Are you thirsty? [John 4 v 1- 14]

Many years ago a man heard his servant saying,''if only I had 10 pound,I would be happy and content,so the man went to his servant, and gave him 10 pound.As he walked away from him,he overheard him say,I wish I had said 20 pound.If you where to ask me one thing that characterises mankind its this,''They Thirst''.As I look at many people in generation,many should be content,yet millions do the lottery,they are saying I thirst.Millions of people are hooked on drugs,I  include alcohol,tobacco,what are  they saying is ,I thirst.Likewise sex,they are on the internet,they are going to foreign,countries,to abuse children,many ordinary people are engaging
in sex outside of marriage.Power is another drug.likewise possessions,one could go on,but the words that I would put over all such things is ,''I thirst''.
It is the cry of mankind,and it leads to a lot of messed up lives,all they can
say is,I am dying of thirst,I want more and more and more,yet the more they get the more thirsty they become.Our Saviour met a lady at a well, she had, had 5 husbands,and at that time she was living with a man.She was a thirsty woman,she came to that well,a thirsty woman.Jesus said to her,''whosoever
drinketh of this water shall thirst again''[John 4 v13]He was using the water
to illustrate,that the deep thirst within her heart,could not be satisfied,by  the many men she had,she would always be thirsty.But said Jesus, I can give you water ,that will mean you will never thirst again. Are you thirsty?
come to Christ,only He, and He alone,can satisfy the deepest longings of
the human heart.
                               I heard the voice of Jesus say.
                               Behold,I freely give
                               the living water;thirsty one,
                               stoop down and drink,and live;
                               I came to Jesus, and I drank
                               of that life giving stream;
                               my thirst was quenched,my soul revived,
                               and now I live in Him.
                                 [ Words by Horatius Bonar ]

The house of mourning. [ Psalm 90 ]

I attended a funeral of a dear child of God,she was aged 94,what a difference this funeral was,from the previous one  I attended,The previous
one was for a person who did not know the Lord, secular songs were sung ,and  the minister barely mentioned the Lord. I spoke to that minister,and expressed my concern,he felt that the funeral went alright,but
I didn't.The funeral of the 94 year old was taken by a brother who was faithful,we heard about the broad road that leads to destruction ,and the narrow road that leads to heaven.We heard of how the lady had trusted the Saviour and had served him,and how she was now in heaven.In this secular age people often want Christian ministers,to still take the funeral service.
The result is, all one receives is the bare bones of a Christian message,those who need to hear about Christ ,do not,it is  all so very sad.In  Ecclesiastes 7v1,we read,''It is better to go to the house of mourning,than to go to a house of feasting,for death is the destiny of every man,the living should take it to heart.''
                                              A  prayer.
Dear God help us as we stand between the dead and the living,to be faithful in telling forth the good news of Jesus. Amen.

Its still happening.[Hebrews 11 v35b-40]

Recently I was talking to a friend about Christians being persecuted,and then he mentioned the fact that people are suffering in this country.Now I know we can get into conflict,as some do,for wearing a cross,or praying with someone. I felt that this brother had things out of balance,to my knowledge there is no serious persecution going on in this country.I do not think we should court persecution,at times Christians have suffered persecution,in this country.When John and Charles Wesley went to streets  to proclaim the Gospel they were attacked by mobs,the Salvation Army suffered in a similar way.Who knows what may happen if we were more forthright in preaching the Gospel.Yet sad to say many Christians are suffering persecution,I pray for such everyday,just recently I read of a Christian couple in India who  were beaten, and then burnt to death.Now that's persecution,while I do not want to underestimate any Christians suffering,I have to acknowledge that being beaten, and burnt  to death,is beyond doubt, severe.One would think after all these years ,such things should not happen,but it does.,Gods people will always suffer, Jesus told us so, [John 16 v33],but he added ,''take heart I have over come the world.as W  Barclay comments,'The world did their worst to Jesus,and He emerged victorious,so it is ,whatever persecution we may suffer,we can emerge victorious.
                                              A prayer.
Dear Lord have mercy upon all your suffering Children,grant then an escape
from their suffer,and for those other who are suffering for you  ,grant them grace,so that they may glorify your name Amen.

I know . [ Revelation 21 v1-5]

There was a popular song years ago,with words like ,''I know where I am going'',I believe that one  of the wonderful things about being a Christian is,we know where we are going.As a Christian I have the assurance of a wonderful,which even death cannot destroy.Look out on this world,where
is it going?,in the words of Ecclesiastes is it all ,meaningless[2 v26] The fact is evident,that the world is not going to change,wars and more wars will continue,who knows where it will lead.But again for the Christian it is not all doom and gloom,for as John Stott, writes,''History is neither meaningless nor purposeless,it is moving towards a glorious goal''.In Ephesians 1 v 9-10,
we read that God has a plan for the fullness of time,when as JS, writes of ''that time,when time merges into eternity again,and to unite all things in him[Christ],things in heaven and earth.''He goes on to write,''In the fullness
of time,Gods two creations,his whole universe ,and his whole church,will be united under the cosmic Christ,who is the supreme  head of both''As a
Christian I know where I am going,do you?.
                                              A  prayer.
Dear we praise you that because of Jesus your son the future is truly
glorious ,we do know where we are going.Amen

How do we respond?. [ 1 John 4 v10 ]

One of my sons went to his GP,because of a problem,the GP,assured him,that it was something simple.None of us can be sure that we wont have a problem that will something simple,that is the nature of life.We cannot change the way life is,but we can trust in our invisible God ,reassured that
He knows.If we are child of God then he is looking after us,if you are not a child of God then you cannot have the assurance that God is looking after you,even though he loves you,which he does.But ones own children are special,so Gods own children,I mean those who have Jesus as their Saviour.
I again stress that God loves you,but his special love, are those who ,he gave everything to save.On the cross God gave everything ,in order that we may be saved,I mean everything.Take all the wealth, there is in all the universe,it does not compare to his son Jesus That is what we are told in
in 1 Peter 1 v18-19./Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with
corruptible things,as silver and gold.......but with the precious blood of Christ./ The thing I want to ask you is this,do you think that you can reject
such love,and not suffer the consequences,to do so  is like spitting in Gods face.
                                    A  prayer.
Dear God as we look on Calvary by faith,we see how much He loves us,
help us to  see the importance of Jesus,in His name we ask this Amen.

Toad the backslider. [Luke 15 v11-32 ]

One of my favourite books is Kenneth Grahams, Wind and the Willows,its a lovely story,with all its different characters.Mole,Ratty,Badger,and dear old Toad of Toad Hall.Now Toad was an creature of means,he was vain and was taken up with the latest craze,until he got tired of it,one thing after another.The thing that really got a hold of him was the motor car, the moment he saw one he fell in love with it.Unfortunately he kept crashing
his cars,so he just kept buying more.His  three friends,Mole ,Ratty ,and Badger,felt they should do something to help him,to break his reckless behaviour.But for all their efforts Toad refuses to change,and it is dear old
Badger who declares him a backslider.What is a backslider?,well it is best
seen in the history of Israel,they sinned,God would forgive them and restore then,only for them to go back to their old sinful ways.Early on in my Christian life as a child I was like that,a backslider.Well the good news is
that Toad did come to point when he ceased his backsliding ways.So it is
was with me I stopped my backsliding ways,God forgave me and restored me,no matter how far you have wandered away from God,He is merciful and can restore you,He still loves you.
                                      A  prayer.
Dear God forgive our backsliding ways,and restore us to yourself,in Jesus name Amen.

Here is love. [ 1 John 4 v 9-10]

I thank God for those dear gifted and spiritual people,who have written hymns and spiritual songs.The church has always had those who have blessed  us ,as in the OT,we have the Psalms.they are unique,as they are Gods word set to music.The modern hymns and songs have blessed us,they are not Gods word,but they point us to God,and help us to give expression to our longings ,desire after God,our love for our God and Saviour.I want to
leave a hymn with you today,its a modern one,written by William Rees,I hope it will bless you as it has me.
                               
                                  Here is love vast as the ocean,
                                  Loving kindness as the flood,
                                  When  the Prince of Life,our ransom
                                  Shed for us His precious blood.
                                  Who His will not remember?
                                  He can never be forgotten
                                  Throughout heaven's eternal days.

                                  On the Mount of Crucifixion
                                  Fountains opened deep and wide;
                                  Through the floodgates of Gods mercy
                                  Flowed a vast and gracious tide.
                                  Grace and love,like mighty rivers,
                                  Poured incessant from above,
                                  And heaven's peace and perfect justice
                                  Kissed a guilty world in love.