Neil

We need to examine our own ministries, divisions, and legalism instead of the Gospel, We need to show that Gospel working in our own lives and organisations, and to take it into places where it can be seen as the effective answer to peoples' spiritual and practical needs.

In Christ the solid Rock I stand. That's Gospel.....good news that I have someone I can trust, who is the foundation my faith, not just as a wise man, but God Himself who even gave His life for me. More and more this world rejects this Rock....they want a world where anything goes, A world where rich corporations can dominate and misuse the resources that are needed for communities to live securely. They are repelled by the Rock because of their own self-interests, but what wonderful achievements can be made by living according to His word and power.

In it's visible manifestation is both universal and local. In that manifestation we are called upon to continue the work of Christ, our head, until He comes again to take us with Him. There are varieties of ways in which this work is done in accordance with the giftings of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Interesting that though there is a separation of church and state, yet there is also cooperation in situations where the church has the expertise and motivation. This can provide us with increasing opportunities to work together in many areas of service. As Christ is our Head in whom we live and have our being, every good thing we are able to achieve comes through Him.

First, establish trust by living a life worthy of trust. 'Let your moderation be known'. Be a friend in need.. Be assured of your own faith so you can express it in your own words. And let the Holy Spirit do His work.

It's amazing that the Creator of our very complex universe should become a human being, to be a Friend to me, a sinner, and to all peoples throughout the ages. But to me? Yes, and more than a friend....the Saviour who took my sins to the cross. His love for me produces love in me for others, but I have to fight against my prejudices. Who am I to judge others, to quote Pope Francis.

The world offers all sorts of attractions that stimulate my desires. I let go and forget God's will for me. But then He brings me back though His word. His Holy Spirit calls me to repentance. I have nothing of my own self to boast about; indeed the opposite. But He has given me His rich gifts with which to serve Him through others in all sorts of ways. "When we walk with the Lord, in the light of His word, what a blessing He sheds on our way."

Jesus told us to celebrate the communion of His Body and blood in remembrance of Him. I believe this remembrance is to be of the present living Lord who is eternal and with us as we come into His presence as he promised. Thus communion is a close very fellowship with and in Him and each other. We continue to receive Him in this manner until He comes to take us to be with Him forever.

The perfect spotless Lamb who saved me and all believers, fully, on the cross was and is the very Son of God. That He should come into our world, live and die as a human being to save us is so amazing. The salvation which He won for us is not confined to this earth but is proclaimed throughout the heavens to the powers that rule in the heavenly places.

Firstly the union we have in Christ is not of our making! Our union is His making achieved at the cross. Baptism is not law! Baptism is Gospel! To quote Charles Wesley's great hymn, 'Tis mercy all'! Baptism is not something you must do as a command in order to be saved....that's law. How can it be if we're saved only by grace without works? Baptism is received.....we don't do it, we receive it! "Be baptised" is not so much an imperative as an exhortation and invitation to be incorporated into Christ, His death and resurrection. it as the seal of assurance that we are incorporated with Jesus in His death and resurrection. it is the seal of assurance to us that we are incorporated into His body, our mark of identity. Therefore baptism is not something we do.....it's something that God through the Holy Spirit does to us. It's Gospel.

His "I AM" affirms that He is indeed one with the Father. They are eternal. Therefore all the human contrived objections to His revelations as Messiah, and the Son of God are passing. They fade but He lives!

We can consider this question at a human level as indeed it comes to us that way in Jn 3:16 and indeed as Jesus came to us, lived, worked, taught, died and saved us as a true man. But there is a deeper meaning in the realms of the higher places beyond our understanding where God reigns. Yet He deigns to come down to us and to our level because He loves us so much, to heal the sin that besets us.

Yes I love Him and He loves me! I have no doubt that He and the Father are one. As I consider the revelations of His fellowship of the Father and His beloved only Son, and add to this His amazing creation that continues to be revealed, I can only be assured the He is God with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Indeed, the heavens do declare the glory of God! On the basis of this creation I wonder what that place which He is preparing for us will be like.

Isaiah 9:6-7, For unto us TO US! This Child will come to us to save us....think of that! And what qualities He will have. His power brings peace, not war. Righteousness and justice, not despotism and corruption. And it will last forever! There is an oblique reference in Isaiah 43:18cf....'Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.....Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?" Isaiah Chapter 53 must be the greatest and yet John 3:16 where we learn that God loved us so much. He loves us! Loved us so much that He chose a people, fashioned their history, put them through experiences, sent them prophets and gave them signs of His coming, And He came to them and to us. Jesus, Yeshua, the anointed Son of Man, Son of God, who came to save us by taking our sins upon Himself at the cross.

First, He is our only Mediator with the Father. No man comes to the Father than by Him. We are commissioned to bring our supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings to our Father through His Son in whose name we pray. We pray together as His Body, the Church gathering before Him. This is the work He has commanded and empowered us to do as His children.

In my/our sorrows, even the deepest sorrows where there is no way out but to bear the intense suffering, He's there with me/us. There is victory over my/our suffering only by living in Him. This has been and remains my own experience.

Jesus has all power and authority, yet He deigns to walk with me. He knows me more than I know myself. There is a time for His judgement to discipline me, and a time for His mercy to forgive me. Though I should use my own inadequate words, What I'd like to say, Luther says more beautifully... . 'He has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death and the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy precious blood and His innocent suffering and death, that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity.' Notice that no fear is mentioned....'tis mercy all!

Having His origin in Heavens, He comes amongst us, as Son of Man in His own terms, obviously referring to Daniel's prophecy and to His human nature which He retains, and Son of God from eternity. We wait eagerly for His coming to us again to take us to be with Him in His heavenly realm. He is one with the Father, the Ancient of Days. Having accomplished all He was sent by His Father to do, particularly to suffer and die on the cross for us, He was given all authority over all the powers of heaven and earth and as St Paul tells us, He was given the name that is above every name, that is JESUS IS LORD!

Mmmm, yes how many times I've not spoken up when the occasion warranted me to say something. Or when I was afraid to witness to Christ. I had been told that the world was hostile to Christians. Yet when I became an industrial chaplain to people in the workplace I did not find it to be the case.

Jesus/Yeshua came into this world, sent by His Father to save me and all believers. That I put 'me' first may sound presumptuous but that's where it needs to be placed if His salvation won for me if I am to have it and live in it. That puts me within the great crowd of saints who will gather around His throne. Wonderful! Now speaking of His humanity, it is important for me that I can remember him as the man who trod the shores of Galilee and who walked among the people as a humble person. Everything He did was as a human being. How hard it is to keep that in mind. We know He sits in glory and so we aspire to find suitable words to address. Thanks that we have His names to guide us. As a musician the great composers, Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven tend to become legends to me, like great sportspeople do to lovers of sport. Thus they become a culture to me and can easily become an end rather than the means to the end. This is why I need always to return to the Man who lived, and walked amongst us, ministered to us and went the cross for us.

Are we speaking of a human being here? I see a being for whom the world conditions and values provide an opening to his evil. Situations, perhaps of his own making,attracting fanatical followers who believe in him, who see their hopes and ambitions bound up in him, only to be caught in his net and go down with him into destruction.

Daniel stands out to us because he will not let persecution override his trust in God's continuing care. He is yet another of so many wonderful saints we have seen throughout history,right up to our present day, who have kept the faith in spite of terrible hardships. I often wonder....could I stand for the faith as Daniel did? May God grant me such grace.

Well let's not be too negative about this arguing to seek the truth and uphold it even if it means I'm hurting. Come, let us reason together! I'm thinking of the ruthless arguments of our forbears e.g. Luther and Reformation contemporaries who called each other names as they wrestled to find the truth in God's word . It is natural for us to want to find the truth in various fields of scholarship and Christians are not alone in this. How can we sacrifice that important truth that is precious to us? Shall we say,"maybe we'll skip around that bit" (!!) We must let God's love help us to reason together. However, there are people who love to argue for the sake of being contentious and stimulating their heartbeats. This can be thought of as defending the faith when it's really

As Christians let's not forget that we're in the eternal Kingdom right now. When our Lord died on the cross and the curtain in the Temple was split from top to bottom, that's when Kingdom became available to us. Isn't that wonderful encouragement to 'hang in there' when the going is hard?

These days I fear for the threat of Islam throughout the world. I guess we must have confidence as we trust God to deal with it.

One major problem for people like me is that within our Christian culture the means to the end becomes our god. I'm a musician. I play regularly for our worship. I'm also a life member of our Bach Musica society. Music has always been a main part of life for me and it would be easy for me to live just for the music rather than for God the Creator who gave me the gift. Or I live for our church family where I get such a kick out of our active social programme.