Getting things out of proportion. [ Matthew 23 v 13 ff ]

An old lady I dont know was complaining a client of mine,to me her complaint seemed so unimportant,and I could not help thinking how we often act this lady. We get things so out of proportion, our dear Saviour was faced with people who were so blind that they as our Saviour said, that they strained their water so they would not accidentally swallow a gnat, but they swallowed camels [Matthew 23 v 24 ]. They failed to see what was imporant,most of the things in their religious thought pattern was distorted, our Saviour said that they were blind, spiritually. Philip Yancey highlights this distorted way of thinking in our modern life,how many of us ,/ believe that the sole purpose of life is to be comfortable.To gorge ourselves, build a nice home, enjoy good food, have sex, live the good life./ but he goes unto say,/ but the presence of suffering vastly complicates that lifestyle- unless we choose to wear blinders. It is hard to believe the world is here just so I can have a party, when a third of the world go to bed starving . God desires that mankind see what is really important ,they need Him,first and most of all,and when they do know Him,to never loose sight of that reality.We all need to see what is most important and to treat the trivia for what it is, trivia.

A prayer...../Dear God help us to not be blinded by the trivia in life,that if I am not saved,then I need Jesus, and if I am saved I need to live for Him. Amen/

Judging God. [ Numbers 14 v 18 ]

As I read the book of Joshua and and how at the command of God cities were wiped out, men ,women and children, and even animals, I am inclined to question this, it appears so cruel. We all wonder at certain things in the Bible,hell is another doctrine, to many it is inconcieveable, that a God of love would condemn people to such a place.So what do you think?, or do you not think about these things, well here is my conclusion,God knows the whole, God is not cruel, God is kind, and He desires that all may be saved. So that is the character of God, the heart of the eternal is most wonderfully kind, but He has the crown of His creation in rebellion, let us remember that every sin is an act of rebellion against God.He knows the whole, we dont,and out of His total knowledge He acts in keeping with His justice , and holiness. God loves this old sinful world ,and He has acted in an incredible loving way, by sending His dear Son to die on a cross,He could do no greater thing than that. It may seem incredible to do such a thing,but the sinfulness of humanity demanded it.Let us not sit in judgement on God,whose ways are just and always motivated by love.
A prayer...../Dear God grant us the grace we need to trust in all Your ways and judgements in Jesus name Amen/

Unlearning. [ Romans 7 ]

There are many things we need in life, yes I may not have liked school, but I did need to learn the three r,s,and if I was going to drive a car I had to go to a drivng school to learn. There are so many things we need to learn in life, yes there so many things we need to learn in life. The thought came to me yesterday, there are things I need to unlearn, although I am Christian, there are habits , and thought patterns, that I need to unlearn. The modern song goes ,I did it my way,it is the hymn of modern man, but it is not a Christian hymn,we need to unlearn this, and sing a new hymn,and call it, Your way Lord.Where once we filled our mind with filthy thoughts which we learned,from pornographic material,or from the depraved conversation we had with others.We need to unlearn fearful thought patterns,as to money,relationships, ageing,dying,change,not feeling loved,discontentment,sin. We need to unlearn so much wrong thinking, stop and let look us look at our lives ,if we are honest,and nothing will change unless we are honest,honest to ourselves and honest to God, it will be the first step in the task of unlearning,then and only then can we begin to unlearn.
A prayer ....../Dear God by Your grace help us to unlearn those things that dog us ,and effect us, in Jesus name Amen /

I read Psalm 19 today.

I read Psalm 19 today, a Psalm that reminds us that God speaks through His creation, and through His word. In verse 1o ff,the writer declares how precious Gods word is, because of the warnings he is given in relation to sin, yes the warnings are there,they are to be heeded. He then prays for grace to help him from sinning ,knowledge of God is vital,but so is prayer,we may know a thing is wrong, but we need to ask for grace, to not commit that wrong. In the last verse he ends with this request,/Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sigh,. O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer./Three things , his words, his thoughts, his desire,today let us be careful as to our words,as to our thought life, and may the desire of our hearts , always be to please our God and Saviour.
A prayer...../ Dear God help us in every part of our lives to glorify Thee in Jesus name Amen /

His peace. [ Isaiah 26 v 3- 4 ]

Many years ago my pastor spoke of what Jesus left us[as it were in His will], not money for it is obvious, that money can create a lot of pain, and He didnt leave us the ability to not experience pain, no then we would not rely on Him, and that would have had terrible consequences. He left us something very ,very special His peace,here is what He said,/Peace I leave with you, my peace I gave unto you, not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled,neither let it be afraid./[John 14 v27 ].So this peace is not an earthly peace,earthly peace can evaporate in a moment, no this is a heavenly peace,a gift from Jesus, to His own. He knew that this what we needed most of all to face life, with all its uncertainties, all its pain, all its evil. Today dear child of God ask him for His promised peace, ask and you shall recieve, seek and you shall find, the peace of God that passeth all understanding.It is a peace that is not depending on the weather, your circumstances,your friends,your bank balance, so ask Your Saviour for it right now.
A prayer...../Dear Lord Jesus may we know Your peace this day . Amen /

Lasting peace. [ Colossians 1 ]

A saying comes to mind,give my head peace,it is something we used to say in Ulster, give my head peace, peace, what a lovely word ,so many people are struggling,so many things annoy.Consider the world,for all their fanatiscim Islam does not appear to know much about peace, they appear to be always foaming at the mouth,always wanting a fight. I come from a country that has known more than its fare share of conflict, borne out of its history, there is degree of peace there now, people got so tired of the conflict,and they were willing to compromise, and Im sure they dread the thought of going back to the way it was. As I read history ,and look out on this world, it appears that the world is always tearing itself apart,a British Prime Minister waved a little bit of paper in the air,declaring peace in our time, and the crowds cheered,but it was an illusion,for in a very short time the whole world was plunged into a conflict, that would bring unthinkable suffering to millions of people. It was not meant to be like this ,but then sin entered in,and from that moment on,things changed,and not for the better, and so it continues. A spirit entered into man that affected their relationship with God, and their fellow man.[ cp Romans 3 ] Mankind has no answer to this problem, but God had, a cross, the death of His son,through that death peace with God can be experienced[ Romans 5 v1 ],all we have to do is trust in Jesus.
A prayer ...../Dear God help us to see that true lasting peace is only to be found, through Jesus. Amen ]

Jesus.[ John 3 v16 ]

Now let us consider further what those words mean, salvation is of the Lord[ Jonah 2 v9],it means that God has a provided an an absolute perfect salvation for all, Consider the words of John 3 v16,for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Here is how God provided salvation, through His son Jesus, this Jesus is unique, He is the son of God,coequal with the Father.[John 1 v1-2 ].He became man for the purpose of dealing with sin, now He Himself was perfect,he had no sin, and did no sin, we have stressed that sin is our greatest problem, we cannot have a relationship with a Holy God, while our sin remains unforgiven this can never be.On the cross Jesus in and through His death, experienced the wrath of God,this was vital, for a Holy God cannot let sin go unpunished, as Isaiah puts it , He was smitten by God, and afflicted.Our sin can be forgiven, we can escape the just punishment for our sin, by trusting in Jesus , who bore our punishment. we who were under the wrath of God,can now experience peace with God, because Jesus experienced wrath for us.
A prayer.....Dear God we thank You for providing such a free salvation,even though it cost You everything , grant us grace to trust in Jesus to be our Saviour. Amen ]