Hello everyone from the Editor

One of the big topics today is teenage drinking! It is regularly on the news and is something that many young people are often faced with.

The Bible has quite a lot to say about drinking and becoming drunk. It causes us to lose our self-control, lose our dignity and sense of judgment. Under its influence, people become reckless and carefree. It often leads to the loss of that person's life, or to some injury, as well as endangering the lives of others.

Noah was the first person mentioned in the Bible who became drunk. He planted a vineyard and made wine and became drunk. Genesis 9:20-21. Then Noah acted in a foolish and disgraceful manner. This was the only blot on his upright character.

The book of Proverbs has some very straight things to say about becoming drunk. It leads to poverty. Prov. 23:20. It leads to many physical ills. Prov. 23:29. It often leads to forgetting God's laws. Prov. 31:4. It leads to immorality and sin. Lot was drunk and committed incest. Gen:19:32. It often produces brawling and mocking. Produces uncontrolable behaviour. Psalm 107:27.

Even great rulers have done the most foolish things under the influence of strong drink. For example Benhadad, 1.Kings 20:16-20. Belshazzar, Daniel 5:1-4. Ahasuerus, Esther 1:10-12, are examples

Often drinking is a great temptation to young people. It makes them feel grown up and important. It is often sociably acceptable among a group of young people and gains people friends. Remember that the greatest drunkard began by taking just one drink!

Often drinking is a great temptation to young people. It makes them feel grown up and important. It is often sociably acceptable among a group of young people and gains people friends. Remember that the greatest drunkard began by taking just one drink!

While Scripture does not condemn wine in moderation, it is the abuse of it that is condemned. The Lord Jesus turned water into wine. Paul told Timothy to take a little wine for his illness.

However drunkenness is an evil which excludes a person from the fellowship of God's church. 1. Cor.5:11. Galatians 5:21 tells us that those who are drunkards shall not inherit the kingdom of God. This does not mean that they cannot be saved and delivered by the Lord's grace.

Message in a shoe

Joe was a shoe-repairer. He was not a believer and was quick to argue about the things of God. A nearby friend of his had many talks with him about the Bible and gave him tracts to read, but all to no purpose.

“As for your tracts,” said Joe to his friend one day, “you will see what becomes of them.” He held up a shoe that he was repairing. He had used a tract to fill up some space between the inner and outer sole.“Much good it will do to anyone now”.

His friend replied, “God's word says: 'My word shall not return to Me void.' I believe it. The tract will do its work yet.” With those words he left the shop.

Further down the street, Joe had a rival - another shoe repairer. He was also an unbeliever and as arguementive as Joe. Some time later the same shoe was sent to this man for repair. It needed a new sole. Sitting down at his work bench on a Sunday morning to do the work, he ripped off the old leather and found the tract, just as the church bells were ringing for the morning service.

The title of the tract arrested him: 'Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy.' He stopped his work and read on. At first he read with scorn, but soon he was gripped by the clear and dignified words of the writer. He began to feel troubled in his heart and mind. He laid down the sole, washed himself, changed his coat and started for the house of God.

Outside, he met the godly neighbour from whom the tract came, who welcomed, “What, Bill! You here? I'm very glad to see you here.”

“You'll hardly guess what brought me,” said the shoe-repairer. “What?” inquired the friend. “A tract I found today in the sole of a shoe.” He then went on to tell the whole story. “I know the first part of the story.” said the neighbour, and related his talk with Joe. “You see, God will not let His word fall to the ground and be lost.” he continued.

That talk was the first of many. The two men spent many evenings over their Bible, which mostly concluded with prayer. God blessed His word to Bill's heart and he was brought to know the Lord as his Saviour.

Good Preaching

The French preacher, Massillon, (1663-1742) became the court preacher of King Louis X1V of France.

He preached so powerfully and clear, that one day Louis said to him, “When I hear others preach, I am very pleased with them; when I hear you, I am very dissatisfied with myself.” God's word is not intended to make us feel good about ourselves, but to show us our need of Christ, and to realise how good He is, and that we are made righteous in Him by faith in Him.

At another time, Massillon preached a sermon on the small number of the elect. Many of the congregation were so overcome with fear that they began to tremble at the thought of being one of those who would be cast out into everlasting darkness.

Baron, a famous actor of that time, said to another actor, after hearing one of his sermons, “Here is an orator; we are only actors.”

God's Providence

There are many examples of His providence in the world. God's providence is His governing and controlling all things.

A godly man, as he was going to board a ship sailing to France, broke his leg. The ship sailed without him, but it was lost in a storm and no one was saved. By breaking his leg the man was saved from death, this is what God had willed.

The English poet William Cowper, became so sad and depressed that he decided to drown himself in the river Thames. He ordered a coachman, who knew the town well, to drive him to Blackfriars Bridge. Strangely, the coachman became lost and could not find the bridge. Then Cowper's mind changed and asked the driver to take him home. When he reached his room, he wrote a lovely hymn, “God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform.” Cowper was saved from death and served the Lord.

When Julian became the emporer of the Roman Empire in 361AD, he had two two main aims, the first was to defeat the Persians and the second to destroy the Christians. Julian decided to begin with conquering the Persians, then sacrifice Christians to his idol gods. Julian attacked the Persians, but was slain in battle in 363AD, and so Christians were spared by God's merciful providence.

God answers prayer

Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892) was the pastor of a large church in London, called the Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit. After an evening service, a lady, with two of her neighbours, came into the vestry to speak with him. The lady was in deep distress. Her husband had left her and fled from the country; in her sorrow, she had gone to the house of God seeking help. Something Mr. Spurgeon had said during his sermon, made her think that he knew about her case. Of couse, Mr. Spurgeon knew nothing at all about her situation; he had given an illustration that just fitted her case.

The lady told Mr. Spurgeon her sad experience - a very sad one it was. When she had finished, Mr. Spurgeon said, “There is nothing we can do but kneel down, and cry to the Lord for the immediate conversion of your husband.” They all knelt down, and Mr. Spurgeon prayed that the Lord would touch the man's heart, convert his soul and bring him back home.”

When they arose from their knees, Mr. Spurgeon said to the troubled woman, “Do not fret about the matter. I feel sure your husband will yet come home; and that he will yet become connected with our church.”

The lady left, and Mr. Spurgeon forgot all about her. Some months later she reappeared, with her neighbours, and a man, whom she introduced to him as her husband. He had indeed come back and he had returned a converted man.

When they all considered the matter, they found that on the very day that they had prayed for his conversion, the man who was on board a ship far out to sea; unexpectedly he found on one of Mr. Spurgeon's sermons. He read it; and the Spirit of God blessed it to his heart. He repented and sought the Lord. As soon as possible he came came back to his wife. Later he and his wife became members of Mr. Spurgeon's church and continued to worship and live for the Lord.

That woman was now fully convinced that the Lord hears and answers prayer, so were her neighbours and husband.

“The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and His ears are open unto their prayers.” 1 Peter 3:12.

“The effectual prayer of a righteous man avails much.” James 5:16.

The whole Armour of God

Christians have many battles against the devil, sin and the world. Ephesians 6.11 tells us to ‘Put on the whole armour of God.’ To be completely equipped and covered by the armour that God has provided. This armour is not only for protection, but also to attack and ward off the attacks of the devil. If we have only a part of the armour, we are very open to the attacks of the evil one.

This may be illustrated by the ancient Greek story of the ‘Achilles heel’. Achilles was a Greek hero who fought in the Trojan War. When he was an infant his mother was warned of the future danger, so she dipped him in the River Styx that was supposed to protect him. But there was one part of his body that was not dipped - that was his heel. His mother held him by the heel when she dipped him in the river. When at last he went to war, his enemy Paris, shot him in the heel and killed him.

The devil will seek to attack believers in that part of their lives that is not protected. However, God has supplied a ‘complete armour’, Ephesians 6:11-17. God’s armour for the Christian is not some physical and natural thing as the ancient Greeks imagined, but it is spiritual – in our hearts and lives.

The Bible compares our Christian armour in Ephesians 6 to the various parts of the armour worn by Roman soldiers. There is the girdle about the loins – to give us strength; the breastplate to protect our hearts; shoes for the feet – to walk in God’s ways; shield of faith to ward off the darts of the enemy; the helmet of salvation to protect our minds, and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God – to resist the devil’s attacks. We put on this armour by prayer and faith in the Lord.

Wise sayings about christian's armour:

“Our enemies are on every side, so must our armour be” “We must not trust in the armour of God, but in the God of the armour.” “Our armour and our flesh must go off together.” William Gurnall.

Mature Christians

The more mature Christains are, the more humble they should grow. When John Newton, (1725-1807) wrote an article explaining the Lord's parable in Mark 4:28, on the three stages of growth in a stalk of corn; by these he described the three stages of spiritual growth, from a young Christian, to a more mature Christian, to fully mature. He called the first stage A, the second B. and the third C.

A proud young minister wrote to Mr. Newton telling him that he had read the article and the section on C, fully described his own character. He meant that he knew that he was fully mature in his Christian life

Newton wrote saying that he had forgotten to add in his article that the letter C, never knew its own face. It has no face at all.

When the corn is nearly ripe, it bows its head more than when it is green. When God's people are ripe for heaven, they should be more humble than when they first became Christians.

When Paul was a young Christian, he said he was, “Not behind the very chiefest apostles.” 2. Corinthians 12:11. Then when he became more mature, he said, “I am less than the least of all saints.” Ephesians 3:8. At the end of his life he said, “I am the chief of sinners.” 1. Timothy 1:15.

Won by love

Mr. Nott, who was a missionary to the South Sea Islands, one day was reading the Gospel of John to a group of natives. One man who was listening, interrupted him, and said, “What words are these that you read? Let me hear those words again.”

Mr. Nott read again John 3:16. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believerth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” The native then rose from his seat, and said, “Can that be true? God loved the world; when the world did not love Him. God so loved the world, as to give His Son to die, that man may not die. Can that be true?”

Mr. Nott again slowly read the verse, and said it was true, and 'that those who believe in Him would not perish, but be eternally happy after death'. This message of the great love of God, won the native's heart, to trust in Christ and to live for Him.

Have a good laugh

Great events: What three great world events were illustrated by a waiter who fell while carrying a large turkey on a china dish and splattered the fat and contents over the floor?

a. The downfall of Turkey. b. The breaking up of China. c. The overflow of Greece.

Glad conclusion: After listening to a long, dry and boring sermon, a lady decided to introduce herself to the gentleman who sat near her. “Good morning” she said, “I'm Gladys Dunn.” “And I'm glad he's done too.” replied the man.

On the lookout: A train passenger took the Conductor's words the wrong way. When the Conductor saw that the train would brush some trees as it went past, he called to passengers, “Look out!” One man rushed to the window to see, and was sorely hit by the branches. Make sure you know what is meant before you obey an order.

Mini jokes: What did one ear say to to the other ear? “Between us we need a hair cut.”

What's the difference between a burgular and a man wearing a wig? One has false keys and the other has false locks.

What is a complete waste of time? Telling a bald man hair-raising stories.

Why did the man refuse to buy a pocket calculator? He said he knew how many pockets he had.

Which driver never commits a traffic offence? A screwdriver.

Irish knowledge: Two Irish men met each other in a streeet; They shook hands and greeted each other, only to discover that they were complete strangers. One man summed up the situation: “My word that's funny! When we met I thought it was you, and you thought it was me, and now we are together we discover that it is neither of us.”

Quick settlement: Two men were about to be robbed by a gunman. One of the men quickly pulled twenty dollars out of his pocket and gave it to the other, saying, “there's that twenty dollars I owe you.”

Wonderfully made

“O Lord, how manifold are Thy works! in wisdom Thou hast made them all: the earth is full of Thy riches.” Psalm 104:24.

When God made our solar system, He made it just right. Earth is about 150 million kilometres away from the sun. This is exactly the right distance to hold the temperature between 0 and 40 degrees Celsius on most of the earth. This is just the temperature needed to sustain most life. If the earth was just 5% closer to the sun, the oceans would boil and the water would all evaperate. If the earth were only 5% further away, the oceans would freeze.

The Earth's orbit around the sun is nearly a perfect circle. If the orbit were oval-shaped (like an egg), the earth would become blazing hot as it approached the sun and deathly cold as it moved away from it.

If Earth's speed of rotation about its own axis were slower than it is, our days would be unbearably hot, and our nights freezing cold. If the rotation were much faster, the wind would blow so strongly that you wouldn't be able to stand up in the open. The length of each day and night is just right for the amount of sleep we need.

The pull of gravity on the earth by the moon and the sun causes the tides. (every six hours we say,”It's high tide” or “low tide”. Tides cleanse the oceans shores, help to put oxygen (that fish breath) into the water, and help keep the sea from becoming stagnant.

The huge planet, Jupiter, with its strong gravity, is in just the right position to pull many comets and meteors away from crashing into earth and killing many people.

God acted in perfect wisdom in making all things. The whole creation show us what a great God the Lord is. Romans 1:20 tells us that the Lord's eternal power and Godhead clearly seen and understood by the things that are made, which leaves men without excuse for not glorifying Him and for sinning against Him.

Welcomed!

When the Reformation began in the sixteenth century, many of God's people were cruelly persecuted and often driven from their homes.

Some were thrown into filthy prisons where they often died from disease, while others were forced to row the galleys for France and Spain.

When the Reformation came to Geneva, Swissland, it became not only an orderely city but also a place of refuge for those who had been persecuted. While the population of the city was only 13,000 it cared for 6,000 refugees at one time.

History records how a group of men who had been set free from the French galleys, were welcomed and provided for when the returned to Geneva.

They arrived at a near-by village mid-day one Sunday, desiring to enter Geneva, but were told that the city gates were always shut on Sundays until after the worship service at 4 pm. At last they rode on horses to the city. There coming to meet them was a large number of people, in front of this crowd were three carriages carrying city Officials.

When the men met them they dismouted. The Officials embraced them with tears of joy, welcoming them and praising God that they had been delivered and remained true to the Lord. Then the people came. Some of these people had relatives who were prisoners on the galleys. There was great confusion, the people warmly embraced them, while some were loudly calling out if their relatives were among them.

Then the Officials led them all back into the city among scenes of joy and rejoicing in the Lord. A magnificent building had been erected to house those who had fallen into poverty and persecution. This building had just been finished and furnished. The Officials decided that these men should be housed there, so they were led inside.

But the relatives begged that they could take their loved ones home with them, which was readily agreed to. Then some requested that they care for various others, until every one of the group were welcomed into some home. In fact some people lamented that they had missed out on providing hospitality for one of those who had returned.

Thus Geneva, which had been an evil and disorderly city, showed the influence of the grace of God, in their love and care for those who had suffered for the name of Christ.

~Shorter Catechism~

Question 26 - 'How doth Christ execute the office of a king?'

Unlike Australia, Scotland has as many castles as there are islands. This reflects Scottish history which is full of castles, kings and kingdoms. To this day there remains a place called the Kingdom of Fife.

The present Catechism question reminds us that Jesus is God's King, the King of Kings. And, like every king, our spiritual monarch also has a kingdom and a castle. His kingdom is His church (His people) scattered throughout the world. Can you imagine how many citizens there must be living in Christ's Kingdom! It stretches from Australia to Greenland; from South America to the far corners of Russia. Among Jews and Gentiles; among black and white; every nation, language, tribe and tongue, the kingdom of Jesus stretches on and on.

Then Jesus has His castle (heaven)– the place where He lives. No castle was ever so rich in its beauty and glory. If the Queen of Sheba said, “the half has not been told me”, when she saw the wealth of Solomon's kingdom, then we can hardly begin to imagine what Jesus' castle must be like. We can only describe it as a paradise of beauty, peace and happiness. But here is the sheer wonder of King Jesus: He is just as happy to live in our hearts by His Spirit as to live in heaven with the angels.

What does our King do for us every day?

'He subdues us to Himself.' Left to our own devicves we would all be rebels, just like Adam was in Eden. But King Jesus makes us 'willing in the day of His power' to love and serve Him. (see Psalm 110:3)

'He rules and defends us.' As we should obey the rules of our home, so we must obey the Laws of our God. And when we do He will look after us (defend us) like our parents defend us. (read Luke 22:31-32)

'He restrains and conquers all His and our enemies.' This is possibly the most encouraging news Christians could have in life. King Jesus not only controls His own enemies but ours as well. He does so by 'restraining' them – prohibiting them from hurting us. He also 'conquers' our enemies – overcoming every raised voice and clenched fist that theatens His people (read 1 Corinthains 15:25)

What a pleasure to be a Christain soldier in the army of the Lord! Now boys and girls see if you can find the right uniforn to wear by reading in Paul's Letter to the Ephesians.