An earthquake [ Acts 16 ]

It is just recently that I have become aware that New Zealand is prone to earthquakes,many people who were planning to live there ,will be having second thoughts. There is an account of an earthquake ,in the Bible, we read of it in Acts 16. Two of Gods servants, Paul and Silas, had been thrown into prison,after being whipped, and while in prison these two men started to sing and praise God. Then God sent an earthquake, all the prisoners chains fell of and the doors of the prison were opened. Now the man in charge of the prison,thought that all the prisoners had escaped,which meant that he would not only loose his job, but his life,so he decided to end it all, by killing himself. Then he heard a voice cry out ,do thyself no harm, for we all here,it was Paul, the jailer went into them ,fell down before Paul and Silas, and asked, what must I do to be saved?, and he was told , believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved,and he did just that.It took an earthquake to bring that man to the Lord Jesus, whats it going to take for you, before you trust Jesus to be your saviour?. [Dear God help me , to believe on the Lord Jesus Your son,to be my saviour, Amen ]

Am I a Christian?. [ John 3 v 1-16 ]

I came into contact with a person yesterday, and I asked him , was he a Christian?, he said he was, that he was a Catholic, now he may be a Christian,but he may not be,the lable we stick on ourselves does not really mean very much in Gods eyes. So let me ask the question to you ,are you a Christian?, not that you are a Catholic or a Baptist, or C of E,or a Methodist, oh yes there are many lables. The people our Saviour dealt with took great pride in their lable,that of being a Jew,of being an Israelite, a child of Abraham, yet they were not children of God, they showed this when they crucified the Son of God ,Jesus. [cp-John 8 v44]. One night a very religious person visited Jesus, surely he of all people was a true child of God, but no ,Jesus told him he needed to be born again[ John 3 v1-7]. No matter how religious we may be, no matter what religious lable we wear, it counts for nothing if we are not born again.In John 1 v12-13 we read,/But as many as recieved Him [Jesus ], to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name,who were born ,not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God./[ Dear God grant me salvation, through Jesus Your Son .Amen ]

The work of patience. [ Romans 5 v 4-5 tm]

I want to stress something that we need to be reminded of continually,patience, yesterday I asked someone ,what is God teaching me in a certain situation, she replied patience. Every day there are times when we are faced with frustration situations, if one is a driver,you are faced with, a lot of situations which can cause one to be impatient, the traffic lights, the learner drivers, the road works, the slow coaches. If you are a teacher,now there is a calling ,that needs a lot of patience,or if you work with difficult people. Then there is being a parent, my what patience one needs for that task,those little dears, can drive one to distraction. All these and many , many ,more situations, can really test us, causing us to loose it, which does not really help. So I hope you agree with me as regards ,to the need of having patience.The apostle Paul ,who had more than his share of troubles to cope with, wrote the following, /We know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue , keeping us alert for whatever God will do next./[Romans 5 v4-5 tm] [Dear God help me to be patient, and in that patience, work your good will out in my life , in Jesus name. Amen ]

A car crash. [Romans 8 v28 ]

Yesterday I stressed the important truth that God is sovereign, that He is in control of events,well what do you think happened. I got ready for work, set out in my car, travelled about 200yds and had an accident, a young lad who has a reputation for speeding overtook some park cars on the bend, and crashed into me. Is God still sovereign?, of course He is , will it all work out for my good? ,of course it will, God is looking after His children. Also let us consider the mercies in my accident, no phyisical harm,I am insured, I was near home, the young lad was insured.I have means to hire a car today to go to work, this will pass,God will sort it all out, for He is looking after me. If you are faced with a problem today, remember God is sovereign,and is working all things for your good,and in your difficulties look for the mercies, from a merciful God. [Dear God and Father we thank You that You are watching over us, even when the unexpected happens, like a parking ticket, a job loss, a car accident,an illness, or whatever, thank You in Jesus name Amen ]

He is in control. [ Revelation 19v6 av ]

Yesterday I was talking to another senior citizen about the changes that have taken place in our lifetime, many have been dramatic, politically, socially etc. Life by its very nature is one of change, and often we cannot do anything about the changes, king Canute who was a powerful king, he ruled Denmark,England, and Norway.He is best remembered as the king who is thought to have foolishly tried to stop the tide coming in,when in fact he was illustrating to his followers that powerful though he was,his power was limited.We cannot control the tide of change,that takes place in this world,and in our personal lives, but we can trust in one who is in control, our Sovereign God.Mens hearts may fail them for fear, but the person of faith,looks up beyond the the things of time, to the God who moves in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform, the one whose purposes cannot be thwarted,yes who is in control of the tide of life and especially in the lives of His children [Roman 8 v28 ] [ Dear God in the midst of this changing world, we rest in You, our sovereign God ,in Jesus name . Amen ]

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]