Danger ( Romans 6 v 23 )

I read these words recently,'Sin is dangerous', it is dangerous ,first and foremost because God's righteous anger burns against all sin, without exception.It has serious consequences for the whole of mankind,because God is holy,that means He cannot tolerate sin when Israel had escaped from Egypt,they came  to Mt Sinai,and so the vast population camped at the foot of the mountain. Moses was told to warn the people to not come up the mountain,if they did they would be put to death.We read in Psalm 24 v 3 - 4  ',Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?Who may stand in his holy place?. The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god.'In Lev 10 v1- 2, the sons of Aaron's sons died when they sinned,by disobeying Gods instructions,fire destroyed them.Sin is dangerous if not forgiven,, very.

Destructive ( Genesis 3 )

Sin is destructive,consider the evils in the world ,there is no end to them,the cause,sin, which brings a measure of destructiveness, be it a supposed white lie ,or a wrong thought. Our first parents ate fruit ,consider how  it destroyed humanities relationship with God,and has affected humanities relationship with each other., and even effected nature.Take time to read history, why have there been so many wars.?.39 people were found dead in a container lorry,why?a woman aged sixty is captured by an IS group,she was raped continually, tortured, and then stoned to death,why,?. The  answer is simple sin and its destructive power,we can expect nothing else from a fallen sinful world,This world will  continue on this course, until the end of the time,we can do something about it to some extent .On a personal level we can repent of our sinfulness and accept  Christ,He can change us,and then we can tell others about Christ ,the Christ who is the only answer to sins destructiveness

God Almighty ( Ephesians 3 v 20- 21 )

In Genesis 17 v 1 God reveals himself by means of a new name,'EL Shaddai', which means, 'God Almighty'.The context is in relation to Abraham and God's covenant relationship with him,and all that it would mean,the promises that it involved.God was saying to Abraham I will fulfill these promises,and of course He did.at the age of 90 Sarah had a child,and Abraham was 100,so it came to pass.When God makes us a promise no matter how difficult it may appear it will happen.When Sarah was told that she would soon have the promised child she laughed, but she was reminded ,that nothing was to hard for the Lord, (Gen 18 v 14 ),and she believed,and so it came to pass.Let us remember what God promises He will fulfill,someone wrote,'I ask great things of a great God'.

No Exceptions ( 1 Peter 1 v 18 - 19 )

Although I have read and preached on the plagues of Egypt, I was struck forcibly by the following words I read,  'Even the Israelites are in danger from the wrath of God in the last plague', surely not you say,they were Israelites ,children of Abraham. It reminds me of the words in the Jewish daily prayer book,which read, 'All Israel have a portion in the world to come'. Not so as in shown in the last plague , a lamb had to be slain and the blood sprinkled on the sides and tops of the doorframes.  When the angel of death came that which saved them, from judgement ,was the blood.It made no difference who you were,if there was no blood showing then judgement fell. Nothing has changed there is judgement coming upon this sinful world,,and the only way to escape, is by trusting Jesus who shed his precious blood,on the cross.

I do not know. ( Proverbs 3 v 5 - 6 )

I find myself saying to my self ,''I don't know'',when I look at the political scene,there are so many things I do not know,I  do not know what I should pray about regards Brexit,in case you did not know,it involves the United Kingdom leaving the European Union. I do not know if I should pray for someone to be healed, I have to face the fact there is so much I don't know,and may never know,what about the will of God?R C Sproul  one of the most common things he is asked is,'how can I know the will of God for my life ?. He writes when we are struggling over the will of God for our lives we do well to begin with the words from Scripture,''The secret things belong to the Lord our God,but the the things that are revealed belong to to us and our children forever,that we may do all the words of the law( Deut 29 v 29 ) In these words we are reminded  of two things ,things secret, and things revealed,there are things we may never know ,but all knowing God knows all things,and That's were faith comes in. Then there are things we do know,to be holy,to be obedient, to be baptised,to do good works ,the ten commandment,to love God fully, likewise to love others,and so we could go on. Two verses help me a lot, Proverbs 3 v 5 - 6,

A Talking Book. ( Psalm 119 v 105 )

For those who cannot see there are talking books,many people look to the stars to tell them their future and for guidance.Peter Lewis writes the following.''We have the Scriptures which are better than the stars,....... we have a talking Book.We have  a Bible studded with the promises of God; psalm that reflect our turmoil and radiate God's peace; histories that show us that the Lord reigns above the   chaos of life and history; prophets who offer us not their own theories and ideas but' the word of the Lord; and above all  a Son who says,'You believe in God ,believe also in me.'

Security ( Psalm 121 )

I read that thieves are stealing anti-theft doorbells, security is important for all of us,but  the question I would ask, can there be such a thing ,as guaranteed security.People do seek for it as to were they live,as regards their possessions, or whatever. This world can never be a total secure  place,whither it is from the climate,or criminals ,or whatever.  Yet I do believe that in the words of the song,that God has the whole in His hands, that can mean many things as Job found out,he lost his possessions,           children,and health,or it could mean like David who was miraculously preserved  from being put to death by king Saul. Joseph's life shows life's security and insecurity. The main thing to realise is that we can experience all sorts things,but that our lives are in Gods hands, come what may,and that is the securest place to be.

They laughed ( Isaiah 53 v 2 )

I recently attended a wedding,at the reception later a few of the people were laughing at the minister voice,and then someone said,he was deaf,and then there was a silence. Now he was not totally deaf but id did effect the nature of his voice,the sad thing was it was Christians who had made that remark. I remember 55 years as a young man away from God attending a church service,and thinking that the preachers voice sounded odd,but as I listened to him preaching,the Holy Spirit convicted me of my need of Christ.The result was I came back to Christ,likewise I remember going to a Christian leader seeking for advise and help and the first  thing he did was criticised the way I spoke..The enemies of the apostle Paul made little of his speech ( 2 Corinthians 10 v 10.Let us not make judgement on any one  as regards the imperfect speech ,what they wear,what they eat,what they drink,or were they come from,let love rule our attitudes, and our words.

Are you ready? ( Hebrews 4 v 7 )

In the news paper I was reading I noticed in the death column of the paper I was reading a picture of a young girl aged 7,in her short life she had suffered from a rare childhood cancer,which she had treatment for,but alas to no account.Before she died she spoke with her family to the very end,cancer is very indiscriminate ,her last words were to her parents was that, 'that she had faith and that she was ready'.Very touching,and moving,consider the words of that child,''she had faith and was ready''. Let me ask you a simple question,are you ready?. ,Believe on the Lord Jesus and you shall be ready,

A Great God ( Hebrews 11 v 3 )

If we can see the stars ,many of us ,cannot see many because of light pollution ,but if we could  see them, sprinkled out over a vast universe,and realise that God made it all. Then if we consider our world and the wonders that are all around us, and again we declare ,God made it all.I must confess I get sick and tired of people speaking of evolution,that it all just happened.But then as one person wrote,'God is not to be known as other things are known, he is not part of the universe he made. He is to be known in other ways; by his own self revelation and by our personal encounter with him.It comes through faith in Jesus,as our saviour,when that happens, the eyes of our understanding is opened,to the great truth that God is the creator and Master of this universe

Consequence ( Romans 8 v 6 - 8 )

It is important to understand sin, and its consequences,and so I quote what Peter Lewis's in his  book ,'The Message of  the Living God'.The first and worse thing it does is to produce an antipathy to God in the sinner,an allergic reaction to His purity, an inability to tolerate His insistent demand  for righteousness , a hostility to His Lordship. We find His approach threatening.So, when Adam and Eve sinned they went into hiding in the trees,so it continues,mankind has been hiding ever since; behind the trees of false religions,false philosophies, self righteousness and worldly preoccupations . Even religion, even the true religion, can be used as a screen, a cover, a last ditch defence against the unbearable approach of the Holy God who exposes our nakedness and our need, our mixed motives and our moral failures.'

Enoch and walking. ( Psalm 56 v 13 )

In Genesis 5 we read of a man who never died, Enoch, he lived for 365 years,mind blowing,but it was not until till he was 65 yrs that his life was changed, dramatically , he started walking,nothing unusual about that, this walk would last for 300 yrs.The point about this walk ,he had a very wonderful companion  for all those years ,God. It was a walk of faith (Hebrews 11 v 5 ),like Enoch  if we are to walk with God , no matter how long it will be, it must be a walk of faith, and it must begin with faith in Jesus.How can one possibly  walk with such an awesome person as God, simple ,we need to walk in the light ,John the apostle wrote,''If we claim claim to have fellowship with Him yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth'.In 2 Corinthians 6 v 14,the question is asked, 'what fellowship can light have with darkness?.' The answer is very simple, none,so was Enoch perfect ?,no,but I am sure when he sinned, he sought immediate forgiveness,he may have at times fallen into sin but he would not have walked in sin.So if we want that continual walk with God as Enoch had,seek to be holy,seek to be obedient.

Inventing ( Mark 5 v 1 - 15 )

We owe much to mankind's ability to invent,but consider the following words to be found in Romans 1 v  30,in the N I V, translation, 'They invent ways of doing evil'.Most societies see drug taking as evil,because of its  serious consequences.Having worked among the mentally ill, I have known people whose minds have been permanently damaged through taking drugs. Recently while driving I had to slow down for a man who was carelessly walking across the road,I noticed that he was holding up a balloon up to his nose. Let me explain why he was  doing this, in recent times I have noticed little silver containers on the ground,I wondered why.These little containers ,contains a gas called nitrous  oxide that is used in in baking. People have discovered that they can get a high from this gas,so they release it into a balloon,they then inhale it.Yes mankind is very inventive in discovering new ways of  doing evil. Addiction is not something that people can be reasoned out of, may you realise, if you are addictive to whatever ,that you need help,seek it while you can,and above all else call upon Jesus who can save to the uttermost.

There is hope. ( Revelation 22 v 20 )

More conflict has broken out between the Kurds and Turkey, it must be horrendous to live in these warring situations,there is so much conflict in this world.I have lived through the conflict in Ulster it was not nice to say the least,people being shot ,bombed intimidated, the pain many were going through,was awful. The conflict was between the Nationalist and Unionist,atrocities were committed on both sides,  one group was known as the Shankill butchers, because of their brutality. Our dear Saviour said there would be wars and rumours of wars,in Luke 21 v 9, He says ,''these things  must happen''. Yes there is an inevitability in the continual violence in the world,for mankind is at war with God and their fellow human beings,but one day all will change.When? when Jesus comes back,and He will bring in a new heaven and a new earth, just imagine, no more murders,no more violence, we will live in a non - violent society,the way it was meant be.Yes because of Christ there is hope for all who trust Him.

Only God. ( Genesis 1 v 11 )

Again let us consider ,that there are none so blind that do not see.It is the apostle Paul who writes about God revealing Himself in creation,he writes the following,''For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities  -his eternal power and divine nature- have been clearly seen, been understood from what has been made ,so that men are without excuse.'' Someone wrote ,'that God's fingerprints are on every  snowflake,and that His signature is in the stars for us to read and recognize'. In the words of the poem by Joyce Kilmer ,''Poems are made by fools like me, but only God can make a  tree''.

Impossible (Genesis 1 v 1 )

There is a saying ,that there are none so blind as those who do not see,see what?,a good question. Occasionally we hear on the news these words,that hopefully we will know how this universe came into being.Let me ask the question ,if matter is not eternal how did it come into being?. I read this recently,'if the energy levels in carbon and oxygen were only a fraction of a per cent different to what they are,there would be no carbon in the universe and therefore no you and me'.The same author writes,''Why dose the universe seem so well set up for life''? If the universe started with the big bang ,why is are the sun,moon, and earth round, an explosion of any kind does not produce nice little round objects,everything would be distorted.It is inconceivable that this world with all its variety, design ,and order could have just happened,it is impossible.

Consequences ( Psalm 51 v 1- 2 )

One final thought on David and the terrible things he did,he did it because he could do it,no one stopped him, no one challenged him.So the wicked sinful deeds were done ,for David it was time  to move on,but there is an interesting verse in Numbers 32 v 23, which reads, 'be sure that your sin will find you out'. And so it came to pass ,we read that the thing David had done, displeased the Lord. ( 2 Samuel 11 v 27).There are no secrets before our all seeing God, and so God sent a man, a prophet to expose the evil that David had done,his name was  Nathan. Although God sent him it took courage for this man of God to challenge the king,and it demanded obedience, we are told to obey is better than sacrifice( 1 Samuel 15 v 22 ). Nathan spoke the word ,David was convicted David confessed, repented and was forgiven.But there was a price to pay, the little child that was born out of his adulteress  relationship died, and a prophecy of a calamity coming upon him in a coming day,from within his own  household. (  2 Samuel 12 v 11). Sin will be forgiven if we ask, but sometimes we do suffer the consequences of what we have done, the more serious aspect of sin, that is not forgiven, is the eternal consequences . ( Revelation 20 v 11 - 15 ) The answer is, turn to Christ , for forgiveness ,and ask Him to save you, and so escape the terrible consequences .

Shiloh. ( Colossians 1 v 19 - 20 )

On April 6th, 1862 one of the major battles took place in the American civil war,it was the battle of Shiloh over 110,000 forces engaged in this conflict, it resulted in over 23,000 casualties,the battle was won by the Union. The name Shiloh comes from the Bible,  meaning peace ,we find it in Genesis 49 v 10. there its meaning relates to the coming Messiah, we read,' until Shiloh comes'.So the person would have the name meaning peace, in Isaiah 9 v 6 ,the coming Messiah is called the Prince of Peace. On Calvary on that old rugged cross, a battle raged , all the forces of hell,and all the evil that humanity could sum up,attacked our Messiah. Christ our Shiloh, won that battle that day for me and you,when He defeated all the forces against Him.and made possible for all who trust Him ,to know peace with God.

The unrestrained heart ( Jeremiah 17 v 9 )

Another  thought on David and his Psalm, on confessing,the question one may ask is why he did what he did,adultery, and murder?.When you think of political crimes,religious crimes,why do they do such things?.because  they can.No one had the nerve to challenge David, he  committed a very cruel thing,consider who Uriah was, one of his mighty men ( 2 Samuel 23 v 39),yet he committed adultery with his wife, and to cover his sinful deed had him murdered .Consider when David wanted Uriah murdered he sent him   with a written message to Joab,who was expected to carry out his orders ,that would result in Uriah's death.How cynical and callous David had become, yet no one stopped him,challenged him. David the man after Gods own heart,had now become a man ruled by his wicked heart. When the heart is unrestrained ,wickedness will take over,and we will  commit the unmentionable.

Relief ( Psalm 51 )

Psalm 32 starts with the word ,'Blessed', many say this means happy,and I do believe that it has that to it,but it goes further. It is Herbert  Lockyer  who points out, that in the original,the word blessed is in the plural- Blessednesses -he points out,that the sinner whose transgression ,sin, iniquity are forgiven have multiplied joys, bundles of  happiness, and mountains of delight'.Before David  repented of his sin,it affected him greatly,even physically, sin can effect us in many ways,mentally,and of course spiritually.Look at the world,why so much suffering?,one of the main reasons is sin.It must have come as a relief when Nathan the prophet uttered  those Holy Spirit anointed words ,'' you are the man'', David's hidden sin had found him out. (2 Samuel 12 v 7 ). Convicted he repented of his sin and sought forgiveness,he confessed his sin to the Lord ,and God who is a forgiving God ,forgive him.Michael Wilcock  writes,'David is speaking of that greatest of all  gospel blessings,the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works'.

Temptation. ( Exodus 20 v 17 )

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King David ( Psalm 32 )

Lets consider Psalm 32,it was written by King David ,it is linked with Psalm 51,both Psalms are written in the aftermath of David's adultery with Bathsheba,and his murder of her husband Uriah,Yes King David,surely not,the man after Gods own heart,the sweet Psalmist of  Israel,the man who faced a giant,and slew him,and became a hero,and the greatest of all Israels kings. Alas ,it was so,let me say this ,the greatest,godliness,holiest of people,are but sinners,saved by grace, and it is possible that they like us can fall into the most grievous of sins.Not until we reach glory will any of us be free from that fallen nature that still clings to us, the word of God tells us ,yes warns us,that we should never become self confident,and blind to the fact that we can so easily fall into sin, ( 1 Corinthians 10 v 12 ) let us all heed this warning.

This little light of mine.( Matthew 5 v 14 - 16 )

In the darkness of the early morning I looked out at my garden,all the solar light had stopped shining,darkness reigned,no not quite,the little light on my water feature was shinning . One light in the darkness,as time goes on in life,it appears that the darkness is spreading over this world, false religions,secularism,unbelief,confusion in sexuality,in gender,love of pleasure.As  Christians let us remember the words of our  wonderful Saviour,to us His followers,''You are the light of the world''(Matthew 5  v 14 ).and then He goes unto say,''Shine'' ( MT 5 v 16 ).We may be the only Christian in our family, in our street,in our place of work ,in our prison,shine for Jesus,be that one light in the darkness.

Grace from beginning to end. ( 1 Peter 5 v 10 - 11 )

Many years ago I was involved in a quiz ,in my local church,the question was asked,what was the last words in the NT?. I thought I knew, so my answer was,'Even so,come , Lord Jesus',did I get it right?,no,nearly,  the right answer is,'The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people, Amen..' (Revelation 22 v 21) What a wonderful verse for the Bible to end with,Bruce Milne writes,'' ..Heaven is real because God, in utter grace,has made a way for his sinful creatures to return to him,and to live with him in everlasting righteousness and joy. He then quotes Beasley  Murray,',As in revelation,so in history,grace shall have the last word', Indeed it will , for heaven is simply grace abounding, grace unleashed,grace uninhibited ,grace unending, in the land of the Trinity,for ever more.( BM )

Reason (Proverbs 3 v 5 )

I had two JWs call at my door, I sought to be polite,and give an explanation for the deity of Christ, like a fool I then had to listen to them talking a distorted lot of nonsense,in their attempt to disprove what I said,it appeared they believe in gods.I must confess nothing I had said ,made any impression, and to be honest the more I tried to talk with  them as to what they were saying,the more frustration I felt,in the end they had not really listened to what I had said,so it ended.On reflection I realise the truth of what Martin Luther said,'that reason is the enemy of faith''.Of course spiritual, the JWs are but a godless religion built upon mans  sinful human reasoning,.The word of God tells us to not lean upon our own understanding, but to trust in the Lord with all our heart. These words challenge  our  proud nature,our sinful desires to know more than God,our dear Lord Jesus,faced such people,the result ,they refused to accept Him,as the Son of God,and in their spiritual blindness crucified Him.

No wrath. ( Romans 8 v 1 / 33 - 39 )

What about believers?,will they be lost?,the answer is no ,we read in  Revelation  20 v 15 , 'that if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire'. In other words those whose names are in the book of life are saved from judgment.Why is that ?,very simply when we trust Jesus as our Saviour,we are saved from coming wrath ( 1 Thessalonians 1 v 10 ) What happened on the cross?, Jesus took the punishment of those who trusted Him, consider the words of that wonderful hymn, 'Jesus Thy blood and righteousness, my beauty are, my glorious dress; midst flaming worlds, in these arrayed,with joy shall I lift up my head. Bold shall I stand in that great day, for who aught to my charge shall lay?, fully absolved through these I am, from sin and fear, from guilt and shame.'

The book was opened. ( Revelation 20 v 13 )

We read that the dead will be judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books (Rev 20 v 12,) This simply means that God  as it were is recording all the wrong things we have done during our lifetime. Nothing will be missing,it will be all there,every sin we have ever committed ,every wrong word (Matthew 12 v 36 ),every wrong thought ( Matthew 5 v 27 -26 ),sins of omission,  not loving God,and others,the sin of unbelief .These and every other sins will be brought to light ,the secret sins ,the hidden sins kept  from your wife,husband,employers,the things you coveted,your false worship,the sins that you forgot about,the sins that you laughed at,it will be all brought to light. No one on that day will be acquitted,no one will be found sinless,and no one will escape judgment. We will continue next time on this subject.

Final and fair.( Genesis 18 v 25 )

Following on with thoughts on Revelation 20, and it is verse 12, we read,'And I  saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne'.When it comes to Judgement there will be no distinctions all will be on one level,those who were poor,those who rich,those who once ruled,and those who were ruled,will be there.There will be no place to hide, no great escape,no way out,no putting the blame on others,the con man will be there,and those he coned ,we will all be there..This will be reality time,a time for no excuses,or blaming others,this is the final judgment,and as Bruce Milne writes,' it will be truly fair'.

No evidence ( Psalm 19 v 7 v 11 ff )

In Andrew Marr's book,' A history of the world,' he throws doubt on the bible record of Israel's 400 years  time in Egypt,because he says there is no archaeological evidence, I also heard on the radio how the same was true of King David,no  archaeological evidence. Consider this that for many years doubt has been thrown on the biblical account of the existence of the state of Edom,they dismissed it as been a myth.But now archaeological has been found that such a state did exist, the biblical history account should not  be dismissed ,it really happened.The existence of the Jews is very strong and compelling evidence of the historical events recorded in the bible, as being true.