Is it time to cry? ( Luke 15 v 11 ff )

The story Jesus told of the prodigal, or the lost son, ( Luke 15 v 11 )has much to teach us in relation of people coming to Christ. A young man leaves home with money in his pocket,whose  one purpose was to throw of the restraints at home. This he did in a full measure,wine women and song, with the help of a lot of hanger on's,but in the end he ended up destitute. In his joys he give little thought for his loving father, it is interesting we do not have a mention of his mother.It does appear that when people are doing well they do not consider their need of a Saviour.I think of the people where I live, most of them have cars ,nice homes, nice clothes,nice food, so why do they need God,they rarely give Him a thought ,the word of God sums it up, ''in all his thoughts, there is no need for God ( Psalm 10 v 4 ).The young man never gave a thought  for God, or family, UNTIL  the water in the well dried up,his money ,nearly naked and starving,he comes to his senses, and he begins to think differently,and he then started home into the arms of a loving father. I know a couple of lads like that prodigal, who ended up in prison,and it was there that they cried out in desperation  to our Lord Jesus,                                                                                                                                                                                                        This poor man cried , and the Lord                                                                                                             heard him, and saved him out of all                                                                                                           his troubles.                                                                                                                                               He brought me up also out of an                                                                                                               horrible pit, out of the miry clay,                                                                                                               and set my feet upon a rock,and                                                                                                                 established my goings.                                                                                                                               And He hath put a new song in my                                                                                                           mouth,even praise unto our God.                                                                                                                 ( Psalm 34 v 6 / 40 v 2 - 3   )                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

We would see Jesus. ( John 12 v 21 )

.John Bunyan's last words from the pulpit were,'Live like the children of God, that you may look your Father in the face with comfort another day''.We often hear the term ,''like father like son',I suppose that we should be trying to aim at every day, that is the challenge,for all of us.A little boy asked a missionary,''are you Jesus'', of course none of us are ,Jesus,but we called to be like Him,in every aspect of our lives,in our home,or wherever we find ourselves. Like so many things ,we know this,but knowing and doing are two different things,it may surprise you to know that ,every Christian struggles in being what they should be, a little children's chorus comes to mind, it reads.                                                                            Be like Jesus , this my song ,                                                                                                                    In the home and in the throng  ,                                                                                                                Be like Jesus all day long,                                                                                                                          I would be like Jesus.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Come over to the light. ( John 8 v 12 )

My wife was given ,the gift of a large bulb,from which a long stem grew, as the stem grew it began to lean towards the light,so you  are advised to turn it around,so it straitens up,as it goes towards the light,it has now flowered,its name is an Amaryllis. I found it fascinating, and am puzzled ,at a plant doing this. I also had some flowers in my garden ,that opened up when the sun shone, and closed up when the sun went down, again I found this fascinating. The apostle John has a number of things to say about light and darkness ,in the first chapter of  his gospel ,he mentions five  times the word light ,( he is referring to Jesus), as it where shining in the darkness ,in spite  of who He was,what He did, and what He said ,they did not understand, and not only did they not understand they did their best to extinguish the light, but they could not.The darkness of humanity is awesome, the Jews did not recognise their creator, nor did they recognise their Messiah.That Messiah they believed would liberate their nation,and they would rule the world with Him,they appeared to not see that He would  deal with their sin. Yet this goes further than the Jews,Jesus is the light of the world,who came to all in order to bring us out of darkness.The  light has come ,He is still shining, but the sad thing is, in our natural sinful state we actually love darkness rather than light.There is way out of the darkness that is to see it for what it is, darkness,and to respond to Him, who said, I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness,but will have the light that leads to life ( John 8 v 12).

Without Him ( Ephesians 2 v 11 - 13 )

When out walking I was praying and the dread thought came,' With You', and then I remember dear old Jack Halcomb singing a song titled, 'Without Him'. While the non Christian can live their lives without Jesus, the Christian shudders at such a thought,so here are the words of that old song,written by, 'Mylon Rae Lefevie .                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Without Him I could do nothing                                                                                                              Without Him I'd surely  fail,                                                                                                                       Without Him I would drifting                                                                                                                    Like a ship without a sail.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Without Him I would be dying                                                                                                                   Without Him I'd be enslaved                                                                                                                     Without Him life would be worthless                                                                                                       But with Jesus thank God I'm saved                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Oh Jesus, oh  Jesus,                                                                                                                                  Do you know Him today?                                                                                                                          Please don't turn Him away,                                                                                                                      O Jesus, my Jesus,                                                                                                                                      Without Him, how lost I would be.                                                                                                            Without Him how lost I would be.

Our Aim. ( Romans 14 v 5 - 6 )

It was said of the Roman empire, ''that adversity never brought them low, and success never puffed them up''. I was listening on the radio, two athletes involved in the winter Olympic ,they came in eleventh , but they where not disappointed,as they told of the difficulties they had experienced,one of them told, how she had an accident ,and was told  that it brought the end of her performing.But in spite of this she had persevered. In spite of the adversity she had faced,  it did not make her give up.One of the most important things in the Christian life is perseverance,we read of many believers who are facing adversity, and in it all they do not give up.But perseverance is not just for those been persecuted, it  applies to us all ,for their are many challenges to face in life.unemployment, children    who break our hearts,whatever the difficulties we may be facing,we can ,let me repeat the,''we can'',     by Gods grace, yes ''we can'' persevere. Then let us consider, not been puffed up by our successes, puffed up simple means full of pride,when the Roman general was returning from a successful campaign,he was reminded of his humanity. I notice that when footballers score a goal many of them point up,I wonder why?, could it be that they are giving glory to God,I hope so,remember in all our successes we should always  give glory to God.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   A prayer                                                                                                                                   Dear Lord grant us the grace we need to                                                                                                    persevere in all of life's  adversities,  and                                                                                                  in all my successes ,to remain humble                                                                                                                            Amen                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Rome ( Galatians 4 v 4 - 6.)

Historian Tom Holland writes the following , '' A bishop named Eusebius  could see in the Roman Empires  globalisation the very guiding hand of God. It was not just as a consequence of human action, he declared,' that the greater part of the world should  have come under  Roman rule at the precise moment Jesus was born. The coincidence that saw our Saviour begin His mission against such a backdrop was undeniably arranged by divine agency. After all- had the world still be at war, and not united under a single form of government, then how much more difficult would it have been for the disciples to undertake their travels.''                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Daniel 2 v 20 - 21 .                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Praise be to the name of God for ever and                                                                                                ever,wisdom and power are His.He changes                                                                                              times and seasons, He sets up kings and                                                                                                    deposes them.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Unclean ( Isaiah 1 v 18 )

One of William Cowper's other famous hymns,which we do not hear sung very much these days is , 'There is a fountain filled with blood'. I wonder why?.Should we not hear more on that precious subject,the blood of Jesus, that cleanseth us, from all sin ( 1 John 1 v 7 )  Consider what sin does to us it makes us unclean, it pollutes,its an infectious disease,we all are dirty old men, and dirty old women,   yes that means you, and  it means me,we are contaminated,and as to our  righteousness they  are like filthy rags.  There was a moment when Israel sinned, they had not long been freed from slavery,they had witnessed ,so much of Gods power. What did they do? they started worshipping a gold calf, and committing all sorts of things,yes they started acting like a pig rolling in the muck. ( Ex 32 ) God had to warn them and deal with them,and from that point on wards, they learned as Alec Motyer writes, of the ''sinfulness of sin'',we all without exception underestimate our sinful condition,and its awful consequence. In Revelation  21  v 27 we read, ''But  nothing unclean will ever enter it '',we are being told in picture language, of Gods future home for His people. It is telling us of those who will be excluded, they who have never had their sins forgiven ,who because of their sin are consider unclean.                                                                                                                                                                                                 There is a fountain filled with blood                                                                                                         Drawn from Emmanuel's veins;                                                                                                                 And sinners , plunged beneath that flood,                                                                                                 Lose all their guilty stains.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             The dying thief rejoiced to see                                                                                                                   That fountain in his day;                                                                                                                             And there have I , as vile as he,                                                                                                                 Washed all my sins away.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood                                                                                                      Shall never lose its power;                                                                                                                        Till all the ransomed church of God                                                                                                          Be saved to sin no more.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                E'er since, by faith, I saw the stream                                                                                                          Thy flowing wounds supply,                                                                                                                       Redeeming love has been my theme,                                                                                                         And shall be till I die.

Money ( Exodus 20 v 3 / 17 )

A friend told me about a relative who was ill,the person is elderly and married, all of sudden they have relatives coming out of the woodwork, they really must love  her, or could there be another answer?, it may be , because she is wealthy It is a sad comment that the love of money shows people  for what they are, our Saviour spoke of some of the religious leaders who took advantage of widows ( Mt 23 v 14).It is very sad that the death of a loved one can bring out the worse in some people, but them we must always  remember that  we are living in a fallen world ,the effects of it manifest itself in a multitude of ways. This applies to our love of money ,people will kill for it,cheat for it,betray for it,you name it,they have done it, all for the love of money. This does not just mean in the major things but in all things,after all you have to look yourself in the mirror,make no mistake we soon find out that we have a thing called a conscience,and let us not  forget,God in all this, He is not after your money, you are more important than your money, but when it comes to humanity ,our money , possessions , they are not more important than God,. Jesus says  come follow Me, but you must rid yourself of all other  gods.                                                                                                                                                                                                  Luke 16 v 13                                                                                                                                                  Jesus said                                                                                                                                  You cannot serve God and money.                                                                                                                 

The tent of meeting . ( Exodus 33 v 7 - 11)

The tent of meeting which we read about in Ex 33,was not the tabernacle,it was tent pitched outside the camp, . It was a place where Moses went to commune with God,but not only Moses but the people also went the only difference was Moses went into the tent, the people waited outside .When Moses went into the tent a cloud came down  and God spoke to him,  soon as that happened the people started worshipping God. It is Alec Motyer who writes , ''The tent of meeting was a provision for personal spirituality ( Anyone enquiring of the Lord ), a place apart ( outside the camp ) and a reality of divine fellowship ( a tent of meeting ) The tabernacle and the tent represent two proper sides of true religion ; ordered , ordinances of God , and the private place of prayer of secret prayer, worship and fellowship.                                                                                                                                                                                              But when you pray, go into your room                                                                                                      close the door and pray to your Father,                                                                                                      who is unseen. Then your Father, who                                                                                                      sees what is done in secret,will reward                                                                                                      you.                                                                                                                                                                    ( Matthew 6 v  6 )

God is Spirit . ( John 4 v 24 )

A person asked me ,''show me God''? , idolatry is creating a god you can see,,but the Christian God is invisible. People  want to see, but one cannot see Him who is invisible  We are told  that  God is Spirit, ( John 4 v  24 ), Milne writes,'' no form can ever be made of the absolute one''. Leon Morris, writes, ''God's essential nature is Spirit '', and so it follows, that all His worshippers must worship Him in spirit and in truth..And that is also why our  Saviour told a very religious person,that one needs to be born again . ( John 3 v 7 ) Our Saviour  said ,that''Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit'' (Jn 3 v 6 )  How does  that Spirit birth happen ?, in John 1 v 12 -13  , we read,'' To those who received Him ( Jesus ) ,to those who believed in His name, He gave  the right to become children of God.Children  born not of human descent , nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God''. It means that God is not only with us, but is in us, And when that happens ,''we cry ,''Abba''  Father. The Spirit himself  testifies with our spirit that we are God's children . ( Romans 8 v 15 - 16 )                                                                                                                                                                                           How great is the love the Father                                                                                                               has lavished on us,that we should                                                                                                             be called children of God. And that                                                                                                           is what we are.                                                                                                                                                 ( 1 John 3 v 1 )

Hate . ( Romans 3 v 9 - 23 )

Sad to hear of another mass shooting in the dear old USA, seemingly he may have been adopted,who knows the reasons behind what he did. The thought came to me,  was it hate?. Hate is a very strong emotion ,hate drives love out, hate drives reason out,hate destroys.It is interesting that the commandments are fulfilled by love,One could fill a library of books on the subject  of hate,Writing on Cain who killed his brother ( Gen 4 ) the apostle of love John warns us that we do not become like him, if we hate  we become murderers ( 1 John 3 v 15 ).It is our Lord who challenges us as to our looking and thinking,.are equivalent to doing it. ( Matthew 5 v 27 - 28 ).Hitler was consumed with hate for the Jews,and had millions murdered,hate put our Saviour on the cross ( John 15 v 18 ),love can turn to hate, human hatred is a sin ,we all can let hatred take over, we have a choice ( Gen 4 v 7 ), like all  sins there is a beginning ,where we can by Gods refuse to hate,or we can run with it,and it ends up like  the mass shooting in USA,or like Cain , or even like Hitler. There are ways to overcome hatred forgiveness and love, we can if we choose too, refuse to  hate,if we don't we will cause suffering to others and we will suffer ourselves.The apostle declared, ''And now I will show you the most excellent way ,Love      ( 1 Corinthians 13 ).

Valentines day. ( Psalm 2 2 )

It was Valentines day on the 14th ,I do not always remember, you have guessed,to get my dear wife a card,but I did get one on the day, and I put  the following words on it.I may not always remember certain days,but I will always remember that I love you.It is sad when love is forgotten, when we  move on, with a new wife/husband,and the children are left behind, so sad.The vast majority of people in this world  do not care to remember the one who loves them most of all.Who is that ? the answer is very simple,  God,let me refresh your memory,for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3 v 16 )..He gave that is His love gift ,but what did He give Him to?,to die on that cruel cross,because of our sin,God can do no more,for on that cross, we see a  lonely figure,battered ,beaten,betrayed,and that's not all, it is what we do not see,for we read,that it was the will of the Lord to crush Him, ( Isa 53 v 10 ) .That's the part we cannot see,no one will ever comprehend the depth of that suffering,for sin was being dealt with, Jesus was taking the punishment for our sin.I awoke the other morning with the words from an old gospel song on my mind ,hear are the words.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             How can you refuse Him now?                                                                                                                 How can you refuse Him now?                                                                                                                 How can you turn away from His side?                                                                                                     With tears in His eyes, on the cross                                                                                                            there He died,                                                                                                                                            How can you refuse Jesus now?.                                                                                                                   ( Words by Holly Williams  )

Holiness constantly refreshed. ( 1 John 1 v 9 )

When the priest served in the tabernacle, before they could carry out their priestly duties it was required of them to wash their hands and feet with the water from the bronze basin provided.When they were consecrated to the priesthood, they had to make a sacrifice ,plus their whole body was washed, this was never repeated. (  Ex 29 v 10 - 25 ). A. Motyer comments ,''But on a daily basis the water in the basin provided for the cleansing of any defilement contracted by the priests. The situation is exactly as in John 13 v 10 -  there is the bath, there is the wash- hand basin.  And our mothers were right when they called us to the family table, not with' Have you had a bath?, but 'Have you washed your hands?. Yes we have been forgiven, when we came to Christ, but we still become defiled and so we have the need of  a daily cleansing . The   Corinthian church were warned as regards the need of  this ( 1 Cor . 11 v 29 - 30 ) As AM writes, ''The Lord invites and allows us to come freely; but we  have no permission to come carelessly or casually''.                                                                                                                                      ( The title is from. Alec Motyers book )                                                                                                                                             

Why am I here. ( Psalm 48 v 14 )

I was watching a nice old movie, when I heard one of actors say, ''The good Lord Himself has put him there''.  I had been thinking of my earlier years when my wife and I applied for missionary work, and it did not happen, it was all very disappointing, but eventually we ended up in darkest England. Sometimes I think of those days of trying to go ,to the so called mission field and wonder. I wonder what  am I doing in the town of Grays in England?. Yet those words spoke to me, I am here because God put me here , you  may think like me ,what may have been, in your life, if, why does it appear you missed your calling,or so you think. Like me you were willing to go anywhere God would send you,like me you may have gone to Bible college to train for the mission field,but it did not happen. We can broaden it out to different goals,be it whatever,and may not have worked out like you thought,and you wonder why. I mention the sovereignty of  God a lot,for early on in my Christian faith , I have never faltered in my belief ,that God rules and over rules in all the affairs of my life,and so here I am in town that most of you have never heard about, why?, simply because,'the good Lord Himself has put me here'                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             ''Yes the Lord is good''

I shall not die until. ( Psalm 30 v 3 )

It was John Bunyan who wrote,  '' Following Jesus means having the wind in your face'', It appears to me that he had the wind in his face, a great deal. In case you do not know who he was,I will tell you a little bit about him ,he was born in 1628 died 1688. He had a basic education, before he became a Christian,well he was a sinner,but are we not  all sinners?, of course, but some people show it more than others. We read that he was born near Bedford,when he was 15 , his mother and sister died within a month of each other, his father married within a month of their deaths.It was a time of great unrest,and he served time in the Parliamentary army.He recounts how a fellow soldier took his place on sentry duty, and was shot in the head with a musket ball.God is sovereign, and has a plan for a lives,Daniel was spared in the lions den,his three friends survived a fiery furnace, I was saved from drowning as a young boy. Until God degrees we will not die                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Plagues and deaths, around me fly;                                                                                                           Till  He bids, I  cannot die;                                                                                                                         Not a single shaft can hit,                                                                                                                           Till the God of love sees fit.                                                                                                                         ( Words.. John Ryland )

In His hands. ( Psalm 31 v 15 )

                                                                                                                                                                                                                     My times are in Thy hand;                                                                                                                         My God, I wish them there;                                                                                                                       My life, my friends,my soul I leave                                                                                                           Entirely to Thy care.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       My times are in Thy hand,                                                                                                                         Whatever they may be;                                                                                                                               Pleasing or painful, dark or bright,                                                                                                             As best may seem to Thee.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             My times are in Thy hand,                                                                                                                         Why should I doubt or fear?                                                                                                                       A Father's hand will never cause                                                                                                               His child a needless tear.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               My times are in Thy hand,                                                                                                                         Jesus the Crucified;                                                                                                                                   The hand my cruel sins have pierced                                                                                                         is now my guard and guide.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                ( Words.. Henry F, Lyte )

A means of grace. ( Revelation 3 v 3 )

A. Motyer writing on the tabernacle ,that it was a means of grace,they were required to supply the materials,the result being they could have in a very special way ,the Lords presence.In other words they had to do their part,and God would respond ,in a sense it was up to them. . AM  goes unto say the following as to us individually and collectively,''We to have means of grace at our disposal; public and  corporate means like Christian fellowship, the ministry of God's word and the  Lord's table,and  private means like time apart with God for prayer and Bible reading. We can, however , choose to live at a distance, neglecting these things which would bring God near to us and us near to Him. The tabernacle is a depiction of a reality as well as an ideal. In it we can see represented, the indwelling God,  the God near at hand,and the avenues of approach, which can either be cultivated or neglected. Has the chief failing of the Lord's people through the ages always been that we do not live up to our privileges ? ''

Deeds not words. ( James 2 v 18 )

At this time in our country we are remembering the right of women to vote,which the suffragettes fought so bravely for. Yet the fight still goes on for women to be treated in an equal way, in regards pay.Sadly in many places in the world women are still drawing the short straw. No religion has the right to treat women in an unfair way, it is sad that women are still being treated deplorably in the name of religion.One of the cries of the suffragette movement was, ''we want deeds not words'', in other words they wanted something done,they wanted change, and rightly so.We hear a lot about the homeless but it appears to be on the increase,the fact is what we want is deeds not words.I believe it can be overcome, and its time it was,I have often talked to those sleeping rough,one young lad in particular comes to mind,it upset me.There are so many issues in our world that need deeds and not words,there are many governments in this world who need to look at things and say we need to stop that.and then do something about it. I have pictures of  the awful conditions people are living in,it is time  that the cry went up we are going to do something about that situation,there are countries and people are being persecuted and put in prison because they have raised  human right issues,this needs to be stopped. I know that this is a fallen world,there will always be injustice of one sort or another, but those early suffragettes did something about it, the sale of slaves was a blight in our world, but there where those who stood up and did something about it.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Dear Lord help us to do something                                                                                                            about  injustice ,and wrong  in this                                                                                                            sinful needy world in Your name                                                                                                              we ask this  .  Amen.                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

24/7. ( Luke 18 v 1 )

We use the term 24/7 these days,one of my lads is involved in a Christian ministry called 24/7, it involves prayer. One of the things they do is to encourage churches to participate in prayer ,by opening the church premises for one week 24/7. It is not just a novel idea or new, it is, and can be a positive exercise ,reminding us all of  of the truth that prayer.is not just important but vital for us as individuals and collectively as a body of Gods people.Gone are the days in many churches of the prayer meeting, I wonder why?,all Christians I am sure, know that prayer is important.I would like to think that most Christians do pray. There  is so much one can say about prayer ,there is so much to pray about, let us say, anyone can pray.When Jesus spoke about prayer He stressed the importance of  private prayer CP Matthew 6 v 6 ,that does not mean we should not pray publicly,He dealt with the danger's involved when we pray publicly, when we pray to impress, mainly others,we are fools if we think we can impress God . Would it not be a good thing if we had more people ,who we may  think unsuited to pray publicly ,in that they pray from the heart not just the brain,what  if we heard people breaking down and crying when they pray. Such prayers do not embarrass God in the least,God is not given to snobbery ,unfortunately we are.                                                                                                                                                                                            PRAY.

No other gods. (Isaiah 40 )

In Isaiah 46 v 9 - 10,we have God declaring , ''I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is to come''. First of all we are told, ' I am God ,and there is no other'', these words challenge a belief in the existence of other gods. So when the religions of this world ,pray to their gods , they are praying to nothing, for no other god exists. There is only one God, and further still ,there is only one Saviour Jesus, who left us in no doubt of this when he declared ,that He was the way the truth and the life,and no one could unto the Father but by Him. ( 14 v 6 ).Next we read,''I  am God, and there is none like me''.which reminds us that God is unique in His being, yet people do try to make God fit into their little box, such efforts   are forbidden (  Exodus 20 v 4 ). Next we read , '' I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is to come''.Here we have the all known God, who not only knows the future, but also has a plan. Unlike ,Open theism who believe that God does not plan, or know all the future, but leaves much of it, ''open''.God reigns  He has not surrendered  His rule over this world,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            GOD RULES.

Have faith. ( 1 John 5 v 14 - 15/ Mark 5 v 24 - 34 )

My mind  was on a person who was desperate ,a lady who had  a problem which she suffered with for 12 long years,it made her ceremonial unclean. In that religious society it was serious ,and it  was serious for her, it was a physical complaint, no health service, those who did practise as doctors ,were very limited as to what they could treat.Whatever money she had ,she had spent it all trying to get a cure but to no avail,what was she to do?.Well she heard about Jesus the healer, but how could she dare approach him,she was considered ceremonial unclean, she would not anybody to know.She was utterly desperate ,so  she went and the only thing she had was faith,poor in all that she was,yet she had faith. . It not Jesus who said ,if you have faith one could move a mountain, even though ones faith was very small  ( Matthew 17 v 20 ). It is W.Barclay who titles this story,''A sufferer's last hope'', in spite of all her previous disappointments, she had hope that Jesus could help her. So here is what she did,she went to where Jesus was,He was not hard to find,because a large crowd of people followed Him wherever He went., but that made it difficult for her to actually get to Jesus. There are so many things that can stop us getting to Jesus, but the fact is, He was the only one who could meet this women's need.,let me ask the question to you, what is stopping you from coming to Jesus ?,Let us learn from this lady,she did not give up and go home, it was difficult,but she says to herself,if I can only touch His clothes, I will be healed,and so it happened. Immediately she was healed,now Jesus knew someone had touch Him and was healed,and when the  lady confessed it was her,He said, ''Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace, and be freed from your suffering''.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Prayer is the key to heaven                                                                                                                         But faith unlocks the door,                                                                                                                         Words are so easily spoken,                                                                                                                       Prayer without faith is like                                                                                                                         a boat without oars.                                                                                                                                    Have faith when you pray to                                                                                                                     the Master,                                                                                                                                                 that's  all He asks from you,                                                                                                                       Prayer is the key to heaven                                                                                                                         But faith unlocks the door.                                                                                                                         ( Words..R.L.Sande /S.T.Scott)                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Lex talionis ( Matthew 5 v 38 - 42 )

How many time have we heard people saying ,''an eye for eye, tooth for tooth'',and they take that literally,the words are taken from Exodus 21 v 24. I want to quote Alec Motyer on these words.           ''This is often misused ( as if ' an eye for an eye ' was an expression of ancient savagery ), but it is actually a poetic and dramatic demand that the punishment should match the crime,no more and no less. When English law hanged a person for stealing a sheep , it  was not because the principle of ' an eye for an eye' was being practised but because it had been forgotten . Nowadays,the great rule of equity is more  often breached by mistaken leniency. The Lex  talionis ( The law of retaliation ) is of course a law for the courts, not for private vengeance.The reference to the Lex talionis in the present context shows that its terms were illustrative not prescriptive. '' Our Saviour taught in Matthew 5 v 38 ff how we transcend  this law,by turning the other cheek, to not resist evil, I think this does not rule out the law courts, were a fair settlement should be reached.

He will come again. ( 2 Peter 3 v 1 - 14 )

Abraham Lincoln was having a hard time during the American civil war, Gen Grant was head of the Union army, but when reports came in of ghastly losses in his Virginia campaign,it put in doubt the outcome of the war,and Lincoln's election.So at time's he despaired ,and increasingly he came to feel that the outcome of the war, and of his administration was in the hands of a  Higher Power. As I read the history of this little Island when the German army was sweeping all before them, I reach the same conclusion as Lincoln though I would put it a different way, that the outcome of that conflict was not just in the hands of a higher power, but in the hands of Almighty God. Our Almighty God is not a spectator as regards what is going on in this world, no, He rules over all the affairs of mankind. He is working everything to His conclusion ,the Son of  God is at the helm, ruling and over ruling,in every situation right down to the teeny -weeny detail. Then when it has reach that point, He will come back again, to reclaim what is His,that is His church, the main thing for us who are His children,is  to live in the light of that great event, for it will happen, I will not speculate as to when, for our Lord forbid us to do that ,( Acts 1 v 7 ),but I am watching and working until that hour.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      It may be at morn,when the day                                                                                                                is awaking,                                                                                                                                                  When sunlight through darkness                                                                                                                and shadow is breaking,                                                                                                                            That Jesus will come in the fullness                                                                                                           of glory.                                                                                                                                                     To receive from the world His own.                                                                                                                 ( Words . H.L.Turner )