The scriptuers (John 5 v 39-40 )

                                    Philip Pullmam author wrote
                                    the following.

                    ''The place religion has in our lives is a permanent
                    one. There's no point in condemning it, because it's
                    part of the human mind to ask who made us, why
                    are we here,  what is the purpose of life, what happens
                    when I die. To become censorious about it, to say there
                    is no God , doesn't  help. The Bible is the most book-
                    I wouldn't be without it. It's  a library of all kind of stories;
                    poetry , history, mythology, crazy ravings. It's got it all.
                    Not much humour in it, though.''

                    These are interesting comments ,I of course do not agree
                    with a lot he say's. What did Jesus say about the scriptures?
                    In John 5,our Saviour is talking to religious leaders, people
                    who valued greatly the scriptures , but were blind  to there true
                    meaning,'' You pore over the scriptures for you imagine that
                    you will find eternal life in them. And all the time they give
                    their testimony to me, but  you are not willing to come to me
                    to have real life''
                                           ( J. B . Phillips translation)


         

Preparation ( Esther 4 v 14 )

I was watching a tennis match on TV ,it lasted about five hours, one the
commentators mention a player called Mullier,  how  he had been round the tennis  circuit for 16 years, and had experience injuries, defeats and different obstacles. Then he said a very interesting thing, maybe all he  had experienced was preparing him for this hour.

                                     Joseph who suffered so much
                                     declared, to his brothers,
                                     ''God intended it for good
                                      to accomplish what is now being done''

                                           ( Genesis 50 v 20 )
                                                                          

Human wisdom. ( 1 Corinthians 1 v 17)

Bishop Handley Moule  wrote '' Philosophy comes to man with the message
Know thyself; the Gospel meets him also with the far more glorious and fruitful watch, know thy God''.

                                    Where is the wise man? Where
                                     is the scholar ? Where is the
                                     philosopher of this age? Has not God
                                     made foolish the wisdom of the world.
                                     For since in the wisdom of God the
                                     world through its wisdom did not know Him

                                     we preach Christ crucified; a stumbling block
                                     to  Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to
                                     those whom God has called, both Jews and
                                     Greeks, Christ the power of  God and the
                                     wisdom of God.
                                        
                                          ( 1 Corinthians 1 v 20 - 24 )

John Bunyan ( Habakkuk 3 v2 ]

John Bunyan came from a humble background, he lived at time of intolerance ,people were expected to attend the Church of England.  He was
born in the county of  Bedford. Before he became a Christian  he heard God say to him, ''Wilt thou leave thy sins, and go to heaven ?, or have thy sins,
and go to hell.'' What do  you say to those words?

                                            A  prayer.
Dear  God help us to see the importance of  forsaking our sin, and trusting Jesus for forgiveness Amen.

No good crying ( Isaiah 1 v 18)

My wife and I were out shopping so we stopped  to have a break in a stores
café, she had a class of milk, when to her displeasure , she spilt it. Well you
know what they say ,no good crying over spilt milk.  The fact is one cannot do  anything about spilling milk, other than wipe it up.  So it is in life when we make mistakes ,we cannot change this, we have to move on . Of  course there  are more   serious things than spilling a glass of milk, some  very serious  things, like unfaithfulness . The good news is no matter how serious  it may be ,if we seek Gods forgiveness , He will not only forgive ,but He can help us  and restore us. So stop crying over the spilt milk.

                                     A  prayer.
Dear  God grant us the grace to move on when we spill milk, no matter how serious  it be, in Jesus name Amen

                              

Excluded. [ Galatians 5 v19-21]

In Galatians v24 we read,''those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires'' the great apostle
has been dealing with the fact that as Christian we have two natures within us one is our sinful nature and the other a spiritual nature our sinful natures  that which is contrary to our Spiritual nature.In Galatians 5v19-21,we have the acts of our sinful nature,sexual immorality impurity  and witchcraft; hatred, discord,jealousy , fits of rage, selfish ambition
dissensions factions and envy drunkenness orgies and the like. the last words indicate that list is not an exhaustive list as Paul like John in his
epistle stresses he is referring to habitual practise, rather than like John in his epistles stresses he is referring to those who have isolated lapses .Paul
says those who indulge in such things are excluded from Gods kingdom J. Stott writes Gods kingdom is a kingdom of holiness and those who ge in works of the flesh, will be excluded from  it, for such works give an evidence they are not in Christ.

                                             A prayer.
Dear God help us to manifest a holiness of life as evidence that we are truly Christ's Amen.

Who is this? ( Philippians 2 v 6 )

Yesterday we considered the challenge of having the same attitude as Christ
to appreciate the writer tells us something that many refuse to accept ''Who being in very nature God''. When our dear Saviour stilled the storm, his disciples were terrified and ask each other, 'Who is this? Even the wind and
and waves obey him'  ( Mark 4 v41). When we read about Jesus ,we see Him do miraculous things, speak words that were out of this world. Like the disciples we find ourselves asking, who is this?, Well writes the great
apostle, He is none other than God  (Philippians 2 v 6), He has the very nature of God.


                                     ( And they will call Him Immanuel
                                       which means,'' God with us)
                                            Matthew 1 v 23 .