Only Him.(1 Kings11 v 9 ff)

 It was said of the king of the Hungarians,when he became a Christian,was reproached by a monk for continuing to offer sacrifice ,'to various false god's', he cheerily  acknowledged that he was hedging his bets', When Paul visited Athens a place of many god's,he became distressed that the city was full of idols,he found out later that one idol was dedicated to the unknown god.they were hedging their bets,in other word they were  hedging there bets.in case they got it wrong.When Assyria conquered the 10 tribes (called Israel) they brought in people from other lands to repopulate Israel,and we read  that they worshipped the Lord,but they also served their own God's.  (2 Kings 17 v 33)Of course this goes against what God said in Exodus 20v 3,which reads .'You shall have no other God's before me' in Isaiah 45 v5 ,God declares ,'I am the Lord ,and there is no other; apart from me there is no God'. We  cannot hedge out bets,we cannot worship football ,money,clothes, sex,pop stars,film stars,political leaders,other religions etc.

                                                           'The dearest idol I have known,

                                                            Whatever that idol be,

                                                             Help me to tear it from Thy throne'

                                                             And worship only Thee'

                                                                           W. Cowper.

He cares (John 11 v 35)

 Most of us know what the book of  Job is about, a man who suffered greatly,a man who lost all his ten children,all his possessions,and his health. The book of Job tells us about the man,this is what it says,'This man was blameless,and upright (he was not sinless,/these are my words) he feared God and shunned evil' My what a godly man  he was,what a testimony he had.So why did he suffer? it's a good question,what's the answer,for God permitted him to go through this.If you read the book of Job ,the main charactors are ,first God,then his friends,the devil, his three fiends. There is one other person mentioned his wife ,it is interesting as to her reaction.remember she is hurting,she is grieving,someone has said this,'good people can and do get angry'.pray for people who are grieving,  yes Christians get angry,even with God. One writer comments,' Job's  desperate plight provokes his to wife cry out,'Are you still holding  unto your integrity? Curse God  and die! (2 v 9) Yes Job was hurting dreadfully, and he rebuked his wife for saying that,'He replied ,'You foolish woman . Shall we accept good from God,and not trouble?'. Job a very spiritual man recognises that God has allowed these things to come into his life,for God is sovereign,there are no second causes,the hymn writer wrote ,'Every joy or trial falleth from above'whatever God permits painful things to come into our lives,He has a purpose,and it is loving purpose.There was moment in a storm ,and Jesus was asleep,and to the disciples it appeared that he didn't care, and so they woke him,with these words,'Master , carest thou not that we perish'( Mk 4 v 38ff) Believe me he cares (1 Peter 5 v7)

He will lead (Exodus 13 v 21- 22)

 I went to visit someone recently,I thought I knew where she lived,but I was wrong,I hadn't brought my sat nav,so I got out of  my car  to ask someone,she couldn't speak English. I asked someone else and they used the google map.so off I went and still couldn't find it. I wearily walked back to my car, I spoke to God and said where is the cloud(The one that led Israel in the wilderness),and the monent I said that, I saw the place I was looking for. Was that a coincidence, some would say it was,let us remember there are no coincidences with God,possibly He was reminding me that He is my guide, not was,He is my guide now,and will be my guide tomorrow and all my tomorrows, God guarantees that for all His children, the hymn writer say's . Can I doubt His tender mercy,who through life has been my guide?

                                                      'I will insruct you and teach

                                                      you in the way you should go'

                                                                 Psalm32 v8

The word of God ( 2 Timothy 3 v 14-17)

 In the autumn of 1526, Cuthbert Tunstall ,the Bishop of London had a large bonfire in which he burned as many copies of   William Tyndale's NT as he could ccontain.It appears a strange thing to do,why did he do that ?,well there were a number of reasons,such as a 'Fear of heresy  and misinterpretation: Catholic authorities believed that putting the Bible directly into the hands of ordinary people without clerical guidance would lead to false  teachings'.The Catholic Church has until recently discoursged people from reading the Bible.An elderly friend of mine who was a Catholic asked his priest why RC's were forbidden  to read the Bible,he replied ,'When people read the Bible they become  Protestants'.   One may smile at this but there is a degree of truth in those words.  Psalm 119 v130 reads,' The entrance of your words;it gives understanding to the simple',one person comments,'  It makes deep wisdom and guidance to ordinary,teachable,or humble people,regardless of human status or high scholarship'.

                                                         'Read and understand God's word   

                                                          it brings great reward'                                                                                   

The unchaging one (Hebrews 13 v8)

I opened a little book I  had, and read,'God is not the great I was',no he's not,he is the same yesterday ,today and tomorrow.The greatest people are yesterdays people,they are just a memory,we can rattle of their names,their greed, deeds,but they are gone,we can look at their graves, but they are gone, as one day we will be.Let us think about God,In Exodus 3 where Moses had an encounter with God,who spoke to him from a bush,God was sending him. to bring his people out of Egypt.Moses asked God what his name and he replied,'I Am ,who I Am'Tell the people,''I am has sent me to you.'' I  Am' has the meaning of being eternal and unchanging.Yes he is not the great ''I was''.I remember listening on Utube to a Muslim  who challenged those present to tell him when did Christ say he was God. I would like to give you an answer,in John 8 v 53 Jesus was asked by the Jews,'Who do you think you are?',in v 56ff' 'Jesus said,'Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.'they replied,'You are not yet fifty years old,'....And you have seen  Abraham!,and Jesus replied,' Very truly I tell you ,before Abraham was born,I am'.

The Bible ( Psalm 119 v105 )

 There are people who have great knowledge and understanding,now I am not in that catagoria,I could read from an early age ,and we were taught the times tables example,=5and 5 equals 10.I do not remember in having interest in much that was taught in school. I remained through my school days in the lower levels.The result being, it didn't help one in to get a decent job,many were like that in those days, becoming a Christian did change my Life,I found something that gripped me, it was the Bible. As I went on  in my Christian life l studed the Bible,going to Bible college helped a great deal. godly men taught us,and one bought commentaries on the books of the  Bible ,which I still use.My advice to you is, read your Bible, get to know it ,and to understand it. Don't just rely on preachers,good and all as they are, one sermon a week is not enough,get all the helps you can on the books of the Bible,and if you do you will grow in  knowledge of  the Bible,but don't make just a head knowledge,let it touch your heart,and you will grow spiritually.

                                                                  ' The word of God'

                                                               'Read it ,study it,obey it'

Very important words ( Proverbs 4 v 20 -21)

 It was a wonderful wedding,the biggest one I've ever been at,one of my grandsons was getting married,they are  both Christians,After they became man and wife we all sat down for a meal,and then people were called to give a speech.It was lovely to listen to the speeches,many nice things were said,mixed with humour.I was not called to contribute,but if I had I would have said something of very great importance to my dear grandson and his dear wife,in fact it is of utmost importance for every Christian to hear,'Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths' (Proverbs 3 v 5-6 )