Law of Love.[ James 2 v8]

I have not been feeling very well recently,chest infection,head cold, and it is easy to focus on that, but we must consider the mercies of God in all things.As I considered Gods mercies,I considered my nice modern home,I even have a summer house,I have a missionary magazine and there is a photo of slums,my heart goes out to such people.Yet in Gods mercy I am blest with so much,I have a lovely job,working with mentally ill people,a nice manager,nice colleagues,so I could go on and on as regards Gods mercy to me.I am no better than so many dear people who have so little.I can only thank God. I am reminded we receive mercy that we may show mercy,we forgive because we have been forgiven, we give out of a heart of gratefulness for all we have been given ,by our loving Heavenly Father.Our giving is never a legalistic thing,we are not under law,but we are continually challenged to live out the law of love.
A  prayer...../ Dear Saviour as we consider  Your death on Calvary,we are overwhelmed by Your love,help us ,who continually receive expressions of  Your love,to love, Amen/

Change [ 1 Corinthians 6 v 9-11]

Sometimes things of my past come into my mind ,like when I was a boy soldier,and a corporal who was over us ,with a real Irish sounding name,told a number of us young boy soldiers,how he had raped two women,when he was on duty in Germany,and Kenya. Our distorted  view of sex divorced us from the actual people who had being violated, it was as if we where blind  to the evil  that had being done,and most of all the sinfulness of that mans actions. So it was with  that man,and us young lads, it is a very sad memory,sad that I did not see the wrong that had been done,but then I was not following the Lord,as I should . Now as one who is following the Lord,I am humbly grateful that I look at things differently,God has changed me,for the better.I am not the man I would like to be, but praise God,by His love ,mercy and grace, I am not the man I once was.
A prayer../ Dear God all we can do is fall before You in thankfulness for saving us and changing us through Jesus Your son Amen /

I am part of the problem.[ Colossians 1 v 12- 21]

I am reading a history of the 2nd world war,it is not nice reading,and I was in conversation with a person,I expressed my concern as to the awful things that happened.Now this person is not a Christian but he pointed out that in our modern society,individuals commit awful things,in other words there is always within every human being a potential to commit the most gross sins. Our Saviour continually had to remind his hearers of their fallenness,/CP  John 8 v 1-11/ Luke 13v 1-5/. We are all sinners,born with a fallen nature that is capable of the most awful things,we do not like to hear that,but to ignore it ,deny it, can have terrible consequences. I am not feeling well at this time,I don't deny that,or ignore it, I seek to treat it, by going to my GP,so it is with sin,we need to acknowledge our condition,to seek Christ, that the problem may be dealt with. Consider this old hymn by William Cowper,it reminds us clearly of how sin is dealt with,/ There is a fountain filled with blood,drawn from Immanuel's veins. And sinners plunged beneath that flood ,lose all their guilty stains./
A  prayer..../Dear God we praise that is a place of forgiveness,through Your Son Jesus Amen ./

Your will be done. [ Luke 22 v 42 ]

George Orwell wrote a book called 1984,it is about a super state ,that sought to control it citizens,in all aspects of their lives,even their thoughts,it is from this novel we have the term ,/Big brother is watching you/.I think when he wrote this article he had communists states in mind,religious states seek also to govern like this. As  one reads the gospels we see a big brother state,and we see how our Saviour sought to challenge it. In Mark 3 v2, we read,/And they watched  Him/, they did this continually,watching His every move,listening to His every word. Those in power did not like being challenged, they wanted God like power,to be obeyed with an unquestioned obedience.
Our dear Saviour could have chosen the road of being popular,all He had to do was to avoid certain things,a let sleeping dogs lie policy.He knew they where watching,He knew what they where thinking, He knew what they where planning, it made no difference to Him,He had only one objective in mind,the will of God. It is one thing to pray Thy will be done,and another thing doing it.
A  prayer..../Dear God help to follow our Saviour ,by putting Your will first,at  all times, in all places,and in all things Amen/



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Almost. [Acts 26 v 27- 29]

If you are a sports fan as I am, the saying it is not over until  the fat lady stops singing is so appropriate to many sporting events.How often I have watched two teams playing and one team appears to have wrapped it up,there is only minutes to go,and the apparent underdogs score and win the event.The word almost comes to mind,the loosing team,almost won,which reminds me of a man in [ Acts 26v28], who said to the apostle Paul,/Almost thou persuades me to be a Christian/.These are the saddest of saddest words,and yet it could be applied to so many.I remember a elderly man who often heard Mr Paisley preach the gospel,with tears in his eyes,and yet never accepted Christ,he almost became a Christian. There is an old Gospel hymn which we never hear sung these days,I wonder why?,it is by P.P.Bliss, it is about being almost persuaded to become a Christian, the last verse ends like this,/Almost persuaded,harvest is past. Almost persuaded, doom comes at last,almost cannot avail,almost is but to fail. Sad ,sad that bitter wail,almost but lost/.
A   prayer ......Dear God,grant that those who read this blog will not be an almost persuaded people,in Jesus name Amen/

What we dont know. [ Acts 16 30-31]

In my daily readings I read something that I found difficult to get an answer to,and it made me uneasy,so I  got  some of my commentaries out,but I did not receive any light. I prayed that God would grant me an answer,as it was upsetting me,as I looked at my shelves of books ,I spied an old commentary I had not used for years,and from it I received an explanation which made sense. It made me realise that it is often what we don't know or understand that can cause us problems,a loved one dying,an apparent unanswered prayer,evil, loss of various kinds.Those things we don't appear to have an answer to,why did that happen to such a good person?the why we have ,is never far below the surface of our minds.Let me tell you a story, a man was speaking at speakers corner a famous place in London,where anyone can go and speak on anything,it was while this man was speaking,someone shouted out,[ If one speaks at speakers corner one has to  accept being heckled] where did Cain get his wife from?. The preacher looked the person straight in the eye and replied, the more important question by far ,that you should be asking is this what must I do to be saved.?.There will always be questions that we want answers to,and yet often they are but a smoke screen,and behind that smoke screen ,there lies a lost bewildered soul,who needs to be saved,
A  prayer....../ Dear God  help us to see what is most important,and help us to nail our whys to the cross, in Jesus name Amen/

Our Christianty being tested. [ Matthew 6 v 9-13 ]

I was on a visit to a place called Wells in the county of Somerset ,a nice place that has a 13th century cathedral, but on the streets I saw two homeless men both with dogs ,plus other people looking for money. At one point I said, this really tests your Christianity,I find it very hard to refrain from giving. Yes when we see others in need we really are being tested,will we help?let us not be driven by guilt,but be led by the Spirit. As we follow Christ I believe we will find our Christianity tested,sexually, materially,and so on,I was challenged by words written by William Gurnall,/ In heaven you will realize the same pleasures Adam enjoyed in paradise, but many weary steps through obstacles of lust,temptation, and sin lie between you and the top of that hill/In other words our Christianity will be tested,I only hope and pray that we will all who know Jesus pass that test.
A  prayer..../ Dear God grant unto us the grace that we need, to not fail the tests that we are encountering,and will encounter on our way to  glory in Jesus name Amen /