Would you like to have your finances sorted for Christmas? We can help. That is the question of the local mortgagelink office here in town today. A good question indeed. But let us throw our stones a little bit further and I want to ask you today: Would you like to have your life sorted for the time when you die or the Lord Jesus Christ comes back? You see your finances are only a small segment of your life, although an important segment. You see now that it is important to think further ahead.

And believe it or not the same place has the Christmas decoration: JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON! And of course the Lord Jesus Christ is also the reason for our life.

He alone can sort out our life. The Holy Spirit wants to help us to sort out our life. ( But it is only through revelation!) I don’t need to tell you that we are all in a terrible mess. Read the newspapers. Listen to the radio. Watch TV.

The BIBLE says that we are sinners and fall short of the glory of God. That’s why we have to die. The wages of sin is death.

But the BIBLE says also that we are justified* freely by God’s grace through the redemption** that comes by Christ Jesus. Eternal life is the gift of God. We only need to take it. But we must confess our sins.

**Redemption: The death of Christ is the price paid for man’s redemption.

*Justification: The gracious, divine act by which sinful man is forgiven, declared righteous, and freed through faith from the penalty of sin.

Bible Verses: Romans 6:23,24; Romans 3:23; First John 1:9

wd