Not disposable . ( Jonah 3 )

         Years ago when things broke down, we took it to someone to fix it,I have a little drill,
         which shortly after I bought it, needed repaired. So the people I purchased it from
         fixed it.that's over 40 years ago,I have used that little drill many time ,I am glad I got
         it repaired. Many things do not get repaired now, sometimes it is to dear to repair,so we
         dispose  of whatever it is.In fact we live at a time when many things are disposed off.
         All these items are good for ,is the local dump ,somethings they are recycled,  the
         fact is ,that's life . The question is what about humanity ?, looking through history
         and scanning through the news ,it seems so very often,political ,and religious movements
         often appear to class people  as disposable,so millions and millions have
         been disposed of in the most awful ways. In Gods eyes no one is disposable, not one,
         every soul that ever lived,all were precious in His sight,even those whom He judged .
       

                                              For God so loved the world,
                                              that gave His only begotten
                                              son, that whosoever believeth
                                              in Him should not perish ,but
                                              have everlasting life.

                                                    (  John 3 v 16 )

The beast in us. ( Romans 3 v 9 - 23 )

              I wonder how you would describe humanity , it was Robert L. Stevenson who wrote
              about Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde,two names but one person. They stand for a person who
              turned into a wicked destructive beast, oh yes he was not a beast in the literal sense,
              but from being a reasonable person, to being a wicked person. Yet it fully describes
              humanity,all humanity,many nice people belonged to the Nazi party,and did awful .
              things.Hitler liked dogs,Stalin liked roses.These two may be two extreme examples,
              but they had a multitude who followed and obeyed them.Those who professed to be
              Christian have committed awful things,now it is the Moslem's  turn,whose turn will
              it be next ?.There is a fallenness in mankind  something waiting to happen,a beast
              no one can cure,that can manifest itself in so many ways. Even though I am a
              Christian I know there is inside me,that which could take over, with dire consequences.
              David the king of Israel discovered it,the road rage person shows it,the abuser shows
              the beast ,they all do and so do we.In a moment we can as Oscar Wilde wrote,kill
              the thing we love ,he wrote while in jail, and observed a man who was going to be hung
              for murdering the one he loved. It is a wonderful poem,here are a few verses from it.
                                   
                                                    Yet each man kills the thing he loves
                                                     By this let this be heard,
                                                     Some do it with a bitter look,
                                                     Some with a flattering word.
                                                     The coward does it with a kiss
                                                     The brave man with a sword.

                                                    Some kill their love when they are young,
                                                    Some when they are old.
                                                    Some strangle with the hands of lust
                                                    Some with the hands of gold.
                                                    The kindest use a knife, because
                                                    The dead so soon grow cold.

                                                    Some love too little, some too long,
                                                    Some sell, and others buy;
                                                    Some do the deed with many tears,
                                                    And some without a sigh;
                                                    For each man kills the thing he loves,
                                                    Yet  each man does not die.

                                           For all have sinned and come short of the glory
                                           of God
                                                                     ( Romans 3 v 23 )

                                          Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners

                                                                     ( 1 Timothy 1 v 15 )
                                                   

5 Sola's ( 2 Timothy 3 v 15 - 17 )

                       This year is the 500th year from when the reformation began,led by Martin Luther,
                       the monk who found Christ,through studying the word of God. Although I have
                       read Luther's  life,I do not remember Luthers '' five Sola's'' ,so here they are,.
                       Sola means alone..

                                                      ( 1 )  Sola scriptura   meaning  Scripture alone.
                                                      ( 2 )  Sola  Fide              :          Faith       alone
                                                      ( 3 )  Sola  Gratia           :          Grace      alone
                                                      ( 4 )  Sola  Christo         :          Christ      alone
                                                      ( 5 )  Sola  Gloria           :          The  Glory of
                                                                                                         God alone.
 
                       Luther used these five phrase's to emphasise  the differences  between the reformers
                       and the Roman Catholic Church..
                                                                                                 
     

Onward and upward. ( Luke 9 v 62 )

                 It was budget time ,when the chancellor of the exchequer  tells Parliament his
                 spending plans for the country.Summing up he said ,''we are looking forward, not
                 backward''. This reminds me of what the apostle Paul wrote ,' Forgetting what is
                 behind and straining toward  what is ahead'. ( Philippians 3 v 13 )Life  for the
                 Christian is about going forward, indeed life is about going forward.. I enjoy
                 watching football on the TV,and one thing no team can do is be satisfied with
                 yesterdays success. It is not that we do not take pleasure or totally forget our
                 yesterdays,no but we must not let the past imprison us. The challenge is forward
                 and upward ,pushing forward with all our might, towards  our heavenly goal.
                 past successes,failures,disappointments,hurts,sins, must not hold us back.
                 Our Saviour say to all of us today follow me, let nothing distract  us  from
                 doing just that.

                                                  Onward and upward
               

               
         

Our greatest need. (Luke 5 v 1 - 26 )

               As  a minister was boarding a plane, he noticed a lady  who appeared to have a
              problem with one of her legs,it was partially sticking out in isle.He thought
              should he pray for her, but he didn't. Yet  when the plane took off,he felt he
              would,so he went down the isle, and asked her could he pray for her.
              She agreed ,so he prayed,when he asked her if things where better,no she replied
              it still hurt.. So he prayed again, a bit louder ,but the lady said no change. So
              he prayed again much louder, people began to look down the isle,when he
              finished praying, still no change, her leg still hurt, so back to his seat he went
              feeling  embarrassed,  After the plane landed he went to collect his luggage
              and the lady was there smiling,she beckoned him to come over,oh he thought
              she was healed. But no it had not happened  instead she said '' I would love to
              have your faith,so he had joy of telling her about Jesus,and leading her to the
              Lord. Remember the man a paralytic , was lowered down through a hole in the
              roof,the first thing Jesus said to him was,''Friend ,your sins are forgiven''.That
              took priority over his sickness.,for our greatest need,let me repeat this ,our greatest,
              need, is  to have our sins forgiven,no matter what the sickness is.

                                                  Only Jesus can meet your
                                                  deepest need.
           

Boasting excluded . ( Romans 5 v 1 )

                   ''By the 1500s the gospel of salvation by faith alone apart from works  was buried
                   under the mountainous ,monolithic power of the Roman Catholic Church and its
                   man made traditions. Then came the Protestant Reformation. The Reformation was
                   all  about recovering the truth that salvation is by faith alone and not by faith plus
                   works, as the Catholic system continues to claim'' So writes John MacArthur.

                                                                 Ephesians 2 v 8 - 9.
                                                 
                                                For by grace you have been saved through
                                                faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the
                                                gift of God , not of works,lest anyone should
                                                boast.

A sure guide. ( Exodus 23 v 20 )

                    Now let us consider Proverbs 3 v 6,'' In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He
                     shall direct thy paths.'' Gods word tell us we know not what a day may bring forth''
                     (Proverbs 27 v 1 ),but God does. It is strange that people at funerals have the song
                     ,' My Way', played ,as if  is an achievement  to boast about,and if we think of the
                      eternal  consequences, if that person has never trusted Jesus as Saviour.Again
                      Gods tells us, 'There is a way that seems right unto a man ,but in the end it leads to
                      death.' ( Proverbs  16 v 25 ) Charles Bridges writes ''The end tests the safety of the
                      path''. Oh the transcendent[meaning going beyond ourselves to God) mercy of the
                      eyes opened to see the awful danger of our own way,and our ears opened to hear
                      the voice behind us saying ,this is the way ,walk ye in it'' (Isaiah 30 v 21 ).
                      Consider the open part of this verse ,'' In all thy ways acknowledge Him'', How
                      inclusive these words are, '' we need to bring God into all things,everyday, we are
                      are no longer doing things our way,the worlds way, but Gods way. Next consider
                        acknowledging God ,He will respond ,and He will direct our paths. Again
                      Charles Bridges writes, ''No step well prayed over will bring ultimate regret,He will
                      lead us forth in the right way, (  Psalm 107 v 7 )''

                                                           He led them on safely.
                                                                ( Psalm 78 v 53 )















































9

Leaning ( Proverbs 3 v 5 - 6 )

      Let consider further Proverbs 5 v 3  'Lean not  on your own understanding',  everyday we
      are bombarded with so many things, things that challenge  our faith,in relation to creation,
      moral values, the person of Christ,how can he God and man.?. The miracles recorded in the
      Bible,and when it comes to trials we are inclined, to stop thinking  Biblically  , we move from
      God and His word,  and make shipwreck of our faith.We need to educate our understanding
      so we can, stand and having done all to stand. There is no excuse for neglecting Gods word
      we need to understand what God has to say about trials of different sorts. When we do this
      then we can rest in the Lord,we realise that we are not unique ,many of Gods choosiest
      saints have suffered the severest of trials. yet they fixed their eyes on Jesus, who endured the
      cross ,scorning its shame, for the joy that was set before  Him. (Hebrews 12 v 2 ) The
      unbeliever  will not receive any help from that ,nothing can compensate him for the trials he
      suffered.We could put it this way we need to lean on Jesus and His word, more and more,
      instead of leaning on our own understanding.

                                                   What a fellowship, what a joy divine,
                                                    Leaning on the everlasting arms;
                                                    What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,
                                                    Leaning on the everlasting arms.

                                                               ( Words  E.A. Hoffman )

TRUST ( Proverbs 3 v 5 )

                  Trust in the Lord ,so v 5 of Proverbs 3,many say they believe in Jesus who have never
                   trusted in Him as Saviour. When seeking to witness to people we discover that people
                   dislike the Saviour, they  may even hate him.People trust in many different things,the
                   rich trust in their riches, the strong man trust in his physical strength.But the Bible
                   exhorts us to trust in the Lord, why?, because we all need a Saviour and only the
                   Lord can save.There are to be no half measures when it comes to trusting the Lord,
                   with all our hearts, some would say that's a bit extreme,is He not worthy of our trust ?
                   of course He is.  Likewise when it comes to love there are again no half measures,
                   consider what Jesus said ,'' Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all
                   your soul, and with all your mind''(Matthew 22 v 37. Total trust and total love ,to do
                  otherwise we will be heading for trouble ,whatever life brings at us.wherever He may
                  lead us.

                                                      God says simple , trust Me ,
                                                              will you?

Trust and acknowledge. ( Proverbs 3 v 5 - 6 )

              There are two verses in the Bible that have helped and challenge me right
               through my Christian life,they are Proverbs 3 v 5 - 6 ,I prefer the AV translation
              of these verses,I am going to leave these two wonderful and instructive verses
              with you,and then possible comment on them tomorrow.

                                         Trust in the Lord with all thine heart,
                                         and lean not upon thine own understanding.
                                         In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He
                                         shall direct thy path.

Now is the time. ( Revelation 3 v 20 )

              The first heavy frost arrived ,on my daily walk , I could see a number of people
              scraping the frost of  their cars windows  ,it is like someone has sprinkled icing sugar
              over everything .  We knew it was coming ,for we live in a land of seasons ,now Autumn
              is giving way to winter,the season come and the seasons go.It was the prophet Jeremiah
              who prophesied for over 40 years ,to what became known as the southern kingdom.
              His ministry was hard and unrewarding for things became worse and worse spiritually.
             Jeremiah   just kept on going, his  task was to faithfully tell the people Gods
             word. He challenged  them time and time again, to no avail.  In chap 8 v 20 we read
             words that caused him great sorrow,they

                                                           ''The harvest is passed,
                                                            the summer is ended,
                                                            and we are not saved.''

              They where about to enter a season of great suffering ,no matter what God said, no
              no matter how he pleaded with them,through the prophet, their opportunity  to be
              saved from the coming judgement was slipping away.  Now us let apply these sad words
              to the here and now,could it be that God has been speaking to you about being saved.
              And you are still not saved, that's a deep tragedy.Remember now is the day of salvation
              now is the time  to accept Christ as your Saviour, before it is to late.

                                                       The choice is your's
         

A song. ( Ephesians 5 v 19- 20 )

                 It felt like one of those days, things where getting me down, as I did my daily walk,
                 instead of talking to God, I put my words into a song. It was a song from my heart to
                 His ,and in that song I felt we were communicating with each  other.Me expressing how
                 I felt, and He expressing His love ,comfort, and assurance that blessed me. I thought
                 how David wrote many of his  Psalms,those Psalms that expressed the heart of a man ,
                 and the heart of God. I want to leave you words from one of Davids Psalms

                                                                Psalms 121

                                            I will lift up my eyes to the hills, 
                                            From whence comes my help?
                                            My help comes from the Lord
                                            Who made heaven and earth.
                                             He will not allow your foot to be moved,
                                             He who keeps you will not slumber,
                                             Behold, He who keeps Israel,
                                             Shall neither slumber or sleep.
                                             The Lord is your keeper,
                                             The Lord is your shade at your right hand.
                                             The sun shall not strike you by day,
                                             Nor the moon by night .
                                             The Lord shall preserve you from all evil,
                                             He shall preserve your soul.
                                             The Lord shall preserve your going out,
                                             And your coming in,
                                             From this time forth,and even for evermore. 

                                           
               
               
               

The Cross. ( Isaiah 53 )

         During the communist reign of East Berlin, there was built a giant  television tower,
         near the top of it was huge globe structure, housing a restaurant and other facilities.
         The remarkable thing was, that once it was finished , it was discovered   that sunlight
          always reflected off the globe in the shape of a cross.The authorities had tried everything
         they could to prevent this optical phenomenon  ( known as asterism )  , but nothing worked.
         No matter how hard they tried they could not get rid of the Cross.

                                            We sing the praise of Him who died,
                                            Of Him who died upon the cross;
                                            The sinner's hope let men deride,
                                             For this we count the world but loss.

                                             Inscribed upon the cross we see
                                             In shining letters God is love;
                                             He bears our sins upon the tree;
                                             He brings us mercy from above.

                                            The  Cross, it takes our guilt away;
                                            It holds the fainting spirit up;
                                            It cheers with hope the gloomy day,
                                            And  sweetens every bitter cup.

                                            It makes the coward spirit brave,
                                            And nerves the feeble arm for fight;
                                            It takes the terror from the grave,
                                            And gilds the bed of death with light.

                                           The balm of life,the cure of woe.
                                           The measure and pledge of  love,
                                           The sinner's refuge here below,
                                           The angel's theme in heaven above.
                                                 (Words ...Thomas Kelly )

                                       







                                           

                                             


     

The glory . ( Luke 24 v 13 - 32 )

                As I was out walking ,an old gospel song I used to sing, came to mind, its called
                The glory of His presence'', by Oswald. J. Smith.

                                                      I have walked alone with Jesus,
                                                      In a fellowship divine.
                                                      Never more can earth allure me,
                                                      I am His, and  He is mine.

                                                      On the mountain I have seen Him,
                                                      Christ my comforter and friend.
                                                      And the glory of  His presence,
                                                      Will be with me to the end.

                                                      I have seen Him, I  have known Him,
                                                      And He deigns to walk with me,
                                                      And the  glory of His presence will
                                                      Be mine eternally.

                                                      Oh the glory of His presence,
                                                      Oh the beauty of His face,
                                                       I am His, and His forever,
                                                      He has saved me by His grace.

His name not mentioned ( John 4 v 21 - 24 )

                       When you come to read the Bible, in every book, you would expect Gods name to
                       be mentioned ,but  it is absent in the book of Esther. Yet it is pointed out by M.
                       Wilcock, ''Esther's  story shows His hand unmistakably at work behind the scenes''
                       This is one of the major aspects of God and  His kingdom ,just before our Saviour
                       died ,He said something that many Christians have not grasped ,'' My Kingdom is
                       not of this world.If it were ,my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews.
                       but now my Kingdom is from another place''.During the Commonwealth under Olive
                       Cromwell there were those who felt ,that Gods earthly kingdom was being set up.
                       But they were wrong ,many of the Jews even among  Christ's follower's expected
                       Him be the Messiah ,who would overthrow all the powers of earth and rule over
                       them,but they were wrong.The Kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom,totally
                       different from the kingdoms of this would.Davids kingdom is gone ,the Holy Roman
                       Empire is gone.So it will always be , when we pray Thy kingdom come, what do we
                       expect? for the Christians to take power, it will not happen.But Christs Kingdom
                       will continue and continue to grow in the hearts men and women .Nobody and
                       nothing can stop the growth of Gods kingdom ,many have tried,many are still trying
                       but they cannot stop it, for the one who said My kingdom is not of this world also
                       said, ''I will build my Church,,and that nothing can stop it happening ( Matthew 16 v
                       18 )

                                                        My thoughts are not  your thoughts
                                                        neither are your ways my ways,
                                                        says the Lord..
                                                                    ( Isaiah 55 v 8 )
                                                             

Against You ...... ( Psalm 51 )

                   Humanity is  made up of nice people, not so nice people,cruel people ,kind people,
                   rich people, poor people ,white people,black people.So we could on describing the
                   contrasting differences of the human race,but every human being has one thing in
                   common ,we all without exception are sinners. That will never change ,never,no
                   matter how much we try, sooner or later , it manifests itself. Be it a king or a queen,
                   a minister,Sunday school teacher ,boy scout,girl guide,doctor ,nurse. We casually say
                   no one is perfect ,yes we would all agree on that, but God goes further,He says we are
                   all sinners,that means, we cannot relate our wrong doings,wrong attitudes, wrong words,
                   as something between us humans,no sin in the final analysis , involves us and a
                   holy God.When King David committed adultery, followed by murder , he prayed this
                   to God,  ''Against you, you only have I sinned , and done what is evil in your sight.
                   (Psalm 51 v 4 ).A person may murder or rob someone,and do time in prison,when
                   released, they may say I have paid my debt to society.But their sinful actions remains
                   unforgiven   ,and if there is no repentance,no seeking forgiveness, then there is still a
                   price to pay, That price involves judgement by God ,heaven is shut, and Hell beckons.

                                              For the wages of sin is death, but the gift
                                              of God  is eternal life ,in Christ Jesus our
                                              Lord.
                                                             ( Romans 6 v 23 )
               

The source of evil ( Jeremiah 17 v 9 )

                Our Saviour knew the source of evil, the people who opposed Him, where very
                religious,they observed all the religious feast.They prayed,  read Gods word
                kept the Sabbath,kept the food laws,etc,etc,etc.They also laid great store at being
                children of Abraham,true blue Jews,yet Jesus knew the source of evil. Do you?
                This is what He said out of the heart,yes out of the heart,the source of our being
                out of the heart comes evil thoughts, murder, adultery,sexual immorality, theft,
                false testimony,slander.Yes He knows us better than we know ourselves ,why do I
                pray everyday,Lord create in me a clean heart,yes a clean heart ,?, because although I
                am a Christian, I have evil thoughts, evil desires,and I know how they can so easy
                take over. We are told let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he falls( 1
                Corinthians 10 v 12 ) . In Proverbs  4 v 23 )we read ,' Above all else, guard your
                guard'.Wise words,what are you putting into your heart? what am I putting into my
                heart?.  In  Proverbs  23 v 26  ,we read  'My Son (Daughter) give  me your heart,
                will you ?, I remember a little prayer children would pray when they trusted
                Jesus as Saviour,why don't you pray it, right now.

                                                     Come into my heart Lord Jesus.
                                                     come into day, come into stay
                                                     come into my heart Lord Jesus.
                                                                    Amen.














             

Redemption ( Job 19 v 25 )

                            I was playing a game of indoor bowls, and  one of the players had a poor
                            game,but next game he played better,and someone was heard to say ,'you
                            redeemed yourself'. The word redeemed in the context of a game, means's
                            to make up for a bad performance.The word redeemed appears a lot of times
                            in the Bible,there the word means's  to buy back,to pay a price.It
                            has with  it the meaning of delivering and bringing someone out of bondage.
                            It is applied to our Salvation .Humanity is seen by God as being in slavery,
                            as our Saviour said, everyone who sins is a slave to sin (   John 8 v 34 ),
                            Solomon also said ,there is no man that does not sin ( 1 Kings  8 v  46)
                            Because of this we are alienated from a holy God , a slave to our sinful
                            impulses,lost and undone,we are truly on the road to Hell. Unlike a game
                            we personally cannot redeem ourselves, because everything we could offer
                            would be tainted by sin.So God in His awesome  mercy did something
                            He would send a redeemer into the world who would pay the price of our
                            redemption ,as the Psalmist wrote ,'God would redeem ,( 49 v 15 ) And
                            so He ,who was truly God and truly man, came and paid the price of our
                            redemption.,not with perishable things such as silver or  gold ..............
                            but with  His  precious blood   (1 Peter 1 v 18-19 ) So it is when we
                            trust Jesus as our Saviour, God accepts us on the bases of  the price Jesus
                            paid on the cross.

                                                             Not the labours of my hands
                                                             Can fulfil thy law's demands;
                                                             Could my zeal  no respite know,
                                                             Could mt tears for ever flow,
                                                             All for sin could not atone;
                                                             Thou must save, and Thou alone.

                                                               ( Words by A M Toplady )
                         

Confident ( John 8 v 12 )

                        Martin Luther wrote ,'Nothing is more familiar or characteristic among
                        Christians than assertion. Take away assertions, and you take away
                        Christianity'. Assertion means confidence,certainty, We know that our
                        Redeemer lives , (19 V 23 )we know that Christ rose from read, ( 1 Corinthians
                        15 ) We know that Christ has forgiven us our sins ( 1 John 2 v 12 ). The
                        The Christian hes received eternal life [ 1 John 5 v 13 ). In a world that so
                        often appears in crises,confused, the Christian has a powerful message,that
                        comes  from that wonderful relationship they have with God. It all come about
                        when Christ become ones Saviour,He declared that He was the light of the
                        world ,and that those who follow Him, would not walk in darkness ,but will
                        have the light of  life. (John 8 v 12 ) Children are afraid of the dark ,but many
                        people who are not children, are afraid, darkness has engulfed them,are you one
                        of them ?,Look to Jesus, trust Him,follow Him, you will not walk in darkness.

                                         ' When Jesus comes the tempter's power is broken,
                                           When Jesus comes the tears are wiped away.
                                           He takes the gloom and fills the life with glory
                                           For all is changed when Jesus comes to stay.

                                                      ( Words by Dr, Smith )

                                                     

Heaven (Romans 8 v 31 - 39 )

                    Heaven is the place where pretence is never needed; where we live in freedom
                    from judgement; where we will never need to pretend or assume an unreal
                    posture or claim an inappropriate credit.  It will be a place where we can live for
                    the first time in all our lives in freedom from judgement- the judgement of others
                    and the self- judgements which in this life so regularly cripple and enslave us.We
                    will live in the freedom of the judgement of God. We will have accepted His just
                    judgement on our lives, be utterly one with Him  is the embodied righteousness
                    of God., and be renewed in the image of the Righteous One. We will be righteous
                    and pursue righteousness. We will at last, and for ever, do justly....love mercy, and
                    walk humbly with( our ) God. ( Mic 6 v 8 av )
                                  (  From Bruce Milne's book ,Heaven and Hell )

''Cutting off'' ( Romans 13 v 14 )

                              In  Matthew 18 v 1 - 9, Jesus speaks very sternly  to those who cause
                              others to sin ,we can think of many who do that,they come under great
                              condemnation,and will suffer severe judgement.Child abusers will suffer
                              those who trap people into prostitution,.Many dear people have been lured
                              into evil practise's,those who do will suffer, for God is just. .He goes unto
                              speak , to 'cutting  off' a member of the body, rather than giving into sin.
                              Origen  took these words literally, and was castrated.This is what John Stott
                              wrote.
                              ''The command to get rid of troublesome eyes,hands and feet is an example
                                of our Lord's use of dramatic figures of speech. What He was advocating
                               was not a literal self maiming, but  a ruthless moral self denial. Not
                               mutilation but mortification was the path to holiness He taught.  If  your eye
                               causes  you to sin because temptation comes  to you through  the eyes( objects
                               you see), then pluck out your eyes. That is, don' t look, Behave as though
                               you had actually plucked out your eyes and flung them away and were now
                               blind and could not see the objects which previously caused you to sin''

                                                        ''Let us stop pampering ourselves''
                     

Temptation. ( Hebrews 4 v 14 - 16 )

                     It  was H R. Palmer who wrote that old hymn ,' Yield not to temptation,
                     many years ago,we  seldom hear it song  these days ,and yet its message is
                     relevant to every generation. Every day  everyone one of us face temptation
                     it is told that this hymn stopped a riot in a women's prison,again many years
                     ago.Sing Sing, had a women's section. One Sunday the women were gathered
                     together,for a religious service, the prison officer in charge, gave which caused
                     an uproar .A women's riot was harder to deal with than a riot by men,the situation
                     was getting out of hand, when someone started to sing the following.,
                   
                                             Yield not to temptation, for yielding is sin,
                                              Each victory will help you, some other to win.
                                              Fight manfully onward ,dark passions sudue
                                              Look ever to Jesus He will carry you through.
           
                      Very soon all the lady prisoners joined in and  then quietly went back to their cells.

Hell ( Luke 16 v 22 - 23 )

               I received a phone call from a friend ,he is the  brother of  Raymond who was my best
               friend up until I was 20,and then we went our separate ways. I had just come back  to
               Lord, he did not know the Lord, nor wanted to follow Him. It was years later that I
               found out that Raymond's brother had become a Christian, since then we have stayed in
               contact with each other. He is a fine Christian man ,he witnesses to many people ,I
               never thought he would become a Christian ,yet he did,for those who decry the preaching
               of Hell, it was that very thing that caused my friend to trust Jesus. He told me  that it as
               at the funeral of his father, the reality of Hell came upon him .Many ministers will not
                preach on Hell, they must have their reasons,but then we are not to lean upon our own
               understanding.Hell is not an outdated truth,  sadly to say ,untold millions will end up in
               Hell.
                                        On the golden streets of heaven
                                        All men hope to walk some day.
                                        Yet so many are not will to accept
                                        living way.

                                        Some will  tell that God's mercy
                                        is their only hope and plea.
                                        But I read that my dear Saviour
                                        Died for sinners just like me.
                                        Hallelujah, Hallelujah, I'm
                                        depending on the blood.
                                           ( Words by John Oatman.Jr.  )





             

Jabez ( 1 Chronicles 4 v 9 - 10 )

                      Whats in a name ?,well the seven dwarfs in the story of Snowhite,  reflected
                      their name,Snezzey,sneezed,Dopey was not to bright,Grumpy well he was crumby.
                      We call someone who is miserable all the time, misery guts,the children's writer
                       Roger Hargreaves was on a winner when he wrote the Mister Men books,Mister
                       Tickle,Mr Greedy, and many others.What's in a name? a lot or nothing,in Bible
                       times names meant something,Jacob means twister,in other words someone you
                       cannot trust.We read of a man in Chronicles called Jabez, which means pain.,
                       his mother experienced much pain in giving birth to him,so she called  him pain.
                       He desired to be free  from pain ,and God    granted his request.You may not be
                       Jabez but you have reputation that causes you pain. Could be ,you had a father who
                       was not up to much,you do not want to have a reputation like him, or even your
                       family.God heard the prayer of Jabez and granted his request. When we think of
                       Jabez we remember a man of prayer a man who was changed by the power of God.

                                     With Christ we are new creations,we need no longer live
                                      under fear and a dark cloud,

Do not forget your roots. ( 1 John 3 v 1 - 3 )

                 I am reading and studying  Chronicles,  at this time ,one of the things that would
                 put one of reading this book,is the first 9 chapters  are mainly names. One must
                study these two books,and begin to understand why these list of names are there.
                I am using a study guide from one the the Bible speaks today series and am finding
                it helpful.It was written to a people who had been taken into exile in Babylon.Now
                it was Jeremiah the prophet who wrote a letter to those in exile,( Jer 29 )he reminds
                them why they were in exile,also that it was not permeate ,in 70 years God would
                bring them back to their own land.In the mean while they were to settle down and
                lead a normal life, even pray for the  place they were in. The greater part of Israel
                had been taken captive into Assyria, years before.So they were as a people scattered.
                the writer of Chronicles was moved by God to remind them of who they are,a special
                people ,rooted in God,the first 9 chapters remind them of their roots. As with Israel
                of old so it is that many us who are the present Israel,made up of Jew and non- Jews,
                 need to be reminded of our roots, that in Christ we are children of God ,be we refugees
                exiles or whatever ,yes live a normal life pray for where you live, but let us be careful,
                to not forget our roots.
               
             

Changeless grace. ( 2 Corinthians 12 v 7 - 10 )

                    I read these words, ''Changeless grace in changing circumstances ''. What a
                    wonderful truth.A friend of mine and his wife who has been going through
                    a difficult time for a number of years, said how much God has upheld them.
                    I recently spoke at a church,a dear Christian brother came to me after I had
                    spoke. He said how the word preached help him.The previous week his wife
                    had died from cancer , he mentioned  how difficult he had found it, as
                    the pain killers had little effect. I can only imagine how difficult it must have
                    been.I read recently of a dear brother in China arrested ,was experiencing
                    being tortured.How can they cope with such things?,the answer is Gods
                    changeless grace in their changing circumstances.

                                                                God  said

                                                    My grace is sufficient for you.

                                                          ( 2 Corinthians 12 v 9 )
                                           



             

Free at last . ( John 8 v 34 - 36 )

                             Recently it was my wife's birthday, so we had a celebration for
                            her and so the family went out for a meal. There on the table
                            where balloons  filled with gas,  that float in the air.
                            they have ribbons attached to them , that is attached to a weight.
                            the question is ,what does one do with the balloons when the party
                            is over.? Well I took them and cut the ribbon attached to the weight,
                            all of a sudden they were free,to zoom up into the heavens ,and it
                            was if I could hear them say,' Free ,free at last'.

                                                     ''If the Son sets you free
                                                      you will be free indeed.
                                                          (John 8 v 36 )

Change. ( Malachi 3 v 6 )

                               I  am looking at a photo of a young man in a magazine ,he is dressed in
                               casual clothes,I think I will send him a few pound to buy a pair of  trousers
                              for the poor lad's trousers are torn in both knees. Yes ,although I am 73 ,I
                              know that this is the fashion,when I was young it was a sign of poverty.
                              How things change ,the newspapers are no longer large, and unmanageable,
                              I know some still are, I wonder why.?. The thing is,things change,somethings
                              don't, we change physically, my hair has turned blond,although my wife keeps
                              telling me its grey, what does she know.?. I used to be a sweet lovely young
                              man but now I  am a member of the old men's grumpy club.The fact is we are
                             finite beings, that means we will change,it is inevitable, but here is an important
                             thing ,God does not change, in His being,and in his attributes.people do try to
                             change him, even Christians,they find it hard to accept aspects of  God ,like
                             the fact that He judges people,and will judge all mankind,oh no they say, we
                             do not want that sort of God.Then  others who think it is wrong to say there
                             is only one God, and only one way to God,so they try to change it.Then there
                             are other people like the Jews who refuse their Messiah,because of what it
                             would mean, change.
                                                         We cannot change God,but He can
                                                                           change us.