Ready to die. [John 11 v25]

In a very popular movie the hero says,/I am ready to die/,the very important question that we have to ask ourselves is are we ready to die?. First of all let me state the obvious,we are all going to die,the only people who will escape death,will be those who are alive when Jesus comes back again, that is those who know Him as Saviour. Until that happens the undertaker will not go out of business,there will still be a need for gravediggers.The soldier facing certain death on the battle field may not be willing to die,and the patient who has cancer may not want to die,but the fact is even though this may cause you pain as you read this,we all without exception,are going to die. The most important question one should ask, in the light of the inevitable,are we ready to die?. The Bible deals with the question of death ,and it tells us,that death is not the end,it speaks of after death,and that every human being will not cease to exists after death. The absolute vital question that needs to be faced is where will we spend eternity?,will be in heaven,or hell?,now as to the latter it is not an invention of mine,or any man. Hell is a reality that is declared in the word of God,we may not like to hear about it,but like death it is a fact that will not change. Heaven is also a reality  that will not change,the good news is that you can go to heaven,by accepting Jesus as your saviour,if you do then you are ready to die.
A  prayer..../ Dear God we thank You that You so loved the world that you gave Jesus and that through believing in Him we will not perish but will have eternal life Amen /

Vital ommissions. [Matthew 23 v23 ]

When our Saviour ministered ,Israel was a deeply religious nation,ruled by Rome,but also their religious leaders,we don't read to much the rule of Rome,but it was feared and deeply resented.Our Saviour never became involved in any conflict with the Roman authorities,the religious  leaders sought to ensnare Him,making him an enemy of Rome,and of the Jewish people,but where unsuccessful[ CP Matthew22 v15ff].Religion can be a mask in which the true self,can hide behind,in Matthew  23, our Lord deals with this,He points out that what the religious taught ,was but a front,the reality was this,they oppressed the people,they craved and wanted to be glorified,to be called master,to be thought as Fathers ,over the people,They exploited their position for material gain,taking advantage,of the vulnerable,in many things they were motivated by money,and pride.Our Saviour sums up their great failures [v23] ,they ignored the most important parts of the law, justice,mercy,and faith.It is to the church of Corinth that the apostle Paul wrote to,reminding them that religious activity if it lacks love it is of absolutely of no worth.
A  prayer..../Dear God forgive us if we have omitted the gold for the dross in Jesus name Amen/

The distance between [2 Corinthians 3 v18]

Today I have been thinking of the distance between what I would desire to be, and what I am,can the gap be closed?. It is just a thought that has crossed my mind,who is the man I want to be?,a more sacrificial man,a man of great spiritual gifts,of great spiritual knowledge,of great faith,that could remove a mountain. I wonder could I be trusted with those things?,even though I may want them.Say I had the gift of healing could I cope with the demands that would bring?.What if suddenly souls started to be saved under my ministry?all these things have an attraction about them,but it does not close the gap between what I should be ,and what I am?. Possible I may always be conscious of that gap,is that a bad thing?,or a good thing?.One day a group of young people in their enthusiasm spoke to D.L.Moody the great evangelist of their achievements,they had spent hours in prayer,and he said, Moses wist not that the skin of  his face shone [Exodus 34 v29]. Could it be what we, in all sincerity call greatness,or see as greatness in spiritual growth,is but a deluded self promotion, a self-aggrandisement?.Whereas true spiritual growth has about it a true lack of self promotion,like Moses we will be unaware of the gap closing.
A  prayer....../ Dear God close the gap between what we are, and what we should be ,and don't tell us,in Jesus name Amen/

Lets call her hope. [ Psalm 42 v11]

In one of G.K.Chesterton books, a doctors and his young wife have experienced a lot of trouble,it ends with the doctor finding out his young wife was pregnant. They look at each other filled with joy at the forthcoming event,and they ask each other,what are we going to call the baby,if it is a girl?. The doctor replies,/Lets call her hope/,yes indeed what a lovely name,hope,and it made me thing of the many who must be despairing,because there appears no hope. In Acts 27 we read of a boat in a storm,and how it came to the point that the sailors lost hope [v20].Life for so many is tragic,we read of so many children being harmed by beast of men,for them there appears little hope,we read of murders,rapes,and so many awful things happening,that can so easily squeeze the hope out of us. Again so many people have hope solely relating to this world. Now life on planet  earth will only  give us a limited time scale ,that is why Paul writes,if in this life only we hope in Christ,we are of all men most miserable,[1 Corinthians 15 v19]. Many ,yes even Christians,can loose hope,because they have their eye's fixed on this life,and  the things of this life ,as a Christian, we have Christ in us the hope of Glory.In Psalm 71v5 we read,You are my hope,O Lord God,if that is so, no matter what our situation is,we need not despair,as to time or eternity.
A prayer ...../Dear God thank You that in Jesus we have for time and for eternity, hope. Amen/

Gods word.[ Psalm 119v11]

In Psalm 119v11, we read,/Thy word have I hid in mine heart,that I might not sin against Thee/. Consider first of all ,we are talking about Gods word,not mans,we must continually remind ourselves the importance of Gods word in our lives.I, like many Christians read the bible everyday,if I don't I am starving my soul.Next the writer speaks of hiding Gods word in his heart ,if you where to ask me my mobile number,I could not tell you,likewise my car reg number,the reason being I have not consciously made the effort to memorise them. So it is we can read Gods,without really thinking about it,or memorising it,but the writer of this Psalm stresses the importance of hiding Gods word in his heart,  the ancient Israelites where told to remember all the commandments of the Lord[Numbers 15v39] The writer then tells us that he puts to good use ,that word, which he has hid in his heart,the answer that he may not sin against God.Our Saviour used the word God when tempted by Satan [Matthew 4].The ungodly will do all sorts of wrong things,in relation to sex,in relation to money,because Gods word has no influence on them,but the child of God must not run with the crowd,or the flavour of the month,the Christian is called to live according to Gods word.
A  prayer...../ Dear God ,help us to really listen to Your word,to hide it in our hearts,and to be guided at all times by it, in Jesus Name Amen/

God does speak [ 1 Samuel 3 ]

Does God speak to us?,and of course we would say yes,He speaks to all humanity through creation, cp Psalm 19,so much so, that they are without excuse,cp Romans1 v20.The guro scientists in their blindness ,have accumulated a world of followers whom it could be said that they have blinded with science. Yes God does speak,not only through creation, but through His word,the Bible,this word is the only true revelation from God,that can bring us to know God.The central message of this book,is mans sinfulness,and Gods remedy,the sacrifice of His son Jesus,for mankinds sin. It appears stange that for a great deal of the time ,those who represented the church kept the word of God hidden from millions of people. In recent history many political powers have suppressed, and banned the word of God, why?,a good question. I am privileaged with many others to have the Bible,but of course having the Bible,is not enough,we must embrace its message,of salvation through Christ alone,and having done that,to get to know Him through that book.As a Christian God does speak to me,when I am afraid,He tells me to fear not,when I am dismayed,He reminds me, that He is my God,and ,He will strengthen me,He will help me, He will uphold me[Isaiah 41 v10]. Yes God does speak,if we are prepared to listen.
A  prayer......./Dear God have mercy upon us,make Thyself  known to us through Christ,and us the grace to listen when You speak in Jesus name  Amen /

This poor man cried. [ Psalm 34 ]

I winder have you every felt like Jacob,to the point where you cry out all these things are against me[Genesis42v36],may be you feel like this right now.Why did Jacob say such a thing? should we judge him?no, judging is Gods role,what should we do?we can pray for that person.Jacob was suffering from a deep sorrow,he had lost a son,some things are hard to recover from,it is possible,but people have died of a broken heart. Yet it appears to be possible,Job suffered so much,the words of Jacob could be applied so easily to him,yet if we read the end of Jobs life ,we see how he appeared to recover.David experienced a great deal of suffering , and out of that suffering prayed to God,and wrote his prayers down,they are known as Psalms,that would put to music, and sung, by Gods people. A man  experienced a great loss,it effected him so much ,that he left home,and became one of the homeless people.One day he wandered into a great cathedral,he felt no one cared,yes he was hungry,dirty,but the burden on his heart was greater that his bodily needs,so he slipped into a pew. As he sat there the choir where practicing and they where singing a Psalm,as he listened ,light shone into the deep recesses of his heart. They where singing the 34th Psalm ,it was v6 that touched him,/This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him,and saved him out of all his troubles/.So that poor  man cried unto the Lord,and the Lord heard,and healed his wounded broken spirit.
A prayer..../ Dear God  we thank You that you do not close Your heart, to those who need You, You lift the heavy burden, and heal the broken in heart ,through Jesus Your Son Amen/