Resurrection day. [ Luke 24 v13 -35 ]

In Luke 24 we have an account of two people ,who had been followers of Christ, I say had been, but not now, for Jesus had died, To them He had failed, to fulfill their dreams,had failed so completley, it appears to me, they had given up,oh yes they had heard rumours ,that He was alive,but that had not impressed them.These two were in the depths of despair, and it showed,[v17 ]I am sure someone reading this ,can identify with these two people.The title of two of Philip Yanceys books are,/Disappointed with God, and What good is God ?/, it is possible that one may feel like that,and give up,just like these two.Life can be ever so cruel,we can experience so many hurts,but it even hurts more when it appears that Jesus has failed you. They were so down, they didnt realize that Jesus was there with them,mybe you feel the Lord is not with you, but He is, for He has said I will never leave you nor forsake you[Hebrews 13v5] All changed for those two ,when their eyes were opened,suddenly it all made sense,for resurrection day had come,and the risen Saviour,had not failed them, in fact He had, through His death and resurrection, saved them, and there lives would never be the same again.

A Prayer...../Dear God we rejoice in our Saviours death and resurrection,we give You thanks for all that He has accomplished , Amen

Inbetween days. [Luke 24 v13 -33 ]

I am listening to a song as I write, the words go/,Only by grace can we enter/, how welcome those words are, I am ever so grateful that it is not by performance,religious or otherwise. Especially not our feelings, unfortunately so many of us our ruled by our feelings,take this morning, I did not feel like praying, felt my concentration was poor,yet I prayed,for I know how vital prayer is for ourselves and others.Consider, this is the inbetween day ,yesterday was good Friday, tomorrow is resurrection day,but what about the inbetween day?. How did those early disciples feel? by all accounts they were in no mans land, were they still in the old covenant, or the new covenant?.What about Jesus, He was dead, was it all over?,how would you have felt in that situation?, Of course the coming day would change everything,but until then,what?. So what do we do in our inbetween days?, when we feel our world has collapsed,which brings us full circle,/Only by grace can we enter/. What do I need in the inbetween days?, the grace of God,when the one we love is taken,when we are having to endure the pain of loss,just simply rest in His arms of grace,remember tomorrow is resurrection day.
A prayer...../ Dear God help us in our inbetween days ,carry us through by Your lovely grace, in our lovely Saviours name we ask this Amen /

One word. [Isaiah 53]

As I look back on my childhood,there are things I feel sad about,one incident comes to mind,a friend and I were walking to school,and for whatever reason we picked on a boy.I remember having him up against a tree,threatening him, later he and his mother called at my home, I cannot remember what I said,but nothing else came of it,but as I grow older, this incident keeps coming back to me.I was to a degree an agressive little boy,and again as I look back I wish I had been different, in some ways one had to stand up for oneself,yet I often went further than this.So do I stand in the corner of condemnation, no, for you see it is good Friday,and all those wrong things,much an all as I regret them have been forgiven. I wear a little cross, last night I fondly touched it ,for it reminded me once again ,that I am forgiven,that a miracle has taken place,in my life. There is no greater miracle than ,what was accomplished on Calvary, for me and my past sins,my dirty language,dirty thoughts, my violence,over them all, I hear a voice,saying one word ,forgiven.
A prayer..../ Dear God we thank You from the bottom of our hearts,for Jesus Your wonderful dear Son ,who died on that awful yet wonderful cross, that every sin we have ever committed can be forgiven,by simply trusting Him,Amen /

Passion. [ Ephesians 3 v19/ 5 v18]

I had conversation with one of my sons, and he was mentioning about the Pharisees, how they were sincere, and very passionate people,and yet they were the ones who hated our Saviour.They not only hated Him they despised so many people,they had so many rules, just like Islam,and like some so called Christians.Religious passion is not neccessary a good thing,if it is misplaced,and the person holds a distorted veiw. Present day Islam are clear examples of distorted veiws ,resulting in awful actions,but it also raises the question for we who are evangelicals.We need a passion but it must not become divorced from Gods truth,and must always have a love for God, and a love for others. Cold formal religion is of no use to any of us, we do need a passion,for Gods word,Gods people, and a passion for the lost. A passion that is Spirit controlled,Spirit led, and if it is, then it will glorify God and our dear Saviour,and that is what we should always aim at.

A prayer...../ Dear God free ,me from deadness, coldness,lukewarmness,fill me with afresh by Your Spirit, in Jesus name Amen ./

The best is yet to be.[ Jeremiah 29 v 11]

Yesterday was a very imporant day, it was my birthday, I am 68,amazing how God has spared me,so often one could have perished,in an accident,or through an illness. So I give thanks to God for His faithfulness, I really have so much to be thankful for,at an early age I trusted the Saviour , but became a prodigal for a number of years,until 48 years ago I attended a church service and the Lord restored me to Himself.As I look back I am so grateful for those dear Christians who have befriended me, for the many who have ministered to me,and encouraged me, but most of all I thank God for His faithfulness,I dont believe I am the center of the universe, but I do believe I am loved ,by a loving Heavenly Father.His Love is eternal, constant, and unchanging. I believe He has changed me, and will continue to transform me, by His amazing grace,whatever the years ahead hold, I can rest assured that I have a Saviour ,who will never , never, leave me,nor forsake me, and what applies to me applies to you , dear child of God, I believe the best is yet to be, the eternal glories shine afar,may that vision never dim in any of our lives.

A prayer..../ Dear God we praise You for Your faithfulness, mercy,grace and love in Jesus name Amen/

Love one another. [James 3 ]

I visited a friend and I asked how his minister was getting on,and I recieved a very negative reply,now it would have been easy to follow up what he said, but I resisted doing that. After a recent conversation with another person who criticised a certain person, a minister I know, I had joined in, and later on I felt the Holy Spirit,impress on my heart the importance of not getting involved in negative conversation.As a minister then as an elder I was hurt so often by what certain people said about me, of course they didnt come and talk to me face to face, oh no they spoke to others who did their dirty work. They spoke half truths, to suit their agender,trying their best to destroy me, and it is as serious as that, one got the impression if I had dropped down dead ,they would have rejoiced. So I am going, by Gods grace ,not to get involved in similar conversations, I hope you will follow my example,and if we do, we will glorify our Saviour, who said ,love one another.

A prayer...../Dear God may my conversation be acceptable to you today, in Jesus name Amen /

The weather. [ Psalm 146 ]

Our weather is a bit unpredicable,we have been having lovely weather,but the forecast is for change, and snow has been mentioned. So many people are affected by the weather, especially those who suffer from mental illness.Many people go and live in sunnier climes, just to escape ,the dullness ,they want sunshine,and blue skies.I have a friend who just loves it when it rains, the hymn wrote, of the cold wind in the winter, the pleasant summer sun,how the Lord God made them everyone. So while we may just want sunshine and blue skies,yet have to live at times with the dullness and greyness of our country,let not the weather affect us, let us praise God,for all the seasons,may He help us to be praising Christians irrespective of the weather.

A prayer..../ Dear God help our moods not to be affected by the weather,help us to focus on You,for in the dull days You are ,our sunshine,and unlike the weather You never change, in Jesus name we ask this Amen /