Justice/ Mercy .[ Titus 3 v 1 -7 ]

  Gandhi said,,/ An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind/,now I don't understand fully the situation between Israel and Palestine.but I sometimes think that both sides practise that biblical instruction,and it definitely appears that both sides are going to end up blind.I wonder what you think of these words an eye for an eye?,I would think it is a statement about justice,and of course we need justice.Now of course God is a just God , He is the ultimate judge we will have to do with, but He is also merciful, continually in the Bible we are reminded of Gods mercy. Again a quotation from William S  / The quality of mercy is not strained. It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven. Upon the place beneath, it is twice blest. It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes./ We will always need justice, but we most surely always need mercy. I love the words of that old hymn by W .R, Newel./Years I spent in vanity and pride,caring not my Lord was crucified.Knowing not it was for me He died/That was once my condition , a sinner who was blind to Gods love in Christ, and if I remained like that I would only ever experience a just Gods wrath. But thankfully by Gods grace I was brought to a place of mercy as the chorus in that old hymn tells us. / Mercy there was great, and grace was free,pardon there was multiplied to me. There my burdened soul found liberty at Calvary./
A  prayer...../Dear God help us to appreciate that You demand Justice as regards sin, and hep us to see that the only way we can escape that justice is by accepting Christ as our Saviour, Amen /

Music. [Psalm 23 ]

I have always loved the cinema,and recently I have observed how important the music is, and how it is written to express the theme and mood of the story line. When you have a western, you will have music that tells you  there is Indians involved,in scary movies ,you have music that adds to a sense of fear. Shakespeare wrote that all the world was a stage,maybe if he were writing to day ,he  would write that all the world is a movie which we are all part of,playing out our different rolls.The thought came to me, what music are we hearing and living by ? ,is it music that indicates we are scared,is it music that indicate danger?. Are we swayed or even controlled by the music? what drum beat are we marching to?,maybe we need to start listening to heavens music,the music of faith,peace,trust, holiness.It is not music written by Mozart ,but by the divine Spirit,it speaks to our heart, and tells us to be still and know that He is God,that tells us to trust and not be afraid,that tells us that ,our Lord is with us,if we really listen, we will be brought into a place of calm and still waters.
A prayer ...../ Dear God help us in a world of distorted music ,to listen to the sound of Heavens music, in Jesus name Amen /

The unforgiveable sin. [ Matthew 12 v31-32 ]

I heard someone say the words,/It is unforgivable/ in the bible our Lord tells His hearers  that,/ all manner of sin and blasphemy ,shall be forgiven unto men, but  the blasphemy ,against the  Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto them [/Matthew 12 v31 ] So many people have sought to answer what does it mean to blaspheme against the Holy Ghost?,this question has unsettled many dear.Christians, some have felt they had committed this sin and so were outside the mercy of  God.,these words were spoken to unbelievers, not to those who have trusted Jesus .These words are spoken as a solemn warning to a group of people who continually,opposed the truth,they heard, and miracles they witnessed, they also had the scriptures,yet in spite of that they rejected Jesus, not only rejected Him but attributed what He was doing was of Satan. In Psalm 95 we read these words,/ Harden not your hearts/that what Israel did in the wilderness and they were cut of from entering the promise land. Those in the wilderness had witness so much of Gods power yet in the end were cut of, likewise as I have said, the religious people had witness so much,yet in the end all they could do was blaspheme the Holy Spirit,they were so hard they didn't want Jesus nor would they acknowledge the Holy Spirit. They just refused to repent,and so cut themselves of from God,that which is not  repented of cannot , will not be forgiven.One commentator David Thomas wrote the following words which are very solemn,/The Bible does certainly teach that man may here arrive at a point in sin when salvation becomes impossible, that the day of grace closes with some before the day of life/.
A  prayer ...../ Dear God  have mercy upon those who put themselves in great danger as to their eternal souls in Jesus name Amen/

BBC in crisis. [ Proverbs 2 v 6 ]

More heads will roll in BBC crisis, so read the headlines in the newspaper I read, it is all to do with people in the BBC acting unwisely or not acting wisely, it has caused a great stir in our country . It reminds me how easy we can be caught out and even caught on if we act unwisely,recently a top CIA person has resigned ,because he was involved in a extra martial relationship. As a Christian I am aware how easy it is to be caught out, and how we need Gods help in preserving us from all evil, and not to point the finger of judgement at others, but to pray for those who are in crisis,because of acting unwisely.As we start each day we should first of all pray,obvious this may sound but many people don't, next in our prayers we need to ask for wisdom , in James 1 v 5, if we ask God for wisdom , He will grant it to us. Then we need to act wisely, act on the wisdom God grants us, it is possible to be granted wisdom and to act contrary to it,the greatest example of a person who did this ,was Solomon [1 Kings 11]. In doing what he did Solomon brought terrible judgement on His people. Yes the cost of acting unwisely can be great,for us, no matter how great we may be,so today ask for wisdom from our all wise God.
A  prayer...../ Dear God keep us from acting unwisely ,grant us the wisdom we need, and give us grace to act on it, in Jesus name we ask this Amen/

Coming to terms with death. [ Psalm 23 ]

Are we ever going to come to terms with death? I read of an elderly man in Zambia who was told he had only a few weeks to live,he replied,/ God has been good to me/.I wonder what we would say if we were told we had just a few weeks to live?, considering that we are all going to die,many of us have never thought about it.The old puritans thought much about life, which in their days could be very short, but we are lulled into feeling we will never die. I  am not trying to be morbid but as a Christian the fact of death has been faced.How does one face death? ,well just like we face life, by faith,this is not a trivial statement, no it is because I found Jesus, I believe David who wrote the Psalms found Jesus and knew Him,if one reads the 23rd Psalm, one sees Jesus in it all,for the shepherd in the 23rd Psalm is none other than the good shepherd of the New Testament [ John 10] Knowing the shepherd affected David in so ways and especially when it came to death, and he declares,/Yea, though I walk through the valley of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me/
A  prayer...../ Dear God we thank You that Your dear son came and faced death, and conquered it, so that when we know Him, we need fear no evil, Amen/

Freely give. [ 2 Corinthians 8 v1-5 ]

I realise that in these days many are finding it difficult financially, for many unemployment looms up, and many are unemployed. I also receive news of the needs of many who have very, very little,in places like Africa, and other countries.The needs of this world are ongoing and never ending,what can we do?well we can pray,and if God has blessed us materially we can do our bit.Let us not be driven by guilt ,but let us never loose sight of our responsibility, to help others. We are not saved by our good works ,but is an evidence that we are saved, as James challenges us,when he says ,show me your faith by your works [ 2 v18 ]. Works are  a vital evidence that we are saved,we are saved by what Christ did not what we do. Paul in his letter to the church at Ephesus stresses the fact that we are saved by Gods grace 2 v8 ,not of works,but then he goes on to say that we have been saved unto good works, which God prepared in advanced for us to do [v 10].So being saved by grace is not a get out clause, not to help others,not to do good works, rather it is a challenge ,to help others, to bless as we have been blessed.
A  prayer...../ Dear God and Father we thank You for the free gift of salvation ,freely we have received, so help us to freely give , in Jesus name Amen /

The simplisity of the gospel [ 1 Corinthians 1 v 18 -31 ]

One of the people I admire is Billy Graham,in his time he has walked with presidents,and kings and queens,he was one of the most famous people on earth. There are people who have criticised him for different things,yes he was not perfect,tell me who is?,but here is the thing I really admire about him,he never departed from the simplicity of the gospel. The result is many ,many people came to Christ for salvation,maybe millions,my old pastor was a faithful preacher,he was not an academic, but there are those who came to know Christ, I and my first wife was restored under his ministry.Being an academic has its place ,we need such people, but we most of all need ,to hear that simple gospel. It was Paul who wrote these profound words , in Romans 1 v16/ For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation, to everyone that believed.
A  prayer...../Dear God we thank You for your profound gospel ,and its simplicity , help us to never be ashamed of it,to always tell others be it  in pulpit,or wherever we come into contact with sinners ,we ask this in the name of Him who loved us and died for us , even Jesus Amen/