Wishful thinking. [Hebrews 9 v 27 ]

Genesis 18 v 25/ The next thing is to consider is Abraham refering to God as a judge, C S Lewis writes the following,/ Some people talk as if meeting the gaze of absolute goodness would be fun. They need to think again./God will judge us make no mistake about it, in the case of the cities in the plains they would be judged, dramatically as a lesson for all of us. The evolutionist have a god that has no moral requirements, again C S lewis is helpful here,/ he writes of that great mysterious life force, that has no morals and no mind, will never interfere with you like that troublesome God we learned about when we were children. The life- force is a sort of tame god.You can switch it on when you want, but it will never bother you. All the thrills of religion and none of the cost. Is not the life force the greatest achievement of wishful thinking the world has yet seen./ We must get real ,and begin to appreciate the true nature of God as revealed in His word, He is as Abraham declared the Judge of all the earth.
A prayer......../Dear God help us not be fooled into thinking anything goes ,our behaviour,attitude, these matter to You,for You will judge, help us to seek mercy by forsaking our sins and trusting in Jesus Amen,/

Great is the Lord.[ Psalm 86 v 10 ]

Genesis 18/ In interceding for the doomed cities ,Abraham reasons with God v25, Shall not the judge of all the earth do right, first we see that he does not see God as a local diety, which was a common belief.There is only one God, and He is God of all the earth,Psalm 24 v1 tells us that the earth is the Lords, and the fullness thereof, and they that dwell therein. I love to read Isaiah 40 with its description of my God, as one who sitteth upon the the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers, that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in.Such is the greatness of our God, great in His power, in His wisdom, His love, mercy,forgiveness, wrath ,justice, holiness, truth, and so we could go on. Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised,who knows all things, and His ways are past finding out. John Mason wrote the following./ How great a being,Lord is Thine, Which doth all beings keep, Thy knowledge is the only line. To sound so vast a deep Thou art a sea without a shore. Thy sun without a sphere. Thy time is now and evermore , Thy place is everywhere.
A prayer..../Dear God trully how great Thou art,the greatness of Your being takes our breath away,Amen /

Keep on praying. [ Luke 18 v 1 ]

Genesis 18/ So judgement was going to fall on those cities ,unlike Jonah who appeared to want Nineveh to be destroyed, Abraham starts to plead with God. His request involved two things I believe ,the general population, and his nephew, he was pleading for mercy on them. We learn a very important lesson ,we need to pray for the lost, often that is all we can do,consider how Abraham persisted,recently I told you how my oldest boy came back to the Lord,I prayed for him everyday of his life, he is 43yrs of age. Of course as a child we ministered into his life, but we prayed ,and prayed, and prayed, and God answered.There are so many ,many people I have prayed for, literally for years,we may see results, but only eternity will reveal the answers to our prayers, and I believe there will be answers.
A prayer......./Dear Heavenly Father help us like Abraham that we may pray for the lost continually in Jesus name Amen.

I exaggerate not.[ Romans 1 v 18 ]

Abraham is told that judgement is going to fall upon the cities of the plains because of their sin, God cannot ignor sin, be it blatant or not so blatant. God of course does not usually act the way He was going to act with Sodom and Gomorrah,their extreme wickedness warranted it. Now it is possible that as you read this account in Genesis 18/19, you may thing well I am not as evil or wicked as those people, you may reason , I know Im not perfect ,but I an not that bad, grant it, but consider,even one sin if it is not forgiven ,will keep you out of heaven,and condemn you to hell for all eternity, I exaggerate not. To speak light of our condition ,is a clear indication that we are unaware of the gravity of sin and its consequences, yes even one sin. It also indicates that we think we dont need Gods solution, we dont need Jesus as our Saviour, and that is very foolish,and dangerous.We may not commit the extreme wickedness that some do, but the Bible clearly teaches that we all have sinned and come short of the glory of God [Romans 3 v23 ].
A prayer...../ Dear God help us to see the gravity of sin,yes even one sin, and grant us the grace to trust in Jesus that our sin may be forgiven Amen /

There most certainly is. [ John 3 v16 ]

We continue to consider Abrahams and his times, both Abraham and Sarah had recieved good news, but these heavenly visitors had come for another purpose, judgement.The cities in the plains, Sodom and Gomorrah and others, had become so wicked ,that like those at time of Noah, were ripe for judgement.The thought of judgement is not something that many Christians can come to terms with, some people in trying to come to terms with it, speak of the God of the new testament, and the God of the old testament. This is of course is wrong, for they are but one,and it has been said that Christ spoke of Judgement a great deal,more than others. In the best known verse in the Bible John 3 v16,we have both the love of God , and the judgement of God declared, and this recorded by the apostle of love, John. Let none of us live under the delusion that there is no hell, there most certainly is , as sure as there is heaven . Judgement was coming for those cities, why?, because of there sin, they had given themselves over to all sorts of wickedness. A book on Aushchwitz the German extermination camp has the following,/ Let nothing grow at Aushchwitz, Nothing, Except the will to never forget, Never. Of the darkness in the human heart, Ours, Which can put out even the sun, Forever and forever./ The darkness in the human heart, make no mistake our hearts are dark, so dark that we caused Jesus to die, look at the cross, and learn the truth that we are sinners, and if sin is not forgiven , it will be judged[John 3 v36 ], as Sodom and Gomorrah would find out.
A prayer..../ Dear God we thank You for saving us from hell, we praise You that You so loved the world that You gave Jesus ,to save us, thank You Amen/

It came to pass. [ Hebrews 11 v 6 ]

What God says, He will do, and not only will do, but can do,now God had promised Abraham a son,when the promise was given Abraham would have had no problem believing it,but now Abraham is 100 yrs of age and Sarah over 90. People that age dont have children, so Abraham and Sarah laughed when the Lord said that the child would be born the following year, the scriptures tells us , that they were old and stricken in age. We need to put ourselves in their place, this is not the age when an egg can be put within the womb, so that an older person can have a child,no humanly speaking it was not going to happen. Here is the important thing, God was in it, remember what God says He will do, and not only will do, but can do. And so the Lord asks a question,/ Is anything too hard for the Lord? Genesis 18 v14 / It is obvious what the answer is, Sarah and Abraham knew the answer, and believed [ Romans 4 v 19 ff/ Hebrews 11 v 11 ], and lo a child was born,it came to pass.
A prayer...../Dear God forgive are lack of faith,help us believe Your word,that what You promise us, You will do, in Jesus name we ask this Amen/

God delaying.[ Habakkuk 1 v 3 ]

I am reading the life of Abraham at this time, and I have come to the place were he is visited by the Lord and two angels ,it was just before God would destroy Sodom and Gomorrah.Now the Lord had promised Abraham a son , but that was years ago, and nothing happened. This couple Abraham and Sarah were very old ,humanly speaking they were past it, at this stage they both thought it could not happen,so when they were told it was going to happen, they both laughed. Why did God keep them waiting? why does He keep us waiting? I recieved a promise from God a few years ago, no sign of it coming to pass, why the waiting?. There are a number of reasons, to develop patience and that we may more appreciate the glory of God, when it does happen. In Proverbs 13 v12 we read , Hope deferred makes the heart sick , but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life. Charles Bridges comments on these words./ Here however the child of God is often tried in his faith, but never disappointed of his hope. Long we may have to wait, but never let us despair/. Yes like Abraham and Sarah we may have to wait till God fulfills His word,but oh the Joy when it comes to pass.
A prayer....../Dear God help us to hold on by faith to the promise you give us ,even when it is delayed, knowing that delay is not denial, in Jesus name we ask this. Amen /