Mercy ( Isaiah 47 v 6 )

 '' You showed them no mercy'( Isaiah 47 v 6 ). These are the words spoken to an ancient world power, who like so many world powers, let power go to their heads. God had raised up the ancient nation of  Babylon, and He used them as an instrument of judgement on His people . His people had forsaken Him and  had fallen into a dreadful state, they refused  to listen to the warnings from the prophets. Babylon did what God had raised them up for, but in doing that they showed no mercy, as one commentator says,' The victor in war should not let their vilest passions rage against the nations  they overcome in war' If one reads the history of the 2nd world war ,I could highlight two nations who followed in the footsteps of that ancient nation Babylon, they showed no mercy to those they conquered, and like Babylon they paid a very heavy price for what they did. Our Saviour taught ,'Blessed are the merciful , for they will be shown mercy', ( Matthew 5 v 7) It follows where this is violated then God who is just, will act.

Fearful about growing old . ( Psalm 23 )

 The thought of growing old ,can cause us to be concerned, all sorts of thoughts crush in upon us, we usually don't like change. Old age can mean change, will we able to managed financially?. Here is an encouraging word  from King David, 'I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken, or their  children begging bread'. ( Psalm 37 v 25 ). Have on fear God will provide.

Old age may give us concerns ,as regards  our physical or mental well being, both may begin to deteriorate, here is a word from Isaiah 46 v 4,' Even to your old age and grey hairs, I am He, I am He who will sustain you'. Have no fear God will sustain you.

Old age may mean making decisions, will we know to make the right decisions? . Here is a word from Psalm 48 v  14.' For this God is our God for ever and ever; He will be our guide even to the end.' Have no fear He will be your guide.

Truth. ( Acts 20 v 28 - 31 )

 It was Pilate who said,' what is truth?', one definition puts it like this, 'the quality or state of being true'. a great number of the worlds population, believe lies ,in relation to religion many things that people believe are based on falsehood. We say God can do anything, well not quite, we read  in Titus 1 v2, that it is impossible for God to lie, He is a God of truth . We have the Bible the word of God ,it is not full of lies, it is not there to deceive ,it is there to lead us to Him who is the truth ,Jesus.  (John 14 v 6 ). As a Christian I must hold fast to the truth, especially if I am a minister that is especially important. Let me say this ,when it comes to theology, there is nothing new, for over 2,000 years the church has established what the truth is as regards salvation, God ,and many other precious doctrines, beware of those who seek to undermine these truths. One man I think we must highlight, N.T. Wright, who is an academic of note, he is having an influence, sad to say, that is far from helpful. his confused thoughts, as regards the substitutionary death of Christ, calling it pagan. He treats with disdain the belief held by every theologian of note that Christians   go to heaven  when they die, And yet he teaches that the Christian is not justified now ,it will only be, when he gets to heaven. He has written a new perspective on Paul, well as I said there is nothing new under the sun. So again let me remind you that beware of those, who ever they are, who challenge  established truth.

You matter . ( John 3 v 16 )

 A humanitarian worker said, 'to him every human being matters',  surely that should be the attitude of every Christian, how do we look at refugees?, people of other nationalities?, of disabled people .It was sad  to read that 90 percent of  Down syndrome children are aborted, they see them only as a fetus. The practice of eugenics has not gone away, but has spiralled out of control.  Every human being matters ,our dear Saviour touched the untouchable, mixed with the undesirables, sought the unreachables, because to Him everyone mattered. It is sad that Islam teaches that, Christians, Jews, and others are wretched creatures, and that Hinduism  have a cast system, that condemns people to a life of poverty, and being despised, and being discriminated against. It is also sad, that so called Christian ,have treated people in ways that are contrary to how God views people, and how they should be treated. God is love, a love that declares that every human being matters, He is also a God of truth, He tells  us that while everyone matters to Him, we are all sinners, and that He sent  Jesus His Son ,to die on a cross that whosoever believed in Him would not perish but have everlasting life, that is how much you matter to Him.

The importance of waiting . ( Philippians 4 v 13 )

In Lewis Carroll's book, 'Alice in Wonderland,' one of the characters  Alice meets is a white rabbit, who is in such a hurry to keep an appointment ,here is what he say's  Alice,'' Oh my fair and whiskers ! I'm late, I'm  late, I'm late, for a very important date !. No time to say 'hello, goodbye',  I'm late, I'm late, I'm late''. It reminds me of the words of a hymn, which  goes, 'The world rushes on', so very ,very true, no time to say hello, or  goodbye, I want you to stop and think of these very important  words, 'They that wait upon the Lord  shall renew their strength; they shall mount up  with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk , and not faint'.( Isaiah 40 v31) Take time today to wait upon the Lord that you may receive the strength you need for this day ,otherwise you may faint.

Change for the better. ( 1 Timothy 1 v 15 )

 As I was out walking I sat down ,as I usually do, just to observe the people about me, but then about certain people, two in particular. One is a racist, the other could be described as a thug, he is up to all sorts of mischief, so I  started to pray ,I said I know  that what people need is their sins forgiven by trusting  in Jesus, unless that happens,  the result is catastrophic.  But unless there is true repentance there will be no change ,that is sincere regret ,remorse, for the sinful life one has led, it means a complete change of direction towards God. It means a sincere confession  of your sins, and following God's way ,in newness of life. Those two people I mentioned would be better people, any person who genuinely trusts Christ as Saviour, will be a better person, they will not  be perfect, but one day all who trust Jesus will be. That's the substance of my prayer for those two people. When you truly trust Jesus you will be a better person, old things will go, all things will become new.

                                       .                  Change is possible, if

Thy will be done. ( Matthew 26 v 36 - 46 )

 Someone was very ill, near deaths door, and someone prayed this prayer,' Lord if  it be  Thy will, let his life be spared'.  It reminds me of  the following verse, written by J. Hudson Taylor.

                                                I'll that God blesses is our good , 

                                                And    unblest good is ill,

                                                And all is right,

                                                That seems so wrong,

                                                 If it be His sweet  will.

When we pray, 'Thy will be done', I think we should also pray,' Lord grant us grace to do your will, and 

grace to accept your will.

                      

Mickey Mouse. ( Galatians 6 v 14 )

 When  Patricia  Gearing's daughter died of Batten's disease in 1998, her grave was marked by a simple cross. Before long Mrs  Gearing  was instructed by the local  authority to remove it. Their rules said,' Crosses are discouraged, as excessive use of  the supreme Christian symbol is undesirable,' The family was given permission to erect a headstone featuring  Mickey Mouse instead.   Thankfully this is a rare happening,  but it shows how the cross can be very offensive to some people, Islam rejects a crucified Jesus, likewise the Jews, and yet without Christ's death on the cross we do not have a Saviour. That death dealt with sin, the great philosophers like Confucius, and many others, said many helpful things, but none of them face up to the fact that mankind is  a sinner, and that we need a Saviour. We are only accepted by a holy God when our sins are forgiven, through trusting Christ as our Saviour. The cross on which Jesus died , for many may be an undesirable symbol, but  the word of God says,     ' For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.'  ( 1 Corinthians 1 v 18 )

Soulless Worship. Isaiah 29 v 13 .

In  Isaiah 29 v 13 , we have the Lord saying,'' These people come near to me with their mouth and honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship  of Me is based  on merely human rules they have been taught''. They were religious but it was not worship, it is Leupold  who calls this 'Soulless Worship', going through  the motions ,yes they went to the temple, they prayed, they sacrificed animals, but their hearts were not in it. When Jesus met up with Peter ,he asked him this  question three times, 'do you love Me?. One thing I ask the Lord when I pray is ,'Lord ,let it not be vain repetition', the following words sum it up,' I often say my prayers, but do I really pray'.  When we pray, give, attend  a church, sing a hymn, read the scriptures, or listen to a sermon, they should not be as Leupold comments, 'devoid of soul and sincerity', in other words ,'Soulless Worship'.

Love prompted Him. ( John 3 v 16 )

Two quotations by Leupold ,' Israel is not meant to be a mighty worldly power dominating other nations and exercising world power. She is to be witness to what God has done for her'.  'The nation had a  destiny , but she seemed so far removed from achieving it.'  The history of Israel is a sad history, a history of failing time after time, to be faithful to God, yes there were times, when they were faithful, but on the whole instead of being a holy nation, they walked in the ways of of their heathen neighbours. Time after time God had to deal with them severely. Yet God was faithful, and preserved a remnant, at one of the lowest points of their history ,God said ,''I have loved you with an everlasting love'', Jeremiah 31 v 3.   Someone wrote ,' For reasons that man will never be able to fathom, the Lord loved Israel'. he goes on to say ,'It is this love that prompts the Lords redeeming activity'.  The Bible tells us that God loves the world John 3 v16, why? , indeed why? it is a mystery, but He does. That love prompted Him do send a redeemer, Jesus, who came to save sinners , such as you and I. whoever we are. salvation is not restricted to any  particular people, it is for the whosoever.

                                                  Come, ye sinners, poor and needy,

                                                  Weak and wounded , sick and sore;

                                                  Jesus ready stands to save you,

                                                   Full of pity, love , and power ;

                                                   He is able,

                                                   He is willing, doubt no more.

                                                         ( Words. Joseph Hart )

Whose is in control?. ( Isaiah 40 v 21 -26 )

 R. V. G. Tasker in his introduction to the book of Revelation, Writes the following ,'It is of the utmost importance for modern man that he does not lose touch with eternal realities so stressed in Revelation'. There are days when the decisions of the great powers have far reaching  effects on ordinary men and women. We may have no great interest in ideologies, yet find that our  lives are affected by decisions reached in Moscow or  in Washington , decisions in which we have no  voice, nor conceivably  could have. Are we  then no more than pawns caught up in a great ideological conflict? . Is there something demonic  about evil forces which even our  most  powerful  statesmen  seem unable to to control ?'. Who is in control?. The book of Revelation answers the question in chapter 19 v 6, 'For our Lord God Almighty  reigns'. God is sovereign, only the eye of faith  can see this, if you are child of God, remember He is working everything out for your good . ( Romans 8 v 28 ). If you are not child of God then all may appear, as if no one is in control, but you are wrong.

Alone. ( John 5 v 39 - 40 )

 One of my favourite movies is the ,' The Quite Man', about a man returning to his homeland. But of course it is a movie, directed by that wonderful director John Ford, it  is there to entertain. But  Ireland the country I love has a dark side ,historically divided, by politics and religion, which continues in the north  festering  on like an open sore, and one despairs that it will never be resolved. From the founding of the Irish Free State, the Roman Catholic Church, held great power ,and still have to this day. When I think of Catholicism, I have great problems with their teaching, on the virgin Mary ,the Mass, the Priesthood, the Papacy, and there teaching that one is not saved by faith alone in the finished work of Christ. All these things do not line up with scripture, and of course when a so called Church or individual ,adds on or takes away from the scripture, that creates great problems .leading to so many things that are wrong. You start to change the unchangeable revelation of God, and clear truths ,that are taught therein. The cry of  the reformation was, 'Faith Alone,' and ,'Scripture Alone', there is much more one could write, let me end by saying, let the word of God be your guide .The scriptures reveal to us Christ , who alone can save us ,and  the scriptures will show us how to live, as a follower of Christ.

                                                       Lord, Thy word abideth,

                                                       And our footsteps guideth;

                                                       Who its truth believeth,

                                                        Light and joy receiveth.

                                                          ( Words H.W.Baker)

 

A delightful old man. ( 1 Corinthians 15 v 10 )

 That lovely hymn by Harriet Auber about the Holy Spirit, has a verse that goes,

                                                 And every virtue we possess,

                                                 And every victory won,

                                                 And every thought of holiness,

                                                 Are His alone.

Recently I had a hospital visit, everything appeared alright, after a while I received a copy of the report that went to my GP., The opening words read ,' Thank you for referring this delightful  77 year old gentleman', yes believe it or not, she was writing about me. It was nice to read those words, I do not know what she found delightful, what I would say is this, if I wasn't  a Christian I would not be that delightful 77 year old man. I am not a self made man, I am an old sinner saved by the grace of God. I dread to think what I would have been, if Christ had not saved me. I do not see myself as a delightful old gentleman, but by the Holy Spirit I am a better person, than I once was, far from perfect and as we often say, I am a work in progress

                                                   To God be the glory great

                                                    things He has done.

Rubbish ( 1 Peter 2 v 1 )

Well I just heard that the rubbish collectors are going on strike for three weeks, what are we going to do with our rubbish ?. It goes without saying you don't want to keep your rubbish, after all it's rubbish, just fit to be dumped. But here's a thought, what about the rubbish we gather up in our lives?, rubbish we should have got rid off, yet we hold unto it, even though we know it's rubbish. The rubbish in our thought life, the habits, the wrong kind of friends, the wrong kind of language, the unforgiveness, covetousness . It is time  for a clear out, now the first thing you need to do is pray, here is a suitable prayer, 'Search me ,O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you. and lead me along the path of everlasting life'. Psalm 139 v 23 - 24 . And then, put actions to your words, and get rid of the rubbish.

The call ( Isaiah 6 v 8 )

You have heard of the call of the wild, but what about the call of God, could  it be that God has been speaking to you, to change the direction of your life. To go were others would not want to go, I wonder if God has an other plan for your life, than the one you have planned ?. How surprised those disciple were, when one day they heard our dear Saviour say ,'Follow Me', of course there will be a cost,  there is always  a cost in following Jesus. If it is God calling you,  you will never regret it, but there will be times when you may face difficulties ,misunderstandings, and discouragements .Here are some words by Daniel .L. Schutte.

                                                 I, The Lord of sea and sky,

                                                 I have heard my people cry;

                                                 All who dwell in dark and sin

                                                 My hand will save.

                                                 I, who made the stars of night,

                                                 I will make their darkness bright,

                                                  I will speak My word to them,

                                                  Whom shall I send?

                                                  Here I am, Lord  .

                                                  is it I Lord?

                                                  I have heard You calling in the night.

                                                  I will go Lord,

                                                  If you lead me;

                                                  I will hold Your people in my heart.

What is it worth?. ( John 3 v 16 )

    Thomas Brooks  said the following, ''The soul of man is worth more than a thousand  worlds'', It must be when you consider the length that God went to, to save mankind's never dying  soul. Consider  who hung on that cross, Jesus the Son of God, The one who thought it not robbery to be equal with God, the one by whom all things came into being ( Colossians 1 v 15 - 17 ), superior to angel who are called to worship Him ( Hebrews 1 v 8 ), superior than Moses ( Hebrews 3 ). Consider what Christ had to do, something that we would find impossible, He had to live a perfect life, never to think a wrong thought ,say a wrong word, and never yield to any temptation, we think it is normal to sin, we say no one is perfect, or has ever been perfect ,but not so, for we read in Hebrews 4 v 15 that Jesus was tempted in every way, just as we are- yet He did not sin. This is a very important point  in relation to our salvation, for on the cross he was dying for sin, not His ,for He had none, but ours. 1 Peter  2 v 24. Then there was His death ,death by crucifixion, One writer comments,' No death was more excruciating, more contemptible, than crucifixion' the Romans used it as a deterrent against any revolt by slaves, as one Roman said , 'it is only by means of terror that they could coerce such scum'. And yet we read that Jesus in order to save us, became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Philippians 2 v 8.Because as Thomas Brooks said, 'The soul of Man is worth more than a thousand worlds'.

                                               Dying for me, Dying for me,

                                                He was dying for me,

                                                Gone my transgressions,

                                                 And now I am free,

                                                 All because Jesus was wounded 

                                                  for me.   ( Words  W. G. J. Ovens.)

We have a choice. ( 2 Corinthians 5 v 16 - 17 )

 I like history, it helps me understand certain present situations, I found the writings of  Martin Luther King ,JR, enlightening, and as I look at present day America ,that many people are still prisoners of their past. As indeed the land from which I come from, prisoners of their past, and so I wonder will things ever change?. I suppose things could change, if  , yes if,  what you add to that if?,  one could say a number of things, like stop  living  in the past, it is futile to live in the past, it stops people moving on.  It is sad that many Christians in the past were sucked into being racist ,and  at the time of the Nazi party, some  Christian went along with it. We cannot change what went on in the past, we do not need to be prisoners of our past. Be it as nations or individuals, Christ came to set us free from our past, first of all to forgive our past sins, everyone can be forgiven, every sin we have ever committed can be forgiven. Not only that ,He can set us free from the wrong way we think, we need no longer  be racist,   violent, abusive, or whatever  . The word of God tells us that we can have a whole new life , consider the following,' Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah ( Christ) gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone;  a new life burgeons!. (These words are  based on 2 Corinthians 5 v 16 - 17 )

 

?

Charitable ( Romans 1 v 18 )

 Chuck Colson was asked one time, what was wrong?, he replied,'' Those in leadership don't know right from wrong''. I once said to my minister that homosexuality was a sin, he replied ,'that's your opinion.' It was not a opinion ,it is a sin CP 1 Corinthians 6 v 9,that is what the word of God says, it was  not my opinion. The same minister challenged a member of the church who agreed with God's word ,and  accused her of being uncharitable. What that minister was basing his views  on, was not the word of God, but on his opinion. Societies  morals are not guided  by God's word, that is a fact , but  Christian ministers should  . God who is holy, is not in any degree charitable towards that which is sinful. We as Christians should not be charitable also as regards sin, as Christians we should  know what is right , and what is wrong, we should be guided by scripture alone, not our flawed  human rationale. So that's that,? no ,although God is not charitable towards sin, He is forgiving, if we acknowledge our sins, confess our sins ,forsake our sins, and trust Jesus as our Saviour, then we will be saved, we will not go to hell ,but to heaven.

                                                         There is a way back to God

                                                          from the dark paths of sin.

                                                          There is a door that is open,

                                                          and we can go in.

                                                           Calvary's cross is where we begin,

                                                           When we come as a sinner to

                                                                         JESUS.

Wine, women, and song. ( John 10 - 7 -10 )

He is into drugs, alcohol, and sex, so his father  told me, it's like he is possessed  with a unquenchable thirst . He suffers from severe mental illness, his marriage is finished, to say the least , things will not get any better, although he is filling his life with drugs, alcohol, and sex he is running on empty.   Our Saviour told the story of a young man, we know him as the prodigal son, a young man ,like many young men, and women. We read about this  young man in Luke 15 v 11 ff  , he wanted his independence, he wanted to be free, he wanted so much to enjoy life, to taste the sweet life, in the end it all turned pretty sour. His dream became a nightmare, and instead of being filled satisfaction, his life reflected the words of an old Rolling Stone  song, 'I can't get  no satisfaction, I can't get no satisfaction. Cause I try, and I try, and I try, and I try, I  can't get no, I can't get no'.  There is an old hymn , the words go like this,

                                                   O Christ, in Thee my soul hath found,

                                                    And found in Thee alone,

                                                     The peace, the joy, I sought so long,

                                                     The bliss till now unknown.

Hope ( Romans 5 v 1 - 11)

I heard Chuck Swindoll say recently ,that he was not sure having an explanation about everything, helps. Lets face it, so many things that happen cannot be explained,  why did did my young wife die ,leaving me with four grieving children?. I don't know, but God's word tells me that God works everything for my good Romans 8 v28,  and indeed for my wife's good. I suppose what we do want is hope, in a  a world , where the virus is killing so many people. yes we need,  'Hope'. Let me share with you what Derek Tidball wrote, ''The fact ,after the crucifixion, Jesus was both raised and glorified, leaves us in no doubt that the ransom price God provided  was sufficient. The power of His  life burst the chains that sought to bind Him in death, and that  subjected us to futility without any possibility of escape. Consequently , we believers are now a people of hope, not meandering  through a senseless wasteland, but journeying through this world with a sense of direction and destiny''

My Rock. ( Psalm 61 )

 In the OT ,God is referred to as being a Rock, in Isaiah 30 v29,we have Him, referred to a the as the ,'Rock of Israel', CP  2 Samuel 23 v 3/Isaiah 17 v10/ Deuteronomy 32 v 4 /18 / 37. In 1 Corinthians 10 v 4 ,and Matthew 16 v 16- 18. Christ is referred to as a Rock, which reminds us that Christ is divine ,God manifest in the flesh, the 'God Man'.  Leupold commenting on the ,'Rock of Israel', writes.' The emphasis lies on the sure and immovable foundation that the Lord  provides for all that put their trust in him'. During the time of Isaiah Judah was being threatened by a world power, Assyria, instead of trusting in their God ,they sought the help of Egypt .They were condemned for this, that is the challenge we face, as new covenant Israelites, the question is ,will we make the same mistake as the Israel of old?. God will use means to help us, but never let us  trust in the means, and there will be times in our lives when we have no means to help us , let us trust God our Rock.

                                              How oft in the conflict, when

                                              pressed by the foe,

                                              I have fled to my refuge, and

                                             breathed out my woe;

                                             How often, when trials, like

                                             sea billows roll,

                                             Have I hidden in Thee, O Thou

                                             Rock of my soul!  ( Words by William O. Cushing)

Giving ( Mark 12 v 41 )

In Marks gospel 12 v  41 - 46 ,we have recorded  a lovely and meaningful account of when our dear Saviour went to the temple, and he sat  down opposite the place where the offerings  for the temple were put in. Mark tells how the rich people  threw in large amounts. Then he mentions how a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins ,worth only a few pence. She was not only poor but a window ,so she was very poor. Then Mark  records what our Saviour said,'' This poor widow has put  more into the treasury than all the others, They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of poverty, put in everything- all  she had to live on. Fyodor Dostoyevsky has written these helpful comments.

                                 Never say, I don't give alms because I  have so little

                                 God sees the meaning of the heart not the size of  the 

                                 gift. Our Saviour treasured the widows gift even 

                                 though it was small. Therefore, measure your alms

                                 with the same measurement  God uses to measure

                                 you. Although  your  contribution may be small, 

                                 God will not forget it.

Follow Me. ( Matthew 8 v 18 - 22 )

 One day some fishermen were working and a stranger appeared ,and He said to them,'' Come follow me, and I will send you to fish for people'', and  at once they left their nets and followed him. The stranger was Jesus, and from that moment on ,their lives would be changed for ever. Nothing is changed He still comes were we are at ,and says the same words ,''Come follow me, and I will send you to fish for people''. Here are some words by Graham  Maule and John L. BELL.

                                               Will you come and follow Me

                                               If  I but call your name?

                                               Will you go where you don't know

                                               And never be the same?

                                               Will you leave yourself behind

                                               If  I but call your name?

                                               Will you care for cruel and kind

                                                And never be the  same?

                                                Will you risk the hostile stare,

                                                Should  your life attract or scare?

                                                Will you let me answer prayer

                                                 In you and you in  Me?

                                                ' What will your answer be?'

Only loaned ( Ruth 1 v 20 - 21 )

 I remember hearing how some people caught monkeys, possible to sell them as pets or maybe to eat them. This is what they did, they put some fruit in a bottle, the bottle was attached to a chain, and the neck of  the bottle was just wide enough for the monkey to reach into, and grab the fruit. But that created a problem, he could only withdraw his hand out, by letting let go of the fruit. The monkey usually ,would not let go of its prize, and so it was taken captive.  A famous Christian called Corrie Ten Boom was visiting a minister, the minister introduced Corrie to his children, later she said to him ''Hold unto things loosely''. Let us all remember  all the things we have, are but loaned to us, by God, Job realised that ,when he lost so much, he declared.'' The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away'' ( Job 1 v 21)

Is it wrong? ( Exodus 20 v 2 )

 Many years ago a person I worked with a person who reproached me for having a record collection, as I was a Christian, he felt I was a hypocrite. I was married ,no money in the bank ,had a young family. He was well off had a lovely car, owed his own home in Australia, but there you have it, I was guilty of having a few records, is it wrong for a Christian, to have possessions ?, is it wrong for a Christian to be rich?, to take holidays?. It could be wrong, the question is this, do my possessions have me, or do I have them?, does having money ,or does wanting money consume me.? Am I  any different  from  non- Christians?, or am I just the same?. Do I see the importance of giving to others ?, Let us all remember that we are to have no other gods in our lives, whatever they may be, God alone must come first, not second or third in our lives, He must always come first. William  Cowper wrote the following.      

                                         The dearest idol, I have known,

                                          Whate'er that idol be,

                                          Help me to tear it from Thy throne,

                                          And worship  only Thee.

Abortion .( Psalm 139 v 13 - 18 )

What have we got to be thankful about? ,that we where not aborted in the womb, a lady told me how her mother didn't love her.  She was born when abortion was illegal, her mother told her, that if it had been legal she would have aborted her.  This lady for most of her life was a nurse ,and she remembers young women having abortion's. One day she was out shopping, and a young women run up to her an hugged her, and  thanked her, she asked her what for?.  It turned out that when she was in hospital to have an abortion, she asked her opinion, and the  lady told her as a Christian she believed it to be wrong. She never saw the girl again until that  day in the shop, it turned out she had decided  not to have an abortion. Beside the young women was a young lad of nine, her son, she was so glad she had listen to that lady. The child in the womb is not just a foetus, to be aborted ,it is a precious gift from God, to be treasured and loved.

Cheating ( 1 John 5 v 17 )

 I love football, I used to play it when I was young I supported a local team, helped manage a team ,I follow the football on the TV. There are a number of things that one is concerned about  the modern game of football, to win at  all cost.  When a foul is committed the opposing team ,crowd around the referee ,wanting the person who committed the foul to be sent off. Then there is the question of when people are tackled, if there is any contact, they fall and lie on the ground  with there hands in their head, poor we souls, no not poor we souls ,but cheaters. They are behaving dishonestly, and its wrong. It is like getting rich at any cost, getting to the top of the greasy pole, or your own way, come what may, it doesn't matter who you hurt. It is easy to  justify our wrong actions, but it will not wash in God's eyes, be you  a Christian or a none Christian. When David sinned and committed  adultery and murder, he may have thought that was that, after all he was king he had the right to do what he did. Not so ,the thing he did, displeased the Lord, Mohammed had sex with a nine year old child ,do you think that pleased the Lord?, Remember the wrongs we do, are an offence to God, they are sinful, if you not a Christian ,repent, seek   forgiveness by trusting in Jesus. Likewise don't be fooled if you our a Christian, God will not overlook the wrongs that you do, seek forgiveness.

Only one road. ( John 14 v 6 .)

I  was watching an old movie, there was an actor who was playing the part of an old man, and he said this, ''There are three roads to heaven''.  I wonder what you think?, one could look out on the world, and you see multiple religions, and you rationalise ,and think,  millions of Muslims, Hindus ,etc ,cannot not be all wrong. Are they not all valid to some degree doing the same thing, worshipping God?, surly they are sincere, and many of there followers are fine people, And yet  the Christian religion says no, there is only one way to God, who is a God of truth, truth is not subjective ,it is objective, it is not a matter of opinion, which  everybody has. The Bible is objective truth, on morals it lets us know what is right, and what is wrong, on salvation it tells us that we all need to be saved, because we are sinners. One of the lessons that Fyodor  Dostoevsky a famous Russian author discovered while in exile in Siberia as a prisoner, ' That man can become , more cruel and bloodthirsty than the animals'. It may surprise us if we could know what other people are thinking, and it would surprise others, if they knew what we were thinking .When the Bible tells us, that all are sinners it is based on objective truth. When it tells us that we all need a Saviour, who can deny it, of course there are none so blind as those who do not want to see. That Saviour is a historical figure Jesus, who came to die on a cross, for crimes he did not commit .A holy God said sin must be punished, Hell awaited, but Jesus took the punishment. He died  on that cross that we may be forgiven. Something wonderful happen  which is an objective truth, He rose from the dead, an historical  fact.

                                                No three roads to heaven, only one,

                                                                    Jesus  

                                                                John 14 v 6  

The backward look ( Jeremiah 29 v 11)

  Let us consider the nation of Israel, I have just been reading Isaiah 26 v 16 -19,it stresses a number of things, Israel's history of failures Leupold writes the following, 'In her entire history up to this time, the nation, the people of Israel, produced nothing that was of general and substantial benefit to the nations of the world. She had a high destiny in this respect. The results achieved were negligible, no inhabitants came to birth through them ,they produced nothing  tangible. All is gloom and despair.' Leupold  further writes ,'The backward look was not too reassuring'. But v 19 brings a message of hope, God speaks of a future were new life would come to them, their deadness will turn to life, he writes of the dead being resurrected, the future looked bright. I would like to apply this to you if you are not a Christian, your past may has been a failure, doom and gloom, it does not give  any hope, God is the God who makes all things new, all can be changed, He can bring  you into a future of  hope, and purpose if you trust Jesus as your Saviour. If you are a Christian ,remember you have destiny in Jesus, you can be used by God,  and be a blessing to others, trust Him, remember God loves you, and God can use you.

Samuel ( 2 ) ( 1 Samuel 2 - 3 )

Let us consider the child Samuel, and the lessons we can learn from him,  he was to be looked after by the High Priest  Eli, he had the awesome responsibility, of caring for Samuel. He appeared to have done a good job, but he had two sons who turned out bad. They would bring judgement on Eli because he never dealt with them, yes he spoke to them, but as High Priest that was not enough. The message of judgement  came  like this, one evening God spoke to Samuel, but he  thought it was Eli calling him, but Eli assured him he hadn't called, this happened three times. On the third time Eli realised it was God ,so he told  him that next time, say,'' Speak Lord for your servant is listening'', so it came to pass. God told Samuel that he was going to judge Eli and his sons, first of all as High Priest he should have dealt with his sons but he didn't ,so God was going to deal with them. The next morning Eli asked  Samuel what God said, Samuel was afraid to tell him, but eventually he told him. There are a number of lessons to be learnt from this, first Eli, he paid a hard price by not dealing with his sons, godly people don't always have godly children, and there are times we have to make hard and painful decisions ,even to those nearest and dearest to us.. Samuel asked God  to speak to him, be careful, for you may not like what He has to say to you.  Samuel was afraid to tell Eli what God had said, so right at the beginning of his prophetic ministry, he would have to learn a very important lesson, to say things to people, that they don't want to hear, ministers of Christ  must especially learn this lesson .

Honour God. ( 1) ( 1 Samuel 2 v 30 )

I think it was the the Victorians who said ,'a child should be seen and not heard', but my thoughts turned to a child his name was Samuel. Samuel had a godly mother called Hanna , godly mothers are very precious, and can leave a lasting influence on their children lives. We read about his mother in 1 Samuel chap 1- 2, she had Samuel in response to her prayers, and when her prayers were answered, she dedicated her child to God. Dedication services should be taken very serious, Hannah meant it, and at a very early age she  gave him  over to the service of God . She had promised that if God would give her a child, she would give him back to the Lord , and she kept her promise.  Ecclesiastes chap 5 v 4 reads ,'When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfil it , He has no pleasure in fools; fulfil your vow'. God expects us to do do what we promise Him, consider ,God always keeps His promises. It is inconceivable to us that He would break his word. The lesson is this,  be careful what you vow or promise God, think seriously about it ,before you do it. In 1 Samuel 2 v 30 , we read God saying,' Those who honour Me I will honour'.