How long.. [ 1 Thessalonians 4 v 15-18]

Sin has effected not only mankind,but the very creation,the apostle Paul writes in Romans 8 v22,/ For we know that the whole creation,groaneth and travaileth in pain,together until now./ Here are
comments from my study Bible,/Sin has caused all creation to fall from the perfect state in which God created it. The world is in bondage to death and decay/The words of the old hymn proclaims  this truth,/Change and decay in all around we see/.I wonder do you, like me ,ever utter the words ,how long?.I know I do,as I read daily on the suffering of so many,suffering which we all will experience to some degree. How long before we see the end of wars and more wars,how long before we see the end of child abuse,and women being down trodden in many countries.How long before we see the end of injustice,to end of greed,and so we could go on,saying how long. As a Christian I have a sure and certain hope,and it is summed up in the words of that old hymn.My eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.Yes that is my hope,it is called that blessed hope, and rightly so,for when He comes back again, he will make all things new.For those who have trusted Him,we will enter into that new heaven and that new  earth.No longer will I utter those words how long,no longer will Satan and sin rule,no ,our Saviour will rule eternally in righteousness and holiness.
A  prayer..../Dear God help us not to loose hope of a better day coming ,when Jesus returns Amen /

When I was a child.. [ 1 Corinthians 13]

Do you remember the games you used to play when you where young?,blind mans bluff,hide and seek,kick the tin,cowboys and  Indians.I remember swinging  around a lamp post,of climbing trees,these where the days when no one had TV,I remember my friend and I playing with his train set, playing football in the street,not so much traffic in those long lost days.Now I am a seventy year old man,I don't do those things any more,if I did I suppose people would doubt my sanity,no,now no more childish things.It is the apostle who wrote,/When I was a child, I spake as a child,I understood as a child, I thought as a child,but when I became a man,I put  away childish things[1 Corinthians 13 v11] He contrasts three aspects of our being,speech,,our understanding,and the way we think,now in this chapter we are being challenged about love.Let us apply this  to those things ,speech,understanding,and the way we think,as I speak to day will my speech be that of love?,will my understanding be guided by love?, and will  my thought life be controlled by love?.
A  prayer...../Dear God so often we are childish,forgive us,grant us grace that we nay grow into mature and loved controlled Christians,in Jesus name Amen/

Words are so easily spoken. [ Proverbs 15 v 4 ]

Did you ever say to yourself,why did I not keep my mouth shut?you say something that you wish you hadn't said,something said in confidence,something that was said for your ears only, I am sure we all
can identify with what I am saying,and the words of James come to mind,the tongue can no man tame[3 v8]. Words unfortunately are so easily spoken,if only we would think before we speak,or better still, pray before we speak. Much, so much good can be accomplished by words,as in the case of our Saviours word,consider the things He taught ,the sermon on the mount,contrast with Hitlers speeches,he had a wonderful ability to give speeches,and yet consider how those speeches inflamed men's hearts to hate,destroy, and to kill. Tony Campolo has written a book ,let me tell you a story, and it has as it's content 15 chapters ,/What we overhear about/,it would be a challenge to write a book with the contents being, /What we should not have said about/.I leave this verse with you for your prayerful consideration,/Let your speech be always with grace,seasoned with salt./[Colossians 4 v5] A  prayer........./Dear God forgive our foolish ways and foolish words,right now we consecrate our tongues to You in Jesus name Amen /

Just call [ Philippians 4 v 5-7 ]

Let us continue to think about these words,/And call upon Me in the day of trouble, I will deliver thee,and thou shalt glorify Me/Yesterday we thought on the call of salvation,now we consider,the day of trouble,the very nature of life will bring us days of trouble,in Job 14v1 tells us,/Man that is born of a woman is of few days,and full of trouble/,often trouble comes when we least expect it,but whenever it comes,it is a certainty that it will come knocking on our door.We may think that in our prosperity we shall not be moved,but we shall,moved to fear moved to want to run away,moved to despair.The first move we should do is to call upon God, let faith arise and call,we are told ,that He will deliver us. Read the Bible and you will discover many who called upon God in their times of trouble,and He delivered them. Times may have changed ,our circumstances may have changed ,but God has not changed,He is still able to deliver us in whatever trouble we are in. So stop panicking and start praying, and God will deliver you. God has said He will deliver us ,He is faithful ,He will deliver us, and in that deliverance He will be glorified
A  prayer....Dear God here our cry and deliver us from trouble in Jesus name Amen /
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Call upon the Lord. [ Romans 10 v13]

I want us to consider, a  verse of scripture, from Psalm 50v15,  ,/ And call upon me in the day of trouble and I will deliver Thee/ Sometimes the Lord is the last port of call,when He should at all times be our first port of call.
The first  call should be the call for salvation,//Abraham was rich above many,David was a valiant soldier,Solomon was wiser than the wisest of people.Susanna as fair as any of our  painted pieces. Yet none of them thought that their riches,valour,policy,beauty,or excellent,parts could save them/[C.H.Spurgeon] Let us remember that the only thing we bring to the cross is our sin,so our you ready to call?
A  prayer....../.Dear God thank  you that when ruined sinners call upon You, You respond in Love,nothing in our hands we bring simple to Your cross we cling, in Jesus name Amen./

Promises. [ Romans 8 v18]

I promise to pay the bearer the sum of 5 pounds ,and then it is signed by the chief  cashier of the bank of England. Yet it is possible that the bank for whatever reason may not be able to fulfil that promise. I do try to keep my word.There are dubious people who  make all sorts of promises ,like politicians to be elected, but they are not able to fulfil there promises. We expect people to keep their promises,and yet many don't,and of course many do,we promise ourselves that we are going to do  certain things,before we die.I recently heard of a dear brother whom made certain promises to himself before he died ,like buying a motor bike,visiting the church he got saved in,and other things,and he did it. Now when it comes to Christ He always keeps his promise,but sometimes we His followers ,lose sight of what He did promise as to this life. I read this recently,/ He never promised His followers it would be easy, but He did promise it would be worth it,/ The Christian life is a challenge to all of us to some degree,I read this morning of Christians in Vietnam being persecuted, of two men in Iran in prison,being tortured. A dear Christian I know has lost her husband ,she had to watch him suffer the ravages of cancer,to all such people and to ourselves I would say ,it will be worth it all when we see Jesus.
A  prayer..../ Dear Lord You have assured us that although the path of life You have chosen for us may be difficult, it will be worth it all,so grant us grace to hold on and to press on Amen /

Mental reservation [ Psalm 1]

A friend of mine told me of a doctrine called,/ The doctrine  of mental reservation/, I have never heard of it, and did not have a clue what it was about.Let me try and explain ,if I stole from a friend called Jim, and was brought to court  to be tried,and was asked did I steal from Jim,even though I did,I could say I did not steal from Jim,but in my mind I would say, on a Friday.That is the doctrine of mental reservation,it is amazing how the human mind can pervert things,W.C.Fields was lying in bed in the hospital,very ill. His wife came to visit him and found him reading a Bible,she asked him ,why are you reading the Bible?,I thought you didn't believe in any of that stuff.W.C.Fields shot back,/Looking for loopholds,my dear,looking for loopholds/
 People are always looking for loopholds,they pervert the truth,or  do a mental reservation,believeing the end justifies the means.Let us remember God is holy, with Him there is no loopholds,or mental reservation,He is the God of truth,the Bible reveals to everyman a way back to God from the dark paths of sin ,that there's a door that is open and all may go in,Calvary's cross is where we begin when we come as a sinner to Jesus.
 A  prayer......./ Dear God help us to see that we may fool others,or even ourselves,but we will never fool You,in Jesus name we ask this, Amen /