THE DOOR
Our Lord Jesus Christ likened Himself to the Door of Salvation.'I am the Door; whoever enters through Me will be saved. He will come in and go and find pasture' (John 10:9).
Let us take a closer look at every single word our Lord used. 'I am the Door' The pronoun 'I' refers to the Lord Jesus Christ. When He says I am the door, He excludes any other door, any other person. Therefore, the Church, even though it is a sacred institution , is not the door. The preacher, even though he has the ability to point his congregation to the door, is not the door. Good works, though they are necessary for believers, are not the door.
The Lord is the Door. He said, 'No one comes to the Father except through Me' (John 14:6). It is also written, 'Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under Heaven given to men by which we must be saved' (Acts 4:12). The word 'am' deserves serious consideration. He did not say, 'I was the door' as if  He was proclaiming a truth that applied to Him only in the past. He said 'I am' the door. He is the door in the present, right now. Therefore we have been called 'to come now' and to 'enter now, at this very moment. The Scripture tells us, In the time of My favour I heard you and in the time of Salvation I helped you' (2 Cor.6:2).
The next word we need to pay close attention is the definite article 'the'. The Lord did not say, 'I am a door' as if there were many doors. The Lord is not one of many doors but the 'Door', the one and only Door.
We all know what a door is and what is used for. It is an entrance, a way of getting to a place. The Lord Jesus is the way to Salvation, to Peace, to Eternal Life, to God's Glory and to our Heavenly Home. He deserves to be the Door because He is the One who died for our sins in order to bring us back to God'.
Christ is the One who shed His precious blood so that we can have forgiveness of our sins (Eph.1:7). He is the only One worthy and capaple of saying, 'I am the Door; whoever enters through Me will be saved'.
Note the simplicity of the way of Salvation: 'Whoever enters through Me will be saved'. Not through the Law, not through good works, not through a good reputation, not through proper behaviour, not through money, but 'Through Me'. 'Whoever enters through Me', i.e. everyone, man or woman, girl or boy, young or old, 'whoever enters will be saved'.
The door is wide open. My dear friend, you have an invitation to enter-'Come to Me all' (Matt.11:28). Will you come now? If you come in you will join the sheepfold of the Great Shepherd, you will come and go out amongst His sheep, and you will find pasture. In Christ you will be a new creation and your life and your behaviour will reflect this reality through the power that He has put at your disposal.

I don't have Time
Quite often, when you talk to people about God, His love and His Salvation and you ask them to read something from the Bible, their answer is 'I don't have time'. However this is an excuse which shows there is no interest in the things of God.
I don't have time to spend on God, I don't have time to read His Word. This is what you hear them say. Without doubt, they have time to read any other book other than the Word of God. This kind of person justifies himself by saying he does not have time for God, only for all these other things. He has time for food, for sleep, for work and for earning money. He has time to see friends, to enjoy himself and for pleasure. He has no time at all for only one thing, that is, God. If we place all these things in a logical sequence we would make a big list in which God has the last place. This means one thing. I am NOT interested in the subject of GOD.
Quite often, people excuse themselves by saying 'I don't have time' because they want to distance themselves from God and avoid the whole subject. They have the idea that they will live better lives without God. They would satisfy themselves fully and they would not have anybody to answer to. But God is not mocked!
We learn to manage our lives down here on this earth and to fool people. We think we can manage to fool God in the same way but, soon, we are going to leave this earth and when we stand before the Throne of God with tears and remorse we shall hear these words 'You did not have Time'
 

Things we Throw Away
An irritated reader of a national newspaper wrote to the Editor, calling this country 'The Island of Rubbish'. The sad truth is, this complaint was not an isolated incident. A short walk in the area where we live confirms the truth of this complaint. One notices ravines, building plots, fields and yards with all kinds of rubbish and refuse.
Some years ago, in a neighbouring country the street cleaners, whilst emptying the refuse bins, heard a noise from one of them that sounded like an infant crying. Thinking it was a doll they were astounded to find that in fact it was a new born baby. One more life sacrificed on the altar of Molech for the sake of convenience and social acceptability!
What things do we really throw away? Usually whatever we do not like. We throw away old clothes, kitchenware and many other things. We throw our children out of the house because they do not do what we ask them to do.  We throw out our wives because they do not satisfy us any more. But one thing we do not throw away but keep tenaciously is our ego which is the root cause of all this evil. When we change our circumstances we find a temporary satisfaction but we refuse to change our own selves and one day we shall end up on the everlasting garbage dump for unrepentant souls.
The words of Jesus on this subject 'What shall a man profit if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?' (Matt.16:26) encourage us to make correct decisions and get our priorities right. Let us rid ourselves of the things that are useless in our lives, for example, enmity, jealousy, evil desires, selfishness and many other burdens that would deprive us of Eternity. When we lighten our load then we can take on the better part of life. Jesus said, 'Take my yoke upon you.... for my yoke is easy and my burden is light' (Matt.11:29-30).

I Am Alive
Suddenly, without realizing it, a big lorry approached me and literally flattened me while I was crossing the road. All its wheels went over my body and I was amazed to feel no pain at all.
It was a dark night when I was heading home and obviously the lorry driver had not seen me. The result was that I ended up under the wheels of the lorry. To my amazement I discovered that I could move and slowly I got out from under the vehicle. At that moment the driver appeared and he could hardly believe that I was still alive. He was astonished and relieved to see me get up and stand on my feet. I told him I was fine but he pointed to the tyre marks on my shirt.
When I arrived home all my friends and acquaintances insisted that I should make sure I had not suffered any internal injuries which I had not. When the incident was made known a big crowd of people came from far and wide to see if it was really true. Whenever anyone asked for proof I pointed to the tyre marks on my shirt and I said 'God wants me to continue to live'.
So I have hung my shirt on the outside of the entrance to my house so that everyone can see what God can do for us.                                          Cheng Kwang Mi          China.

The Lord's Prayer (Luke 11:1-4)
'Forgive us our sins for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us'
Forgiveness is one of the most difficult subjects to learn in the Christian life. It affects us spiritually,
psychologically and physically. In the verse above, there is a condition. For forgiveness to work out in our lives both parts of the verse must agree, i.e. since God has forgiven our sins we must also forgive those who sin against us. We usually find no great difficulty with the first part but we often are unable to practice the second.
The Bible declares that God has forgiven our sins because of the work of the Cross-without any reservations. This is the forgiveness that brings to the heart of the sinner who is saved peace, so that he can live a life with God. Psalm 32:1 says, 'Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered'.
But let us turn to the subject which troubles us so much. Why do we find it so difficult to forgive those who wrong us? Though we want to forgive them, nevertheless we find ourselves, repeatedly, not able to do so. I believe this is mainly because of the wounds suffered to our personality from all kinds of relationships we have in our lives. Our character and personality play a big part in this matter. We find it difficult to forgive because deep in us there are roots of bitterness that poison our being and resist our willingness to forgive. If we do not take care to deal with this problem we shall end being slaves to the person we do not forgive and severing the bridge that leads to reconciliation. God calls us to forgive. Why? Because if we do not our whole life is negatively affected.
Enmity, guilt and refusal to forgive will create in us psychological, mental and physical disorders. Apart from these problems, unforgiveness will push us into a cell where we shall be imprisoned by the enmity against the person we do not forgive. The Parable in Matt.18:23-25, tells us about the servant who did not forgive his fellow servant despite the fact that his Lord forgave him an enormous sum he owed him. His Master delivered him to the tormentors until he paid the debt. The same punishment will meet us if we do not forgive from our hearts-tormented by bitterness and hate. We shall become slaves to the hate and bitterness in us forever, until we learn to forgive. In addition to being slaves, God's hand will cease to rest upon us. The result will be a sterile life, unable to minister effectively to those who are in need.
We have a perfect example of forgiveness we need to imitate: our Lord Jesus Christ. To those who crucified Him and mistreated Him He said, 'Father forgive them....'

Dealing with Guilt
There can be no doubt that if we allow our thoughts and desires to focus on impurity and uncleanness, it will not be long before a cloud of guilt will descend upon our spirits. This guilt is responsible for a great degree of spiritual ill-health, and if unresolved can bring about serious damage and disruption to our personalities.
Some forms of modern-day psychiatry approach this problem by trying to persuade the person concerned that he is more a victim than a violator of his conscience and he needs to re-educate himself so that he can accept a lower value system. But the problem is not so nuch that God's standards are too high-rather our performance is too low.
When we violate a spiritual principle, or transgress God's Laws in any way, then God has arranged that a cloud of guilt descends upon our spirits. This guilt is not intended to drive us to despair but to draw us toward Him for deliverance. Only God has the right answer to guilt. It must be remembered that I am talking here, not about false guilt but real guilt- the guilt that arises from a violation of God's principles and laws.
We can do several things with guilt when it descends on our spirits. We can repress it by attempting to persuade ourselves it is not there. We can suppress it and try to keep it under control. Or we can confess it to God, ask for His cleansing and forgiveness and seek to live by His power in the future, so that we can be free from its sranglehold and control.                           Skepsis

Testimony

I am writing this letter with two things in mind, First to challenge every reader and Secondly to sow the seed of hope, truth and life which come from the sacrifice of our Lord on the Cross.

Dear friend, I want to open my heart and show in brief two experiences from my personal life. The first one was in an involvement of debauchery and foolishness, in the dakness of sin. The second, in the steps of Faith truth and love.

Since finishing my elementary education, because I did not want to continue therein, I began searching for work in this dark ocean of society. At first I was working at various jobs during the day.

Sadly, my companions and myself had no specific aim in life so we spent the day in cafeterias and gambling places which, at the time, were quite popular. Soon I was on the road. Together with my friends, I spent the nights going about without considering the various dangers life held for us. I was 14 years old when I had a job in a night club, but sadly this was not a place for entertainment but a place for prostitutes, drug addicts and so on to meet. At that place my character began to form and I acquired the habits of the clientele. Troubles were normal there; converesely peace was abnormal. It was not long before my life bore fruit from the tree that was rooted deep in the quagmire of this night life. One night when I went with my friends to a brothel to take a girl to work for a friend of mine a fight broke out and I stabbed two people. At first I was disoriented not knowing what I was doing but when I came to myself I ran away abroad to escape arrest. When I returned home I met a drug dealer who had introduced many people to drug addiction. He introduced me to smoking hash for the first time. I enjoyed it and continued to smoke it non stop, until one day I also started dealing in drugs. Naturally, it was not long before I started using heroin, first inhaling and later intravenous injections. Friends, we hear about people dying from drugs. It is a trap that many people fall  into which is difficult to escape, but not impossible. People are horrified by this drug problem, but let us now talk about a new life without dangers and drugs.

I had three roads in front of me: Death, Prison, Psychiatric Institution.

One night, after using narcotics, I almost died. My blood was poisoned but at the point where I almost died true Resurrection occured. It was Good Friday and I was together with a Christian believer whilst I was serving in the army. We prayed together and I cried 'God change me'; It did not take long for the Grace of God to work in my life and from that time I began to feel joy because I saw that life was not hopeless. The next day I attended the Resurrection service and a few days later 'by chance' I found a New Testament which I began to read and believed that the words of Christ are Truth and Life. I repented, like the Prodigal Son and put my trust in the fact that Christ came to save sinners. I trusted in the Blood of Christ which cleanses from all sin and gives new life.

Friend, invite Christ into your life. He is the only real friend you have and the only Saviour, the God who became man so that we can live with Him for ever. Shun drugs and sin; walk with Christ who gives Eternal life and joy. The Bible says, 'The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is Eternal Life'.                                            Lambros   (Greece)

How to Postpone Your Funeral

This strange title of a magazine article at first seems rather funny. It is not so funny, however, after reading the article itself. I twas full of advice and suggestions on a suitable diet, how to control your eating habits and avoid foods that cause problems to your digestive system. In short, do not kill your body! The sad truth, of course, is that multitudes of prople of all ages nationalities and genders do this very thing, Why? The notion that my body is my property and I can do what I like with it, is, I believe, one of the greatest deceptions that Satan has put in the human mind.

Paul the Apostle writing to the Corinthian believers (1 Cor.6:19) tells them 'Know ye not that your body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit...' May I ask, 'Who controls your body?' Before the above verse, in the same passage and verse 12, Paul says 'all things are lawful to me, but not all things are expedient' a logical conclusion! Paul continues in verse 13 on the same subject: 'meats for the belly and the belly for meats but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication but for the Lord...' It is a wonderful thing when we realize that our bodies have been created in such a way to obey certain rules. An unseen hand has put us on a certain course so that we function precisely.When these rules are obeyed, our bodies work perfectly. When the rules are cast aside then our bodies will dysfunction bringing upon us sorrow and trouble. Take care: do not disobey the rules. They have been set by a Master builder, the Lord Jesus Christ.

He designed our bodies with one purpose in mind, to be His Temple where He can come and live and fellowship with us. He wants His temple to be clean and tidy, but when we misuse it with all sorts

of unlawful and immoral acts then it is only fit to be discarded as soon as possible. Postpone your end.

Friend, our Creator knows our bodies better than we do. Let Him manage yours for you so that you may live a life full of vitality and health, free from abuse.



Deliverance from Depression
Most people have suffered from Depression at one time or another. Nobody is immune even believers. Some people go through mild forms of depression while others go through the depths of despair.
The first clinical description of Depression was recorded by Hippocrates in the 4th century B.C. He said, 'The person who suffers from Depression has feelings of hopelessness, sadness and dejection.'
It is an area of life where Satan delights to work because he finds little or no resistance to his attacks.
The sufferer is unable to resist the attacks or even to think about them. Elijah, the prophet, experienced this problem and the way God cured him from depression can help you also in a similar
situation or enable you to assist in the cure of a depressed person.
The first step of God's cure for Elijah was physical. Elijah wanted to die but God provided the necessities of life. An Angel gave him bread and water. The recipe here was food and sleep. Proper
diet and rest are vital for the good health of the body and the soul. God gave Elijah the chance to lighten the burden on his heart. The person who suffers from Depression needs to be listened to and allow his feelings, which are buried under the load of depression, to be made known. Next, God in kindness allowed Elijah to see that not all Israel wanted to kill him, but only Jezebel. In a quiet, firm,
positive way God put all the facts before Elijah and changed his whole perspective (1 Kings 19).
Are you in some form of depression right now? Open the Bible and read something from His Word
and then tell Him all about your problems.