Despair turned to hope, ( Psalm 42 )

Imagine what it is like for many people who are driven from their homes ,and from their homeland, to end up in a country,with nothing.This is nothing new for it happened to the people of Judah to those we would call the people of God.The world power at the time was Babylon,they conquered what was left of the nation,destroying  Jerusalem,and the temple.They had been warned time and time again to change their dreadful wicked ways,and turn to their God,but they wouldn't ,so eventually it happened. So they would spend the next 70yrs in Babylon, here is how they felt in words from Psalm 137.                                                                                                                                                                                              By the rivers of Babylon                                                                                                                            There we sat down, yea ,we wept                                                                                                              When we remembered Zion.                                                                                                                      We hung our harps,                                                                                                                                    Upon the willows in the midst of it.                                                                                                          For those who carried us away captive                                                                                                      ask of us a song.                                                                                                                                        And those who plundered us requested mirth,                                                                                          Saying,  '' Sing us one of the songs of Zion.                                                                                                                                                                                                  Sad words,words of hopelessness, their world lay in ruins, yet into that situation, came words from God through the prophet Jeremiah,could it be that these words are for you/?,here is what they said.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                For I know the thoughts that I think  towards                                                                                            you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and                                                                                                not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.                                                                                                              Jeremiah 29 v 11.

You Tube { Micah 6 v 8 )

I like  watching You Tube,what I enjoy most is old movies, I am a big fan of Laurel and Hardy ,it also informs with helpful information as regards the cults, that should be helpful  if one comes in contact with them..It has also  plenty of history presentations,and so many other things, but I would advise caution about the excessive criticism of different Christians, some is very legitimate, as regards ,the prosperity gospel people, But some people appear to be on a witch hunt,Billy Graham came under attack on his finances,to me Billy was a man of God,who sacrificed a lot of time away from his family.Think of the thousand of people who were saved under his ministry,and the godly men who supported him.The point I am making is be careful that  you do not go along with all those people who are pulling everyone to pieces, if there appears to be a problem with whoever, pray for them, and don't join in casting stones, for remember what our Saviour said, he that is without sin cast the first stone,let our judgement be righteous judgement,any other type of judgement ,stands condemned. C P. Matthew 7 v 1 - 2 .

Praus ( 2 Corinthians 10 v 1)

I suppose you are wondering what the word ,'Praus ' means?,well it is a New Testament Greek word,which I read in William Barclays book ,called,'New Testament Words'.It means gentle ,it can mean a kindly and a gracious word,a gentle breeze or a gentle voice.Now in 2 Corinthians 10 v 1 we read of the meekness and gentleness of Christ,which is a wonderful way to describe our Lord,especially in the way He spoke to people, in a gentle gracious way.To the downtrodden ,to the sad and brokenhearted  ,Matthew 11 v 28 - 29  reads,'' Come to Me, all you labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest, Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.'' I can imagine Him speaking these words in such a gracious and gentle way. Think of  the gracious gentle way He spoke to the woman caught in adultery in John 8 v 1 -10,''neither do I condemn you''.....''Go now and leave your life of sin''.Now the word 'Praus', has other meanings to it , but let us learn from our Master to be more gracious,gentle ,and kind with our words.                                                                                                                                                                                                         John 7 v 46                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        '' Never man spake like this.''

You can have it all. ( Matthew 4 v 1 v 11 )

There is a popular singer, who sang a  song ,with the words ,''We could have had it all '', I know of preachers and they are telling their blind followers,''You can have it all'', wealth and health,yes it can be all yours.My mind turns to another time ,when Jesus was told ,''You can have it all''  and he showed Jesus all the kingdoms of  the world,all this can be yours, if you will bow down and worship me. Those who speak and tell us that we can have it all , that they are gods, I have heard them say so, what do gods want? let me tell you ,they want you to worship them, or who they represent,the god of this world,who comes to people as an angel of light,and he says to them, you can have it all,if you fall down and worship  me.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Light ( Romans 10 v 14 - 15 )

Jesus brings us from  salt to light, He declare to all who are His,''You are the light of the world'', what a  tremendous challenge, and he goes on to use another metaphor, ''A city on a hill cannot be  not hidden''(Matthew 5 v 14 )mankind's natural inclination is to shy away from the light,because they love darkness instead of light( John 3 v 19).This is borne out when Jesus came into this world, Jesus who is the Light of the world, was rejected, not only rejected,but pursued to death. Jesus has gone ,back to heaven,so  we are not here to hide ourselves away, to be reclusive, Jesus says shine be seen,for we need by our lives,our words,and our deeds,to  be a witness, and in doing this our Father in Heaven will be glorified.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       There's a call comes ringing,                                                                                                                     o'er the restless wave,                                                                                                                                 Send the light,Send the light.                                                                                                                     There are souls to rescue,                                                                                                                           there are souls to save.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Let us pray that grace may                                                                                                                        every-where abound,                                                                                                                                  Send the light,Send the light.                                                                                                                      And a Christlike spirit                                                                                                                                everywhere be found,                                                                                                                                Send the light,Send the light.                                                                                                                           (Chas.H. Gabriel  )

Freddie Mercury

I  never listened much to  Freddie Mercury,but  I know he was very popular world wide, but I read recently an article about him in a national paper.Here is a couple of things he said. ''You can be loved by so many people , yet you can be so lonely. And that makes it worse because most people think, ''How can somebody like Freddie Mercury be lonely? He has money, cars, chauffeurs, the lot. But sometimes that kind of loneliness is the hardest to bear.'' A very sad statement but of course life is full of lonely people. It was the Beatles who sang about,'All the lonely people'. I confess that for a great deal of my life I felt loneliness, even in a crowd,on consideration it has eased.I thing my childhood had a bearing on it. Yes let us be honest ,because you are a Christian,it does not mean you will not feel lonely,but let us not feel condemned as regards  feelings such as loneliness, if you have suffered a bereavement, you will feel lonely.lost even a pet you will feel lonely. Not everyone feels lonely,but I think loneliness will always exist.,it is a complicated subject,but I know one who  knows the meaning of loneliness His name is Jesus, who felt alone ,the loneliness person on planet earth,when on the cross He cried out,''My God ,my God, why have you forsaken me?.So he understands the loneliness of mankind ,and He can  gave us the grace to endure even loneliness..                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      No one understands like Jesus

A thing of beauty ( Numbers 32 v 23 )

The morning was misty and damp,and I was out walking, I notice a lot of spiders webs,I stopped and had a look at them. My initial conclusion was they were things of beauty,made by small little creatures,and it appears  that they have this amazing  ability,to make webs, those apparent things of beauty.But then they are more than a thing of beauty,they are things of danger to those little creatures  who are unfortunate enough to get caught in them. We read of a man called Achan  and he saw a things of beauty, a beautiful robe,silver and gold .We can read about him in the book of  Joshua  chap 7,Achan and the army had conquered the city of Jericho, God had  forbidden anyone to take any of the spoils of war, but Achan who knew this disobeyed. ,he hid what he had taken,in his tent. How foolish and blind he was, the Lord God who sees all things saw him.Nothing happened immediately,but his actions had sad consequences.Israel experienced defeat in their next battle,and lives were lost, no matter attractive something may be, no matter how beautiful it  may  look,no matter how desirable it is,if God says its wrong, if we disobey,there will be consequences, as  Achan  and his family found out. And so will we if he step unto the path of disobedience .