Who is the guilty one? ( Ephesians 2 v 1-10)

 Darius became the King of Babylon and during his first year ,Daniel reads from the scrptures,and the words from the prophet Jeremiah that the captivity in Babylon,they would return to Israel after 70yrs,and so he prays to God .  (Chap 9) It is a prayer of repentance for Israels past sins that brought God's judgement upon them.He puts the blame on Israel for what has happened and he includes himself ,continually he says,'We have sinned', he does not blame God,nor should we ,God is not guilty of doing anything wrong. Verse 7 he says,'Lord ,you are righteous,but this day we are covered with shame',yes God is not guilty,look out at the world,is God guilty of all the wickedness that mankind is doing?,of course not, we are , I mean all of us,we all are without exception guilty,Romans 3 v23 'For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God'.  A minister once said to a young lady,this is what you must pray;''God be merciful to me a sinner'' 'I'm not a sinner',she shot back ,and added,'And if you knew me you'd know I wasn't' People are spiritually blind,blind to their condition,blind as to the great danger they are in,for after death  they will be judged by a holy God.

                                                             ' God is not guilty

                                                               but we are,that is

                                                               why we need Jesus'  

                                                         

Blockages ( Psalm 51 )

 I am sure many have had blocked drains,the drain needs the blockage to be removed,in the puplic drainage systems there is often  a big problem with fatbergs,they can be very large,but they need to be removed. The Bible tells us about something that can be seen as a blockage, in our relationship with God.In Isaiah 59v 1-2 ,God speaks to Israel reasuring them how that he can deliver them from their enemies,yes he can,but v2 tells there was a problem that is hindering that,here is how it reads,'But your iniquities have seperated you from your God.; your sins have hidden his face from you,so that he will not hear.'It is as serious as that, shut out from the presence of God.If we want our prayers to be answered then the blokage of sin will have to be removed,no ifs or buts,we must face up to this.Sin is not meant to be our companion, if it is  the very thing that we treasure it will be like chasim that we cannot cross,only till we deal with the blockage of sin,can we regain our relationship with God. When Hudsons Tailors wife was dying,her name was Marie,she said this as regards her relationship with God,there was no clouds between her and God.

A everlasting kingdom. (Daniel 7 v 27)

One of the most important doctrine we must hold unto like grim death,is the Sovereignty of God,because I believe that things in this world are going to get worse.I mean on a world wide scale. Cp Daniel 7 v24-25 /2 Thessaloians 2 v 3-4.Daniel was a man whom God  revealed so much to,one that stands out it involved  a  king of Greece ,Dan 8 v 21./ 10 v20/ 11v3. This was none other than Alexander the Great,he came 200yrs after this prophecy. It has been more than 2000yrs  since Daniel and Paul prophesied of as Paul called him,'The man of lawlessness',make no mistake about it ,it will came to pass.He will be powerful but not more powerful than God,in Daniel 7 v 26 we read,'His power will be taken away and completely destroyed for ever',by our sovereign God (Dan7 v27)When he comes he will manifest great power it will be a challenging time for even the children of God, but again God is sovereign,the kingdoms of this world come and go,but not the kingdom of God it is an everlasting kingdom,ruled by King Jesus.

Praying Hyde ( Mark 16 v15)

 Suddenly a name popped into my head  ,'Praying Hyde',so much locked  away in our memories,here was one.He was an American and served as a missionary in India. He was totally given to  prayer and evangelisim,it was said of him that he was consumed  by praying,he listened to God, pleaded with God, he wept before God.That is why he is remembered as the Apostle of prayer,from weakened by food -less days and sleepless nights,with sobs as he pleaded ,'O ,God give me souls or I die'.He knew the awful consequences that awaited  the lost in eternity,in other words he knew the value of a soul,do you? ,do I?.

                                                                   'Rescue the perishing

                                                                    Care for the dying.

                                                                    Snatch in them in pity

                                                                     from sin and the grave;

                                                                     Weep o'er the erring one,

                                                                      Tell them of Jesus the

                                                                           mighty to save'

Elijah ( James 5 v 13ff)

   I like Elijah that great prophet ,he prayed and rain stopped for three and a half years,and then he prayed again,and the rain fell.Then the great event on mount Carmel ,where he withstood against  450 false prophets,and challenged Israel to follow God. ( 1 Kings 18 v16ff)What a man, a great prophet, yes he was ,but listen he was a man,as James points out he was ,'Just like you and I' ,( James 5 v17) In 1Kings 19  we see the mighty prophet full of fear,lying under a bush wanting to die,here is what he prays,' I have had enough,Lord,take my life'.Is that you today? ,well God understood how he felt,and prepared a meal for him,and give him rest.Later on God spoke to him quietly,softly,and he assured him that there was still  a faithful remnant in Israel. God renewed Elijah,and still continued to use  him,until he took him home to glory.Don't put anyone on a pedestal,honour those who should be honoured,but remembering that they are imperfect human beings as you are, and I am. 'Keep in touch with God',Elijah kept praying to God,and God brought him through,he will do the same for you, and for me.

Lift them up ( Luke 10 v25ff)

 I recently watch a movie about President Roosevelt and his struggle with polio,it was a very lovely movie,I enjoyed it very much. PR went to a particular place where polio were being treated.,there he met other people who had polio,one could say they bonded together.There came a day when left the place he was being treated,but before he left he said this to the residents,''Do what you do best,lift one another up''I think that is a challenge to us all,how do we do that?.Their are many ways,by showing kindness,love, ,and going the extra mile.A man in Angola walked 200 kilometres to a hospital in Zambia,he was asked why he did that ?,he said,'The people here show patients love and respect'.It is a Christian hospital,surely every Christian should show respect and love,,to everyone.Dont always preach at people,but offer to pray with them,and if thay need help ,help them.But do witness to them when you have an opportunity,everyone needs Jesus,never forget that,think of the words of David in Psalm 40,speaking of God's goodness,'He lifted me out of a slimy pit,out the a mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock,and gave me a firm place to stand'.Yes that's what the gospel does ,it lifts people up.

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.