The graveyard of our hopes.[ Hebrews 11]

Robert  Fyall writes in his commentary on Ezra and Haggai the following,
/When we come to an apparent graveyard of our hopes,we need to renew
our trust in a God who knows His way out of the grave/.When a giant called
Goliath came on the scene,we read,/When Saul and all Israel heard those words[the challenge by Goliath] of the Philistine,they were dismayed,and greatly afraid.[1  Samuel 17v11]/The enemy of our souls wants us to
loose faith,to believe the worst,to cry out woe is me I am undone,he hopes that we change gear,from faith to unbelief.The only way we will be more than conquerors is by faith, John  writes ,/This is the victory that overcometh the world , even our faith[1 John5 v4]/
    Israel trembled, nobody was willing to face this giant, well not quite,a young man came unto the scene,his name was David,a man after Gods own heart,a young man of faith,who spoke how the Lord had helped him kill a
lion and a bear,believed that God would give him victory over this giant.
     Here is the good thing He did,here is his battle cry as he faced that big, big ,big giant,/I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts........This day
the Lord will deliver thee into mine hand[1 Samuel 15 v45-46]/
      Consider those words by R.Fyall.../When we come to an apparent
graveyard of our hopes , we need to renew our trust in a God who
knows His way out of the grave.
                                             A  prayer.
Dear God of all hope You know that often we fail to trust You and so we loose hope,forgive us,help us to see our situation with the eyes of faith,
and so get the victory, in Jesus name Amen .

His Mercy endures forever. [Psalm 136]

Psalm 136 commences,/O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good,for His mercy endureth for ever./The next 2 verses begin with similar words,to give
thanks,and each verse repeats the words,/for His mercy endureth for ever/
    Have we thanked the Lord this day?,and how often have we thanked Him?,sometimes we talk to people and they have no spirit of thankfulness
to God.
   He thanks God for He is good,so many are of the opposite opinion,but one thing I will always say the Lord is good,He is good to me,in fact goodness and mercy has followed me all my Life,can you not say amen to that?.
    Then he adds the reason for his thankfulness,he declares 26 times, for His mercy endureth for ever.These words are a response to Gods mercy in his past history. Stop and let us consider all the good things God has done for us,sins forgiven,eternal life,adopted into Gods family,and at what a cost,why ?because He loves us. This is no ordinary love,this a love which goes beyond our deepests feelings,goes beyond any love that we  can describe,all other love in comparison is but a faint shodow,this love is Jesus.
                                     A prayer.
Dear God we gave You thanks ,yet not nearly enough,but such as it is we
give it,for You are really, really good,and Your mercy in Jesus Christ, endures for ever.Amen.

Vengence.[ Romans 12v 19-21]

The bible tells us that when it come to vengeance we are to leave it with God. Stalin the Red Tsar was a very vengeful person. When the three major leaders were discussing what should be done with Germany, when defeated,Stalin said that 50,000 Germans should be shot.Dear old Churchill
protested,I think he  said it wasn't cricket,the American President laughed ,
thinking Stalin was not serious,but of course he was. Churchill knew he was serious,it was said when the the Germans were defeated Churchills hatred went,not so Stalins.
    In the book of Esther a man called Haman felt slighted by Mordecai the Jews ,he wanted vengeance,so he managed to persuade the King to pass a law to kill all the Jews in his empire. The more he thought on Mordecai,the more angry he became,he wanted to destroy this man, and at the advice of his wife he had a gallows erected ,to hang Mordecai on.
    Things changed very dramaticly,and quickly in Gods Providence ,Haman
ended up on his own gallows,Mordecai was promoted,and the Jews were saved from extinction.
                                           A prayer.
Dear God save us from a vengeful spirit, in Jesus name Amen.

Whats really important?[Psalm 90 ]

The superbowl was ruined because of an advert in which a young child died.I  remember a colleague becoming upset over an advert about cancer,using the same name of a friend of hers who died.I can appreciate people being upset at adverts,and yet I cannot help but feel that those who
became upset when the the superbowl was being screened,should stop and think.There  was a famous coach who said that football was more important
than life.
   Sport is massive ,and of  course I love sport,but sometimes I have to step back and remind myself,that there are more important things in life.The advert should remind us all and all who were watching the superbowl,of what is more important.
     Sport has for many become an object of worship,it shouldn't,we call our favourite sports personalities our idols,should we use that term for any person?.
      Those who were watching the superbowl more than likely needed to
be reminded of more important things than sport,as  we all do,God is breaking in to remind them and us,To teach us all to number our days,
that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom[Psalm 90 v 12].
                                 A prayer.
Dear God help us to understand what is really important,and to pursue it,
 in Jesus name. Amen.

That unmentionable place. [John 3 v16 ]

We all have likes and dislikes,I must confess I do not like it when it snows,
snow is alright in Christmas cards,or for those who like skying.  Yet I
cannot do anything about it,the weather is not subject to my likes and dislikes. This goes for a lot of things ,serious things,like death,I am attending a funeral this morning,death does not ask our permission,it matters not who it is,young ,old or middle age. It is the great leveller,the most powerful man in the world has no power over death.The word of God
tells us clearly,it is appointed unto men once to die,no there is no reincarnation,you just die once,and indeed once is enough.My wife has just
taken out a life policy,it is good to be prepared financially,but it does not stop there,for we are told that there is after death existence.Oh yes death in some ways is the beginning of an existence that will never end,it opens the door to two possible destinies,one is called heaven,the other is that unmentionable place,can you guess what it is?,I do sincerely pray that no
one reading this blog will end up in that unmentionable place,I do not like to talk about it,but I must,as a Christian minister I must warn people about the awful consequences of dying with out Christ.Believe me when I tell you
better to have not been born,than to go that place,I don't want anybody go to such a place,God does not want you to go to that place,that is why He sent Jesus,that no one need go to such a place,and suffer such a fate.
                                      A prayer.
Dear God You so loved the world that You gave Your only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him will not perish but have everlasting life,for
this we thank You.Amen.

He is in control.[ Daniel 4 v 34-35]

 The whole subject of healing is to say the least difficult,a friend told me,
that her husband had cancer,in the prostate, and also in the lungs.The cancer in the lungs gave most concern,so the elders of the church met with him ,
anointed him with oil in the name of the Lord, and prayed for him,as we are instructed in James 5 v14-15. The result of it was,when more tests were made,there was no sign of cancer in his lungs,I just wonder should I stop here?.
    Healing does not happen for many people,a local pastor I know son died
in his teens,much prayer went up,but he still died.How do we reconcile healing and not being healed,my friend is in his seventies. Why was that young man with all his potential allowed to die,leaving his family devastated?,this to our natural way of thinking does not make sense. The
term natural way of looking at it,may hold a clue and even and answer to
our question.
    A friend of mine said to me, the last time I saw him he was reading again
 a book on the sovereignty of God.I am sure we could all benefit from reading a book on Gods sovereignty .It is a doctrine we should not neglect,
for it brings to us the mysterious truth that God is in control,that He is working out all things after the council of His will.
    He will do as He will,even though we may struggle with this,for His children,His purpose will always be best,even though it causes us pain.
                                           A  prayer.
Dear sovereign God we bow before You,and ask for grace,to trust Your perfect will,in Jesus name Amen .

God gives light [Psalm23 ]

Lastly  ....../God gives light for the guidance of His people./
  Jesus said that He was the light of the world,he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness. [John b v12]As sure as Israel was guided in the wilderness,by a pillar of fire by night,and a pillar of cloud by day [Exodus 40v38],so God will guide His children now.
     Many years ago I received a call to pastor a church in England,on the 11th November we set off on our journey,and I read these words in my daily light, He lead them on safely[Psalm78v53],Behold, I send an angel before thee,to keep thee in the way,and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared[Exodus23 v20]
     What a word to receive at that time,and so it came to pass,Jesus said we shall not walk in darkness,/For this  God is our God forever and ever, He will be our guide even unto death[Psalm 48v14].We are told in all our ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct our paths[Proverbs 3 v6]. Yes God gives light for the guidance of His people,as I look back I can most certainty trace ,Gods providential leading,He shut many doors,but He most defiantly
guided me.
                            All the way my Saviour leads me ,
                            what have I to ask beside ?,
                             Can I doubt His tender mercy,
                              who through life has been my guide ?
                                    [Fanny J.Crosby]
                                 A  prayer.
Dear Lord Jesus we thank You that as we follow You we shall not walk in darkness. Amen.