Death ,thou shalt die. [John 11 ]

John Donne wrote a poem called,''Death,be not proud'',here are a few lines from it.
                        Death,be not proud,though some have called thee
                        Mighty and dreadful,for thou art not so:
                        For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow
                        Die not,poor Death,nor yet canst thou kill me.
                        From Rest and Sleep,which but thy pictures be,
                        Much pleasure, then from thee much more must flow;
                        And soonest our best men with thee do go-
                        Rest of their bones and souls' delivery.
                        Thou'rt slave to fate,chance,kings,and desperate men,
                        And dost with poison,war, and sickness dwell;
                        And better than thy stroke. Why swell's thou then?
                        One short sleep past,we wake eternally,
                        And  Death shall be no more:Death,thou shalt die.
Jesus said to her,''I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me
will live,even though he dies; and whosoever lives and believes in Me will never die.Do you believe this?.
                                               [John 11 v25-26 ]

Violence. [ 1 Corinthians 13 ]

The story is told of a man who killed ,his parents,he was arrested, and tried,
but the judge was about to pass sentence,he spoke to him and said,''Judge have mercy,on this poor orphan''.Now you may laugh at this or judge me
for  telling something inappropriate,but the sad reality is this we live in a
violent world.It would have been Jo Cox's,forty second birthday,but she was murdered,yes violence is not far from any of us. If you knew me you may think that this little old Irishman,would not hurt a fly,but I want to tell you something you are wrong,I know,and God knows,the potential for violence in me.We glorify violence,why do we still have boxing?,what ever way it may be dressed up,its about violence.All over the world women are experiencing Violence,in South Sudan at this time many have been and are being violated. Many children are experiencing violence of the worst kind,by a parent who should be protecting and shielding them.The story I opened with,is in reality no joke,violence is never a joke,especially  to those who are experiencing it,is it not about time we faced up to the repulsiveness
of violence,not only in others,but also in ourselves.
                                              A  prayer.
Dear Lord have mercy on those who have and are suffering violence,help
them to forgive,we thank you that you are the great healer.Help us not to make excuses for our violence ,to see it as sinful,to repent and forsake it.
We thank you that your grace is sufficient,to heal and to change Amen.

A welcome mat. [ Ephesians 2 v11-22 ]

The epistle to the Ephesians,can be divided up into two sections,according to  John Stott,exhortation,and exposition.The first 3 chapters are exposition
where Paul seeks to explain the mystery of Christ. Again JS writes,''the
mystery is a truth hitherto hidden from human knowledge or understanding, but now disclosed by the revelation of God''The mystery is this ,that Gentile
and Jewish Christians together are now fellow heirs of the same blessing, fellow-members of the same body and fellow -partakers of the same promise''. Again JS writes ,the mystery of Christ is the complete union  of
Jews and Gentiles with each other through the union of both with Christ''
I suppose it is hard for us to grasp what this meant to the Jew.The Jew would thank God he had been born a Jew,the Gentiles where despised,as indeed where women.Now all that was coming to an end,the sinful defiled
Gentiles,were now being brought into the kingdom of God. In the temple
there was a petition a wall that separated the Gentiles from Jews.With Christs coming that was now changing,there would be one people of God.
No longer would contact with Gentiles be forbidden they would be sought
out,and told the good news,the gospel of Christ.Christ through his death on Calvary,welcomed  everyone,for many Jews it was step to far,but not for God,now there was a welcome mat,on the entrance to the kingdom of God,
with Christ standing there to give every seeking sinner a great big hug of acceptance.
                                         A  prayer.
Dear God we praise you and thank you for mercy shown to us Gentiles,
that we who were not a people have now become the children of  God,
through Jesus your Son Amen.

Come what may,we can go on. [ Isaiah 41 v10 ]

It is hard to cope with the death of a husband,wife,child,friend,and others who are close to us.I was talking to a lady recently who lost her husband,
they had been a very loving couple,they had a lovely ministry in song.He died three years ago,and every day since that event she remembers him.
She is doing her best to cope,and appears positive in her outlook,she is
a lovely Christian lady.Her life has not ended with the death of her husband
no she has entered into a new aspect of life.She will always miss her dear husband,but Christ still beckons her to follow Him .When He died the disciples were overwhelmed with grief how could they go on?,the one they  loved had died,what was the point of life?.But they were to find that life was not over for them,they would soon find out ,that they must with courage and faith go on,and serve their Lord.When He left them,and went back to Heaven,and just before He left,He said,''I am with you always,''and
in the person of the Holy Spirit,He is.

                           God hath not promised we shall not know,
                           Toil and temptations,trouble and woe;
                            He hath told us we shall bear,
                            Many a burden,many a care.

                            But God hath promised strength for today,
                            Rest for our labour,light for the way,
                            Grace for the trials help from above,
                            Un-failing kindness,un-dy-ing love
                                 [Annie Johnson Flint]

Those who rule. [1 Timothy 2 v 1- 3 ]

Things in our country are in a bit of a turmoil,we have voted to leave the EU,we will be having a new PM,the biggest opposition party appears to be falling apart.What can I do?well I can pray,because God hears and answers
prayer,not just for my own personal situation.No ,prayer can change things,
be it for me as an individual,or for our government,in 1 Timothy 2v2,we are
told to pray for all who are in authority.So I will pray for those who are in authority in our country,they need our prayers,as one looks at many modern
politicians in our country,one wonders if any of them pray, I hope they do,and does any of them know the Saviour?,the Lord alone knows,those who are His.So let us with confidence pray for those who govern, that God may grant us peace ,that they may be granted wisdom to rule.
                                      A prayer.
Dear God in the name of your son Jesus,help the situation in our country
to calm down,grant unto all our governments that they may rule with justice,and that righteousness which is important,may be exercised continually,Amen

Are you a liberal? [ Romans 1 v18 ]

Words are important,this is especially true when it comes to the Bible,it is very important that when translators come to translate the word of God.
D.A.Carson writes of a man called C.H.Dodd,a Welsh professor,he had made a profession of faith,during the Welsh revival,but he gradually became what is known as a liberal theologian,that is someone who will take liberties in relation to Christian beliefs.He found it hard to except the biblical word propitiation,which refers to satisfying or setting aside Gods wrath.He helped translate the NEB,and changed that word to expiation,
which refers to cancelling sin. The problem with C.H.Dodd he had a problem accepting the biblical doctrine of the wrath of God,I say biblical
for it is clearly taught throughout the Bible.D.A.Carson points out,''We
cannot ever lose sight of the fact that God is personally offended by our anarchic rebellion and is judicially angry with us''.The wrath of God is a biblical fact,that is why Christ died,in His death He bore Gods wrath,that we need not bear it.John 3 v16,tells us ,''That God so loved the world that He give His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life''.The word perish means eternal punishment
,imagine the awfulness of that,awful it may be, but it is true,and if you are not saved then you need to take it very serious,don't be become a liberal.
[Most of what I have written is from D.A.Carsons book, Scandalous]
 In that lovely hymn,''Beneath the cross of Jesus'',we read.
                             
                      There lies beneath its shadow,
                      But on the farther side,
                      The darkness of an awful grave
                      That gapes both deep and wide;
                      And there between us stands the cross,
                      Two arms outstretched to save,;
                      Like a watchman set to guard the way,
                       From that eternal grave.
                          [Words by Miss E.C.Clephane]

The glory.[ Romans 8 v 17-28 ]

Writing about the book of Revelation,William Barclay writes,''That it contains the blazing faith of the Christian Church in the days when life was
an agony,when men expected the end of the heavens and the earth as they knew them,and the earth as they knew them,and when they still believed that beyond the terror there was the glory,and that above the raging of man was the power of Almighty God''. Above the terror there was the glory,lift up your eyes dear child of God,lift up your eyes,beyond this world,and all the trials you may be facing to the glory,To the glory of the love of God,that
nothing can separate us from,many dear Christians have lost so much,but they can never loose their Saviour.Beyond the terrors of life,beyond the deaths of a dear Christian,there is the eternal weight of glory.Beyond the
sorrows and tribulations that children of God suffer there is the Glory.
                                 A  prayer.
Dear God help those of your dear children who are suffering the terrors perpetrated by wicked men ,help them to see the glory,also for all us who
face the loss of health,and loss of loved ones,help us as to whatever we are going through,to look to the glory that awaits us,in Jesus name Amen.