If only.. ( Luke 24 v 21 )

All of a sudden He was not there, he was dead,what were they going to do? ,they had so many great  hopes ,the one they believed to be the Messiah,the Christ, the anointed one was gone,it was all over.They must have remembered His words,His actions,how He had  stilled the storm,fed thousands with a few loves and fishes,twice,how he had made the  blind to see,the deaf to hear,cast out demons,walked on water.His teaching now appeared hollow,they wondered and wondered,was this really the end?.  where they deluded? blind,where they fools,to leave all and follow Him?.They remembered His wonderful words,how they promised so much for them and for their nation, He had challenged  those holier than I, Pharisees .He had so often put them in their place,yet it seems that they have won. I suppose now they would  be on their hit list..Its all gone wrong they must have thought,yet they loved Him,being with Him was wonderful, with Him everything seemed possible,  mountains could be removed,difficulties could be overcome,the sky was the limit .Oh Jesus if only you were here, if only you had not died.

Jesus wall destroyer. ( Ephesians 2 v 11 - 22 )

Abraham Lincoln said,'' When I do good I feel good,and when I do bad, I feel bad,that's my religion''.I wondered  why he looked so sad.What can we say about the good , people do?,here is what Leon Morris wrote,' What the good people do is never a problem. It is something to be thankful about ,not something people must be saved from. But sin is another thing altogether,it is a problem wherever it is found'. A person is not separated from God by the good they do,no, the thing that separates us is sin. (Isaiah 59 v 2 ) In Belfast were I come from there what is known as the, 'Peace wall', it enables two waring factions to live in peace,In China we have the ,'Great wall', built to keep enemies out,likewise ,'Hadrian's wall'.Humanity is born with a fallen nature,a sinful nature, ( Romans 5 v 12 ) David declares in Psalm 51 v 5,' For I was born a sinner,yes from the moment my mother conceived me'.From that point onward we are wall builders,and every brick is a sin, the sinful wall  can never be demolished by anything we do,religion cannot remove it,good works cannot remove it.nothing you or I could do would remove it,if that wall remains we will be forever separated from God, both for time and eternity.Only God can provide the answer, He has provided  the only solution, Jesus. When we trust Him ,all sin, we have ever committed  will be forgiven and be removed,there will be no more wall separating us from God,and a glorious future.

Hear, and your soul shall live.. ( Matthew 17 v 5 )

One of the things that happens before a plane takes of ,two air stewards  stand in the aisle,one in the front and  one in the middle.Then they go through a procedure informing the passengers what to do if  an emergence arises.I flown quite a lot of times ,I hear what they are saying which is important ,but I do not listen.Of course this applies to many situations,the wife says,'you don't listen to me,children often say this to their parents.  Now this is  nothing new ,our Saviour who knew human nature better than any, said ,''whoever has ears let him hear'', ( Matthew 11 v 15 ) What did He mean?,people heard Him but they did not listen to what He was saying,take my experiences with Jehovah witnesses.Time after time I have spoke to them,but in the end I realise they have not been listening.Coming back to what Jesus said,and the importance of really hearing what He says, because so much that He says, is vital to our spiritual well being,and our eternal destiny  ..

It is coming . ( John 3 v 16 )

There are ministers who avoid preaching about judgement ,so what are we supposed to do with scripture that clearly teaches us that God will judge sinners .Those who are called to the ministry  bear a greater responsibility,and will be held accountable ( James 3 v 1 ), but I believe we all bear the responsibility of warning people.  In 2 Corinthians 5 v 11,the apostle Paul wrote, 'Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord,we persuade men'. The Message paraphrases this verse this way,' It's is no light  thing to know that we'll all one day stand in that place of judgement. That's why we work urgently with everyone we meet to get them ready to face God'.Yes there is a day of judgement coming,the apostle knew this ,'Barnes writes,' the knowledge that there would be a judgement,and that the wicked (Those who do not know Christ as Saviour ) would be sent to hell, was a powerful motive for Paul to endeavour to tell others to escape from wrath.'

Amazing. ( Ephesians 1 v 1 / 2 v 8 - 9 )

' My grace is sufficient for thee,My grace is sufficient for thee,O matchless,boundless grace of God, My grace is sufficient for thee.' These are simple words from an old hymn, simple but profound,one of my favourite hymns is, 'Amazing Grace'. I have listened to it many times,often it brings tears to my eyes,I remember years ago when it made the hit parade , it was sung by Judy Collins,what a lovely singer. Someone wrote this about her,'She combated alcohol addiction and over-come it.' and then he added,'I'm over- coming  addiction and I will, because of Grace' The only thing I would add to that is this, that such grace comes to us through Christ, for salvation,  for power to over-come addiction whatever that addiction may be,for strength to face the trials of life ,whatever they may be,it truly is amazing grace coming to us from an amazing Saviour.

Hope ( Colossians 1 v 27 )

When you get to my age birthdays loose their novelty, you may wish that they would loose their meaning,one year older, we may be in denial,no I'm not really that age,it's a lie,it's a lie, but alas the mirror does not lie. It was dear old William Shakespeare ,who wrote about the seven ages of man,it starts with being a child,and ends as he puts it,the second childishness ,in which he describes our condition,without teeth,without ,eyes ( sight) without taste,without everything. That's true,someone was asked ,'are they all your own teeth?,' he replied,'yes,I paid for everyone of them'.When it comes to  our second childishness we can all identify with what WS wrote.But is that all there is to it? no , for old age is not the end, for the Christian heaven awaits,where there will be no ageing process,no deterioration,no, old age pension.On a serious side ,it will be wonderful and all because of Jesus,if you know Him rejoice,if you don't ,accept Him as your Saviour and look forward with hope.

Peace be still ( Matthew 28 v 18 )

The passengers were fearful,they were passing through a terrible storm,then they heard the first mate speaking don't be afraid the captain is at the helm.During  the 20th century globally ,there were two world wars,a flu epidemic that effected 500 million people,there was no cure,millions died.Storms in plenty come also into our own individual lives, the list is endless,and the pain and fear they bring is real. Because we sinned this world is no longer a friendly place,that's what our first parents were told ,God said to Adam, 'Cursed be the ground because of you,......It will produce thorns and thistles for you'.( Genesis 3 v 17 - 18 )Instead of harmony with nature and humanity, storms  come,and come,and come,so it will go on and on,they are inevitable, this goes for Christians and non- Christians.As a Christian I have experienced my share of storms, as I am sure you have,or may be having now.Hear the words of that first mate ,'The captain is at the helm',who is our captain?Jesus, who is called the captain of our salvation ( Hebrews 2 v 10 . AV ) A verse of an old hymn reads,'The wind and the waves shall obey my (His) will ,Peace, be still.Whether the wrath of the storm- tossed sea,or demons,or men, or whatever it be. No waters can swallow the ship where lies,the Master of ocean and earth and skies. They all shall sweetly obey My (His ) will. Peace be still,Peace be still.