Jabez ( 1 Chronicles 4 v 9 - 10 )

                      Whats in a name ?,well the seven dwarfs in the story of Snowhite,  reflected
                      their name,Snezzey,sneezed,Dopey was not to bright,Grumpy well he was crumby.
                      We call someone who is miserable all the time, misery guts,the children's writer
                       Roger Hargreaves was on a winner when he wrote the Mister Men books,Mister
                       Tickle,Mr Greedy, and many others.What's in a name? a lot or nothing,in Bible
                       times names meant something,Jacob means twister,in other words someone you
                       cannot trust.We read of a man in Chronicles called Jabez, which means pain.,
                       his mother experienced much pain in giving birth to him,so she called  him pain.
                       He desired to be free  from pain ,and God    granted his request.You may not be
                       Jabez but you have reputation that causes you pain. Could be ,you had a father who
                       was not up to much,you do not want to have a reputation like him, or even your
                       family.God heard the prayer of Jabez and granted his request. When we think of
                       Jabez we remember a man of prayer a man who was changed by the power of God.

                                     With Christ we are new creations,we need no longer live
                                      under fear and a dark cloud,

Do not forget your roots. ( 1 John 3 v 1 - 3 )

                 I am reading and studying  Chronicles,  at this time ,one of the things that would
                 put one of reading this book,is the first 9 chapters  are mainly names. One must
                study these two books,and begin to understand why these list of names are there.
                I am using a study guide from one the the Bible speaks today series and am finding
                it helpful.It was written to a people who had been taken into exile in Babylon.Now
                it was Jeremiah the prophet who wrote a letter to those in exile,( Jer 29 )he reminds
                them why they were in exile,also that it was not permeate ,in 70 years God would
                bring them back to their own land.In the mean while they were to settle down and
                lead a normal life, even pray for the  place they were in. The greater part of Israel
                had been taken captive into Assyria, years before.So they were as a people scattered.
                the writer of Chronicles was moved by God to remind them of who they are,a special
                people ,rooted in God,the first 9 chapters remind them of their roots. As with Israel
                of old so it is that many us who are the present Israel,made up of Jew and non- Jews,
                 need to be reminded of our roots, that in Christ we are children of God ,be we refugees
                exiles or whatever ,yes live a normal life pray for where you live, but let us be careful,
                to not forget our roots.
               
             

Changeless grace. ( 2 Corinthians 12 v 7 - 10 )

                    I read these words, ''Changeless grace in changing circumstances ''. What a
                    wonderful truth.A friend of mine and his wife who has been going through
                    a difficult time for a number of years, said how much God has upheld them.
                    I recently spoke at a church,a dear Christian brother came to me after I had
                    spoke. He said how the word preached help him.The previous week his wife
                    had died from cancer , he mentioned  how difficult he had found it, as
                    the pain killers had little effect. I can only imagine how difficult it must have
                    been.I read recently of a dear brother in China arrested ,was experiencing
                    being tortured.How can they cope with such things?,the answer is Gods
                    changeless grace in their changing circumstances.

                                                                God  said

                                                    My grace is sufficient for you.

                                                          ( 2 Corinthians 12 v 9 )
                                           



             

Free at last . ( John 8 v 34 - 36 )

                             Recently it was my wife's birthday, so we had a celebration for
                            her and so the family went out for a meal. There on the table
                            where balloons  filled with gas,  that float in the air.
                            they have ribbons attached to them , that is attached to a weight.
                            the question is ,what does one do with the balloons when the party
                            is over.? Well I took them and cut the ribbon attached to the weight,
                            all of a sudden they were free,to zoom up into the heavens ,and it
                            was if I could hear them say,' Free ,free at last'.

                                                     ''If the Son sets you free
                                                      you will be free indeed.
                                                          (John 8 v 36 )

Change. ( Malachi 3 v 6 )

                               I  am looking at a photo of a young man in a magazine ,he is dressed in
                               casual clothes,I think I will send him a few pound to buy a pair of  trousers
                              for the poor lad's trousers are torn in both knees. Yes ,although I am 73 ,I
                              know that this is the fashion,when I was young it was a sign of poverty.
                              How things change ,the newspapers are no longer large, and unmanageable,
                              I know some still are, I wonder why.?. The thing is,things change,somethings
                              don't, we change physically, my hair has turned blond,although my wife keeps
                              telling me its grey, what does she know.?. I used to be a sweet lovely young
                              man but now I  am a member of the old men's grumpy club.The fact is we are
                             finite beings, that means we will change,it is inevitable, but here is an important
                             thing ,God does not change, in His being,and in his attributes.people do try to
                             change him, even Christians,they find it hard to accept aspects of  God ,like
                             the fact that He judges people,and will judge all mankind,oh no they say, we
                             do not want that sort of God.Then  others who think it is wrong to say there
                             is only one God, and only one way to God,so they try to change it.Then there
                             are other people like the Jews who refuse their Messiah,because of what it
                             would mean, change.
                                                         We cannot change God,but He can
                                                                           change us.
                           

Pray . ( Luke 18 v 1 )

                             In East Africa many are suffering,this is caused by a lack of rain
                             do pray.
                             In Yemen thousands of people are suffering from the worst cholera
                             outbreak in history.
                            Spain is experiencing political turmoil, which could easily break out
                            serious violence.
                            I could go on, this world is full of so much pain, many millions of people
                            have been affected by violence,
                           Millions of people have become refugees,living in camps, that are poorly
                           equipped.
                             
                                                   PRAY, PRAY, PRAY, PRAY.

The story is not over. ( John 3 v 16 )

                    One of the most godly kings of Israel was  Josiah ( 2 Kings 22- 23 ), he sought
                    to turn the people back to God, but it was all in vain ,for after his death, the nation
                    went back to their old ways. Israel the nation had its times of  spiritual life,but so
                    often they kept running away from God.. God loved them, but oh so often they
                   rejected His love,in spite of all He had done for them. Even when they became very
                   religious in our Lords time, their religion was hard and unloving. They had the plain
                   teaching of scripture,but failed to understand, the true character and purpose of the
                   promised Messiah.Instead of seeing the importance of a spiritual rebirth, they leaned
                   heavenly on their privileged  position of being children of Abraham. To them the
                   physical  ,the outward religious acts,overshadowed everything, Instead of welcoming
                   their Messiah with open arms,and embracing Him as their saviour, they saw Him as
                   a threat to their position. In the end they came to the conclusion he would have to die.
                   and so they schemed and planned to destroy him.  It is a very dark and tragic picture
                   I paint ,but it is a true picture,but of course the story is not over,in time God will bring
                   into His kingdom,a people from Israel ,which will be made up of all mankind,of Jews
                   and non-Jews, for Gods purposes are greater than a nation state. One day all those
                  who have come to know Christ, a people from every tribe and language ,,and
                  nation will gathered unto God and will sing the praises of  Him who loved them,
                  Jesus the Lamb of God who took  away their sins

                                                      'For the earth will be full
                                                      of the knowledge of the
                                                      Lord, as the waters cover
                                                      the sea.'
                                                               ( Isaiah 11 v 9 )