Why good Friday? [ Philippians 2 v 5-11]

Why good Friday?, after all when one considers what took place, leading up to the event,Jesus being betrayed ,being arrested,the injustice,the mocking,the flogging,the crown of thorns,Peter deneying Him. Also the pain His mother experienced,and then the cross,a death that was slow and cruel, now none of those things are good,in fact they are absolutely awful. So again I ask the question ,why is it called good?, none of what happen ,would cause one to smile, or to get any comfort from.Why did Jesus go through with it, He could have escaped,he delibertly went to Jerusalem,knowing full well what that meant,the disciples never appeared to grasp what Jesus told them,but He knew . He knew that none of it could be described as good in itself,it was total evil,mans depravity was manifest in all its fullness.So again I ask the question,why Good Friday?. In one way all the badness,and evil that was being manifest on that day,was a clear indication as to the why,it shows us mans condition,if unrestrained ,is capable of depths of evil that makes one shudder.How wrong was William Barclay,when he wrote ,/Beyond a doubt Jesus did not believe in human depravity/,Jesus not only knew about mankinds human depravity,but on Good Friday He experienced  the full force of it. The cross shows our sinfulness, but it also shows us Gods answer,for Christ death was a sacrifice for sin,not His sin He was sinless,it was our sin,He died that we may be forgiven and go at last to Heaven,and that's why it is called Good Friday.
A  prayer...../ Dear God on this good Friday we give and praise You for Jesus and His death on Calvary,Amen/

Whats it to be? [ Galations 5 v 16]

In Galations 5 and Romans 8 the apostle stresses the importance of life in the  Spirit ,and in Ephesians 5 v18 we are exhorted to be filled with the Spirit.This is to be the ongoing nature of our lives,not walking in the flesh,what is the flesh mean?,it means a life that can be hostile to God,a life where are affections,purposes,thoughts,word,and deeds are controlled by our sinful nature.In Galations 5v 19-21,we have a list of the works of the flesh.sexual immorality,impurity,lustful pleasures,idolatry,sorcery,hostility,quarrelling,jealousy,outbursts of anger,selfish ambition,dissension,division,envy,drunkenness.Then Paul adds,and other sins like these,so that's quite a list,and if we are honest we will acknowledge our sinful failings and weaknesses.What can we do?,well we can listen to the Spirit challenging us as regards those sinful attitudes,and behaviour.David king of Israel listened[2 Samuel 12],and repented of his sin, many of the kings didn't,the result was disaster ,for them and the nation.We always have a choice to live in the Spirit or to live in the flesh,the question is,what choice are we going to make?, I end with a quotation by Billy Graham,/ It is never a question of how much you and I have of the Spirit,but how much He has of us/
A  prayer...../ Dear God we have experienced the flesh life ,and all its bitterness, help us to live in the Spirit, in Jesus name Amen /

I shall not want. [Psalm 23]

John .G. Paton, who served God among south sea cannibals,was born in Scotland,tells of his early childhood,his mum and dad had 11 children. He tells how a time of difficulties arose in the country,the failure of the potato,the badness of the crops,and the high price of food,and there came a time when there was little in the home to feed the children.So one evening before the children went to bed, the mother assured them,that she had told God everything,and that He would send plenty in the morning. Next day a present came from her father,which met the need,her father did not know of their difficulties. The  mother seeing the children's surprise at such an answer to prayer,gathered her children around her,thanked God his goodness,and said,/O my children,love your Heavenly Father,tell Him in faith and prayer all your needs,and He will supply your wants so far as it shall be for your good and His glory./
A  prayer..../  Dear Lord we praise You that You are our Shepherd and we Your children shall not want, Amen /

Spiritually blind. [ 1 Corinthians 1 v18- 31]

 1 Corinthians 2 v 14,reads ,/ The natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God,for they are folly to him,and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned/  Recently while speaking I used an illustration to help the people present to understand ,one of the benefit that come out of suffering.I have used in a recent blog,it was about a butterfly,that had to struggle to emerge from its cocoon,in order for its wings to develop, and how a lady tried to help it,but in fact ruined the butterflies life. After the meeting I conversed with a person,who appeared not to understand the point I was making,that was the spiritual application ,it appeared to be lost to him.Our Saviour was faced with this continually, He told a person that one needed to experience a new birth, and the very religious person had not a clue, My study bible tells me that the non-Christian cannot understand spiritual truths, it really needs the holy Spirit to open that persons mind and understanding.In John 3 v3,we read,/Jesus.....said....Verily, verily I say unto thee,except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God./Some people are born colour blind but all people are born spiritually blind,until they experience the new birth. We see this in writings of the philosophers,  all their writings, bears out mankinds spiritual blindness,and their total inability to understand spiritual truths.
A  prayer...../ Dear God help us to see the reality of mankinds condition,and grant as Your truth goes forth,that the Spirit of God may work in the hearts of the unsaved, that they may be brought to a saving knowledge of Jesus Amen /

Dont give up.[Luke 18 v1]

I wonder if you do not see much point in praying,God has much more to than to listen to you,He is to busy,dealing with everything,so when you pray you make it short and sweet.Then there is the other extreme ,you are afraid to pray,in case you get what you don't want,you don't want the answer God may give  you. You feel that God may challenge you to step out of your comfort soul,there are people who will not leave there homes,to them they feel safe,but in reality they are prisoners of fear.Getting time to pray can be a problem, taking time to pray,is difficult,so many things to do.Does it really matter if I don't pray?after  all, multitude don't pray, yes but we are not to follow the multitudes, we are to follow Him,who said,men ought always to pray[Luke 18 v1] . He also added and not to give up,we give up for different reasons,and though there may be reasons for that,the reason to pray is far more compelling.We cut ourselves of from fellowship with God,which is the most important aspect of prayer,the hymn writer,speaks of the joys we share.Let us remember that Jesus is our Lord and Saviour ,but he is also our friend,friendship is important,and His friendship is most important,dont neglect that friendship.Share with Him your frustrations,your failures,your joys,your desires,He knows that we are far from perfect,but He will still remain our friend,so talk to Him,and do not forget to let Him talk to you.
A  prayer....../ Dear God help us to pray,and teach us what to pray,in Jesus name Amen/

The miracle of Salvation. [ Acts 9 v 1ff]

I often go out into my garden to look up at the stars but because of the lighting from street lamps ,or the clouds ,I see very little of Gods handiwork. One wonders how one could not believe in God if one was astronomer. There are so many things in this world and universe that should cause people to even acknowledge  their creator,but it is not so.In the movie Frankenstein the monster calls Dr Frankenstein his father,but in real life the vast majority of people,deny God as their father. Consider what John wrote in his gospel ,/All things were made by Him[Jesus] 1v3] and then he goes on to write,/He was in the world, and the world was made by Him[Jesus], and the world knew Him not.[v10] Even those who should have known Him ,did not[The Jews],for we read,/He came unto his own, and His own received Him not[v11].Why this blindness?is it not incredible that not only did they not receive Him, they murdered Him. When they had a choice of Jesus and a murderer ,they choose a murderer, things have not changed,Paul the apostle lost his natural sight, but he was given spiritual sight,that enabled him, to see Christ .The word of God makes it clear,that the natural man  receives not the things of God,for they are foolishness unto him,neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned/1 Corinthians 2 v14] All is not lost,the fact that I know God,reminds me continually that with God all things are possible,God can open our hearts, can cause the miracle of the new birth to happen,when by His grace we trust Jesus as our Saviour, when we hear the word of God,and the Spirit of God does His own special work [John 16 v8-11 ]
A  prayer..../Dear God  we ask that You would open the dark  hearts of people,to receive Him who is the light of the world Amen /

Light and darkness.[Colossians 1 v12-21 ]

 And God said let there be light,and there was light [Genesis 1 v 3],this was independent of the sun or the stars,how could it be?, I don't know, but I believe it to be so. Oh yes I believe in creation, God created light,we were not meant to dwell in perpetual darkness ,and yet we are told,that men love darkness rather than light, why?,because their deeds are evil [John 3 v19]Tell me how many people have you met today that are seeking after God,many church buildings are empty,the darkness seems ever to be increasing. As men live in darkness so they will end up in darkness eternally,in spite of mankinds advancements,darkness  continues to cover the face of the earth.Yet into this darkness stepped one man the God man,, Jesus,who said the most wonderful thing in the world,/I am the light of the world,he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life [John 8 v 12]He came to save those who sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death, to deliver all who trust Him, from the power of darkness,and translate them into His kingdom [Colossians 1 v14 ] . Let me ask you do want to be delivered from your darkness?,well in and through Christ it is possible. 
A prayer..../ Dear God thank You for sending Jesus to bring humanity out of darkness and into the light,Amen /