What a cost...[John 3 v16 ]

Most people who visit London go to  Trafalgar square ,where there is  a pedestal with a statue of Lord Nelson on it.It is Andrew Lambert who comments that it is there to remind the country,from whence their wealth, safety and strength came, and what a cost.England indeed ,and Europe owe a great depth to Lord Nelson ,and so we have his statue,not everyone appreciated Lord Nelson, and his achievements. In Dublin's fair city where the girls are so pretty the IRA blew a statue of Lord Nelson up,shortly after that a song came out,about that event.But let us return to that quotation, for when I read this I immediately thought of a greater than Nelson,even our Lord Jesus,Like Nelson He won a great victory,in defeating Satan, and providing  a place of forgiveness for mankind,and what a cost.Yes what a cost, He became obedient unto to death even the death of the cross.Salvation cost us nothing but it cost Jesus everything, going beyond the physical suffering,there was a suffering that none of us can fathom,that the wrath of God that was my due upon the Lamb was laid.This is what propitiation means[Romans 3 v25/ 1 John 2 v2/4v10/] As Vine puts it, it was a divine act, where God  dealt with sin and in so doing He could shew mercy to the believing sinner,so removing his guilt,and granting remission of sins.
A  prayer...... /Dear God what words can begin to express the awesomeness of all You accomplished through Your sons death on that cross,Love so amazing so divine demands my soul my life my all, in Jesus name we pray this Amen /

Grace for living. [ Hebrews 4 v16 ]

From grace for salvation to grace for living,now when we trust Christ as Saviour ,we have a life to live, that is different to the life we once lived. Baptisim  declares this,in baptism we are declaring that we have died to the old life, and are now living that new life,as Romans 6 v4 declares,as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father,even so we also should walk in newness of life [.W Hendriksen,writes,/ a life dedicated no longer to sin, but to the glory of God  Triune].We are new creations,with a new disposition,a new nature,but we bring with us remnants of our old nature,sexual hangups,wrong emphasises,we all have something which we struggle with.Then the devil and his little helpers make us there special target and they will attack us, we must take this very serious,for if we don't, we will be the worse for it.Then we have the world, which the hymn tells us is no friend of grace,be not fooled we live in yes, Gods world,but everyone who lives in this world are not of God,for all men have not faith[2 Thessalonians 3 v2].What a lot of things we have to contend with,we can and must call on God for grace,which we are told is sufficient  [ 2 Corinthians 12 v9].John Newton, wrote,/Through many dangers,toils and snares,I have already come.Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home/.
A  prayers.../Dear God pour out Your grace upon our lives,that our lives will be longer be dedicated to sin,but to Your glory in Jesus name we ask this Amen /

A Heavenly Father.[1 John 3 v1 ]

This is fathers day ,I was in a store yesterday and the assistant commented how busy they were ,because of people buying gifts for their fathers. The commandments stress the importance of honouring our fathers and mothers[Ex20v12],with it comes a promise. In the normal course of life most people will be honouring their fathers today,but what about those dear children who have been abused by their fathers,forsaken by their fathers,denied contact with their fathers?.Just recently a portrait of our Queen was defaced by a father who is fighting for other fathers to have excess to their children.We live at a time when the family is under threat, when Children don't really know who their father is,we must be careful not to judge.I am 69 years of age ,and when I was young my mother and father separated,but at a very early age I discovered that I had a loving heavenly Father,and this knowledge filled the gap in my life ,of not having a father around. You may have lost your father ,you may have been forsaken by your father,you may not even know who your father is,or where he is. Don't dwell on that ,for it can do you more harm than good,today we can have a Father a lovingly heavenly Father,this comes about when we accept Jesus as our Saviour.[ John 1 v12].From experience I can assure you it will make a big difference in your life as it has in mine.
A  prayer..../Heavenly Father have mercy upon the fatherless,we pray that they come to know You through Your dear son Jesus Amen/

Grace tis a charming sound.[Romans 3 v24 ]

Recently I wrote upon the importance of mercy ,now let us consider grace,in its importance for salvation,and for living the Christian life. There is a saying ,nothing comes without a price, well here is an exception,the grace of God cannot be earned,Romans 3 v24, reads,/Being justified freely by His grace/. Horatius Bonar wrote....../Thy grace alone,O God, To me can pardon speak,Thy power  alone,O Son of God,Can this sore bondage break. No other work save Thine.No other blood will do.No  strength  save that which is divine.Can bear me safely through/.The bible speaks of salvation being a gift[Romans 6 v23],not of works [Ephesians 2v9]. Gods favour cannot be earned,let me stress this again,Gods favour cannot be earned,by a nice personality,by helping others,we must not judge things from our human reasoning,if we do,we will fail to appreciate Gods view point,and it is His view point that matters.The fact of the matter is we do not comprehend the the seriousness of sin,consider it was only one sinful act,by Adam and Eve to be excluded from the garden,and to usher in a fallen world.It began with a single act ,but the consequences of that one act,are all around us,and within us,rebellion,spiritual blindness,why are people slaughtering each other?why is there child abuse,and multitude of other abuses?,why is there a place called hell?. The answer is sin,and the only answer is the grace of God,which we can freely receive when by faith we trust Jesus to save us.
A  prayer..../Dear God help us to see,open our darkened minds,to see that it is only by grace, can we be saved through faith in Jesus, Amen/

Sinful pleasures. [Hebrews 11 v 23-27]

I had a health check up recently,I was asked to stand on the scales to be weighed,and as I did I thought of the things in my pocket ,that may distort  my true weight so I took out  my mobile phone and stood on the scales,with the phone still in my hand.The nurse laughed and I felt a little bit foolish,but it showed me how conscious I am about my weight.So many of us are conscious as regards our weight,but don't do anything about it,we all comfort eat,indulging in eating a big cream cake from which we receive a lot of pleasure,and there is nothing so satisfying as a nice meal.  The result is we all are fighting the battle of the bulge,trying to cut down on something we love, it is hard,so hard that many of us don't try,the result is we suffer in so many ways.Food becomes our pleasure island,but often at a cost,the bible tells us of the pleasures of sin [Hebrews 11v25],yes sin can give us pleasure ,that is why so many people are involved in wrong sexual activity,that is why there is a  sex trade,but as with overeating there is a price to pay,in damage to ourselves, and to others, and it does not stop there.For there is coming a day when we will stand before a holy God,and we will give an account for those sinful pleasures.
A prayer...../ Dear God  help us to see the damage  our sinful pleasures cost us , and others,help us to forsake our sins,to turn to Christ for forgiveness, before it is to late,in our Saviours name I ask this Amen/

I need mercy. [Psalm 106 ]

 Psalm 106 commences with the Lords goodness and His mercy in relation to Israel,most of the Psalm is taken up with the nations very poor record,of their spiritual dullness,unbelief,rebellion,idolatry. Israel was a chosen people but the Bible tells it how it was,likewise their leaders,be it David or Solomon,the Bible is more than a history book,it is about relationship,with God and His people,His people manifested a continual tendency to to fail,God showed an continual manifestation of His mercy and love,and in their darkest hour He declares, I have loved thee with an everlasting love[Jeremiah 31v3].The history of the church is to some degree like Israels history,the hymn writer puts it well,/by schisms rent asunder,by heresies distressed.Often judgement must start with the church of God.Consider the 7 churches of Asia in the book of revelation,it is true what someone said ,what kind of people go to church,the answer ,sinners. As part of that church I am conscious that any church,I attend is full of imperfect people,and that includes myself.So what do we need ,the answer is mercy, yes mercy,there will never be a day in which I will never need mercy. I continually come boldly,yes boldly,for I am accepted in Christ,no one can lay anything to charge of Gods elect ,it is God that justifies [Romans 8 v33].But I still need His mercy,for I am not yet glorified,so as I come to God through Jesus,I need to obtain mercy from God who is merciful.
A  prayer...../Dear God have mercy upon us,forgive us our foolish ways,through Thy son Jesus. Amen /

Faith will be tested [ Ezra 8 v 23 ]

 [ 
After the 70 year exile the Jews were permitted to return home,it started under Cyrus ,who granted the Jews favour,likewise under king Artaxerxes.So Ezra with a band of his fellow Jews began the journey  to Jerusalem ,with a great deal of possessions,to be used in the temple. In chapter 8 v22ff we read that Ezra was faced with a dilemma,he boasted how great God was,and refused to accept an armed escort.Now as he was about to start of on the journey,concern filled his heart.What if they where attacked and all that possessions were taken,he had made his boast as regards his God, now he was going to be tested on what he had said.Had he spoken presumptuously? should he not have taken up the offer of the armed escort?.What would you do? I remember hearing of a brother who believed God had called him to go overseas to serve the Lord,so he sold up,and went down to the docks,believing that when he arrived at the docks all would be provided, it did not happen.What do we learn from this,well we should be tread carefully,we could be wrong. If we make a boast as regards our God ,we will be tested on it,Ezra I am sure was concerned with the honour of His God,not about him loosing face.I know of a number of people who believed God was going to heal them ,but it did not happen. Yet from my own experience,I did prove God when for 4 years my wife and I lived by faith,believing God would supply our needs , and He did,but rest assured our faith was tested severely at times,and the only way through was on our knee's.
A  prayer...../Dear God grant us grace to obey You,but also grace to humbly rely on You, in Jesus name Amen./