Be thou faithful [Revelation 2 v 10]

How importance do you rate faithfulness?in Revelation 2v8ff we have our Lord speaking to a church,Smyrna,a church under great pressure,the Lord knew what they where going through.He speaks of their tribulation and poverty,this church was near Ephesus,my study Bible says,that they faced persecution from a hostile Jewish population,and a non-Jewish population,who were loyal to Rome and supported emperor worship. So what does our Lord say to this church?and what does He say to us as we suffer,?move,leave,no,He does not even give them an assurance that they will be rescued,although He speaks of ten days,indicating that although the persecution would be intense it would came to an end. Until this happens ,our Saviour tells them,to be faithful even unto death[v10],reminding them and us of the vital importance of faithfulness.Are you suffering ?,are you in a trial,are you wishing that you could escape ?,the word to you and to me is this ,be faithful come what may.even until the day we die. Jesus reminds them of their heavenly reward,remember it will be worth it all when we see Jesus,it really will.
A  prayer..../Dear Lord Jesus help us all to be faithful even to the day we die. Amen/

Christ our foundation. [Romans 7v25. -8vv1]

In Romans seven Paul writes about the struggle he experience in his daily walk with Christ,he had a desire to do good, but it was not easy,evil is present. Can we not all identify with Paul? I know I can, I don't suffer persecution but I do at times feel under attack,and am so conscious,that I could so easily fall into sin, of the most gross kind. Yes I want to do good,but the flesh is ever present,will it get the victory,it did with David,if him why not me. I am no David,he was a godly man,a man who penned those wonderful Psalms,yet he fell into the most awful of sins[ 2 Samuel  11]. If he fell what chance do I have?,like Paul I cry out,/O wretched man that I am,who shall deliver me from this body of death?/,again a mighty apostle crying out,none of Gods children are no matter if they be apostles,or ministers,free from temptation,there are no exceptions.Inspite of his struggles Paul tells us ,and himself,that even though he was  weak,yes and struggling,he was no longer condemned ,because of Jesus[Romans 8 v1].When we are bombarded with temptation,think awful thoughts,we would want no one to know,we may think that we are not saved, that we must not be a Christian. Take heart dear child of God,Paul reminds us that through Christ we are accepted,and that Christ is our foundation.
A  prayer..../ Dear God we rejoice that in Christ we will never be condemned Amen /

Christmas.[ Isaiah 53]

What is the meaning of the season?,will it end with just memories,or meaning?,will it end with your glass empty or your glass full?.Will the words merry Christmas sound very hollow?,will at the end of it, will you be saying whats the point of it?.Now I am not meaning to discourage you,I do hope you all have a happy Christmas,but the fact of the matter is,seasons come and seasons go,and what are we left with?.The puritans banned the keeping of Christmas I wonder why?could it be that they saw ,that instead of reminding people of Christ,it exalted only the season.Is that not whats happening in our society today,now I am  not saying that I would ban Christmas,even if I ruled the world,but I am saying,without the true meaning it has no meaning,eating drinking,buying and selling,cannot take the place of Christ. It becomes even less meaningful if you cannot afford ,to eat drink,and buy, I am not attempting to be Scrooge,yes enjoy  Christmas,it is a time of rejoicing,and in our rejoicing ,let us  proclaim the true meaning of the season,that babe in a manger who grew to manhood,and died on a cross,that our sins may be forgiven,His name is Jesus.
A prayer..../ Dear God we praise You for the true meaning of Christmas, Jesus,the Saviour of the world Amen/

A shiver down ones spine.[ Revelation 3 v8]

Just as I am , an imperfect person ,so the church is an imperfect church,be it the OT church or the NT church. Two of the seven  churches in Revelation escape warnings,that is not to say they were perfect,for there are no perfect churches,but one day there will be.[Ephesians 5 v27],until then the church must strive after perfection.Christ is ever watching over His church,and speaking to it .That includes local churches,national churches, and the whole church universal,not only is He watching over it, it is vital that the church must listen,the consequences of not listening are clearly shown in scripture.There is  no church in Ephesus's only ruins,places that have known revival,are now practically empty shells,why is that?,why have the leaders not listened and acted upon the Spirit speaking?.Consider what happened in Germany ,in the 20th century,I highlight Germany, as it was the country of the reformation.Early in the 20th century a German general said,that the German people were destined to become the master race,who would rule over lesser breeds and rule the world..A British  historian said,/That it was hardly conceivable,that after2000yrs of Christian teaching,and in the midst of a people from whom sprang some of the greatest thinkers,and some of the greatest scientific benefactors of the human race,that such opinions could find expression/. But it did come to pass ,who can tell what will come to pass when a so called Christian nation,or a Christian church forsakes Gods truth,and is not willing to listen or heed Gods voice,the thought sends a shiver down ones spine
A prayer...../ Dear God grant unto Your people the humility to listen to Your voice,and the grace to respond in obedience in Jesus name Amen /.

Winter is coming.[Jeremiah 8 v20 ]

The winter is gradually coming in where I live,in other parts of our country,and in Scotland it appears to have arrived.In this part of the world,we have 4 seasons,winter,spring,summer and autumn ,there is an old Irish song with the following words in it,/the summers gone/,and it really has.In the book ,/The wind and the willows/, Ratty is speaking to a swallow,now swallows leave our country in the winter,and Ratty says would it not be better if he stayed,instead of flying south,the swallow replied,that he did attempt to do this,he waited behind when all his fellow swallows flew away.For a couple of weeks it was nice,but then it became and cold,and so he knew he had to fly south.,and with great difficulty he reached his destination,and then he said,/I have had my warning,never again did I think of disobedience/. If only like that little swallow we could say,I have had my warning, never again did I think of disobedience.Remember when it comes to disobedience there is always a price,and when it comes to disobedience with Gods will,there is most certainty a price to pay. Let us heed the warnings,Christian heed the warnings,if you are not a Christian heed the warnings. Jeremiah the prophet continually warned people to change to return to God,but they never did,and so we have him saying,/The harvest is past,the summer is ended,and we are saved[Jeremiah 8v20]/,my dear reader ,heed the warning, for winter is coming.
A  prayer...../Dear God  grant us grace to heed the warnings ,in Jesus name Amen /

Machiavelli [ 1 John 4 v16/ Daniel 12v 2]

I wonder if you have ever heard of Machiavelli?, I must confess that until the other evening I had never heard of him,there was a program on TV about him. I found it fascinating and instructive,he was  born near Florence in the 15th century he owes his fame to one book called the Prince.This small book has influenced many people,Stalin,and many other people,this book is an instructive manual as to how those in power should rule,but one can apply it to anyone.One well known saying that gives us an idea about this book is,/The end justifies the means/,even if the means is destructive,lacking in love,Machiavelli stressed that it was not necessary to keep ones word,don't worry about virtue,concern yourself with results. He taught that it was better to be feared than loved,to designate others to perform the dirty work,Hitler and his followers,it appears to me followed many of the principals led down in the Prince.He did not believe the Biblical truth, be sure your sins will find you out,and never took into account that God will judge the wrongs we do. So much for Machiavelli,let me tell you of a better way,love worketh no ill,and will not accept that the end justifies the means. To the natural man the teaching of Machiavelli has an attraction that appears to get results,but it takes little account of the awful price others will have to pay,the lives and rule of Stalin,Hitler and many others prove that. We all need to remember that God will judge ,our evil deeds, and that Christ suffered the most awful evil,for our good,He harmed no one,and in that death He manifested love of the greatest degree, for you and me.
A prayer....Dear God help us all not to be taken in by deceitful and destructive words,and to old fast to your word,we ask this in Jesus name. Amen/

God is looking. [Ezekiel 22v30]

In Ezekiel 22v30 we read,/And I sought for a man among them,that would make up the hedge,and stand in the gap before Me for the land,that I should not destroy it,but I found none/ The situation in Israel was so bad that Judgement was coming, as J.B.Taylor writes,the leaders were ungodly and those who should  have been godly had compromised their position. As I look at our nation and its leaders,I am very sad,laws are being passed that go against Gods holiness,even the so called national church,are running with the flavour of the day. How long I have looked for the leaders of our national church to take a clear stand,to point our nation to Christ,but it has not happened.God has no desire to pass judgement on any nation or person,but He will,it seems strange that the sovereign God should be looking for a man ,whom He would use to hold back His judgement,but He was,and He could find no one. William Gurnall wrote, /The power of holiness  has deteriorated among us,compared to what it was a generation ago/,ancient words ,that have a ring of truth about them  for these dark times.Yet I believe God is still looking for a man to stand in the gap../When Martin Luther foresaw the black  clouds of God's judgement coming towards Germany,he told friends that he would do his best to keep it from falling in his lifetime,and he believed that it would not. But he concluded,when I am gone, let them that come after me look to it./Sad to say they didn't , sin will inevitable bring judgement,righteousness exalts an nation,let us pray that God will raise up a man to stand in the gap, for the need of the hour is desperate.
A  prayer......./Dear God have mercy ,raise up your man to stand in the gap, in Jesus name Amen/




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