FAITH

FAITH.

What is faith? The oxford dictionary says, "complete confidence, and belief in something without objective proof." Objective proof, that means without real proof. Like seeing and believing, [objective proof,] and feeling and knowing without having to see with our eyes. [Faith.]

Faith comes in many different guises. We can have faith in our children’s academic abilities or in loved ones fidelity.

We plant seeds in the ground and in faith we wait for them to grow. We have great faith when we fly in an aeroplane. The truth is, we could not live without faith, and the greatest, and most important faith of all; is our faith in God and his Son Jesus Christ: it is the very essence of our being.

[Isa 7 v 9] God said " if you don’t stand firm in your faith you will not stand at all."

Unbelievers almost always hold faith healers in derision, yet Jesus healed by faith.

It is an act of great faith, when we submit our unconscious bodies, into the hands of a surgeon, for an operation. Those people, who have to face hours of surgery to replace a heart, or other organs, are especially brave. We trust the surgeon to do whatever they can to save our bodies from death. Our faith in God is the only faith that can keep our soul alive.

We cannot have faith if we have no trust. If we lose our faith in anyone for whatever reason, we do not trust those people again. If it is a professional person like a doctor, or dentist who has failed us, we do not trust anyone in that profession, blaming all for the failure of one.

A greater act than the one that destroyed our faith, can restore it. If we have been to a dentist who has hurt us, and in desperation we have to pay a visit to a dentist, our faith can be restored if he is gentle and does not hurt us. But did we stop to think that the first experience was more painful, because that tooth was more sensitive?

On the other hand, there are certain people who cry ‘ trickery’ when a real miracle happens, and they will go to any lengths to disprove the validity of the miracle: thus calling God a liar. No – one it seems wants to have faith and believe, however it was not always like that.

[Matt 8 Vs 5 – 13.] The Faith of the Centurion.

" When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. ‘Lord,’ he said, ‘ my servant lies at home paralysed and in terrible suffering.’

Jesus said to him, ‘I will go and heal him.’

The centurion replied, ‘ Lord, I do not deserve to have you under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one ‘go and he goes and that one ‘ come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant ‘ do this.’ And he does it."

When Jesus heard this he was astonished and said to those following him, " I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Issac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Then Jesus said to the centurion, " go! It will be as you believed it would." And his servant was healed that very hour."

The centurion, was also astonished at the miraculous healing of his servant, Had his faith wavered, had he allowed unbelief to creep in, it could have been so different. But he believed the truth that Jesus could heal, and he valued his servant highly enough to go himself, and ask for his healing.

When the centurion spoke to Jesus, he realised that Jesus was under God’s authority. He also recognised the fact that God has given Jesus authority over all things, even life and death, sickness and healing.

Such faith from a Roman! Jesus was ‘ astonished.’ The Jews were still refusing to accept the fact that Jesus, was God’s Son, and so he rewarded the centurion according to his faith.

Jesus knows the measure of our faith, just as he knew the lack of faith in the Jews. We do not want to be ‘ thrown out into the darkness where we will weep.’ This is a warning to us, don’t let it go unheeded.

When I first met our Lord, I was cynical of many things. But I found that each day, as I trusted him a little more, my faith in him grew. Then I found that although people will let us down, and destroy our faith in them; God will never let us down! The more I spoke to God, and told him about myself, and confessed my sins, the closer I came to him until I knew that I could trust him completely.

Sometimes faith does not come in an instant, and we are in two minds. Will we believe, or will we not. Will we take the scientific point of view that all life owes its existence to a ‘ big bang?’ Or will we give God the glory due to him?

In the first book of the kings [Ch 18 vs. 20 – 46] is this account of the great faith of the prophet Elijah.

Elijah on Mount Carmel.

" So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel, and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. Elijah went before the people and said, " how long will you waver between to opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him: but if Ball is god, follow him."

But the people said nothing.

" Then Elijah said to them, " I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left, but Ball has four hundred and fifty prophets. Get two bulls for us, let them choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The God who answers by fire – he is God."

Then all the people said " what you say is good."

Elijah said to the prophets of Ball, " choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god but do not light the fire." So they took the bull given them and prepared it.

Then they called on the name of Ball from morning till noon. ‘ O Ball, answer us!’ they shouted. But there was no response; no – one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.

At noon Elijah began to taunt them, ‘ shout louder’ he said. ‘ Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or travelling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.’ So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with sword and spears, as was their custom until their blood flowed. Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no – one answered, no – one paid attention.

Then Elijah said to all the people, " come here to me. They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which was in ruins. Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come saying, " your name shall be Israel." With the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord

, And dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs of seed. He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, " fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood."

" Do it again" he said, and they did it again. " Do it a third time," he ordered and they did it the third time. The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.

At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: O Lord, God of Abraham, Issac and Israel, let it be known today you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command.

Answer me, O Lord answer me, so these people will know that you, O Lord are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again."

Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.

When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, " the Lord – he is God! The Lord – he is God!"

What faith! What a man was Elijah! In faith he took on the four hundred and fifty priests of Ball, knowing they would love to kill him. In faith he repaired the alter to the Lord in front of the priests he had just been taunting, and in faith he soaked it all in water before he called upon the Lord.

God responded to Elijah’s faith, and answered his prayer, and the people turned back to the Lord.

That was not the end of the matter. Elijah had all the prophets of Ball killed, and Queen Jezebel was furious. She was a very nasty bit of goods, and she frightened Elijah, and threatened to kill him.

[1 Kings Ch 19 Vs 3 – 5.] Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, and sat down under it and prayed that he might die.

" I have had enough Lord," he said " take my life; I can do no better than my ancestors." Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep."

Poor Elijah! In the power of God he stood fearless before all the people, and the four hundred and fifty prophets of Ball. But in the presence of the evil Jezebel exuded he was afraid. He wanted to die because he felt he had let the Lord down as his ancestors before him, he had failed the God he loved and worshipped faithfully; he had lost faith in himself.

But God, is the author and finisher of our faith, and he had not lost faith in Elijah, nor had he ceased to love him because of his momentary weakness: far from it he showed Elijah the end of Jezebel. He went on and become one of the greatest prophets, and God never did grant his request to let him die. In the second book of the kings we are given an account of the end of Elijah. [2nd kings Ch 2 vs7 – 12.]

" Fifty men of the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground.

When they crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, " tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?"

" Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit," Elisha replied."

" You have asked a difficult thing," Elijah said, " yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours – otherwise not."

As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha saw this and cried our, " my father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!" and Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them apart."

Our faith can be like that of Elijah. Great when needed, and in quiet reserve when we are not called upon to do something big.

Jesus inspires our faith. He promises never to leave or forsake us. His holy Spirit enters in when we believe, it gives us discernment, so that we may know what is right, and what is wrong.

Faith goes beyond our personal desires for health wealth, and happiness. When our spirits are low, and we feel unhappy the Holy Spirit will lift us up in prayer to God; and we feel so good inside we know this can only come from God himself.

There are many things that can act as a suppresser on our faith. The chief ones being bereavement, famines and earthquake. Instead of blaming God, and feeling let down, we should talk it over with him, and he will show us the way through the crisis. When we look back we will see that God was always there with us.

There is another kind of faith. The shy, quiet, desperate kind; like that of the woman who had bled for twelve years, spent all her money on cures that did not work, and as the Jews were considered unclean if they had an issue of blood, and could not go to the temple to worship: this poor woman was desperate indeed. Any woman can understand how hard it must have been in those days to have an unspeakable problem, for twelve years! Then she heard about Jesus, and she knew that if she could only get close enough to touch him, just once!

In Matthew’s gospel her story is told. [Matt Ch9 Vs 20 – 22 ]

" Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. She said to herself, " if I only touch his cloak I will be healed."

Jesus turned and saw her, " take heart, daughter," he said, " your faith has healed you," and the woman was healed from that moment."

God gave the woman the gift of faith, to his glory. She did not doubt or hesitate, she acted upon it. It was sufficient for her Jesus healed her instantly.

Wow! How many times have we felt the urge to do something, and not done it? What have we missed? God could have been urging us to do something wonderful, but for fear of looking foolish we have not acted.

One thing is certain, he would not urge us to do the wrong thing, because he would not cause us to stumble in our faith.

I get so exited when I think about faith, it is the gift of God, freely given to us. That same God, that stood with Elijah against the prophets of Ball. The same God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, that stood by him as he hung on the cross.

He it is that gives us our faith, and he gives it with promise.

In Matt [Ch 21 Vs 18 – 22] the fig tree withers.

" Early in the morning, as he was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves.

Then he said to it, " may you never bear fruit again!" immediately the tree withered.

When the disciples saw this, they were amazed, " how did the fig tree wither so quickly?" they asked.

Jesus replied, " I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what has been done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, " Go. Throw yourself into the sea," and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."

That is what faith is. Believing in what you cannot see, but knowing with all your heart, and soul that what you feel inside that wonderful YES! Jesus I know you are here, and I love you!

It grows with your trust, so what are we waiting for? Let us commit our trust to him now! Come on – it is better than anything else we will ever have.

Colossians [Ch 2 Vs 6 – 7] says this. " So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness."

Hope.

I hope it doesn’t rain today. I hope I can find a pair of shoes that I can afford. I hope, " hello! I hope you are well," How often do we hope for things? Where would we be without the hope of a better tomorrow?

There are those who could not have it better as far as worldly wealth is concerned, but they are few. We are the many, we are the poor that Jesus said would always be here. But though we may be a little short of worldly wealth – we who hope in Christ have riches beyond compare.

In Colossians, [Ch I v 2 – 27.] St Paul tells us this.

"Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness – the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."

It should be the greatest hope of all people, for it is the most sure and rewarding hope, Christ in us. The whole of life takes on a new meaning. Never again will we consider any situation ‘ hopeless’, nothing is beyond the power of Jesus to put it right. We will walk through God’s world as new people, God’s people.

My fondest hope at the moment is that you dear friend will read what I have written, and make a decision for God.

People without hope do desperate things. When we get into a particularly bad situation, with nowhere to turn, and no one to turn to , we turn to God! We may never have had any belief or faith before that moment; but in our darkness and despair it seems that God is our only hope. We utter a small insecure prayer, like " Lord God, if you are really there, please help me." And because our Lord God really is there, pleased to hear from us, and is willing to help us, he does it from the inside. He gives us a ray of hope in our heart, like sunbeam lighting up a stormy sky. This gives us a feeling of comfort, and already our burden seems lighter, and we feel we can cope better.

The next time we speak to our Lord in prayer we do it with more confidence. We begin to confide in our Lord: this brings us to the realisation that all the things we do cannot be pleasing to him, so we ask his forgiveness.

Our Lord God is ever faithful to forgive us and he does so without reproach, he encourages us with his word.

In Jeremiah [Ch 29 v 11 – 14.] " For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, " plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart, will be found by you." Declares the Lord."

We must then seek out God with all our heart, and when we do we will find him. How wonderful God is that he lets us find him, and also he helps us to do it for he tells us we can find him through his Son.

Even as we lay dying, the hope of heaven is the bright light that draws us on without fear into the company of Christ

There are many wonderful things that God has created on the earth, I sometimes wonder why God is interested in humankind. We are the only ones who kill for pleasure. The only ones who would bring God down from heaven and steal his power if it were at all possible, I thank him that it is not. God commands, and God creates. Can it be that God hopes? That he hopes we will turn to him so that he can do all the good things for us that he wants to do in our lives?

Will we give God the chance? Or will we say, " boring! I don’t have time," Eternity is a long time to regret it.

The Psalmist said, [Ps 147 v 10 – 11.]

His pleasure is not in the strength of the

Horse,

Nor his delight in the legs of a man:

The Lord delights in those who fear

Him,

Who put their hope in his unfailing?

Love.

Whenever we are in a crisis situation, ‘ unfailing love,’ these are the words to hold on to.

I recently received a letter, and on the back of the envelope it said " if undelivered please return to unclaimed prises department, Park mill, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire."

It looked so impressive, I was sure it was genuine. My hope soared, had I won a prise? I buy raffle tickets, and fill in ‘win a prise ‘ cards in the supermarket. Full of hope I opened the letter, only to have my hopes dashed as the usual £ 1 – 50p a minute phone for a claim number jumped into my face. It was the usual con, which fanned false hope into flames of indignation, and anger. It was mostly directed at myself for being so gullible.

But, the front of the envelope had ‘ private and confidential,’ written on it, and it had my proper initial known to only a few. All this I reasoned with myself to try and justify the feeling of excitement I had felt.

Normally these cons come in the shape of a card saying, " scratch off the panels, if you have three symbols the same, you have won a major prise!" I have never scratched one that did not have three the same, and I have never phoned for a claim number, or heard of anyone receiving a prise.

The point of it all is that we can be deceived by false hopes, and feel genuinely let down but if you hope for something good for nothing, that is what you will get.

There is the hope that sustains us when a loved one goes off to war, and the hope that he will be returned to us safe and sound. On what are these hopes founded? Why, the love and mercy of God of course.

When someone who has been thought lost in some disaster turns up safe and well, it prompts prayers of thanks giving, and praise to our Lord from people who hitherto have had no time for our Lord, or the person returned to us. From whence comes the prompting? Why, from God’s Holy Spirit dwelling within us, where else.

Then there is the vengeful hope that we fill ourselves with when we have been hurt by someone. We say things like, " why don’t you drop dead, break your neck, go drown yourself and worst of all I hope you rot in hell!" these hopes are evil, and come from the evil we have stored up inside, instead of confessing our grievance to the Lord, who will give us the grace to forgive.

Our hopes should be centred on the Lord, and what he wants for us. No one can steal away what God has prepared for us, and we cannot force his hand with our impatience.

In his letter to the Romans St Paul talks about ‘ future glory’ [Rom Ch 8 v 18 – 27.]

I consider our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice but by the will of the one who subjected it. In hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will."

God never lets us feel our way around in the dark. He guides us with his Spirit. He gives us understanding of his word. If we read our Bible, and say, ‘ I can’t understand this, what is it all about? Then put our Bible down, defeated before we start, we are sad people.

God is waiting to speak to us about our hopes, to quell our fears, his Spirit is within us. Our hope is in Christ Jesus, he is pleased to call us friend, brother even; he is pleased to be our all in all, and he will give us understanding of his word if we read on in hope.

[1 Jn Ch 3 v 1 – 3] tells us this. " How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now that we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure."

I pray for us all that we will fully realise the wonderful love that John is speaking of, and that we will live in the hope of that love eternal.

LOVE.

We have looked at faith, and hope so let us now look at the most essential part of our human, and God’s divine nature love. Our spirit cannot grow old, and love never dies because our spirit is eternal, and God is love.

It never ceases to amaze me how a mother can take one look at her new-born infant, and immediately be filled with a lifetime’s supply of grade one love.

Everyone needs love. It is what life is all about. Our Lord’s greatest command was, " love ye one another." But we never know how much we love or how much we are loved, until a crisis comes suddenly into our lives; it is then that friends and family show their appreciation. If someone we love is hurt – we hurt, if someone we love is happy – we are happy.

How often do we think about God, and wonder whether or not he is happy? We know that God is patient, we know he can be angry, he tells us so himself. In the Ten Commandments he tells us " for I the Lord your God am a jealous God." But how much happiness do we bring to our Sovereign Lord? Do we love God? Are our hearts and minds open to receive the love God has poured out upon us?

Our love is very fickle, very unreliable, we cannot trust it, the only true love is God’s, and all else is droplets in the ocean of life.

St Paul, tells us something about the love of God in [Ro Ch 8 v 32 – 39.] " He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is it that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died – more than that, who was raised to life – is at the right hand of God interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:

" For your sake we face death all day

long;

We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

I think St Paul covered everything, don’t you?

This incomparable love is ours as a gift from Jesus, given to him by God his Father to share with every soul, willing to accept it.

Lonely? Dying? You can live forever, Jesus’ love has not changed. While we are steeped in sin and unforgiveness, God has given us all that love can give in his only Son Jesus, who emptied himself of all but love, to come into this world to save us. Jesus is the personification of God’s love. Jesus has something to tell us of how we should use the love he has given us.

Love your enemies!

[Lk Ch 8 Vs 27- 36] " But I tell you who hear me: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who ill treat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic.

Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others, as you would have them do to you,

If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘ sinners’ love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘ sinners’ do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners’ expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the most high, because he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."

What makes another person our enemy? Why do we say ‘ I hate this person or that? We need to give this some serious thought. If we came out in different coloured spots, say, green if we are envious red for anger, blue for cold indifference, purple for hatred, [wouldn’t life be interesting?] but how would we cope If someone we loved turned purple when we came near?

Surely we would be quick to find out why? And to remedy the fault. Unfortunately we do not come out in spots, neither are our ill feelings visible to others because we hide them so well.

We do ourselves great harm by keeping a grudge inside where it turns to hatred. It is like a cancer in our soul, and it hurts only us. Our protagonist does not feel a thing. He or she would probably be quite surprised that we hold something against them that appears so petty and small.

" Love your enemies" Jesus said, and he did! When he was on the cross in agony, dying in our place, for our sins he said, " Father forgive them for they know not what they do." He was calling on God his Father to forgive those who crucified him. Such is his love for us.

If we love the Lord with all our might, we could never equal his love for us. His love is full of compassion such as the world could never feel, because we are, what we are, and we are not capable of loving all people equally.

[1 Jn Ch 4 Vs 7 – 13 ] St John writes us this letter of love.

" Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone that loves has been born of God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: he sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God has so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No one has ever seen God: but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit."

Not only has God given us his Son to suffer for our sin, he has given us his love, and greater still he has Given us of his Spirit, the very essence of his own life, to confirm in us these incredible riches he has bestowed upon us. There is really we could make ourselves worthy of our Lord, so to be obedient to his will seems a very small thing. It is very important to our Lord, and this is why.

[Jn Ch 14 Vs 15 – 25.] " Jesus said, if you love me you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another counsellor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him or knows him. But you know him for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me any more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realise I am in my Father and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever hears my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."

Then Judas [not Judas Iscariot] said, " but Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?"

" Jesus replied, ‘ if anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me."

I like that, " they belong to the Father who sent me." They are God’s words. Jesus never spoke a word that did not come from God. He obeyed every command the Father gave him without question.

Our Lord would not ask us to do anything he has not done himself. He does not ask us to do the impossible.

We have but a short time here on this earth, and some of it should be spent thinking about the hereafter, not only the here and now.

How we love our children when they are ‘good’. When we have love and harmony in the home - we consider ourselves blessed indeed, and we bless the Lord when we live at peace with our neighbours.

We must be very careful when our feet are on the right path that we do not slip back into our old ways.

A guilty conscience weighs heavy, and will drag us down. It will make us feel that God will not want to know us, it will make us feel that we cannot be forgiven, and that God is fed up with us. We are mentally lowering our Gracious God, down to our level of thinking – we couldn’t be more wrong.

When our Lord was arrested, Peter did as the Lord said he would, and denied Jesus three times. When he realised what he had done he was devastated. He had told Jesus he would die for him, and now he had denied knowing him; not once but three times.

Once Jesus was taken from the temple, Peter had no chance to tell Jesus he was sorry – no time to repent and be forgiven. He had been with Jesus from the beginning, and he knew from God that Jesus was the Christ – the Son of the living God.

No one could have been more disappointed with himself than Peter; the rock on which Jesus was going to build his church. What use would he be to Jesus now? How would he ever live with himself again?

Full of remorse Peter went back to his fishing, other disciples followed him. I often wonder what would have happened had Jesus felt the same way about Peter, as Peter felt about himself.

Our Lord of love however when he was resurrected, had this to say to Peter. [Jn Ch 21 Vs 15 – 20] " When they had finished eating, Jesus said Simon Peter, ‘ Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?’

" Yes lord," he said, " you know that I love you."

Jesus said, " feed my lambs"

" Again Jesus said, Simon son of John, do you truly love me?"

He answered, " Yes Lord, you know I love you."

The third time he said to him, " Simon son of John do you love me?"

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, " do you love me?" he said, You know all things; you know that I love you."

Jesus said, " feed my sheep. I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go."

Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him " follow me."

How relieved Peter must have been, not one word of reproach to him for denying Jesus, and Jesus said, " follow me." which meant that Peter’s place in heaven was secure.

I can only imagine the love flowing from our Lord as he spoke to Peter, leaving him in no doubt that nothing had changed between them. Relief, joy, love and thankfulness must have fused together and surged through Peter’s body as he stood before his Lord, knowing all was forgiven.

What wondrous love the Father has for his poor weak children, for he knows we are but dust. His wisdom says, leave yesterday behind, and do not drag its troubles into today. We should live every day with the Holy Spirit guiding us, so that when we leave this life, the change will be wanted, and welcome.

Jesus told Peter to " feed his lambs." Feed them what? Feed them with his first hand experience of Jesus’ love, and how he forgives, and the word of God that saves our souls from hell!

Lamentations [Ch 3 Vs 19 – 24.] reads thus.

I remember my affliction and my

Wandering,

The bitterness and the gall.

I well remember them,

And my soul is downcast within me.

Yet this I call to mind

And therefore I have hope:

Because of the Lord’s great love we are

Not consumed,

For his compassion’s never fail.

They are new every morning;

Great is your faithfulness.

I say to myself, " the Lord is my

Portion;

Therefore I will wait for him."

So we have looked at FAITH, HOPE, and LOVE. Faith gives us hope, hope gives us love. They are all part of our being. They cannot be seen on a x – ray, or measured in any way whatever, nor can they be eradicated from our nature. They thrive on hardship and persecution, they are strengthened in times of great tribulation. We would be lost without them. They are like the three musketeers, " all for one and one for all" they cannot be separated.

God is love. St Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians describes the nature of God and tells us how without him we are nothing.

[1 Cor Ch 13 Vs 1 – 13] " If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have faith that can move mountains, but have not love I am nothing. If I give all I posses to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part, we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes the imperfect disappears.

When I was a child, I talked as a child, I reasoned like a child, when I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.

Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we will see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."

To own just a portion of such unbounded love,

Free from all prejudices, and to be owned by God as one of his children, surely we can do as we expect our own children to do? We can obey his command, and love one another.

Little ones.

Little hands pressed together,

Little hearts in prayer.

Little heads bowed in wonder,

God is there, God is there.