He is a murderer ( John 8 v 42 - 47 )

In Romans 1 v  25, we read, 'They exchanged the truth about God for a lie', I remember a number of years my son told me a lie, I was so angry,I confess I over reacted.One of the problems as regards humanity they are prone to lie,not only that ,they are prone to believe lies.When our Saviour spoke  to the religious leaders they challenged Him with being a Samaritan and being demon possessed.The Jews hated the Samaritans,that was bad enough but to say Christ was  demon possessed was dreadful,Jesus answered them as to the source of their attitude,and who was behind it. He told then that they were telling lies,and instead of their father being Abraham,their father was the devil.He went on to say that the devil was a murderer and the father of lies. He brought death into the world ,when he tempted man,and of course they took the bait,and   died spiritually. William Barclay says,   'The devil murders goodness, chastity,honour,beauty,all that makes life lovely. The devil murders   peace of mind and happiness ,and even love. The devil is essentially a killer'.He will destroy your life,if you let him,our Saviour came to destroy the works of the devil.and so set us free from his power.

Not D I Y. ( Romans 1 v 18 - 22 )

A monkey  and a giraffe met up one day and the monkey said to the giraffe I would love to be a giraffe,and the giraffe replied ,'funny you should say that ,I was thinking I would love to be monkey'.Well lets go for it, said the monkey ,and so they agreed to meet up again when they had changed .So after a trillion  years. ( it is only fictitious,it could not really happen)  they met up,the monkey had become a giraffe,and the giraffe had become a monkey,and the monkey said to the giraffe ,boy that was hard work,and just at that moment a little mosquito was heard to say,'you can say that again, I used to be a whale'. Yes lets be honest it is only fictitious,it really could not happen,in the words of the poet Joyce Kilmer  ,'Poems are made by fools like me. But only God can make a tree'. 'As the scripture says ,'Know that the Lord,He is God; It is He who has made us,and not we ourselves'.( Psalm 100 v 3 )

A Truism. ( Isaiah 53 )

While studying,I read the following,by Leon Morris,'That Christians are loved by God is not a truism but a truth to be received with awe and wonder'.It is the same when we say, God bless you,how few really understand the significance of those words.Consider the words,that you are loved by God,how do I know this?,because Jesus suffered for me.In the garden of Gethsemane ,Jesus  prayed that His soul was overwhelmed to the point of death,and He prayed to His Father if it is  not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I (He ) drink it,may your will be done ( Matthew 26 v 38 -39 )He knew fully what He was going to suffer,beatings, the hair of His being pulled out ,a crown of thorns pushed into His head, a flogging so severe that His back was like a ploughed field,so much so that His bones were visible. Yes He knew the suffering He was going to endure,but He knew more than that , justice had to be done,the penalty for sin had to be paid.The penalty for sin is the wrath of God,that wrath that abides upon every human being,in order for any  to escape that wrath,He would have to bear it,and wonder of wonders He did , when we trust Him as our Saviour we will not face the wrath of God, no wonder as Leon Morris wrote, 'it is a truth that such love, should fill us with awe and wonder'.

Hope ( Psalm 23 )

Two little children were playing outdoors and one chalked on the pavement the following words,'Save our country', of course she was thinking about the coronavirus ,and those who may be infected by it and die. Yes we would say Amen to those words,but as a Christian  my concerns go beyond being saved from sickness or even death. I do pray for the sick the bereaved and for those affected by the present situation,but my concern goes further than that,and indeed much more important. First of all let me say, that as Christian ,I am suppose to be different,because God has showed me the truth as regards life that it has not come about by some impossible  freak and nonsensical process and that life is very empty with just things,wealth and prosperity.For in the end we live in a  very uncertain world,and that in a moment trials,tragedies, and disasters,can come upon us. And following us all is the grim reaper, death ,it all seems so hopeless,yes it is,if you leave God out of your life. As a Christian I have hope not based on my bank balance,my health,I know I am loved, because Jesus died for me on the cross, the greatest display of love ever manifested.I was talking to a man called Gary,he said he was an agnostic, and that the most certain thing was,that we will all die alone.I said, when I die I will not be alone,that when I go through the valley of the shadow of death the Lord Jesus would be with me.I  heard a poem by Malcolm Blackes called Easter Dawn ,It is about Mary discovering the risen Christ,she had gone to the tomb,only to discover the body of Christ was missing,thinking someone had stolen the body, she walks away,she encounters a stranger,she thought he was the gardener.He questioned her as to why she was crying she told him that someone had stolen the body,she hears the man speak one word ,Mary.The poem ends like this,'She heard the word that turned her night and ours into day'.

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  ..