Comforts die, but God lives[ Psalm 18]

We do not always mean what we say,take for instance our weather in England,we have had a few dry years,so their is a hosepipe ban,at the moment we are experiencing rain each day, and it is expected to continue. So what do we say when we meet people,ah well we need the rain,but really what we want is for the sun to shine each day.When a dear one dies we may say it is for the best,but of course,we will still want that loved one to be with us,it is understandable, dont be to hard on yourself. I still think of a loved one who died,still miss her, for many reasons.In Psalm 18 which is a very lovely Psalm, v 30, reads,/ As for God, His way is perfect/,it is so easy to read those words to speak, even to preach them with conviction,but[ yes that but again]be carrying within us ,bitterness,and a resentfulness with God.In that 18th Psalm v46 we read the word,/The Lord liveth/, H Lockyer writes the following in his devotional com on the Psalms,/ The story is told of a godly woman,having buried one of her children,sat alone in her sadness, yet had ease of heart when she read,/the Lord liveth/. Then another of her children died,still she remained calm and trustful as she said,/ Comforts die, but God lives,/ Then the heaviest blow fell, her beloved husband died,and this really broke her. Her surviving child who had heard her speak those comforting words, said to her disconsolate mother, is God dead mother?. This reached the sorrowing woman,s heart, and her former confidence in a living God returned.
A  prayer....../Dear God in Your mercy help us,for we dont always say what we really mean,we try  not to show, how we feel,but You know how we really feel when our comforts die,grant us the grace we need , at all times to find comfort in You our living God, in Jesus name Amen/

Is vengeance ever right?. [ Romans 12 v17 ]

When the Russian army was advancing into Germany during the last days of world war two, they were not only defeating an enemy, but they also were intent on getting revenge,because of all the  awful things the German army did to the Russian people. The German population sought to flee from the advancing Russians, and with good cause,but they could only run so far, and many of then,especially the women suffered .The question all this raises is, is taking vengence ever acceptable?,and the scriptural answer is no ,Romans 12 v 17 instructs us to leave God to deal with the wrong doers,/ Vengeance is mine, I will repay/. Does that mean we are to let wrong doers do as they please?, no of course not, there must always be a system of justice,and the wrong doer punished. This is one of roles of the state,justice also demands that the punishment should reflect the seriousness of the crime,the thief on the cross acknowledged he was recieving the just punishment for his crimes [Luke 23 v41 ] .
A  prayer....../Dear God we bring to You the many who are suffering injustice,especially Your dear children, we ask that they would leave their cause with You,in Jesus name Amen /

No ones perfect [2 Corinthians3 v18 ]

We live in an imperfect world,and it is obivious that even His church is imperfect,and even though I have been a Christian a long time, I am far from perfect. I heard of a Pastor who held and still holds a grudge against a person who did something on him 22 years ago. The point is, God knows and in His way ,His perfect way, He will deal with that brother, I am not to judge that Pastor,I need to pray for him. We read, as for God His way is perfect [Psalm 18 v30 ],yes God is perfect and His way is perfect,and we are told that He will perfect that which concerneth us [Psalm 138 v8 ]. How?, well He has His means ,if we keep ignoring His word, He has His means,this I repeat,God is not ignoring our imperfections,God is working in all His childrens lives His perfect will. It is called sanctification, that life long process in each of His childrens lives,one way or the other, He will deal with us,even if we are a preacher, Pastor,or whoever,we may not like the means in which He will use to change us,but then He is the potter and we are the clay.
A  prayer..../Dear God help to not gloss over those things in our lives that are contrary to Your will and word in Jesus name Amen /

Burdens [ 2 Corinthians 12 v1-10 ]

 We can carry many burdens in life,some have to be borne,God will give us grace,He will grace to the humble, we are exhorted to cast our cares upon Him,for He cares for us, and will sustain us [ Psalm 55 v22/ 1 Peter 5 v7 ]The burdens we are called to bear are never sent to destroy us,but they are meant to be borne,and in all things we are meant to glorify Him,it is natural to want to be burden free. I wonder what we would be like if we never had a burden to bear,would we better people?,as  I observe life I see how that material prosperity, does not make people more content, it just appears to create a desire for more. Consider the wisest yet foolhardy king Solomon,read the book of Ecclesiastes,he had everything and appears he was never satisfied,  he found it all meaningless.He appears to have lost sight that being king, was not just to accumulate,wives,gold,nor was it right to oppress his people[1  Kings 12 ] Could it be that we need burdens, to keep our sinfull selfish tendancies in check?, sunshine all the time brings its own dangers,prosperity can cause us to loose sight of what is most important,love for God, and love for people.We all want self satisfaction,not realizing that when ever the word self is first in our list,it can never bring satisfaction[John 4 v13-14],let me also say we are not,to be self  absorbed with our burdens also, for that can only bring frustration, resentfulness, and even bitterness.
A  prayer..../ Dear God grant us the grace we need for those things that must be borne, that in them we may glorify You in Jesus name Amen /

A football match .[ Romans 3 v23 / 6 v23 ]

I was watching a football match and I often surprised how the team that should have been beaten wins against the odds,they team that won against the odds had a man sent off,a penalty was awarded against them,and it was missed, by one of the greatest players in the world. It seem that they were destined to win no matter what,does a football hold any importance in Gods purposes?,how important is a football match?. In some ways it is not important, but like all of life happenings, we can see spiritual lessons even in a football match. Paul used sport to illustrate spiritual truths,and as I consider football I know there are rules to be obeyed,and I gaurantee you ,that every player who has ever played football, has broken the rules,and the obvious application in this relates to life and Gods commandments. Gods laws are violated every day, in thought ,word and deed,as the scripture says for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.[ Romans 3v 23 ]. No one ,can live a perfect sinless life,and that has very, very serious consequences,those sin we commit cannot be removed by anything we do, and if we are going to be saved,those sins must  be forgiven. We cannot have them forgiven by good works,or by being religious,when it comes to sin, only Jesus can forgive sins,the cross on which Jesus died, was a sacrifice for sin, when we ask Him and trust Him to be our Saviour, then He forgives us freely and fully.
A  prayer..../Dear God we thank You that there is someone who can and will forgive our sins ,even Jesus Amen /

You will understand. [ Psalm 18 v30 ]

I happen to glance at a little plaque I have , it has these words on it,/Jesus never fails/,I remember my father in-law pointed to these words when his daugther my wife died. To him those words were untrue, and unfortunately  drove him further into an attitude of unbelief,I have never thought that Jesus has failed, oh yes I have grieved over my loss, and still shed tears,but no , Jesus never failed me or my wife. For you see my wife and I had a life verse, which we had framed ,and I see it every day, it reads ,/And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God [ Romans 8 v28 ] I may not understand these words, and as you read this blog ,you may not understand . Let me remind myself and you that these words are true, even though your heart is breaking,and you are bewildered as to why the Lord has allowed you or those you love to suffer, God would say to you,/ I love you ,I have not failed you, I will never fail you, I have a path that you  my child must go.This path can hold pain, and suffering,and what I desire of you is trust, I know how you feel, I understand your pain,remember there is a day coming,when you will understand./
A prayer...../ Dear God help us to trust You when our hearts are breaking,when we are going through  those things we cannot understand, grant us the grace we need in Jesus name Amen /

Deliverance.[ Psalm 18 v 2 ]

Here is another song I have just listened to ,it is a war time song,it goes,/There will be blue skies over the white cliffs of Dover./ As we get further away from the events of the 2nd world war,and the older generation dies of,we are lest inclined to appreciate those events, and the absolute dire situation our country and the world faced.If Germany had invaded England ,it is unthinkable the thought,for it would have affected the world,but it didnt happen,blue skies are over the white cliffs of Dover. How did this country survive, to God be the glory, great things He hath done, we were to some extent a Christian country, and God in His mercy granted a deliverance. If the Nazies had succeeded ,they would have destroyed so much,and they would have indoctinated our youth with their false beliefs,the weak would have gone to the wall,and hitler would have become a god to them. So today raise a prayer of thanksgiving, for such a deliverance, and if you are in a situation that is threatening you, yes even with death, there is a God in Heaven ,who hears and answers prayer,and can deliver you.
A prayer...../ Dear God thank You for past deliverances from evil powers that would have enslaved us , as we face life and those evil forces that would harm and even threaten to destroy us,grant us deliverance ,in Jesus name Amen /

True love [1 Corthians 13 ]

I am listening to a song as I sit here and hear the words,/ look at what love has done,it has made a slave of me/,words about a love for a woman.There is so much written ,and sung about love,I wonder what  you think about love?,in general,I pray for many people,but why to I pray for them?.Why do I give gifts to people?,or to the church I attend,why do I do the work I do, working among the mentally ill?,why do I ,and so we could go on the list is endless.Why did God send His son into this world ?and of course the answer is LOVE, for God is love, imagine a world in which He withdrew that love. Love suffereth long, I was going to use a different word, but I feel that word suffereth,is so appropriate to describe what it means to love,if you have a difficult child, or are in a difficult marriage,or been hurt by a friend,you are suffering. Consider our fellow Christians who are enduring so much pain,they know what it means to suffer, day after day, and for some it will end in death,and in the midst of all suffering,the challenge is to love,to serve those who least deserve our service,to bless those who curse us.
A prayer...../ Dear God of love, grant to us the grace by Your Spirit to love we ask this in the name of Jesus, the son of Thy love Amen /

God is patient. [ Revelation 13 v10 ]

I was waiting in a queue at the bank,and I asked myself why is it some people appear to take forever when I am waiting?, while I was debating it with myself, I heard a little voice say ,be patient. Then I asked the Lord why are You always telling me to be patient?,well you can imagine,what the answer may have been.. Take a moment to consider how patient God is, with this world ,and with you and I, oh yes He is.When one becomes a Chriatian ,it should cause us to look at life differently,and hopefully to act and think differently. Let me assure you that waiting in a queue is a minor thing in life, compared to what God has to put up with,we cannot fully appreciate,or comprehend Gods patience.From the moment mankind went astray in the garden of Eden, God has been patiently seeking and speaking, and the majority of people ignor Him. Even with those who know Him,consider how patient he was  with Israel the chosen people, continually they  grieved Him ,with their backsliding, the writer of the epistle of the Hebrews declares,/your fathers tempted Me,, proved Me, and saw My works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation/[ Hebrews 3 v10 -11 ]We need to to be very, very grateful that God is patient,on a personal  level, God has been very patient with me, when I look back  I observe so many  aspects of my life, that must have grieved God, yet He remained faithful, and still does.So if  we want to be like Jesus, well one very important aspect  is being patient, so let us stop our complaining , and be grateful that we dont have to put up, with what God has to put up with.
A prayer..../ Dear God remind us, that You desire us to be patient ,we thank and praise You forYour  amazing patience, towards the world in general,to Your church,and especially to me,in Jesus name Amen /

The darkness within. [Acts 3 v14 ]

I am in the process of reading a book called ,The end: Hitlers Germany, by Ian Kershaw, and I also watched the film,The Pianist.The  book seeks to analysis why Germany never surrendered, when it was obvious that the war was lost, and the film is about a pianist who was a Jew, who survived ,the awful fate ,of his fellow Jews,in Warsaw ,under the Nazies.As one reads about the awful fact that a party like the Nazies got into power, and survived in power,one asks many questions. And when one considers the evils perpetrated by that nation,one asks the question why?,after all Germany is were the reformation started, Germany was, a so called civilised country.Not only does one ask questions but one begins to judge them, and condemn them,am I right?,and the answer is, I am not right.Consider the words of Jeremiah 17 v9,/The heart is decieitful above all things, and desperately wicked, who can know it?/ Let the truth of those words take hold of us,the fact of matter is,we do not know our hearts,our sinful natures and the depths it can sink to. As I consider my sinful heart,and consider the wickedness of nations or individuals like Anders Behring Breivik of Norway who coldly murdered many young people, I can only trully say, there but by the grace of God go I. The word of God declares ,that Christ came to save sinners, that includes everyone,for we are all sinners, oh yes justice must be done,if not now, it most certainty will be done in eternity.Yes let us pray that justice will be done, but above all else, let us pray that God will preserve all of us from falling into some heinous sin.
A  prayer...../ Dear God deliver us from all evil, you alone know the darkness of our hearts,and the depths of evil lurking there, have mercy upon us in Jesus name Amen./

Jesus. [ John 21 ]

Why not give up,why not give up with church,why not give up praying,why not give up on that difficult child,that difficult marriage,that dream, that God has placed in your heart. Surely God will understand , He will understand , how tired I am,how much I have tried, and tried, and it seems I have got nowhere.I know so many have given up,oh yes they had their reasons, and I am not going to judge them. But what I will do, is pray for them,for I have been tempted to give up, we are all fellow travellers on this road of life, but then what?,no to give up,is not the answer. Whatever road of live we are on,we will still have to face difficulties,it is the nature of life, the difference between the road I am on ,yes it is a narrow road,but there is one with me , His name is Jesus. He makes all the difference to me, His friendship is ever constant, and unlike so many fairweather friends ,He never leaves me,and He fully understands ,how I feel,He is always there for me 24/7.I cant imagine life without Him, can you?.

A prayer ..../ Dear God grant us the grace to not give up,and to never loose sight that the most important thing in my life is Jesus Your Son Amen /

He is trustworthy.[ Psalm 23 ]

It is very obivious that life is very uncertain,and as for guidance and of knowing what way to go,we are often at a loss to know just what to do.Looking back I did a number of things,kept praying,and seeking and in it all relying on God. Where we are uncertain the words of Psalm 32 v8 come blasting forth with a certainty,/I will instruct thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye/. The question is do we want His instruction, and His guidance?, we may not want the way God will guide us,only you can answer that. Next are we prepared to seek His guidance?, for it is the way of faith,and that always appears to bring with it,uncertainty. Here we have God declaring to us what He is prepared to do,these are words that should inspire us,to think that God Himself is assurancing us in words that are clear,that He will instruct us and guide us,the question is are we prepared to trust Him?. Let us always remember, that God is totally trustworthy,whatever way we are called to go,He will not fail us, remember the weakness is always on our part, not Gods .

A prayer.../Dear heavenly Father help us in a world of broken promises ,and broken dreams to rejoice in Your trust worthiness in Jesus name Amen /

Small is safe.[Philippians 4 v11 ]

I wonder why a man of God like David committed adultery ?,was it because he departmentalized his life?,it seems that he saw at that time,that he was king, and a very powerful king, and being king he could take certain liberties. In other words he felt that this department in his life was free from the restraints,that his subjects had to submit to.A number of USA presidents I believe thought this, and it would appear that Henry the 8th may have thought this also ,and indeed Charles the 1st. This is the danger for all of us if we are placed in position of authority, we can so easily feel that we can act in ways ,yes like David, that are contrary to our relationship with God. Could it be that God keeps us in a lowly place,because He knows us better than we know ourselves, knows the danger of being lifted up to a position of power and influence.My ministry has always been to small groups, I pastored a small church,was an elder in a small church , minister regulary at small groups, why?,because it was best, and safe for me.

A prayer ...../ Dear God we thank You for Your wisdom and understanding, for choosing what is best for us in Jesus name Amen /

When Elijah prayed [James 5 v 17-18 ]

Part of our country is experiencing a shortage of rain, I dont think it is a judgement, but of course it reminds me of a time in Israel when it was a judgement.We do not interpret events like that now,[ who knows it may happen ] but when a prophet arose and declared that there would be no rain, and it happened, one must take note. We read about this in 1 Kings 17 king Ahab ruled over the northern kingdom, he was weak and sold out to all the wrong things, and we read that he did more to provoke God to anger, than all the kings of Israel, that were before him[ 1Kings 16 v33 ]. He also made a real stinker of his choice of a wife Jezebel,who we marry matters, to us and to God. Well anyway, things were were very bad spiritually,Elijah suddenly appears out of nowhere,and makes this declaration,/As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word/, and so it came to pass. Elijah not only declared what was going to happen,we read in the book of James how he prayed for it to happen, and at a later date ,he would pray again and rain would come [James 5 v 17-18 ]. We need to pray Gods purposes through,only God can make things happen,our part is to act prayerfully, praying His purposes into being, we must not consider our weakness,but Gods greatness and power,when Elijah prayed things happened.

A prayer...../Dear God help us to see how vital is to pray your purposes through in Jesus Amen /

My times are in His hands. [Psalm 121 ]

Last week while I visited a shopping area,I was crossing the road, I could see a car waiting to pull out, I did not anticipate any danger,but suddenly the car car came right at me,on reflection they had not seen me, but fortunately before I was hit, the car braked.I must confessed It shook me up I do believe the driver was at fault, but the most important thing was I escaped being hurt,or even killed. As I reflect on my life I can think of the times I have been spared injury and yes even death.In Psalm 97 v 10, we read, /He preserveth the souls of His saints/,I am 68 years of age how have I lived so long?,consider the possibilities in life that could destroy us,illness, travel,the list is endless, the only conclusion is ,that God in His mercy has preserved us. As a child of God I believe my times are in His hands, all my times, that includes life and death, I will not die until He chooses.W.F. Lloyd wrote
My times are in Thy hands,my God I wish them there.
My life,my friends, my soul I leave, entirely to Thy care
A prayer...../Dear God we praise You that our times are in Your hands,in Jesus name Amen.

The unexpected. [1 Peter 3 v15 ]

I was on the phone talking to a young man called Alec,I was seeking to renew our home insurance, and I was very happy with the quote he gave me. He was asking me for my bank details ,and he asked me how was my name appeared on my debit card,I told him it was the ,Rev W . A. Heasley.He was surprised at this, but it opened the way to an interesting conversation,when I was able to witness to him,about being a Christian.He mentioned that he had studied a bit about Christianity, at university, and he had a friend who said he had a revelation that changed his life,when he became a Christian.I said that people dont all have the same experience in becoming a Christian. I stressed that there is a simplicity in coming to Christ , and told him how Jesus stressed the importance of becoming as a little child, and thats when I first trusted Jesus. I said a few other things and he thanked me,it is lovely whan Christ gaves one the opportunity to witness to someone unexpectedly, do pray for that young man that he may come to know the Saviour

A prayer..../ Dear God help to be always ready to give a reason for the hope we have in Jesus, and we pray for Alec that You would save him, in Jesus name Amen /.

His way. [2 Corinthians 5 v14-15 ]

In 2 Corinthians 5 v15 we read that one of consequences of Christ dying for us that we should no longer live unto ourselves, but unto Him.Peter is told there would come a time when he would experience a dying in a way which he would not naturally want,he died by crucifixion.We as Christians may not want the path our Saviour chooses for us to go, but if that the path He is calling us to walk then, then that is path we must walk. As one considers the full implications of not living for ourselves,the sacrifices it calls us to make, of forgiving 7 times 70,of giving financially,of coping with pain,and painful people,it would be easier to walk away.There are so many things in life that come into our lives,like looking after an elderly loved one,when the rest of the family dont help. Ministering to, yes even to saints who dont appear to appreciate what we do,or have done for them,of not appreciating the sacrifices one has made,of being booted out of your church and ones home. Remember just in case we have forgotten, it is the way of the cross that leads home,it was for our Saviour, and it must be for us.

A prayer ......./Dear Lord grant us the grace to enable us to live unto You. Amen/

The greatest challenge. [ 1 Corinthians 9 v24-27 ]

I believe to live the Christian life is a great challenge, to love as we should[ 1 Corinthians 13],to walk with God as Enoch did [ Genesis 5 v24/Hebrews 11v5 ], to serve God as our Savior did[John 13], to be holy as we are instructed to be[2 Peter 3 v11]. Yes the Christian life is a tremendous challenge, it is ungoing, until the day we die,the challenge will remain,if we let down our guard ,we will suffer, the enemy will take an advantage of our laxness and cause us harm. That is why we are instructed to pray without ceasing[1 Thessalonians 5 v17 ],prayer is vital , as it was for our Saviour,consider if He needed to pray,then we need to pray.We pray not to tell others, or for our glorification, but for our spiritual well being,and our relationship with our Saviour. We need to read the Bible, for in this world, we can so easily be decieved,Gods word is a lamp unto our feet, and a light unto our path[ Psalm 119 v105 ]. Many people are challenged to do many things,like climb mountains,sail around the world single-handed,as Christians we face a greater challenge, that of being a Christian.

A prayer...../ /Dear God grant us the grace we need to live this challenging Christian life, in Jesus name Amen /

The poor.[ Psalm 41 v1 ]

I smiled when I read the following, by Miss Piggy,/never eat more than you can lift,/eating is our favourite activity , some live to eat,others eat to live. In this country we dont hear of people going hungry,but for many in this world, hunger is a daily experance, we throw away more than they eat.I remember a lady telling me about her uncle who had been in a concentration camp,she said he would not waste any food.If you like me, live in a country were food is plentiful for all, give thanks to God for the fact that you never go hungry. One of the benefits of fasting is, it helps you understand ,what it is like to feel hungry,and to some degree you can understand the feelings of those who suffer hunger. Also you can begin to give help to those in need, by giving regulary, to charties, who work among the poor and deprived. Also pray for those missions who want to genuinely help the poor, and also seek to tell people about Jesus.

A prayer...../Dear God we thank You for the many blessings we enjoy, help us to bless others as You have blessed us in Jesus name Amen /

Man know thyself. [1 Corinthians 10 v12 ]

I find the words of James very instructive [1 v19 ],/ let every man be swift to hear,slow to speak,slow to wrath/. Note, it includes all of us, reminding all of us that we are all without exception liable to fail in this, the word of God warns us all,/let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall/. Sometimes we are foolish to judge and condemn others for their failings,when we ourselves are guilty, of the same offence. Our Saviour warned us not to judge others,if we do we will be judged,when we judge others we are blinded by pride,failing to realize our own weakness, and that we can so easily commit the very same thing . Man know thyself are wise words,and we need to take them to heart,we are all sinners, and can so easily commit the same evils that others are committing. Consider the great apostle Peter ,his foolish boast, that though all men would forsake the Lord he wouldnt, but he did. So today let us all tread carefully.prayerfully, and humbly, lest we fall into the very sin we are judging others for.
A prayer..../ Dear God help us this day to rely upon You, and not ourselves,in Jesus name Amen /

His Kingdom come [ Matthew 6 v 9-13 ]

It was reported that Fidel Castro of Cuba fame, has declared good Friday a national holiday,this has happened after Pope Benidicts visit. This is amazing because for most of his reign Fidel has appeared anti Christian,being anti Christian is very popular in many countries,I am continually reading of Christians suffering for their faith. Could it be that things are going to change in Cuba?, I hope so, I wonder how communism gained a foothold in many countries,I suppose the situation in many countries was so bad for many ordinary people, they saw communism as a way out.There are no perfect political systems,democracy appears the best , but it is far from perfect,because men are imperfect,if they were perfect then we would have a perfect goverment.Our Saviour did not preach about the rule of earthly goverments, but He did stress what it meant to belong to His kingdom,cp Luke 6 v20 ff/ Matthew 5 -7 v27,of being a servant, of loving others. If we live by these principals,we will be better people, and better citizens, although we may be considered fools, by the world.

A prayer...../ Dear God we pray for Cuba that Your kingdom will come,and we pray that we who are citizens of Your kingdom,may live lives, that reflect that reality, for Jesus sake we ask this Amen /

A waste. [ John 12 v24 ]

I follow a football team, just on the TV,called Manchester United,and one of things we remember about this team ,was a plane disaster in which most of team perished,such a tragedy and it was such a waste. And yet from the ashes of that disaster they have become one of the best teams in the world,and they gave me great pleasure,I wonder would they be the team they are now, if they had not had that loss?, I dont thing so.I heard someone yesterday say in relation to my Saviour, the young Jesus, those words touched me, for He was young, and the fact that He died so young would, and did appear a tragedy and waste,to His followers.When he told his disciples He was going to die,Peter especially protested and had the audacity to rebuke Him [ Mark 8 v32 ].It was a tragedy that the Jewish leaders, and the Roman authorities, had Christ crucified, but it was not a waste. Our Saviour was totally aware that He must die, and never saw it as a waste,He made it clear that unless He died,it would be a waste, and a tragedy for us, for no one would have been saved, not one person, and think of the terrible consquences of that.
A prayer.../ Dear God we thank You for Jesus Your son who laid down His young life for us Amen /

Resurrection day. [ Luke 24 v13 -35 ]

In Luke 24 we have an account of two people ,who had been followers of Christ, I say had been, but not now, for Jesus had died, To them He had failed, to fulfill their dreams,had failed so completley, it appears to me, they had given up,oh yes they had heard rumours ,that He was alive,but that had not impressed them.These two were in the depths of despair, and it showed,[v17 ]I am sure someone reading this ,can identify with these two people.The title of two of Philip Yanceys books are,/Disappointed with God, and What good is God ?/, it is possible that one may feel like that,and give up,just like these two.Life can be ever so cruel,we can experience so many hurts,but it even hurts more when it appears that Jesus has failed you. They were so down, they didnt realize that Jesus was there with them,mybe you feel the Lord is not with you, but He is, for He has said I will never leave you nor forsake you[Hebrews 13v5] All changed for those two ,when their eyes were opened,suddenly it all made sense,for resurrection day had come,and the risen Saviour,had not failed them, in fact He had, through His death and resurrection, saved them, and there lives would never be the same again.

A Prayer...../Dear God we rejoice in our Saviours death and resurrection,we give You thanks for all that He has accomplished , Amen

Inbetween days. [Luke 24 v13 -33 ]

I am listening to a song as I write, the words go/,Only by grace can we enter/, how welcome those words are, I am ever so grateful that it is not by performance,religious or otherwise. Especially not our feelings, unfortunately so many of us our ruled by our feelings,take this morning, I did not feel like praying, felt my concentration was poor,yet I prayed,for I know how vital prayer is for ourselves and others.Consider, this is the inbetween day ,yesterday was good Friday, tomorrow is resurrection day,but what about the inbetween day?. How did those early disciples feel? by all accounts they were in no mans land, were they still in the old covenant, or the new covenant?.What about Jesus, He was dead, was it all over?,how would you have felt in that situation?, Of course the coming day would change everything,but until then,what?. So what do we do in our inbetween days?, when we feel our world has collapsed,which brings us full circle,/Only by grace can we enter/. What do I need in the inbetween days?, the grace of God,when the one we love is taken,when we are having to endure the pain of loss,just simply rest in His arms of grace,remember tomorrow is resurrection day.
A prayer...../ Dear God help us in our inbetween days ,carry us through by Your lovely grace, in our lovely Saviours name we ask this Amen /

One word. [Isaiah 53]

As I look back on my childhood,there are things I feel sad about,one incident comes to mind,a friend and I were walking to school,and for whatever reason we picked on a boy.I remember having him up against a tree,threatening him, later he and his mother called at my home, I cannot remember what I said,but nothing else came of it,but as I grow older, this incident keeps coming back to me.I was to a degree an agressive little boy,and again as I look back I wish I had been different, in some ways one had to stand up for oneself,yet I often went further than this.So do I stand in the corner of condemnation, no, for you see it is good Friday,and all those wrong things,much an all as I regret them have been forgiven. I wear a little cross, last night I fondly touched it ,for it reminded me once again ,that I am forgiven,that a miracle has taken place,in my life. There is no greater miracle than ,what was accomplished on Calvary, for me and my past sins,my dirty language,dirty thoughts, my violence,over them all, I hear a voice,saying one word ,forgiven.
A prayer..../ Dear God we thank You from the bottom of our hearts,for Jesus Your wonderful dear Son ,who died on that awful yet wonderful cross, that every sin we have ever committed can be forgiven,by simply trusting Him,Amen /

Passion. [ Ephesians 3 v19/ 5 v18]

I had conversation with one of my sons, and he was mentioning about the Pharisees, how they were sincere, and very passionate people,and yet they were the ones who hated our Saviour.They not only hated Him they despised so many people,they had so many rules, just like Islam,and like some so called Christians.Religious passion is not neccessary a good thing,if it is misplaced,and the person holds a distorted veiw. Present day Islam are clear examples of distorted veiws ,resulting in awful actions,but it also raises the question for we who are evangelicals.We need a passion but it must not become divorced from Gods truth,and must always have a love for God, and a love for others. Cold formal religion is of no use to any of us, we do need a passion,for Gods word,Gods people, and a passion for the lost. A passion that is Spirit controlled,Spirit led, and if it is, then it will glorify God and our dear Saviour,and that is what we should always aim at.

A prayer...../ Dear God free ,me from deadness, coldness,lukewarmness,fill me with afresh by Your Spirit, in Jesus name Amen ./

The best is yet to be.[ Jeremiah 29 v 11]

Yesterday was a very imporant day, it was my birthday, I am 68,amazing how God has spared me,so often one could have perished,in an accident,or through an illness. So I give thanks to God for His faithfulness, I really have so much to be thankful for,at an early age I trusted the Saviour , but became a prodigal for a number of years,until 48 years ago I attended a church service and the Lord restored me to Himself.As I look back I am so grateful for those dear Christians who have befriended me, for the many who have ministered to me,and encouraged me, but most of all I thank God for His faithfulness,I dont believe I am the center of the universe, but I do believe I am loved ,by a loving Heavenly Father.His Love is eternal, constant, and unchanging. I believe He has changed me, and will continue to transform me, by His amazing grace,whatever the years ahead hold, I can rest assured that I have a Saviour ,who will never , never, leave me,nor forsake me, and what applies to me applies to you , dear child of God, I believe the best is yet to be, the eternal glories shine afar,may that vision never dim in any of our lives.

A prayer..../ Dear God we praise You for Your faithfulness, mercy,grace and love in Jesus name Amen/

Love one another. [James 3 ]

I visited a friend and I asked how his minister was getting on,and I recieved a very negative reply,now it would have been easy to follow up what he said, but I resisted doing that. After a recent conversation with another person who criticised a certain person, a minister I know, I had joined in, and later on I felt the Holy Spirit,impress on my heart the importance of not getting involved in negative conversation.As a minister then as an elder I was hurt so often by what certain people said about me, of course they didnt come and talk to me face to face, oh no they spoke to others who did their dirty work. They spoke half truths, to suit their agender,trying their best to destroy me, and it is as serious as that, one got the impression if I had dropped down dead ,they would have rejoiced. So I am going, by Gods grace ,not to get involved in similar conversations, I hope you will follow my example,and if we do, we will glorify our Saviour, who said ,love one another.

A prayer...../Dear God may my conversation be acceptable to you today, in Jesus name Amen /

The weather. [ Psalm 146 ]

Our weather is a bit unpredicable,we have been having lovely weather,but the forecast is for change, and snow has been mentioned. So many people are affected by the weather, especially those who suffer from mental illness.Many people go and live in sunnier climes, just to escape ,the dullness ,they want sunshine,and blue skies.I have a friend who just loves it when it rains, the hymn wrote, of the cold wind in the winter, the pleasant summer sun,how the Lord God made them everyone. So while we may just want sunshine and blue skies,yet have to live at times with the dullness and greyness of our country,let not the weather affect us, let us praise God,for all the seasons,may He help us to be praising Christians irrespective of the weather.

A prayer..../ Dear God help our moods not to be affected by the weather,help us to focus on You,for in the dull days You are ,our sunshine,and unlike the weather You never change, in Jesus name we ask this Amen /