When I read today what D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones says about happiness, it came to my mind again what I saw yesterday on the main street here in Kaitaia and what I was actually going to forget.

Happiness

The street sign said, “You can’t buy happiness ….. but you can buy REAL ESTATE, & that’s kind of the same thing!”

In Matthew 5:4 we read in The Amplified Bible:

“Blessed and enviably happy, [with a happiness produced by experience of God’s favor and especially conditioned by the revelation of His matchless grace] are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted!”

And his is what D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones says about happiness in connection with this verse, “But the gospel says,’Happy are they that mourn.’ Indeed, they are the only ones who are happy! [see also Luke 6] ….”

The Lord Jesus Christ preached the gospel, the good news.

The words of the Lord Jesus Christ were good news. Why were they good news? They were good news because of what they offered.

They offered …

a.  FREEDOM.

Second Corinthians 3:17 “Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom.”

B.  HOPE.

Colossians 1:27 “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” All who believe in God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, have Him live in their hearts. That means also the Gentiles.

“GOOD NEWS”

C.  PEACE OF HEART.

Ephesians 2:14 “For he himself is our peace, …” People build walls between themselves. People do not have real unity with those who are not like them. But the Lord Jesus Christ has destroyed the barrier.

Because of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ,

• we are all one;
• we are no longer hostile against each other;
• by the Holy Spirit we can all have access to the Father in heaven;
• we are no longer strangers to God;
• and we are all being built into a holy temple. The Lord Jesus Christ is our chief cornerstone. (Ephesians 2:14-21)

D. ETERNAL LIFE WITH GOD.

First John 5:13 “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” I do not hope that I will receive eternal life, I know that I have it. What about you?

What is the gospel, the good news?

The gospel is that the kingdom of heaven has come. The gospel is that God is with us. The gospel is that God cares for us.

At the beach

What the Bible says and especially THE TEN COMMANDMENTS came to my mind, when I read today in our local paper, The Northland Age, Thursday, January 19, 2017, what Bob McCroskie said.

He said, that “children and adults do  better when parents get married and stay married, provided there is no presence of high conflict or violence.”

Bob McCroskie is the Family First national director, and the article is called “Ssshhh – Don’t mention family structure.”

Marriage has been ordained of the Lord Jesus Christ and is the oldest human institution.

We find The Ten Commandments in the Bible, in Exodus chapter twenty in the verses 1 to 17.

The Bible says:

“‘You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, …'” (Exodus 20:17)

“‘You shall not commit adultery.'” (Exodus 20:14)

“‘Honor your father and mother, …'” (Exodus 20:12)

Sunflower

“Thus far has the LORD helped us.” – 1 Samuel 7:12

At the beach

Let us say, I tell you that I am a Christian. I tell you also that I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal Saviour and that I am born again. I tell you even that I worked in Thailand as a missionary for a number of years.

But in spite of me telling you all this, I still want you to ask me the following questions. Here they are:

BUT HAS THE LORD JESUS CHRIST DONE SOMETHING IN YOUR LIFE?

Has the life of God entered into you? Is there an energy in you? Is there a power in you? Is there a life in you?

Once more: Has the Lord Jesus Christ done something in your life? That is the important question!

And just as I want you to ask me, “But has the Lord Jesus Christ done something in your life?” when I tell you that I am a Christian, I want to ask you, “But has the Lord Jesus Christ done something in your life?” when you tell me that you are a Christian.

OUR DAYS: We want to make our days count.

“Don’t count your days, make your days count.”

What a challenge!

But I want to do that. I think I did that actually not long ago in Ahipara. Or I should rather say, the Lord Jesus Christ did it for me.

Make your days count for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Make your days count for eternity.

AHIPARA: Township, 14km southwest of Kaitaia.

In Acts 1:8 it says:

“‘But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.”

I am actually surprised that I still remember the sign I read in town today. Usually I forget.

It was all about minds, about great minds, average minds and small minds, and what they discuss.

It said there:

“Great minds discuss ideas,

average minds discuss events,

small minds discuss people.”

It is a quote by Eleanor Roosevelt.

I should actually not be surprised that I remember the quote, because I have known for a long time that if I am really interested in something, I do remember quite easily.