Unfairness. [ Hebrews11 v36 ff ]

I read this recently/Faith has to live with what seems to us unfairness,and
leave some uncertainties unresolved, within the mystery of Gods gracious providence/.It is children who usually say its not fair,many adults may say it also or at least think it.
     The bible is full of  people who experienced what I see as unfairness,
Joseph,what did he do ,to warrant such hatred,Job a very godly person likewise, many of the prophets had to cope with so much,and as for the disciples,and the apostle Paul,surely they did not deserve such awful treatment. I often hear said as regards suffering, Christians,how unfair it is to suffer just for being a Christian. Consider  what we read in 2 Peter 4 v12,/
/Beloved , think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you,
as though some strange thing happened unto you./In other words do not think  that your suffering is strange,We follow Him who ended up on a cross even though  it was unfair,He never uttered the words it is not fair,
of course it was not fair.Why should He die because I did wrong,but die He did.
     DA remarks  ,/Faith has to live with ,what seems to be unfairness/,the question is, am I prepared for that?am  I prepared to leave uncertainties
unresolved,am I prepared to do this, ?.Am I prepared to leave all the unfairness ,within the mystery of Gods gracious providence?/
                                        A prayer.
Dear God grant us grace to leave unfairness to Your sovereign providence,
in Jesus name Amen.
  

The land of restlessness. [ John 14 v27]

   The result of Cain's sin was, he became a fugitive and a vagabond,he had entered what David Atkinson calls,the land of restlessness.As we consider
the history of humanity,and even present humanity ,we see nothing but restlessness. Oh, does one not long for peace,for nation to stop striving with
each other,it seems to me  that people take pleasure in conflict.
    A man called Helmut Thielocke writes about the world becoming fatherless,so becoming a weird and homeless place,driven into unending flight.Every tree,every milestone becomes a threat.
     Think of the many people who are on the move in this world,refugee's,
asylum seekers,economic immigrates.So many people seeking a better life,risking their lives to achieve their aim.There are so many whose spirits are truly restless ,who find it hard to rest,hard to settle.
      Ask yourself are you at rest?or am I driven human being,is your continual thought if only my ship would come in.
       There was a time when divorce was very limited,not now with the
advance of the a so called liberation spirit,many find it hard to be settled,many have not only been divorced, but divorced many times,many have taken on the mantle of Henry the 8th.
     Again let me quote by D.A.   /To live within the will of God is the way of peace,when we are separated from God, our world is one constantly
searching anxiety. Only in God is our satisfaction,anywhere else, as Augustine said,our hearts are restless until they rest in God/
                                  A prayer.
Dear God we thank You that You sent Your son in order that we may know
peace,Amen
    

My work. [ John 9 v 4]

With retirement looming up,I am continually asked what am I going to do?
I reply I do not know.So what am I going to do?,Well here is my answer,
it may not satisfy everyone,but it is this,my work is to do the will of Him
who saved me.
    I spend a good deal of my time in prayer,I am sure that will not change,
prayer is so vital,so many people and situations to pray about,so what will I do?,I will spend time in prayer.
    I will continue to study Gods word,the little  children's chorus ,goes read your bible pray everyday if you want to grow.The Christian life is, or should be, a growing experience.
    Where God grants me the opportunity I will continue to preach,hopefully that will not change,He can make a way.
    I will continue to do my blog,I am so grateful to be able to minister on the Internet,my prayer is that God will encourage and instruct believers,and those who are not saved may come to Christ.
    I will continue to serve ,in my home,or wherever God wants me to,
whatever His will is for me,that will be my work.
                                              A prayer.
Dear God I pray that Your will be done in me,in all the work I carry out,
in Jesus name. Amen .

God [Isaiah 40]

   When I played the guitar I had to tune it,with the help of a little electric tuner,now one of my grandsons plays the guitar. Now he has a part time job,so he saved his wages up and bought an electric guitar,it cost him quite a lot.He brought it out to show me.Now the thing about this guitar it tunes itself,I watched in amazement as I saw the screws turning,on their own,
 I found it absolutely fascinating.
     As a man of 71, I have seen so many new inventions the list is endless,
and I take them for granted, I cease to be amazed. But that changed in
that moment when I saw that guitar,to me it was truly amazing.
     I think it is possible we as Christians can loose our sense of amazement
in relation to God,and how amazing He is, just in Himself truly amazing.
God is Spirit what does that mean?,it means something truly amazing,which we can only grasp at.Jesus tells us God is Spirit,the Mormons god has a body,not so the God of the Bible.
    God is a triune being Father, Son ,and Holy Spirit,try to work that  out,one cannot,so the JWs rationalise this truth away. They say how,the Bible does not tell us the how,but it declares it to be so.
    God is holy,again it is something we fail to really appreciate,we are  ,sin has clouded our perception of all things especially, God who is Holy. The natural man thinks that they will  be accepted by a god that to some extent is a concoction of their own fallenness.We who are Christians,
know that God is Holy,but how careless we are ,with our minds,eyes,ears,
and actions.
                                    A  prayer.
Dear God forgave us for loosing sight of You,awake in all us a sense of
amazement as to You,our amazing God ,in Jesus name Amen .

A declaration of intent [Romans 6 v1-6]

On Sunday I had the joy of seeing my grand daughter being baptised,she is aged 15,three other young people were baptised also.Baptism is not something we have thought up,it is something that our Saviour commanded us to do[Matthew 28v19].
   Baptism does not save us,but it speaks to us of salvation,the apostle Paul said he had not been sent to baptise,but to preach the gospel.[1 Corinthians 1 v17]He left others to carry out that task,but it was through his preaching
the gospel, that others were saved.Many people who have been baptised have never been saved,a religious rite does not save us,but a personal faith in Jesus does.[CP John 1 v12-13].
     In Romans 6 the apostle Paul writes on baptism as symbolising the death and burial of the old way of life.The problem that Paul was dealing with in Romans 6 was caused by people who did not understand,that by their  
babtism they had died to sinful practises.Those young people who were baptised were saying that they can no longer run with the crowd,in relation to sexual activity,drug taking,and so on. That does not mean just,  not doing certain things,but also facing each day ,in an attitude of love and Christian service. Now although I am stressing these things to those  young people,it applies to all Christians . Baptism is not just an emotional  experience,it is a declaration of intent for all Christians.
                                    A prayer.
Dear Lord help us to take on board what baptism really means in Your name we ask this Amen.
  

Not knowing [Psalm 23]

   It is the not knowing,that we find hard,not knowing,I must confess as I come nearer retiring from my job, I am finding it hard,simple because I do not know how my days will be full,will I become a couch potato?. I am even asking myself should I have made the decision to retire,so if you are a
child of God do pray for me.
    I suppose my experience is not unique ,but it is to me,or is it?as I look back, I can truly say,He has been my guide. It has been challenging,but testing, so many times,looking for a way to go forward ,trying doors,that remained shut.
    There are valuable lessons to be had in all our experiences,they are Gods means of teaching us,that no matter how long we live,it is a life of faith. You see we are so prone to do it our way,to lean upon our own understand-
ing,so prone to walk the path of seeing,instead of the path of faith.That is
something that we find hard,and yet it is the path we must go,for only the
life of faith honours,and glorifies God.
      Another lesson is,the not knowing ,will drive us to Him who is all knowing, it was Job in his not knowing experience,when he was suffering
dreadful things.When God appeared to be no where to be found, Job in faith
declares,/but He knoweth the way I take[Job 23 v10]/ Not only does He know ,but we need to remind ourselves,that He has not,nor will He ever,
forsake us.
                                A prayer.
Dear God we confess that we worry in so many situations,not knowing is
but one of them grant us grace to be still and know that Thou art God in Jesus name Amen.
                                             
     

Faith, Hope, and Love. [ Hebrews 12 v 2 ]

    And now abideth,faith,hope ,love[1 Corinthians 13 v13]let us briefly examine these three things.Faith in its purest form, is a spiritual exercise,
it believes in that which it cannot see,the message puts it like this,/Its our handle on what we can't see.The act of faith is what distinguished our
ancestors,set them above the crowd[Hebrews 11  v1]/ I have never seen the risen Christ,but I believe in Him,believe that He died for me on the cross.
       Hope ,for the Christian this is not a maybe hope but a sure and certain hope,one could say it is the fruit of faith. I am told certain things from Gods word, I believe them,we believe the Easter message,forgiveness ,and the
resurrection,so hope is placed within my heart.My sin is forgiven, I will
be resurrected from the dead .Here we have a sure and certain hope,which
come through faith in Jesus.
         Love is manifested in its fullest measure through Christ,dying on the
cross for us sinners,the hymn wrote ,Love so amazing, so divine demands,
my soul ,my life ,my all. He never gives up on us,He cares for us,He not
only forgives,but He chooses not to remember,our past sins and failures.
                                    A  prayer.
Dear God we praise You that through faith in Jesus Your son we are blessed,with hope,and love. Amen.