An Irish Greeting. ( Romans 8 v 31 ff )

I come from Ireland,but I cannot speak the Irish language, most people speak the English language , I have a dear friend and he taught me an Irish greeting. It is spelt ,'Dia  duit ', it simple means ,'God be with you'.It is a lovely greeting ,in any language, for if God is with us we are blessed indeed. If only this could be said of all men,but alas the vast majority of people keep God out of their lives.They do not want Him to walk with them,and so they forfeit  the greatest blessing anyone can experience. If you  want God to  be with you ,then trust Jesus,the one who will bring you into a relationship with God,and be truly blessed.

Come ( 1 John 1 v 7)

Isaiah 40 is one of the most wonderful chapters in the Bible, it is written to Gods people,who have suffered greatly for their sins,but God the God of all comfort,speaks tenderly to them.He proclaims that their time of suffering has passed  ,they have been punished,but now they will experience restoration.God will make a way,all obstacle's will be removed,he will make a way.They had sinned grievously and  had paid the penalty,the Lord is a forgiving God , like Israel of old we can be forgiven,we can be restored,right at the beginning of Isaiah we have a wonderful verse it reads,'Come now,and let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet,they shall be as white as snow.Though they are red like crimson ,they shall be as wool ( 1 v 18 ),Why don't you come and experience this wonderful forgiveness,whoever you are,remember that through Christ all sins can be forgiving.

It is coming. ( John 3 v 16 )

Climate change is causing world wide problems, strong destructive winds ,and flooding,many people are very concerned,much of it is caused by humanity.. There are many who are in denial ,in spite of the reality,and evidence  that's staring them in the face. It reminds me of one of the greatest causes of cancer ,smoking,so many people would not accept that smoking could cause cancer,some still don't. When one buys a packet of cigarettes there is graphic warnings on the pack,but still people smoke.In Genesis 19 we read how Lot was warned that because of  their sin,God was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah ,he was warned to leave with any family he had,so Lot went to his sons -in - law,to warn them, but they laughed thinking he was joking,and so they perished.Many do not heed warnings as regards their health,and a multitude of other things ,and suffer unnecessary. In Matthew 3 v 7,John  the Baptist declares to a group of religious people ,'' To flee from the coming wrath''   There is wrath coming for all humanity, like John the Baptist I would solemnly warn you to flee from the wrath that's coming, flee to Christ the only one who can save  from the wrath that is coming.

Do not go gentle. ( 1 Corinthians 15 )

Death we are told is our enemy,the good news one day death will die,will be no more ( 1 Corinthians 15 v 26 ),we were not created to die, our sin has caused death.There are many things one can say about death, for some it is a happy release,from an awful illness.For others it is just something that happens to everyone,for others it is filled with despair and angry.The poet Dylan Thomas wrote a poem about how one should face death, called,' Do not go gentle into the good night',each verse ends with the following lines,' Rage ,rage, against the dying of the light'.Some describe the poem as a defiant attitude towards death. I remember driving past the cemetery were my first dear wife was buried,and shaking my fist at death,not at God. I am  sure we can justly be angry at death, our enemy,but do not let us become bitter. I want to turn your thoughts to a certain  young man, a lovely young man,he is on cross,he has been flogged,beaten, mocked. Yes there he was suffering untold agony,a horrible sight,and yet even in that awful state,a beauty and nobility shown through.A thief hanging beside him, saw in that wounded ,blooded person,hope for him,of life beyond death,so he called out to him,''Jesus Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom,and Jesus replied    ''Don't worry, I will.Today you will join me in paradise''.( The message ) When we put our faith in Jesus,death has not got the last say.

I don't need this ( Deuteronomy 8 v 1 - 3 )

I wonder have you ever said these words,' I don't need that'', they are words of frustration,maybe even despair,something has come into your life, and is like the proverbial,' straw that broke the camels back'. A verse in the Bible which reads,' My God shall supply your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus' ( Philippians 4 v 19 ) In context it is to do with God supplying our material needs,and often I have claimed that wonderful promise,and saw God fulfilling His word. But  what about those words ,'I don't need that',? a good question,of course we need material  needs to be met. In Deuteronomy 8 v 3 a verse our Saviour quoted when he was starving in the wilderness ( Matthew 4 v 4) it goes like this,'Man shall not live by bread alone but every word that comes from  the mouth of  God'. This verse reminds us that our needs go further than what we eat and what we wear,oh yes we do need those things. Recently I notice a food shop selling specialised  food ,it had a sign in the window which read,' Soul Food'.The only food that will feed our souls is God's word, we neglect it to our cost.

A Choice ( Luke 10 v 25 - 37 )

I  heard these words while watching a popular movie,'' We all face a choice, to choose between what is right and what  is easy'',quite provoking these words in relation to many situations. It is easy to go along with the crowd,our Saviour told a story of man who was attacked and robbed him,and left him half dead. As he lay there two religious people passed by,they saw him ,but that's all they did,yet they left him,why ?.One could speculate ,it is apparently easy to be religious,religiosity can cover a multitude of sins, consider the evil being perpetrated by religious people in Islam, but I can assure you that religious people of all different persuasions have committed  awful evils.Its not only that they choose the easy way they choose the evil way. There the man lay half dead, ,but then we read a certain Samaritan passed by, now the religious people ,and the man that was half dead were Jews,and the Jews  hated the Samaritans. It would have been easy for this Samaritan to pass by,but he didn't, he did the right thing,it seems for the many in this world it is easier to hate ,than it is to love.It is easy to justify not helping, because we consider that its their fault,maybe  it is, It may be easy to not forgive, but it is not right ,it may be easy to not witness for Jesus,instead of  making some effort to tell people  the good news. Yes we all will face a choice ,to choose between what is right, and what is easy.,you can be sure of that.

Unthinkable ( Exodus 33 v 1- 6 )

We considered how far Israel had turned from God when they choose a cow instead of Him.let me stress,  that when we act in a sinful way even as believers,there are consequences.And the consequences foe Israel was dire,disastrous and unthinkable,We move to Exodus 33 v  1- 6 , they are told by God to leave and go up to the promise land , but here is something unthinkable,God tells them He will not go with them. .Sin can  alienate us from God,and effect our relationship with Him, imagine the promised land without the presence of the Lord, Peter Lewis writes,'What would it be without the gracious presence of the Lord in our lives? God knows, but you and I may have an inkling, So when Satan offers you the golden calf of an alternative loyalty, when you are tempted to turn your back on all the kindness and grace of the One God, when you are tempted by the world to ' chuck' Christianity, remember it is a thousand times better to ' chuck' the golden calf'.