It is coming. ( 2 Thessalonians 1 v 5 - 9 )

King Ahab was king of the breakaway state known as the northern state,which included Ten of the tribes of Israel, the other two were known,ah you know, the southern kingdom.Instead of the northern state holding unto God and His way, they parted very quickly, and never really returned spiritually, but God continued to speak to them by prophets like Elijah , and Elisha, at times it appeared they were winning the battle for the spiritual well being of the country,but it was not to be, they kept moving further and further away from God,until they were moved into oblivion  by God.Lets return to Ahab, he was privileged to have God speaking to him, through the prophet Elijah,and witnessed Gods power ( 1 Kings 17 -18 ),but it did not appear to make any difference.He had also an evil wife who killed many of Gods prophets, she was a Gentile,but they ran their course,and both Ahab and Jezebel, both died violent deaths,for God judged them.Many nations ,many leaders, many people have cast of God,will in the end be cast off by God. It is only a matter of time before God will judge the world,and people will cry for  the mountains and rocks to fall on them , to hide them from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb .For the great day of their wrath  has come,and who can stand.  (Revelation 6 v 16 - 17 )                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Will your cry be to late?

All we need. ( Jude 24 - 25 )

In Hebrews 12 v 1  we read,'let us strip off every weight  that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up'. I heard a Christian song I had not heard before ,the theme of it ,is summed up in the following words,''Anything apart from You,let it fall away''.that is what those words of Hebrews is telling us.Often we are so blinded by so many things that we keep doing things we really need to cast of. Often people do not really see that they have a weight problem,until someone tells them why they have problems coping.Someone I know was visiting a relative, who complained about not having enough money to feed her children,when she was told if she gave up drugs and cigarettes ,she would have enough money to feed her children.She reacted by slapping that person who had dared to challenge her behaviour. Now she is not a Christians ,she needs Christ. Yet what about us who have Christ?,should we not face up to things that we need to cast off. Unlike the non Christian we have Christ,who can grant us the help we need to change,His Spirit dwells in all His children,Here is the word of God for all of us,''His divine power has given us everything we need for life and  godliness ''  ( 2  Peter 1 v 3 ).                                                                                                                                                                                                 Ask the Saviour to help you.                                                                                                                                                                                       

God will act but not now .( Revelation 20 v 11 - 15 )

The blame game, and it is all aimed at God, why, is the question on those who blame God,the fact God is love,He has a big heart for this world, ( John 3 v 16 ),next ,He will always do that which right (Genesis 18 v 26) He is compassionate ( Jonah 4 v 2 ),next He is forgiving ( Psalm 51 ) next,He does not tempt anyone in relation to evil (James 1 v 13 ). One could state many more things as to the being of God, that would stress His goodness ,as to why evil is permitted to have its way,well lets go back to Adam and Eve, they were told plainly what they could do, and what they should not do, that means they were  given human responsibility. God choose to not interfere knowing what would happen ,they , Adam and Eve made their choice,and choose the path of disobedience and from that moment man has been responsible for the choices they make, We must stop blaming God for what we ,and others do. God has a purpose and a plan for this world it appears it must run its course,as regards evil,and many other things. What it shows us, so often ,is the sinful condition of humanity, God  is left on the outside, and so it will be, until that day when Christ  will return  as judge.It will be those who have rejected His love ,the love of Calvary,and continued on in their own sinful ways ,will be judged.

God is infinite ( Psalm 146 )

Its unfortunate that where I live, it is hard to see many stars, because of light pollution,but  sometimes in spite of that one can occasionally see more ,than usual. So I got my little binoculars out and looked up, and to my surprise I saw clearly three stars in a row.I was sure that there was a name for this formation, so I went in doors and looked at my little book called,'Stargazing with Binoculars', and discovered that they were called , Orion, my son said they were known as ,Orion's Belt. Looking up at the sky at night, has always fascinated me, but what astounds me is the vastness of the universe,billions of stars, hanging there in space.It is truly amazing that God made every last star and knows them by name (  Psalm 147 v 4 ).    He is a God of infinite knowledge in seeking to reassure His disciples, and us, He told them and us,'' And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid.'' The old Gospel song declared,'His eye is on the sparrow, and I  know He watches me''.A lady who was in dire straits  ,declared,'' You are the God who sees me''. ( Genesis 16 v 13 ). He saw Joseph when he was in prisoner,(  Genesis 39 )  and He saw Jonah in the belly of a great fish ( Jonah  1 v 17  / 2 v 1 - 10 ) He saw David in all his trouble ( Psalm 23 ). Now here is the wonderful truth, He sees everyone of His children, that means you, and that means me. We are never out of his sight, never to far from Him that He does not see us or hear us,we are never alone ,or forsaken,so do not be afraid.
                                                       Psalm 121 v 1- 2
                                 I lift up my eyes to the hills,where does my
                                 help come? My help come from the Lord,
                                  the Maker of heaven ,and earth.

Down memory lane. ( Luke 15 v 11 - 31 )

I am just in from my garden, and I can hear in the distance children at a local school playing ,and my mind is taken down memory lane, to my early childhood,when like those dear children we played in the playground,running here there and everywhere,burning of energy,that I wish I had now. The years have flown, I am grateful to those teachers who taught us the 3 Rs, but I also remember another school I went to, Sunday school, and the different Sunday school teachers I had ,were I learnt  about Jesus ,I will be eternally grateful to those dear people. Today the great stress is upon education ,  and rightly so, but more and more the spiritual realities are being pushed out. But it could be that what I am writing stirs a memory in your heart,of many years ago when you like me went to Sunday school and you heard about Jesus, but for whatever reason, you left it all behind.  Education,work,friends,      so many things can crowd out our souls deepest need, Jesus,remember it is only with Him, is the future brighter. Don't make it just a memory, what you heard about Jesus, make it a reality,ask Him to be your Saviour today

                                                       A prayer.

                                    Come into my heart Lord Jesus, come

                                    into today, come into stay,come into

                                    come into my heart Lord Jesus..

                                               

Why. ( Romans 8 v 28 )

Let consider a few more thoughts from Exodus, by Alec Motyer , and Israels  forty years in the wilderness,  ''Forty years- quick to say,slow to pass - (Forgive my humour on this,it was because they had no TV, sorry about that,but I hope you are not so self righteous,that you did at lest smile , now to continue on with the serious stuff) ,Israel found themselves in the vast and dreadful ( terrifying) desert, that thirsty waterless land , with its venomous snakes and scorpions' ( Deut. 8; 13 ). Let us consider A.Ms. application .''To the troublesome question, 'Why?', we may ask, when we face hardships and reverses, there are two fairly common answers ( or surmised) by Christians. The quick ' spiritual' answer is that our troubles are all down to the malevolence of Satan,who is ever watchful to find and exploit some loophole in our defences. The other answer is that , knowingly or unknowingly, we have strayed out of the will of God and somehow got our guidance wrong. In certain circumstances  there can be an element of truth in both these explanations, but neither of them tell the whole story. Nor are they the explanation that we find in Exodus, where the Word of God has something intensely important and fundamentally comforting to say to us- the Israelites were in the wilderness because the Lord had led them there''

                                               I,ll that He blesses is our good
                                               and unblest good is ill
                                               and all is right ,that seems most wrong
                                               if it be His sweet will.

Fear or faith .( Exodus 14 )

Have you ever felt that you must do something ,and yet there was nothing you could do.In chap 14 of Exodus  we read that Israel were fleeing from an army,that was seeking to capture them, and make them once again their slaves. Now they where directed by God to a place from which there was no escape,all they could see was the army,and they where very afraid.They felt that all they could do was surrender, and go meekly back to be slaves in Egypt, extreme fear took over,and faith was non existent. Out that fear ,they turned on Moses, blaming him for taking them out of Egypt, and saying the unthinkable, ''Let us alone, let us serve the Egyptians.'' ( EX  14 v 12 ) . After all, what could they do , against the feared chariots,and troops,the game was up, but it was no game,it was all to realistic, and threatening.They did not want to die a horrible physical death,but that was what awaited a great many of them. Then they heard that madman Moses talking,telling them,'' to stand firm ,and God would delivering them'',and Moses goes on speaking ,here is what he said, ''You will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today.The Egyptians you see today ,you will never see them again . The Lord will fight for you,you need only to be still''.Now the question what did they choose, fear or faith?, what about you?