Be not dismayed . ( Isaiah 41 v 10 )

We must never forget that when Jesus told us to take up our cross and follow Him, it meant a degree of suffering.The Gospel did not advance without a cost, and nothing has changed.It is the apostle Paul who wrote to the Christians in Thessalonica ,he mentions to them his suffering in Philippi and the difficulties in bringing then the Gospel to them. In 1 Thessalonians 2 v  he writes, '' with the help of our God we dared to tell you the Gospel' .Moffat puts it like this, ''We took courage and confidence in our God''. If we read the life of Paul we see the difficulties and dangers he had to face,in 2 Cor 11 v 22- 27 we have a whole list of things he experienced,imprisonment, exposed to death,floggings, beaten,stoned, shipwrecked,dangers,going without sleep,with food,cold and nakedness. Yes you need courage,but also a confidence in God, not in self,or others , but in God,only He can bring us through whatever task we are called to do,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Be not dismayed what'er betide,                                                                                                                God will take care of you,                                                                                                                          Beneath His wings of love abide,                                                                                                             God will take care of you.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Through days of toil when heart doth fail,                                                                                                God will take care of you,                                                                                                                          When dangers fierce your path assail,                                                                                                         God will take care of you.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             All you need He will provide,                                                                                                                   God will take care of you,                                                                                                                         Trust Him,and you will be satisfied,                                                                                                          God will take care of you.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Lonely or sad, from friends apart,                                                                                                              God will take care of you,                                                                                                                          He will give peace to your aching heart,                                                                                                    God will take care of you.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               No matter what may be the test,                                                                                                                 God will take care of you,                                                                                                                         Lean, weary one ,upon His breast,                                                                                                             God will take care of you.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             God will take care of you,                                                                                                                         Through every day, o'er all the way;                                                                                                         He will take care of you,                                                                                                                           God will take care of you.                                                                                                                              ( Words C.D.Martin                                                                                                                                       and H.C.A.D. )                                                                                                     

Disqualified ( Psalm 95 v 7 - 11 )

Writing on the promises of God Barry Webb comments, ''Human failure does not, in the end cancel     out God's promises; it only disqualifies the disobedient from enjoying them. The bedrock reality that guarantees the future is God's sovereignty. By His sovereign grace He enables those who are truly  His to believe His promises and live by them''Most of those who came out of  Egypt, were disqualified from entering the promised land ,because of  sinful , unbelieving hearts,( Hebrews 3 v 12 )Only two of that present generation entered the promise land,but the promise still stood, and was fulfilled by the next generation. That generation that failed to enter the promise land, could have had it all, but instead they failed to enter into the promised blessing. Not only did they fail to receive the blessing we read they incurred Gods displeasure, John Stott writes,''Unbelief is not a misfortune to be pitied; it is a sin to be deplored''                                                                                                                                                                                        Hebrews 4 v 7                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    ' Today ,if you hear my voice,                                                                                                                     do not harden your hearts.'                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Promises. ( Joshua 21 v 45 )

Now we have looked at one aspect of the promises of God, the second coming of Jesus , but of course    there are promises given in relation to every aspect of our lives and our walk with God. It is W Barclay who writes, ''Once we know Christ Jesus ,every time we meet a promise in Scripture which begins with the word , ''Whosoever'', we can immediately say to ourselves,''That means me.''                                                                                                                                                                                                                             ''God always keeps His word''.

Promises ( Titus 1 v 2 )

Next let us consider 2 Peter 1 v 4 ,which reads that God has given the Christian precious and very great promises.  Dick Lucus writes, '' The theme of 'promise' runs throughout the Bible, Peter in writing here is contending with those who were doubting the promise of Christs coming, ( 3 v 4 ).Where is the promise of His coming?, they ask.Indeed many even Christians are asking this ,after all it is over two thousand years since Christ went to heaven.So Peter has to remind us that Gods time table is different than ours. God is not a slave of time,to help us understand this he declares,to the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day.  (  3 v 8 ) He is patient giving opportunity for people to be saved.But he stresses that Christ will come  as a thief in the night, which will  bring the end of this present world. In the light of this we are to lives that are holy and godly. ( 3 v 10 - 11 )                                                                                                                                                                                                       Will you be ready?                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Victory in Jesus. ( Romans 8 v 37 )

In 2 Peter 1 v 3 we read that Gods divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.The Christian life is the most challenging life there is. It is a life that challenges us to be holy,in thought , word, and deed. We are told something very wonderful in this verse ,that when we come to Christ as our Saviour we can live the life that we are meant to. W. Barclay writes,''In Christ there is the divine power, which cannot  be ultimately defeated or frustrated. It is to be remembered always that the love of Christ is backed by the power of Christ, and is ,therefore a victorious love''                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    1 Corinthians 15 v 57 ..                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              '' But thanks be to God, He gives us the victory                                                                                           through our Lord Jesus Christ.''

Gods choice ( Matthew 13 v 55 )

I remember when my then first  wife who was attending Bible college told me how a lecturer told of an experience he had in Africa which he was ashamed of. He was in a certain home when a native person came to the front door,and person who owned the home told him to go round the back.The lecturer felt he should have said something but he didn't,he deeply regretted this.I went to a different Bible college, I had completed my 3 yrs training, but no doors had opened for me into ministry,so I went to that dear brother for advice,I introduced myself ,but his first words were to criticise the way I spoke, to me it was so out of place in its context,no help was offered or advice given.It appeared that that dear brother had failed to learn anything from his African experience.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         ''Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not                                                                  many of you were wise by human standards; not many were                                                                    influential; not many were of noble birth.But God chose the                                                                    foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the                                                                  weak things.....the lowly things...the despised things,......so that                                                               no one may boast before Him. (  1 Corinthians 1 v 26 - 29 )                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Amazing thing. ( Romans 5 v 6 )

As I look around I see the vast majority of people, living as if God does not matter,speaking of the wicked, in Psalm 9 v 17, we read of the nations that forgets God, and in Psalm 10 v 4,we read,''God is in none of their thoughts''and lastly in Psalm 36 v 1 we read, ''They have no fear of God at all''. These three statement sum up modern society attitude to God.  For most of western society God is forgotten, that does not mean to say they don't have gods ,of course they do,but the God of the Bible is forgotten.Next He is not in their thoughts,from the moment they get up in the morning, till they go to bed at night,they don't give Him a thought.Then last but not least,we are told that the fear of God is absent, the scripture tells us that there is no fear of God. So why do we ask the question why?,when we see evil being perpetrated, it is  no wonder that sin is abounding,when we live in a godless world. But here is the amazing thing, God loves , and loves,and loves, and to show that love, we just have to look, to that lone figure hanging on a cross.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Amazing grace.

Sinning against the Holy Spirit. ( Matthew 12 v 22 - 32 )

What do you think is the greatest sin? well it appears to be blaspheming against the Holy Spirit,which we read about in Matthew 12 v 31- 32. To appreciate why Jesus said this one must see it in its context,who it was said to,? the Pharisees,who had accused and attributed the miracles of Jesus as being performed to the demons. Consider these people who reverenced the  scripture,and believed in a Messiah,they should of all people have recognised and acknowledged who Jesus was.Yet no matter what the scripture said, no matter what Jesus did, no matter what He said,they would not for one minute,believe in him.Their hatred of Him grew and grew,that they blasphemed as regards the Holy Spirit.It was as Barnes puts it, ''A wanton and blasphemous attack on the divine power and nature of Christ''.Nothing was going to change their wicked and hardened hearts,nothing,in spite of  their privileged  position, they brazenly opposed Christ, which led them to not only reject Him, but to also crucify Him.

Greatest problem facing us all. ( Romans 3 v 9 v 23 )

I wonder have you ever asked the question, what is the greatest problem mankind has to face?, what would be top of your concerns?,Climate change?, pollution? the poor,?,disease?,crime ?,we could go on.So what do you think?.I want to tell you what the greatest problem humanity has to face is sin, yes sin, humanities sinful nature. Let us ask the question why these random shootings ?,they are totally wicked, why such violence?, it does not make any rational sense.Often reasons are given as being religious,people with a sense of grievance, political,and often it is a mystery,but it is no mystery,to me,it is mans sinful nature. One of the characteristic of our sinful nature is clearly spelt  out in Romans 3 v 15, ''Their feet are swift to shed blood''.The 20th century was a slaughter house, from the moment Cain murdered his brother Able,mankind has followed in his footsteps. This will never change, never,only Gods common grace is restraining the violence in this world at this time,if  He removes that restraining power,all hell would break loose.Only Christ can change us from being savages to saints, He and He alone is our only hope.

The normal Christian life. ( 1 Peter 5 v 8 - 11 )

Now we come to the last of the wilderness temptations by the devil,on Jesus, the motive behind this temptation,is a desire by the devil to be God,pride filled his being, and he was expelled from heaven. Alas from that time on he became an enemy of God,and humanity.and of course he is called a liar, indeed the father of lies, by Jesus ( John 8 v 44 ). He promised Jesus the kingdoms of the world and their splendor, if only He would bow down and worship him.It is interesting that Satan does not use scripture in relation to this temptation,for Jesus points out that which satan already knew,that we are to only worship the Lord, and only serve Him  ( Deuteronomy 6 v 13 ).                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    A  prayer.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Dear Lord,you who faced satan in all his deviousness,                                                                            help us to not be lured by his lies,in your name we ask                                                                            this.  Amen

The normal Christian life. ( Matthew 12 v 38 - 45 )

Lets continue with the temptations of  our Lord,from being tempted to turn stones into bread,to being tempted to throw Himself down from the highest point in the temple in Jerusalem.The tempter the devil challenged Him quoting scripture ,Psalm 91 v 11- 12. Which give the assurance that God would command His angles to keep Him from harm.Our Lord refuted what he said by also quoting scripture,Deuteronomy 6 v 16,which reads,''Do not put the Lord your God to the test''.Yes if Christ had done this what would it had accomplished ?,nothing of worth,also it was not in Gods will for Him to do this,that meant sticking close to why he had come,to save sinners.When Jesus did perform a miracle,He often played it down, CP Matthew 8 v 4,/ John 6 v 15. The people of Jesus day wanted signs, but the only sign He would give them was his death on a cross. W Barclay writes,''God expects us to take risks in order to be true to Him, but He does not expect us to take risks to enhance our own prestige''                                                                                                                                                                                                                  W Barclay                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         ''  A gospel founded on sensation-mongering is doomed                                                                                                        to failure''                                                                                                       

The normal Christian life. ( Psalm 119 v 157 - 160 )

'It is written says Jesus', to the tempter who challenged Him to turn stones into bread,'Man does not live by bread alone,but on every word that comes from the mouth of God'.Mankind has an appetite for so much,which they feel they cannot live without,it is so strong, that nothing else matters,take sex,now of course there is nothing wrong with sex, but it is not everything, nor should it be for the Christian, sad that so many leaders even in the Christian church have not accepted this.Think about it, we were never meant to be consumed by sex,or ruled by it,it is part of our live but it is not all our lives.I mention sex because it is a major thing, but their are many other things, food,entertainment, that   can consume and control our lives.Jesus goes unto to say that the normal Christian's life involves being focused on Gods word.

The normal Christian life. ( Psalm 119 v 105 )

It was Watchman Nee who wrote a book called the ,'The normal Christian life',Barry Webb writing about Peter and companions in John 21 ,how they were exhausted- physically and emotionally, when everything had become too intense for them. They just wanted to be normal for a while. But the reality is that they,and we , are not not meant to be' normal' people, and we won't be happy trying to be so.'Yes we live a life that has much the same normality as the non- Christian,but because Christ lives in us that means that we are not to be be conformed to the ways of the non- Christian. In Matthew 4 our Lord was tempted by Satan in three ways ,to turn stones into bread, our Lord had been fasting for 40 days,don't anyone try that,yes fast but not for 40 days.He was famished,and the devil comes and tempts Him to turn stones into bread. Why not He was very , very hungry,surely it was a good reason to do this.But He didn't ,here is what He said,'It is written', meaning, in Gods word, People live lives with no reference to Gods  word. To them it is not normal,but to those who follow Jesus, it is part of the normal Christians life.(We will consider what was written tomorrow)

Lets go for a walk ( John 1 v 43 )

Most days I go for a walk, and as I walk I pray, I'm sure you have read about a man called Enoch, in Genesis 5 v 24,we  read, 'Enoch walked with God, then he was no more, because God took him away'. Next in Hebrews 11 v 5,we read,'By faith Enoch was taken from life,so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.' This mans life has much to teach us,first of all his walk,that day by day experience,it says ,he walked with God.Ah what a companion  to have God. are you walking with God?,is it  continuous, is it a 24/7 walk ?Remember what Jesus said to those early Christians,'follow Me'.in other words walk with Me. When we do walk with Him we are walking with Him who is truly God and truly man,we can be as Enoch of old,people who walk with God.

Helping. ( Luke 10 v 25 - 37 )

Not so long ago as  I was driving my car,I passed a person I knew standing at the bus stop,I  had an impulse to stop and offer him a lift,but I didn't .It was Melanie Reid  who told how she had an impulse to  give someone a lift,her husband objected,but they did.She also mentioned one time passing a young man who needed help, and she didn't,and then she  used the phrase,'The almost nearly good Samaritan '.I suppose to some extent we have all been, the almost nearly good Samaritan's,it is a challenge in life,especially if you are Christian ,to help others.The sad thing for some of us ,we never have  even an impulse,to help someone. There is always reasons to not help,because you don't think its a worthy cause,or we read in the paper about some homeless people who make a good thing out of it. Or we say why can't they find a job?or why ,and so we could go on ,and never respond, we brush away the impulse to help.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    ' If I can help somebody as I pass                                                                                                               along,then my living shall not be                                                                                                                in vain.'

I wish . ( 1 Samuel 17 v 40 )

How many of us have said ,'I wish', I am sure most people have,I am not going to say to you, be careful what you wish for.Let us return to someone who is disabled, Kate Saunders,who suffers from MS,yes you do suffer when you have a disability.Here is what she wrote as regards her suffering,''it is about making  a life from the materials,to hand''. Joni Eareckson  Tada was paralysed from the shoulders down,after a diving accident,and yet had a wonderful gift of painting,how does she paint if she cannot use her hands? .Well the answer is simple, and goes back to what Kate Saunders wrote,of making a life from the materials ,to hand,she holds the paint brush in her mouth.

No such thing . ( John 11 v 25 )

I wonder what you think of the following statement by Melanie Reid,''Western culture makes it hard for the healthy to accept the reality of illness and the existence of death. Yes us disabled types remind everyone about death, which is awkward  in a society that has decided there is no such thing''. Let me ask the question again as to what you think about what she says?. I once heard someone say that death is not natural, when God created humanity , they were never meant to die.So it means that we would rather not think to much about it,because there is unreality about it,here one minute gone the next.Western culture is often taken up with healing,an expectation that there must be a cure, of course when we are old and very infirmed we want to die ,because our bodies ,and minds, are by their sell by date.It is a foolish thing to deny the reality of death,and of course in these days God also . What He says , is not heeded or welcomed, in fact you wish He was dead. But of course He is not,for He is the living God.and when mankind did their worse and killed Him in the person of Christ, by nailing Him to a cross, He rose from the dead.                                                                                                                                                                            Hebrews 9 v 27                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             '  Man is destined to die once, and after that to face                                                                                                             death.'

Some things must be borne. ( 1 John 5 v 14 - 15 )

Melanie Reid is a lady who writes an article in the Times newspaper every week,at 52 she was involved in a accident on a horse. This accident resulted in her being paralysed from the chest down,she has just published a book called,'The world I fell out of'.' I read the review , by Kate Saunders who is suffering from ME. A number of her quotes are very meaningful, here is one Melanie said,''I felt the weight of that moral duty to recover,but paralysis was not recoverable from,as some things are not''.It is easy said, but its true ,some things have to be borne. Let me say this applies even if you are a Christian,make no mistake, that's a fact,it is sad that certain preachers ,build peoples hopes up ,of course they can manipulate people for financial gain.I am not saying God will not heal,if it is his will, healing can take place,and He will be glorified,and no one will get financially rich from it,in fact money should never be involved in it all..

Image ( Matthew 18 v 7 )

The former leader of a well known evangelical church was a paedophile,and all the leaders did, was try to keep it quite,there was no real concern for his victims. The paedophile was allowed to retire with a pension,the victims got no justice. Now the word of God says,' Love covers all sins' (Proverbs 10 v 12 ),the example of that is seen in Joseph ,the husband of Mary.When Joseph was told that Mary was pregnant,he assumed that she had sinned, and that would have brought public disgrace on her, Joseph  we are told was a just man,so he wanted it all to dealt with quietly  ( Matthew 1 v 19) But we cannot show that attitude to paedophiles,they are dangerous, they will not let up,they need to be exposed,and brought to justice.They care little for their victims, Oscar Wilde confessed he felt nothing for the rent boys he abused.It is a dreadful shame and disgrace that there have been so many covers ups by church  bodies who were and are, solely concerned with protecting their image,instead of protecting helpless children.

But. ( Isaiah 40 )

The last chapter of  Lamentations describes the suffering the people were experiencing ,as you can imagine it was dire.The chapter begins,'Remember , O Lord,what has befallen us', C. Wright writes,''When God remembers, it is not because God has forgotten. Rather it means that God will now take action on the matter he chooses to remember'.All privileges had good,everything had changed, as I said ,it was dire,yet in the midst of the doom and gloom, Jeremiah prays,it starts with the words,'But you, O Lord.'.C . Wright, calls the but, a massive  'Pauline But', we see it in Ephesians 2, were Paul describes,the state of the Christians, before they met Christ, this description can also be described as dire.they had been,'dead in trespasses and sins,followers of worldly pursuits,following the dark side, ruled by their sinful nature,children of wrath,like everyone else'. It is then, that the but comes in,'But God who is rich in mercy,out of His great love which he loved us,even  when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ '. Jeremiah in his prayer, in the words of C. Wright,''Reaches its climax in an astounding leap of faith across the chasm of defeat,destruction and death. The prayer reaches out  from the ruins of God's dwelling place on earth and touches the eternal  throne of God in heaven''.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               When things are dire remember the                                                                                                                                But.

None so blind. ( Revelations 3 v 13 )

It was a very dark hour when Judah was overthrown ,a darkness of tremendous loss, of tremendous suffering,no hope,no peace,only a case of enduring what had to be borne.But as one person has said , into every life a little light doth shine,for Jeremiah reminds the people that Gods judgement on them was complete. The next thing they are told,as C. Wright puts it,''The exile has begun,But that it would not last for ever  .(  Lam 4 v 21- 22 ),before the fall of Jerusalem  ,Jeremiah had written to the captives who had been taken to Babylon earlier,w,assuring them with words of comfort,that after 70 years, they would return home. Indeed the prophet Isaiah had foretold that the Babylonians would come and defeat Judah ,and take captives back to Babylon,and that they would return from captivity, during the reign of king Cyrus. C P the following scriptures .  Isaiah 20 v 16 - 18/  45 v 13.We need not be surprised at their apparent ignorance,after all when the long foretold Messiah came,they failed ,not only to recognise Him, but they crucified Him.These people had become utterly blind,and deaf spiritually,they come across as people totally out of contact with God and His word.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           How are we spiritually ?

Leaders ( 1 Timothy 3 v 1 - 7 )

                                                          Lamentations 4 v 13                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                It was for the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her                                                                      priests,who shed the blood of  the righteous in the midst of                                                                      her.                                                                                                                          These may appear strange words,to accuse those spiritual leaders of the nation of  killing the righteous,surely that would be the  last thing you would expect from them. We must remember the spiritual deterioration  of the nation that brought about the judgement of God,in Jeremiah 6 v 13,  we read,'For from the least to the greatest of them,everyone is greedy for unjust gain,and from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely'. 8 v 10,stresses the same thing, v 11,tells us how they proclaimed that which was false,and v 12 , accuses them of acting shamefully and committing abominations.In Jeremiah 18 v 18 Jeremiah was under threat from the priests,let us never forget that it was the religious leaders who hounded our Saviour to death.The inquisition was carried out by priests,likewise many martyrs were burned to death by priests. Godless religious leaders are  guilty of child abuse,of fleecing  the poor, and a multitude of other things,Let me remind you of the potential evil that lies deep in the human heart,whither it be a priest,prophet,pastor, yes and even  in our own hearts.                                                                                                             

In a pit. ( Psalm 50 v 15 )

God is mainly silent in the book of Lamentations, it is mainly about speaking to God, but in 3 v 57, we have the one time that He does speak, three simple words, ''Do not fear''.This was in answer to a prayer  by Jeremiah, when he was in a pit,we read about it in Jeremiah 38, he had proclaimed defeat and was arrested,they wanted him to be put to death,but they threw him into a cistern, and he sank into the mud. It is C. Wright describes it, ''Jeremiah sank down into the watery slime,which would have made it impossible to lie down without danger of death by drowning.The suffocating terror of such a nightmare he screams out in verse 57,''I am finished''..' .The Man was recounting a moment when he faced certain death.' God heard the cry of  his servant, he records these lovely words,''You came near when I called on you, you said,'Do not fear' Let us all take encouragement from what we have read, Jeremiah may have been in a pit ,but God saw him,God heard him,and God delivered him.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            1 Peter 3 v 12.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,                                                                                            and His ears are open to their prayers.                                               

The Lord is good. ( Isaiah 55 v 6 - 9 )

In Lamentations 3 v 25 we read ,''The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul that seeks Him''.Let us remember when these words were written, the contexts is important. After Gods awful judgement  fell upon Judah because of their sin ,Jeremiah had acknowledged the rightness of God in His judgement ( 1 v 18 ) . Although they were his people  God can never overlook sin ,it must be dealt with, and that is what He did,but that was not the end of the matter.  Before this judgement fell God had spoken through Jeremiah and told them ,''I have loved you, my people with an everlasting love'', ( 31 v 3 ) and they had a future ,C P. 29 V 10 - 14 ).                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    'The Lord is good.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            For the Lord will not reject for ever                                                                                                          Although he causes grief, he will have                                                                                                      compassion, according to the abundance                                                                                                  of his steadfast love, for he does not                                                                                                          willingly afflict or grieve anyone.                                                                                                                         (Lam 3 v 31 - 33 )

We need a Saviour. ( Matthew 1 v 21 )

Let us consider further readings on Lamentations,and ask a question that goes much further than the nation of Israel,consider it in light of the the world. Here is a question, in all the world,who ever lived ,who lives now ,and who will ever live,deserves to go to hell ?.Now there are vast amounts of people who would say I don' t deserve to go to hell.,surely hell is to extreme and and only for very, very wicked people. Surely it is not for people who commit minor offences,after all they do not hang people for breaking the speed limit,or for spitting,surely not.Does not  even the Bible teach that the punishment should fit the crime.We read in Victorian times people were hung for stealing a loaf of bread, that was very extreme and surely God did not approve. These arguments seem reasonable,rational,sensible, but they lack something that's very important,the seriousness of sin.The points we have raised are purely at a human level, but when we speak about sin,then we are using Gods definition for wrongs committed against Him. Sin reminds us that we are answerable to a higher power, who will  judge according to His standard, all sin brings with it a price tag, Gods righteous judgement.Does that mean that a minor infringement could send us to hell ?,the answer is yes. If that is so ,and it is,how can anyone escape going to hell,its humanly impossible. So what can one do? I was talking to my barber ,who is a Muslim, I mentioned to him that they believe in a Jesus who is a prophet,just like Muhammad,but then I said to him, we need more than a prophet we need a Saviour,and Jesus is that Saviour,the one who saves us from our sins, and there consequences..

A Robin red breast. ( Romans 4 v 13 - 21 )

There is one bird I am very fond of, no not my wife, I mean the feathered kind, a Robin red breast,yet I never see any in my garden. We do put food out for the birds ,I even put up a little bird box ,and yet so far no tenants, I live in hope,maybe I should put a little sign up in the trees ,with the words home for let,and another with words ,'Robins welcome'. Just the other day I notice a Robin on a neighbours fence, maybe I should bribe it to come and visit my garden. I am sure you are wondering why I am writing this,so am I ,I suppose I am just sharing something with you, I suppose we all have something that we wish,that doesn't happen,but we can hope. Hope is so very important for all of us,it is devastating for someone to hear the words,'I am sorry, there's no hope'. There was a man in the Bible his name was Abraham ,he had a wife called Sarah and God promised him that  his wife would have a child ,and yet nothing happen,he grew older,and his wife grew older'They had reached the point were they could have no children, but Abraham believed what God had promised,we read that,hoping against hope he believed it would happen,and you know something , it happened. Who knows maybe a Robin will come into my garden one day,I can hope.

God is ( Jeremiah 31 v 3 )

                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Lamentations 3 v 22 - 23.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases                                                                                               His mercies never come to an end;                                                                                                           they are new every morning;                                                                                                                     great is your faithfulness.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Most Christians are familiar with these words ,because of the hymn written by Thomas O. Chisholm, I wonder if many appreciate or know that it is based on Lam 3 v 22- 23 ?. These words were written by a man who witnessed terrible suffering ,he also had experienced a great deal of difficulties in relation to his God given ministry. Many of us can understand much of the pain that comes with suffering, but  the words in Lam 3 v 22 - 23,are a challenge to all of us ,to look at life as this man declared it. In the midst of all the devastation, he speaks of the steadfast love of God and His mercies. Why did he say this? why was he able to say this, because if you read the history of the nation of Israel/ Judah,he realised that they all deserved to be judged,but in spite of that God did show mercy and did show love,.In NT terms, God was manifesting His grace, to His sinful people.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Amazing Grace.                                                                                                                                                                       

Bad memories ,Good memories. ( Lamentations 3 v 16 - 33 )

Things were awful ,death, destruction, all appeared hopeless,he declares, my soul is bereft of peace, I have forgotten what happiness is  CP Lamentations 3 v 17 - 18,C Wright comments,''Beaten, broken,imprisoned, mauled, shot,mocked, trampled...reeling under such a battery of injuries the Man reaches the point of total despair''.he calls this ,' Bad memory'. it is very hard to forget bad memories,or to escape their depressing wounds .What does the writer do?,he replaces them  with , 'Good memories',Joseph did that, when faced with what his brothers had done to him ,( Read the account of his life in Genesis 37 -50 ) ,but he also knew his God, and why it had happened,Here is what he said to  these wicked brothers,'' Even though you intended to do harm to me,God intended it for good''.God is sovereign in the best of times ,and in the worst of times, it is a hard lesson to learn, We can let the bad memories,rule our lives,and destroy us,or we can focus on the good memories ,on a God who loves us,a God who  is good,and will work everything out for his children's good. ( Romans 8 v 28 )

The false and the true prophets. ( Lamentations 2 v 14 )

For forty years Jeremiah spoke Gods word to the people, he warned them,challenged them, to no avail, and his words came to pass,which was an evidence that the word was from God. ( Deuteronomy 18 v 21 - 22 ) But there were other so called prophets ,they challenged what Jeremiah proclaimed ,which was a message of judgement and a need to turn away from their sinful practices, and seek the Lord,one only has to read the book of Jeremiah to see how far they had wandered from God. The false prophets said that there would be peace, when the true prophet Jeremiah said there would be war, exile, and defeat at the hands of the Babylonians,and who do you think the people loved ?,the false prophets. ( Jeremiah 5 v 31 ). Today, beware of those who are false preachers ,who never mention sin or Hell,or suffering for Christ,who distort the true message of the Gospel, who never mention holiness , who water down the word of God. We need more than ever true prophets, men who will preach fearlessly,the word of God, who will preach the truth,we are not to be swayed by personalities,and false promises.