Jesus paid it all. ( Hebrews 7 v 25 )

 When Patricia Gearing's daughter died of Batten's disease in 1998,her grave in a cemetery in the small   Lincolnshire seaside  town of Mablethorpe was marked by a simple cross. The local authority informed them 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'. (From the Message of Cross by Derek Tidball) The cross  of course was a terrible  means of putting people to death,and from the very beginning a crucified Saviour was seen as foolishness,a stumbling block,and an offence.But Paul declares,'For the message of  the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing,but to those who are being saved it is the power of  God'.Only God could have thought up the cross as a means of our salvation,The cross became the alter on which the Lamb of God,Jesus would bear the punishment for sin,it satisfied the justice of God ,for the penalty of  sin ,so Christ paid that penalty,( Hebrews 9 v 15)  The price of redeeming sinners was not silver or gold but with the precious blood of Christ' 1Peter 1 v  18-19 ) Through that one time offering on the cross the work of salvation was complete,it cannot be added to or taken away  from,Jesus paid it all.

                                                 'Therefore He is able to save completely

                                                  those who come to God through Him.

                                                                 Hebrews 9 v25.

                                                

Look in the mirror . ( Luke 18 v 9 -14 )

We are all to some extent different,and yet we are in one sense all the same,for we all have a fallen nature , as we look at David and his adultery he is mirror of everyone who commits adultery.Take Judas he loved money ,so much so that he was a thief,and as all fellow thieves ,they see a mirror of themselves in Judas.Our Lord knows what we are truly like ,when a woman was caught in the act of adultery,and brought before Jesus,to pass judgement on her,the penalty was that she should be stoned to death. Our Saviour said,'Let anyone of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her,and they all left',they saw in that women a mirror of themselves (John 8 v 2-11).We are all potential adulterers ,thieves,liars,and so on.I read of a Jewish man who lived through the Holocaust  and he was brought as a witness at the trial of a Nazi war criminal. As he looked at the man,it suddenly struck him that this war criminal looked a very ordinary person just like him,and then another thought struck him,that he had potential to commit the evil that,that man had  done.In a sense he saw in that man a mirror of himself, Shakespeare wrote these very meaningful words,'Man know thyself'.We often say no one is perfect,and that's true,but the word of God tells us the whole truth,'That the heart is deceitful above all things ', (Jeremiah 17 v 9 )people speak of the inherent goodness of humanity that human nature is essentially good ,not so,oh yes we do good,but we still sin.If it was otherwise then Jesus need not have come,but in order to save us sinners He was prepared to die on the cross ,that we may be forgiven .

                                              'Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners

                                               that means you and that means me'.

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The unexpected. ( Mark 11 v22 )

Life often presents us  with the unexpected, this week I had a scam email in fact they sent me three emails,I didn't reply to them,but the last threw me a bit when they said they had taken money out of our account,but they hadn't. As regards emails,if in doubt do nothing,thankfully we didn't. The next  unexpected thing that happened,my wife was driving in a car park,and a young girl ran into the side of my wife's car,damaging the wing mirror,but fortunately that girl was not seriously injured.The word of God tells us that in everything give thanks, (1 Thessalonians 5 v 18)another translation puts it like this,'Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.We also are told that all things work together for good to those who love God ( Romans 8 v28) Our lives are in God's hand,so there is a purpose in all that happens to us,sometimes we know, sometimes we  don't,as a child of God I am assured that he is watching over me and indeed over you,we are never out of  His sight or care.Our part is to trust Him and obey Him,whatever we may be going through.I am amazed and humbled by what Joseph said to his wicked brothers,'You intended it to harm me, but God intended it for good,' (Genesis 50 v 20)Frederick William. Faber wrote.

                                                           'I'll that He blesses is our good

                                                           And unblest  good is ill;

                                                           And all is right that seems most wrong

                                                           If it be His sweet will'

There is an answer. ( John 1 v 1 - 13 )

In 1977 Voyager 1 was lunched into space,it was equipped to send back data.,it has now travelled billions of miles.From a far of distant point it sent back a picture of our planet. Earth looked so very small and insignificant,but in God's eyes it is the most significant planet in the whole universe. Scroggie  writes the following,'Earth ,this speck in space , is the home of the human race,and is the focus of all interest, divine, angelic, and demonic, as well as human;it is the theatre in which  the Redeemer has manifested Himself and has brought the offer of salvation to a ruined race'.The word of God tells us that God loves this world and everybody in it,he knows every individual in this world ,and knows everything about them.If we leave God out of the picture there is no meaning to life,no purpose,  we are just a freak accident, if that is the case then what value can we put on human life,the answer is none,where do we get our moral value's from?.Every year we celebrate Christmas ,well some of us do, but many fail to appreciate, that God who created this world ,stepped into His world in the person of His Son Jesus. He exercised powers beyond  mans power,healing the sick,raising the dead,controlling nature itself.His teaching has touched untold millions.The greatest problem mankind has,is a nature that is sinful,and there is nothing man can do to change that.Only God is preserving this planet,and only God provides an answer , for on the cross our sin can be forgiven when we accept Jesus as our Saviour, and when that happens,all things are changed, for the better,we find new life,we feel valued and loved,and have a purpose,that goes beyond this life into a glorious future. 

Preserved ( Psalm 118 )

 Psalm 118 is described as,''apples of gold in a basket of silver',it is a Psalm praising God for His deliverance, here are a few verses from it,

                                           ' The Lord is on my side;I will not fear

                                             It is better to trust in the Lord,

                                            Than put confidence in man,

                                             It is better to trust in the Lord

                                             Than to put trust in princes

                                             The Lord helped me

                                             The right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly

                                              I shall not die,but live, and declare the works of the Lord.

 This Psalm was Luther's favourite, he said, '' It had saved me from many a pressing danger, from which nor emperor, nor kings, nor sages,nor saints,could have saved me''. he wrote a wonderful hymn,here are the opening words,'A safe stronghold our God is still, a trusty  shield  and weapon; He'll help us clear from all the ill,that hath us now o'ertaken .' Martin Luther in standing for the truth put himself in great danger,but God in his mercy delivered him.

                          

Have courage.( 2 Timothy 4 v 1 -5)

 When one is a preacher of the gospel one must show a certain amount of courage, to speak the truth without fear or favour .I have attended funerals were the minister has miserable failed to be faithful to  their calling.It was the apostle Paul who was about to appear before Caesar asked the saints at Ephesus to pray for him,'That whenever I speak ,words may be given to me so that I will fearlessly make known   the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly ,as I should'. (Eph 6 v 19-20 )  Thomas Brooks a  renowned Puritan wrote the following.' Faithful ministers have a need to cry aloud,they have need to be courageous and zealous, to awaken sinners,that none may go sleeping  to hell. Cowardice in a minister is cruelty; if he fears the faces of men, he is a murderer of souls.'

Losses and Crosses. ( John 21 v 20 -22 )

 Just recently a friend told me that he met his ex--Pastor  and his wife,they told him they no longer believed in God, they said that people had hurt them in the church. I know from experience that one will receive hurts yes even from Christians,especially if you are a leader. The greatest leader who ever lived  was our Saviour , he experienced  many hurts,even from his own disciples,in fact it was a battle all the way for Him,but He just kept going on,likewise the apostle Paul had more than his fair share of troubles from Christians CP Philippians 1 v 15- 17. I personally had hurts in the church that I pastored, whatever the rights or wrongs ,one should still carry on in the faith,wherever the hurts come from. Not only should we carry on ,we are to have a spirit of forgiveness, our Saviour taught us to love our enemies and pray for them .Matthew 5 v 44.Let not hate for your fellow Christians fill your heart ,if a fellow Christian hurts you, remember.'Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother or sister is still in darkness 1 John 2v9. Let me stress, hurts come to us from many directions, from fellow Christians, from non Christians, from painful experiences,from losses to crosses. That last word is important,for remember what our dear Saviour said ,'take up your cross and follow me'. Matthew 10 v 38.

                                'I traveled down a lonely road, and no one seemed to care,

                                The burden on my weary back,had bowed me to despair;

                                 I oft complained to Jesus how folks were treating me,

                                 And then I heard Him  say so tenderly,My feet were also weary

                                 Upon the Calvary road,The cross became so heavy,

                                  I fell beneath the load,Be faithful ,weary pilgrim,

                                  The morning I can see- Just lift  your cross,

                                                and follow close to Me.'             (Words Ira F . Stanphill)

                                                     

                                                      

Not a comparison site. ( Romans 12 v 1 -8)

 When I need to insure my car,or my house I go on a comparison site,that's fair enough. When a new manager of a football takes over from a successful manager,his performance will be judged by the past manager's performance. Sometimes people come out of a family with a bad reputation and they are compared to that family . Salvation is not a comparison  site,there are people who compare themselves with others,they actually think that Christianity is for goody,goodies,not realising that every Christian is a sinner saved by grace and that has transformed their lives.Of course every Christian is a work in progress, yes there are no perfect people in the church of Christ.We are all different and even as Christians we must not compare ourselves to other Christians,we must keep our eyes of  people,we must not be overwhelmed by others,because they are more gifted that you or me.If we do that we could so easily be afraid to accomplish anything,or do anything.God has given all his Children gifts ,don't be afraid to use them,or even be ashamed of them.I read daily devotions and they often bless me,but they do not intimidate me from writing this blog, God  has given us different gifts for doing certain things well (Romans 12 v 6),if you step outside your gift,you will be a square peg in a round hole,it is John Stott who says the following .' We must avoid  both to high  an estimate  of ourselves and Paul might have added too low an estimate'.( Rom 12 v 3)

Facing Death. ( Luke 23v 39 -43 )

 I visited a dear brother in a hospice,he is a godly man,and of course the fact that he is in a hospice means he has not long to live. He found it difficult to speak so our conversation was limited,I read the scriptures at his request, it was from Romans 8 v 28-39. When I had finished reading,he repeated the words,'That neither death nor life'.the readings end with the words....'.can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord'. Yes death does not have the final say,One writer says the following,'Death is not the end;it is only ''the gate on the skyline'' leading to the presence of Jesus Christ'. I prayed with that dear brother,he held in his hand a wooden cross,for the Christian the cross reminds us that we are no longer alienated from God.We no longer stand condemned before a holy God,no longer does  the wrath of God rest upon us,no longer is heaven shut to us,why ? because of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.In heaven we will cry out,'Worthy is the Lamb that was slain'.(Revelation 5 v 12)The Cross is the only way humanity can be saved and have hope for eternity.

                                                           ' There is victory in Jesus'

All things new. ( 21 v 1- 5 )

 I met a friend when out shopping she is two years older than me 82,she can walk but needs the use of a mobility scooter. She mentioned she needs two new knees,and two hip joints,I jokingly said to her she should go the 'Body Shop',(it sells perfume),well she laughed. In Psalm 139 v4 we read,'I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made'. yes that is so true,but,there's that but again,it wears down,to a point when we need more than body parts. Shakespeare wrote of the ,'Seven ages of man',highlighting the different periods of our existence,the last being ,'dotage and death'.In the 12th chap of Ecclesiastes there is a very descriptive passage of our bodies decline . The Message puts it like this,'Your hair turns apple-blossom white. Adorning a fragile and impotent matchstick body'. Sorry folks that's the way it is, but its not the end of the story for the Christian,in Revelation 21 v 5 we have Jesus declaring,'I am making everything new!.' In 1 Corinthians 15,we have spelt out what that  means as regards our future bodies,first of all it will be a spiritually body,from earthly beings to  heavenly beings,we will all be changed,from that which is perishable to an imperishable being,from being mortal to being immortal,death will have died,everlasting life commences,the future will not only be bright, it will be glorious,and here is a wonderful truth we shall be like Jesus. (1 John 3 v 2 )

                                          ' Yes wonder of wonders ,we shall be like Jesus'

Easy street. (Hebrews 12 v 1 - 13 )

 Someone said ,'When things are easy the Christian tends to stray from the path, whereas trouble sends him back to the word,of God'. Someone put this heading over  Deuteronomy 8, 'Do not forget the Lord'. Israel was about to enter the promised land,God had brought them through so much, He had delivered them from the Egyptians who had oppressed them and made them slaves. In spite of what God did Israel was not always faithful but God remained  faithful ,now the promised land lay ahead, As they were about to enter the land God spoke to them .He said when you possess the land, they were to obey His commands,and if they did they would prosper. We all want prosperity,but God knows the the human heart,so He tells them, 'Do not forget the Lord your God , and all that,that meant.They must not forget that their prosperity comes from God, their history,shows clearly they did forget ( Jeremiah 2 v11ff) Consider the lives of two godly people,David and Solomon,David was now king ,God had delivered him from so much,things were easier,but he strayed from the path of righteousness in a big way(2 Samuel 11)Then Solomon ,he was abundantly blessed but what do we read, he turned to false god's,(1 Kings 11).If you are on easy street remember it is so easy to take ones eyes of God  and stray from our Saviour. For Israel it had consequences,likewise for David and Solomon,and for all who stray from the path,God will deal with you, yes He  loves you,but remember whom He loveth He disciplines.

Blockage ( Lamentations 3 v 40)

 Every now again I pour a certain liquid down my drains, to clear any blockage,blockage has consequences.It caused me think about the things that come into our lives that can be classed as a blockage ,the result they have consequences in our relationship with God.It would be a good idea to pray what the Psalmist prayed.'Search me ,O God, and know my heart ; test me 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 ) Francis Bottome wrote a hymn  based on the words from that Psalm, here are the words from that hymn.

                            'Search me, O God! my actions try,and let my life appear

                            As seen by Thine all searching eye,To mine my ways make clear.

                            Search all my sense and know my heart,who canst make known

                            And let the deep, the hidden part ,To me be fully shown.

                            Throw light into the darkened cells,where passions reign within;

                            Quicken my conscience till it feels, the loathsomeness of sin.

                             Search all my thoughts,the secret springs, the motives that control;

                             The rebel heart where evil things, hold empire o'er my soul.

                             Search,till Thy fiery glance! i'ts holy light through all

                             And I by grace am brought at last,before Thy face to fall.

                            Thus prostrate I shall learn of Thee,what now I feebly prove,

                             That God alone in Christ can be Unutterable love'

                            

The ripple effect. (1Corinthians 10 v 12 -13 )

We are all familiar with the term,'cause and effect', and it can be applied to so many things.what causes ripples in the water?.Well we all know that its when you throw a stone in the water, when you do the  ripples go out in a circle,having an affect on the surface of the water. Years ago I read in a book how a man was tempted,and then he thought about his family, and the damage to them ,if he yielded to that temptation . Chuck Swindoll a well known preacher,said that when  he was away preaching,and was out for a meal on his own ,he put a photo of his wife on the table,it was a reminder to him of  the consequences of being unfaithful. When one sins it has a ripple effect,it can cause so much hurt and pain,all the good things you have done will be forgotten ,you will always be remembered for that sinful act. Yes God forgives his erring children, if they repent and seek forgiveness, but when you consider the harm you have done,you may find it hard to forgive yourself. Your spouse may not forgive you,so you will have lost the one you love,who knows how far the effect  of what you have done will go.Whenever your tempted ,be it sexual,or financial, or whatever, think of the ripple effect.

                                                   'Yield not to temptation,for yielding is sin,

                                                    Each victory will help you some other to win;

                                                    Fight manfully onward,dark passions subdue,

                                                    Look ever to Jesus, He'll carry you through.'

                                                                   Words Horatio R.Palmer

Tomorrow ( Matthew 6 v25- 34)

 None of us know what tomorrow holds,oh yes we make our plans,but there is nothing certain,who knows what tomorrow will  bring to us,for good or ill.One of the things Jesus taught as regards tomorrow, we can read about in Matthew 6 v34,'Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.Each day has enough trouble of its own'.The word, ' therefore',  takes us back to what Jesus previously taught, He reminded his listener's  to consider how God looked after  his creation,the birds do not sow or reap.or store food  in barns, but our heavenly Father feeds them. and He reminds us that we are more valuable than them. As Christians our Saviour said that we are not to be like the non-Christians, nothing is hid from our heavenly Father ,what our priority must be, is to put God first and all will be well .He also reminds us of the pointlessness of worry. (Mt 6 v 25- 34)  Tomorrow inevitable will bring all sorts of troubles,so here is something helpful that David Livingstone wrote.,

                                             'Leave tomorrow's troubles for tomorrow's

                                             strength; tomorrow's work for tomorrow's

                                             time; tomorrow's trials for tomorrow's grace-

                                             and all for tomorrow's God.'

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The worst of people. ( 1 Kings 1 v 12 - 17 )

 I wonder if the Christians living during the persecution by Saul ,later known as Paul ,(Acts 8 v 3),that one day he would become a Christian ,not only that, but an Apostle, they would  have have not believed it, would you have believed it?. Most of us wouldn't have,  it was just to far fetched,oh yes the Christians would have prayed for those being persecuted,and that God would him stop him persecuting God's people, someone may have prayed that God would deal with Him. The word of God says that Christ our Saviour came into the world to save sinners,no matter  how evil ,no matter how wicked,yes even the worst of sinners. And in the case of Saul / Paul ,he did just that.One of most amazing conversion in the Bible , was that of king Manasseh son of  King Hezekiah,read about him in 2 Kings 21 and 2 Chronicles 33.It was possible under his reign he had the prophet Isaiah put to death,he did terrible evil things.But God whose ways are not our ways dealt with him ,he was taken as a prisoner by the Assyrians with a hook in his nose,and bound with bronze shackles to Babylon.But there He greatly humbled himself,and prayed to God ,the result was God forgive him, He brought him back to Jerusalem and restored him as king,and blessed him,

                                                       ' God can save the worst of people'

It's all about Him. (Isaiah 53 )

 We owe Christ so much,in the book ,'The valley of Vison', we have a collection of prayers by the  Puritans ,we have one entitled,'Love Lustres at Calvary'.we read the following.

                                           'Christ was all anguish that I might  be all joy,

                                            cast off that I might be brought in ,

                                            trodden down as an enemy

                                            that I might be welcomed as a friend,

                                            surrendered  to hell's worst

                                            that I might attain heaven's  best,

                                            stripped that I might be clothed,

                                            wounded that I might be healed,

                                            made a shame that I might have eternal light.

                                            My Saviour  wept that all tears might be wiped

                                            from my eyes,

                                            bore a thorny    crown that I  might have

                                            a glory -diadem.

 'When I think of all He's done  for me the guilty one,can you wonder why it is I love Him so'

                                           

                                      

Such Love ( Romans 5 v 6-8)

 Psalm 103 written by David has much to say to us,it has 22 verses, Scroggie divides up into three sections,'1-5 are Personal; 6- 18 are National;  and 19-22 are Universal.' v1-5 begins by urging us to praise God,from our souls,and forget not all his benefits,'forgiveness,healing,redemption,satisfaction, and renewal.I will leave you to look at the Psalm yourself,  I want to highlight v 10-12,verse 10 reads ,'He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities'.in other words we don't get our just deserts,if we had we would be in hell,The reason why we are not consigned to that awful place is  because one called Jesus, bore are punishment, 'He took my sins and my sorrows, He made them His very own; He bore the burden to Calvary,and suffered and died alone'.  (Words C H. Gabriel) Next v11,Tells us, For as high as the heavens are above the earth,so great is His love for those who fear Him'.The driving force behind the work of salvation was love,In the Song of Solomon 8 v7 we read,'Many waters cannot quench love', Satan did all he could to quench that love,all to no avail,fallen humanity likewise committed unspeakable evil in their attempts to quench that love,they failed,'Such love springs from eternity; such love,streaming through history; such love,fountain of life to me; O Jesus such love. (Graham Kendrick) Last but not least v 12.'As far as east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. Spurgeon comments,'Sin is removed from us by an act of love, removed so far that the distance is incalculable'.

                                                        

No escape. (Genesis 2 v 16 -17.)

We live in different times than our forefathers,there have advances in medical care,the result is people living longer,It wasn't always so ,there was a high degree of child mortality,in the 17th century 400 out of a 1000 did not live to their first year,there were so things that could kill children. Of course there so many thing that kill people,medical science had not advanced much until the 20th century,As I go on life I  am amazed at the wonderful treatment that their is for fighting sickness now,for which we praise God.Yet there is one thing medical science can't do, is defeat death,they can prolong life,but that's all. Mankind has never come to terms with death, one person wrote as regards the aftermath of death the effects are often, rage and sorrow,and loss ,We cannot change it,often we cannot come to terms with it,So what can we say that may help? .I think of what King David wrote in the 23rd Psalm.as regards the valley of the shadow of death ,he would fear no evil for the good shepherd was with him.I think  one could broaden that out,as regards those Christians who have lost love ones, and its aftermath. It is like going through a dark valley,  it is very dark , butut hear is the good news ,in that valley of darkness there is one with you,even Jesus,He alone knows what you are going through,and He just asks one think of you,trust,yes trust Him,He will bring you through,The scripture tells us,' Weeping may endure for a night,but joy comes in the morning'.  (Psalm 30 v 9)

God's Kingdom ( Hebrew 12 v1 - 3)

When our dear Saviour stood before Pilate,he was asked,'Are you the king of the Jews?' (John 18 v33),this was a very important question,for Pilate the Roman governor would  have been keen of any one who was a threat  to the rule of Rome.In fact the Jewish leaders leaders played into that, when they  cried out,'We have no king but Caesar,(Jn 19 v 15) ,of course that was far from the truth,as they and the Jewish people hated the rule of Rome,but it suited them,as a means of persuading Pilate to put Jesus to death. So what did Jesus say to the question from Pilate?,here is His answer,'My kingdom is not of this world'.Jn 19 v 36 .Jesus never once spoke out against the rule of Rome,why because as He said His kingdom was not of this world.In Romans 13 we are told to be subject to the governing  authorities v 1,but we must balance that out with what Jesus said in Mark 12 v17,' Give back to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's'. Of course Jesus is a King Rev 17 v14, but He does not rule in an earthly place of power, in Psalm 96 v 10 we read,'The Lord reigns', the old Latin Version puts it like this,''The Lord hath reigned from a tree''.the tree is symbolic of the cross ,1 Peter 2 v24.A hymn by Mrs C Charles says the following,'Tell all the earth the Lord is King! Lo , from the Cross,a King He reigns'.The sinner comes to God at the foot of the cross to receive forgiveness,and as a saint lives a life in light of the cross.'His kingship  breaks out of the narrow confines  of nationalism, that kingdom embraces all humanity'.(Derek Tidball)

                                                        'Near the cross! O Lamb of God

                                                        Bring its scenes before me;

                                                         Help me walk from day to day

                                                         With its shadow o'er me.'   ( Words Fanny Crosby)

Getting your own back. ( 1 Peter 2 v 23)

 Romans 12 v 19 -21 reads,'Do not take revenge,my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath,for it is written;'It is mine to avenge; I will repay, says the Lord. On the the contrary ; 'If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty , give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.' These are very challenging words, it points us to what God  says we shouldn't do,and what we should do,in relationship to wrongs we have suffered. The natural man will find it hard  to do what this scripture  says, but even as a Christian we may also find it very hard. The world is full of so much injustice ,bad things are happening all the time, we have a choice,to revenge ourselves,or do what the scriptures tell us to do . It is in 2 kings 6 v 18ff we have a wonderful example  of  Israel not taking revenge on their enemies,and showing kindness to them. When Elisha who manifested miraculous powers,blinded Israels enemies and led them into a trap,the King of Israel asked Elisha ,'shall I kill them?',and he was told no,he was to give them water to drink and food to eat, and let them go back to their own country. Amazing story, what about your story and my story?,it is natural to want to get our own back on those who have hurt us, we have a choice,do we leave it to God to deal with it,or  do we do it?. 

Anything ( John 8 v 12)

 A man called Chesterton said the following, 'When people no longer believe in something, they believe, not in nothing, but in anything'. Yes anything,I recent visited the town of Glastonbury,it is near where a  famous musical festival is held every year.As we walked around the town we noticed that many of the shops where catering for Paganism, such as Celtic traditions,witchcraft,or certain gods.I recently heard a commentator speaking of a famous  football stadium as a place of worship,and people are often asked who their idol is. Of course we are more civilised now, we have thrown of what  people see as the shackles of established beliefs, but that does not mean they don't worship something,as Chesterton rightly said they worship anything.Israel of old often forsook God and turned to idols.I believe there a vacuum in all our lives,but in our fallen state we fill that vacuum with anything but God. This creates great problems for mankind the moral absolutes set by God are thrown out,and replaced  by anything goes, and society slowly but surely slips into a downward abyss,with more and more people being sucked into it. Yesterdays wrongs are now acceptable.Lord denning wrote ,'if religion perishes in the land,truth and justice will also.'and he finishes by saying,'We have already strayed too far from the faith of our Fathers.Let us return to it, for it is the only thing that can save us'.If we keep walking away from the only God as revealed in his word,and was manifest in Jesus Christ,the darkness will increase,chaos will increase,remember what our dear Saviour said,' If you follow Me,you won't have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life'  (John  8 v 12)

I am an author. ( 1 Corinthians 1 v 26 - 31 )

   Just recently I turned 80,there is a lot of history in those  years,there was a time when my dear first wife and I went to Bible college,we believe God was calling us to be missionaries,but God had another plan for our lives.I became a minister ,and served God in that capacity.There was  a time I thought that I would love to minister on the radio it never happened.Seventeen years my so John helped me to get started on doing a Blog,and just recently the thought struck me ,God had given me my hearts desire in reaching out to the world.Now as I said I have just turned 80 ,and today I received a birthday present from my son John,and when I opened it,it was a large book , a daily devotional made up from the devotionals from my Blog,now I am an author. My son told me it took a number of years putting it together ,and it was a work of love.You can get it from Amazon,it is simply called ,'A Daily Devotional', by William A .Heasley, I will not get  any money from this,I just hope it will  bless people.I am amazed at this, and thank God for giving me this ministry. Lessons I have learnt from my experience,God will give us the desire of our hearts,in His time, and in ministries we never imagined. God in choosing me,chose one of those weaklings,He chose an ordinary person,this is not false humility,if He can use me,He can use you, go for it.

Great Jehovah.( John 20 v 28 )

 Scroggie points out that throughout the OT  the name Jehovah has a descriptive  affix,in other words something fastened to it .'Jehovah- Rohi meaning the Lord is my shepherd . Jehovah - Shalom ,the  Lord my peace, Jehovah- Ropheka, the Lord my health. Jehovah- Tsidkneu,the Lord my Righteousness,  Jehovah-Shammah, the Lord my Companion, Jehovah -Nissi,the Lord my Victory, Jehovah- Jireh,the Lord my Provision.David sees God in all of life, such a great God,as the hymn writer puts it ,'How great Thou art'.David was under the Old Covenant ,but we of the New Covenant are also blessed because of Jesus,in Him we have a twofold peace,we have peace with God and the peace of God that passes all understanding, in Jesus we have health that comes from Him,we stand before a holy God in the righteousness of Christ,the Lord,He is our constant companion, through Christ we have the victory,through Christ all our needs are met ,as children of the New Covenant we are truly blessed.Remember all that Jehovah is in the Old Covenant, is ours as children of the New Covenant.

                                             ' For this God is our God for ever and ever;

                                                 He will be our guide even to the end.'

                                                                 Psalm 48 v 14 

Our Guardian. ( Psalm 91 )

 Let us consider further thoughts from Psalm 86 ,v2 reads ,'Guard my life',and of course God did guard Davids life,from wild beasts,fearful enemies,and his fellow Israelites. But we could go further than that,from the moment he was conceived in his mothers womb God preserved him.I am convinced like David I was preserved from my mothers womb till now,I believe I was premature,and as a young lad I was  saved from drowning. Everyone has a destiny,death will come  in God's time for the word of God reminds us ,our times are in His hands,that includes the time of our death.All humanity lives in the shadow of death we can't escape it, God will preserve us until He see's fit.Now I read daily of so many Christians dying violent deaths,the word to them would be, to be faithful unto death (Revelation 2 v10) Many have experienced it,and many more will ,may we remember all those who are living  with that threat hanging over them,may they be given grace to not only to live for Christ but to die for Him .David was not to die as a  martyr, he was chosen to become Israels king,no one and nothing would stop that. God has got a purpose for all our lives ,no one,and nothing can prevent that happening.In Psalm 91 v7 we have these words ,'A thousand shall fall at your side ,but it will not come near you'.

                                                       'Never let us not forget  that our God

                                                                      is Sovereign'

Just as I am. (Matthew 5 v 2) 1

 Psalm 86 is a prayer of  David, a prayer that God would  hear and answer him, he comes with  a right attitude for he declares,'For I am poor and needy'.We are talking about, the man after God's own heart, but the important thing is this,when we come to God, we are still in this body of flesh.Here is what the apostle Paul wrote i Romans 7 v 18,'For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is,in my sinful nature'. He is not exaggerating he considers God  in his total holiness,and then he honestly considers himself.The hymn ,' Just as I am without one plea', was written by a Christian, Charlotte Elliott,who suffered from ill health.One day confined to her home,feeling depressed, useless and lonely,she recalled what someone once said to her,'Come to Jesus just as you are', That inspired her to write that hymn,which has blessed many people.Although it is associated with  evangelistic meetings, someone has said 'It is suitable  for altar calls, and also during Holy communion'. Here are some of the words from this hymn,to unsaved sinners, and saved sinners.

                                 'Just as I am without one plea,but that Thy blood was shed for me,

                                  And that Thou  bidd'st  me come to thee , O lamb of God, I come!

                                  Just as I am,poor,wretched,blind; sight,riches,healing of the mind,

                                  Yea all I need,in Thee to find,O Lamb of God I come!

Without Him. ( Mark 10 v 17 ff)

 Recently a couple won 61 million pounds on a lottery,my goodness that's a lot of money,there are many people who do the lottery.One day a man came up to Jesus ,he wanted eternal life,he was religious,and this is what he asked Jesus,' Teacher ,what good thing must I do to get eternal life? Jesus quizzed him,and then He gave him the answer to his question ,'he was to give away all his wealth to the poor, then come follow Him'. He got his answer, it was plain and simple,but not for him,he was very wealthy, and all that meant must have flashed through his mind,and it was a bridge to far.He didn't say a word,but he turned away and a sadness took hold of him. Was Jesus not asking to much of this young man  after all who wants to be poor, no He wasn't. Jesus loved this young man,but this young man did not love Jesus,or the poor for that matter,so he went away rich in material wealth,but not rich towards God, David Hanson wrote a song,here is a verse from it.

                                                    'O what emptiness without the Saviour  

                                                    Mid the sins and sorrows here below,

                                                    And eternity how dark without Him!

                                                    Only tears and endless woe!

                                                    When I come to die,how would it be?

                                                    O to face the valley's gloom without Him!

                                                    And without Him all eternity.'

I am the Lord thy God. ( Psalm 100)

One of the nicest person I know has Parkinson,he is a lovely Christian and served the Lord in his local church,and was a full time worker in a mission,and then in child evangelism. I am long enough as a Christian to know that the nicest of people cannot escape illness of the most sever type.The word of God makes that plain , it could be disease,persecution, and it may cause us to ask the question ,'why',and the truth is we often do not know.Job's friends  thought they knew but they were wrong.I don't think Job did,he declared 'Surely I spoke of things I did not understand',(Job 42 v3), The book of Psalms deals with many of God's people suffering severely, and unjustly,likewise in the New Testament we have suffering in many places. In Psalm 77 the writer Asaph.is suffering ,and it was getting to him,he prayed earnestly,and he appeared to get no response.also he could not get any sleep.He finds himself  asking questions v 8-9,'Has the Lord rejected him?,will He never be kind again?,has He removed his love for ever?,has His promises failed forever?, has God ceased to be gracious,has He in anger shut up his compassion, questions,questions, ,questions.What does he do?,he looks back, as to how God delivered Israel,and how God is one who does wonders, no one can be compared to Him.He has not changed ,we His children can rest assured that as He who was with us in the past ,He is with us in the present, and He will be with us in the future.

                                                  'He leads His dear children along'

                                                                 'TRUST HIM'

An Undivided Heart. ( Matthew 22 v 37 ) 3

 Let us consider Davids prayer in Psalm86 and a sentence from v11,''give me an undivided heart',sad to say that the history of  Israel shows that they sought to worship God and other gods.They did this often,one example is seen during the time of King Ahab (1 Kings 16-22),he married a woman called Jezebel who was a princess a daughter of a gentile king,and through her influence the foreign gods were introduced into Israel.There influence became so bad that God sent a judgement on them,no rain for  3yearsand 6 months,and so it happened,but eventually there was a stand off on Mount Carmel ,between Ahab and the false prophets, and Elijah.Elijah stood forth and challenged Israel with these words (1 kings 18 v 21) How long will you waver between  two opinions? If the Lord is God,follow Him; But if Baal is God ,follow him'. In  Exodus 20 , God tells Israel ,'You shall have no other gods before me'there is in essence only one God,In Isaiah 45  we read,'There is no other God v7 likewise in v18/22/23. God will not stand for a divided love, with him .it is,' all or nothing'.David cries unto God for an undivided heart,Christian is your heart an undivided heart? there are so many things that can cause us to have an undivided heart.Hear is a prayer we can all pray ,from a hymn by Philip Doddridge.

                                                       'Do not I love Thee, dearest Lord?

                                                       Behold my heart and see;

                                                       And cast each hated idol down

                                                       That dares to rival Thee' 

Feeling confused? (Psalm73)

The author of Psalm 73 Asaph ,and the prophet Habakkuk, found it hard to come to terms with certain things, and for they both  found themselves questioning God. Asaph struggled as to why the wicked prospered?,they appeared to get away with so much,they had no consideration for man or God,they sat back and gloated,and did not appear to have a care in the world.They appeared to get away with all sorts of evil,enjoying life so much ,always at ease and accumulating more wealth.Then it starts to become very personal Asaph asks the question ' did I keep my heart  pure for nothing?Did I keep my self innocent for no reason? I get nothing but trouble all day long; Yet he keeps it to himself,I have listened to a minister who aired certain things that he was struggling with,and it unsettled people, Scorggie says ,'Tell your certainties to others, but keep your doubts to yourself', Asaph did that v 15.But it does not finish there, in his troubled state of mind,He retreats to God and had a revelation,and he realised how foolish he had been. God revealed to him  their final destiny, that they were on a slippery path that in a moment they will be cast into a lost  eternity.The sad thing is that most people just take the short view, blind as to the uncertainty of life that death is certain and so is judgement. Asaph's spirit revived,he realised  true security and satisfaction  can only be found in the living God,and I would add Jesus Christ His Son.