Is anything too hard for the Lord? .[Genesis 18v14 ]

Children have an expectation that their dads can do anything,but they cant,people have an expectation that science,and the medical profession have all the answers ,but they don't.A very elderly couple were told something by God that appeared impossible,but it wasn't,they were told they were going to have a child a son.The man questioned it and the women laughed at such a thing,but then they were challenged with the following words,/Is anything too hard for the Lord?/.[Genesis 18 v14 ]. Has God promised you something and it has not come to pass?,do you you thing it has gone beyond the point were God can do what He promised.Have you lost sight of the promise?,has it become buried in the history of the past?. Do you think it does not apply to you now?you have learned to live with that problem,whats the point of hoping?,you may be asking yourself ,forget about it,it will not happen. Maybe like Sarah as you read this blog you are think God is mocking you,well He is not,first of all what he says He will do,and what He says He can do,time will not change that fact,it has not weakened His power to do what He promised you. Is there anything too hard for the Lord?,what He cant do, is lie,His character forbids that,no matter how hard it may appear to you, and me, God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or thing according to the power that worketh in us[ Ephesians 3 v20]
A  prayer..../ Dear God grant us faith to believe what You have promised,that You will make it good,help us to grasp the truth that there is nothing to hard for you, in Jesus name Amen /

Our exceeding great reward.[ Genesis 15 v1 ]

/The word of the came unto Abram in a vision,saying,fear not,Abram, I am thy shield,and thy exceeding great reward /[Genesis 15v1] Let us consider these wonderful words,spoken to Abram,he is called Abram, but that would change to the more familiar Abraham,meaning father of many nations.God spoke in a vision,the general way He speaks to us now is by the Bible,now we cannot rule God out speaking us in a vision,or a dream,but the norm is through the Bible.This is the safest way,as the word of God is a finished revelation,so it rules out any other so called word of God,the Koran ,book of Mormon,etc. In speaking to Abraham,He declares I am thy shield,in other words God would protect him,as with Abram so with every dear child of God,you may not have a big brother to protect you ,but you have a big God. As J .Calvin wrote,/He will defend us,preserve us,and protect us by His power.Next He says that he is his ,exceeding great reward, mankind myself included have an on going appetite that never appears to be satisfied,the natural man try to satisfy there lives with everything and anything,the words of our Saviour are so true, the natural things cannot satisfy[John 4 v13]. So God reminds Abram that He is his exceeding great reward,and these words remind us,as so often we need to be reminded,that He is our exceeding great reward,let us continually bear this in mind,and not be blinded to lesser things.
A  prayer..../Dear God we thank You for the many blessings we enjoy,but most of all we thankful for You,in Jesus name we pray this Amen/


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Be sure your sins will find you out. [ Revelation 21 v 8 ]

A famous entertainer ,who was much loved and admired,has been charged with sexual offences,not so long ago he painted our queen,and from that moment on his paintings became very expensive,and much sought after,now they will only be fit for the bonfire.This entertainer is aged 83 his past has caught up with him,one commentator on the teaching or philosophy of Machiavelli ,said he did not teach,that your sins will find you out.But the bible teaches that they will as many sex offenders are finding out, I will add not just in this world, but eternity.We cannot escape the consequences of our sinful actions,we may as many people do ,escape human justice,but we are told that there are two appointments we will all keep,the first is death, and the next is judgement [Hebrews 9v27].On that day of judgement all our history will be judged,every sin will be laid bare,our very thoughts,words and deeds,all will be brought out into the light.The Great judge Jesus will pass sentence,and the sentence will not be for 10,20,or 50yrs,it will be for all eternity,it will a dreadful fate. Do not think it will just be the sex offenders who will be judged,no all have sinned[Romans3 v23],and all will be judged.But the good news is God is merciful,and had provided a way of escape,the judge that will be in eternity,is now the Saviour in time.All who seek mercy,who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved,every sin will be forgiven,
A  prayer...../Dear God we rejoice that you are faithful,loving and kind,but you  are  also righteous ,and will judge all those who sins have not been forgiven ,have mercy ,in Jesus name Amen/

Finishing school. [ Psalm 138v8 ]

For great deal of my life I have lived with an aggressive nature,it goes back to my childhood,like many things,it has dogged my life,but God who saves sanctifies,and generally speaking I am an amiable person.I can remember getting into scraps as a youngster,this was nothing out of the ordinary, as a child one sought to cope as best as one could. Among those I remember where those who appeared to want to fight others,I supposed to some extent I copied them,it was not easy growing up.Even as a Christian I still  feel aggression,and sadly show it, old habits die hard, old characteristics still cling to me. Maybe it even came across in my preaching,all I can say it is there,but God has his means of changing me, the dear Holy Spirit lives within me.He through different means ,has and is changing me,I am not the person I used to be,but I not yet the person I want to be,and indeed long to be. I know that until I die I will be imperfect, but the scriptures assures me that God will perfect that which concerneth me,for He is merciful.[Psalm 138 v8].God finishes what he commences,yes it may be hard to take in,but He will,He is faithful,I am confident of this very thing,that He which hath begun a good work in me, will continue it,until it is finally finished ,on the day when  Jesus returns[Philippians 1 v 6]
A  prayer../Dear God burn up the dross in our lives, help us not to loose confidence in your promise to perfect that which concerneth us, through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen/

Man of steel? [Isaiah 9 v6 ]

I watched the movie man of steel ,the latest superman blockbuster,it appears to me be it superman,or spider man,or some other man,there is underlying feeling for a saviour,someone who can save the world from destruction. I wonder why?could it be that there is an underlying feeling of doom,that we will be overtaken by our own greed and destructiveness,where is our fairy godmother?,who will come and put everything right. And so we center our eyes on certain individuals,or nations,as our saviours,only to find out like Superman,they have their weaknesses,the man of steel has feet of clay.Consider the following words, from an old testament prophet, Isaiah /For unto us a child is born,unto us a son is given,and the government shall be upon His shoulder,and His name shall be called,Wonderful,Counselor,the mighty God,the everlasting Father,the Prince of peace.[9v6].Yes I am speaking about Jesus the Saviour of the world,are you looking for a saviour?look no further,look to Jesus,the one who came to seek and save all who are lost.
A prayer..../Dear God the world does need a saviour, and we thank You that in love sent Jesus Amen /

Blessings. [ Romans 8 v 35ff]

It is Christmas eve,and it brings back many memories of when our children where young,of decorating the living room,of putting the Christmas tree up,of cooking the large turkey overnight.Of going to bed and hoping the children did not waken to early, to see what presents they would get,they were good memories,which I treasure. Thank God for those good memories ,but my mind turns to Syria ,and to Gods dear children there,and the Christians in North Korea,the threat hanging over them,of those in prison cells in Iran,Pakistan,and in many other places. Many of these dear people will only have bad memories,the only present many of them will receive ,will be a beating,or even worse. Christ did not come into a nice world, there was no welcome mat for Him,in fact there was  only a poor manger,out of the ivory palaces into a world of woe,that sums it up.Yet in that strange poverty for Him,God was bringing into place ,an event that would bless all mankind, that blessing would transform the lives of millions and millions,hope,peace,love,joy.Nothing can change or remove those blessings ,not beatings,imprisonments,poverty,yes and even death,for nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
A  prayer..../ Dear God we praise You for Jesus, and the blessings that You grant to those who trust in Him. Amen /

He has walked the walk, [ Luke 10 v 30-35]

As a number of Christians and I sang a carol ,I was struck by the following,words ,/From the poor manger to the bitter cross/. Those words reminded me very clearly of Christs humiliation ,of His purpose in coming to planet earth,to become one of us,no more can people point the finger at God and say, You do not understand.For He who is truly God experienced ,what we experienced,He was born ,lived and died, He knows what life is about,and so He understands the human situation.While many do care for those who suffer,because of poverty,injustice,and different types of sickness,many do not care,in many poor countries,there are millionaire's,who don't help those they could easily help.Christ truly understands the suffering of mankind.I was watching TV recently,and a reporter was speaking was speaking to a homeless drunk person,and by all accounts will die of an alcohol related death. I got emotional  ,and shed a tear. If I felt that way how much more must our Saviour feel, as he observes all the suffering in the world,and how much He must long to embrace every lonely,sick,and suffering human,you see He is the Christ of the human road.From that poor manger to that  bitter cross,Christ attended to so much suffering,and now He truly understands,so when we come to Him,He feels our pain,and longs to take us into His arms,to tell us how much He cares and understands, what we have to endure ,in our every day life.
A  prayer....../Dear God have mercy upon this world of suffering,we thank You for Jesus who truly understands just how we feel Amen/