Ravish our hearts.[ Song of Solomon 5 v16 av ]

It is my anniversary,yes my wife did have to remind me yesterday, at least I have an excuse ,I am a senior citizen, still an anniversary is important, a time to reflect. We take so much for granted, marriage can be like that, the ironing is always done, we men take a lot for granted, but having said that ,hopefully we still love our wives . The christian life is seen as a marriage [Revelation 21 v2 ], and it is in the Song of Solomon that we have a picture ,of the most personal kind ,shown. Love , what is a marriage without love?, a dry husk, an empty show,when it should be so much more. Likewise our marriage to Christ can be one of dryness,no heart emotion, when our dear Saviour met with Peter [John 21] , He asked him three times, the same question, do you love Me Peter?,how many times would He have to ask this question to us ,before He recieved an honest answer?. Love your wife/husband ,as Christ loved the church, but love Him, because He first loved you,like the hymn wrote, /My Jesus I love, I know that Thou art mine, for Thee all the pleasures of sin I resign/.[ My Jesus ,ravish our hearts, do what it takes , to make us wholly yours, Amen ] [ That term ravish is from a poem by John Donne]

The promise keeper. [ Joshua 21 v45 ]

As I begin to write my blog ,I am listening to a song ,and I here the following words,/ In this world of pain and sorrow, where a promise will not hold true/.That sad to say ,is so true, it need not be ,but it is,so many feel let down by their wives or their husbands,many are looking at their wedding photos, remembering that day they made vows,and all they are left with are broken promises.Hitler signed a document that promised peace, but had no intention of keeping his promise,politicians are good at this, breaking their promises. But I have a God who is so different, He always keeps His word, always, without fail, what He says He does, He promises to save all who call on Him ,He promises to forgive every sin no matter how bad it is, He promises eternal life to a world that is dying, He will fulfill all His promises to the sinner and to the saint. All these promises come through Jesus, through Him and Him alone, He can be totally relied on to keep every promise. [Dear Lord we reach out to You, for You are the one who can be totally relied on to keep Your promises, Amen]

Abramovich the billionaire[ Luke 12 v 15-21 ]

It is reported that the owner of Chelsea football club is worth more than 11 billion pounds, how much more, one is not sure, we live in the age of billionaires, not millionaires.Im sure many people envy them, as a Christian I have to remind myself ,that my security is in God, I dont know if I have reached the point of being content in want or in plenty[Philippians 4 v11-12 ], I have know the difficult times , and now I am experiencing the not so difficult, I am content with my lot. The whole subject of money, is challenging,we are told that we are the loosers in a big way, if we were to gain the whole world, and yet loose our souls [Matthew 16v26 ]. We are warned of the deceitfulness of riches [Matthew 13 v22 ], and the uncertainty of riches [1 Timothy 6v17],and the love of money being the root of all evil, and what it can do to us.[ 1 Timothy 6 v10] Let us not envy anyone for their material wealth, and let us set our affections on things above, not on things on the earth [ Colossians 3 v2 ][ Dear God help us not to make money an idol, help us not to make it our security,help us not to love it, in Jesus name Amen ]

One. [ Matthew 28 v19 -20 ]

I was watching a football match on the TV ,and what left a lasting impression on me was the vast crowd of people watching the match. I thought how few there are who know Jesus as Saviour, mulitudes going to a lost eternity,and it saddened my heart, and then I thought of the many people I pray for, and how few there are who are saved. Jesus said many are called few are chosen [Matthew 20 v16 ], millions of people, have, and are being saved, and yet untold millions are not.What can one do?despair, no ,pray and keep on praying,witness,and keep on witnessing,God has not forsaken this world, He still loves the lost,and He would call us to be faithful.A story is told which bears repeating, of a beach that was littered with starfish, a little boy was throwing some back into the sea, and someone asked him ,what was the point of what he was doing ,there were so many?he held one in his hand, threw it into the sea,and replied, it will make a difference to that one. If by our witnessing one soul trusts Christ, it will make a tremendous difference to that one, in time ,and in eternity. [ Saviour ,lead me to some soul today, use me ,to be Your instrument to bring them to You Amen ]

I am special . [John 3v 16 ]

I received an e-mail passed on by a friend which he had recieved called an Irish blessing, which is very lovely, the last part of it ends with these words ./ And may you come to realise in your heart,that in this vast universe, that you are an important part of Gods plan/. I wonder do you realise this?,that what concerns you, concerns God, that you are special, if you are not a Christian ,God loves you [John 3v16] so much He came into this world in the person of His Son, and died on a cross that you may be forgiven, and become His child. And if you are a Christian mybe you need to be reminded also that you are very special to God. Graham Kendrick wrote the following,/Im special because God loved me, For He gave the best thing that He had to save me.His own Son Jesus ,crucified to take the blame. For all the bad things I have done./ Yes thats how special you are to God.[ Dear God thank You that I am special to You, thank You in Jesus name Amen ]

Resurrection. [ John 11 ]

Consider the situation the dear woman had lost her son,he had died [1 Kings 17], many people, mothers and fathers are grieving over the death of a child. So much effort by mankind is taken up to try to beat death, money is poured into these efforts,but the fact is we may beat cancer, but no one will beat death. I will die you will die,and yet in this story in 1 Kings 17, we have a hint of something wonderful, resurrection, Elijah prayed for this child,and he came to life again.Let us go forward to another scene of death, a man called Lazarus had died,he had been dead four days,but into that situation, comes Jesus, who declares,I am the resurrection and the life,he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. Death as to this life is final ,but there is another time coming when the dead in Christ shall rise to enter into eternal glory. Because of Christ we who are Christians need not sorrow as those who have no hope[1 Thessalonians 4v13 ]. [Dear God we praise You that because of Jesus Your dear Son we have hope even when faced with death. Amen ]

Acting like our Heavenly Father.[ Matthew 5 v43-48 ]

Continuing on in 1 Kings 17,we have the death of the widows son ,in her grief she accuses Elijah of making her feel guilty,of bringing to mind her past sins,she saw the death of her son as a judgement. What does one do when people accuse us of all sorts of things?well what did Elijah do, he prayed for her. Our Saviour taught in Matthew 5 v44, that we are to love our enemies, to bless them that curse us,to do good to them that hate us,and to pray for them that despitefully use us, and persecute us. Who said being a Christian was easy, we are being told to act against our natural feelings,to act in a spiritual manner, and as we do this we are acting as our Father in Heaven acts, to the population of this world, day in day out.[ Dear Heavenly Father grant us the grace to act like You in every situation in Jesus name Amen ]