Eros. ( Exodus 20 v 14 )

There are different sayings as to the word love,'Love makes the world go round', 'Love is blind',and there is a saying by William Thackeray which reads,'Love makes fools of us all,big and small'. There are a number of words in the Greek language for love ,one is Eros,it has the meaning of a sensual,even erotic sexual love.There was a mighty King,he was brave and handsome,being a king in those days,you could have as many wives as you wanted,and he had many. If he saw a woman he fancied, he took her,she became part of his harem,but it was not enough for him,the fact is for many it is not enough. So it is, they  turn to all sorts of  things ,to satisfy their unquenchable desire for sex,the thing is, if it gets to that state,it never will be satisfied.Well let us return to this mighty king,the king who had everything,good looks,etc,etc,one evening he was in his palace,it was warm ,he could not sleep,so he got up from his bed and walked around the roof of his palace.As he looked out, he spied a beautiful woman,  she was washing herself.,remember he was king all powerful,and for a moment he choose to forget,that with power comes responsibility,and accountability. He found out who she was,a married woman,that should have caused him to put the brakes on ,but Eros had got hold of him .What followed ,an evening of dissatisfaction,and dreadful consequences. Let us all learn from this true story,and yet it is ,if truth were told that many, sad to say are following in that kings footsteps,and finding to their cost,that there are no freebies,because sin, and that's what it was, has always a price tag attached to it.

No other message. ( Romans 1 v 16 )

In Romans 15 v 15- 16,Paul writes ,that by Gods grace he had been given a ministry, to non-Jews,it is Leon Morris who points out, that it speaks of a definite time,and that time would be, that of his call to be an apostle.I cannot remember a definite time but I do remember an awareness of Gods call to be a preacher. It is not something one takes on lightly, it  has an awesome responsibility to it, and indeed a dreadful accountability attached to it.( Ezekiel 3 v 18 ).Many present day ministers will bear their heads in shame, in a coming time,I hope I will not be one of them.Going back to Paul he writes in v 16,that God give him the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God.Leon Morris writes,'It is a striking way of affirming that  the proclamation of the gospel is a solemn and sacred act.'The gospel is the most important message in all the history of mankind,people write books on great historical speeches,they have their place,but they fade in the light of the gospel.We honour the great writers like William Shakespeare or Charles Dickens ,but nothing they wrote can compare to the amazing and wondrous message of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. No other message be it religious or non-religious has such a message , that sin can be forgiven ,that we sinners can be made right with God,that we can  receive  eternal life,and be saved from the wrath to come.

The greater good. ( John 15 v 13 )

One of the most influential books ever written was ,'The Prince',written by Niccolo Machiavelli,,it is not a long book,but it has been read by strategists,politicians, and business people.Stalin carried a copy,the book seeks to show  how should a ruler rule to be  successful.,and the main thrust of the book is summed  up in the following words,'The greater good'.In chap 17 , of his book Machiavelli seeks to answer the question' as regards cruelty and clemency and whether it is better to be loved or feared' .His conclusion was that it was far safer to be feared than loved.believing if they feared they you,they would be less willing to turn against you.But stresses that they the rulers,should not cause his subjects  to hate him. For many who say they are Machiavellian,that is, acting out the greater good,like Stalin ,who carried out abominable evils ,and was extremely cruel.I supposed Hitler believed that he was acting for the greater good when millions of people were exterminated.There is another saying,which goes,'you have to be cruel to be kind',I suppose one could add to that,because it is for the greater good. Cruelty is never acceptable,no matter if you are a strategists, politician ,business person,a teacher,a parent.,an animal trainer.The  greatest ruler who ever lived,died on a cross, because of His love,for humanity,and for their greatest good,his name was Jesus.

He could do it. ( Hebrews 11 v 3 )

Where I live there is a lot of light pollution,so when I look up into the sky,I only see a few stars, when one studies the universe it is mind blowing,the distance between planets,and stars,and the number of galaxies and stars, and so on,very hard to take it all in. God created everything,in six days,oh did I say six days,it is impossible,yes it is, for you or me,but not for God ,not in the least, for with God all things are possible.Next time some Christian says its impossible,look them straight in eye, and ask them,do they not think God could do?..Am I saying the scientist have got it wrong?,yes,I can tell you it is a far better answer than saying it just happened,oh yes they will say it took million and millions of  years. The time element appears to give them credibility,but it doesn't ,it does .not change anything,the believers of evolution,speak as if evolution has a supernatural power,a god like power. They clap their hands in wonder at what their god can do,the Christian bows in reverence and humility  and praises God who did do it.Someone has said there is no earthly answer to the mystery of creation,many do try to give an answer,but fail miserably.

The must. ( 2 Timothy 4 v 7 - 8 )

The must of the Christian life, I must pray,I must read Gods  word,I must never slacken ,I must never give in,or give up.I cannot go back to what I once was, I must go forward, I must.The way may be difficult,trials  may be many,for I remember that my Saviour  said that in the world we shall have tribulation.I don't want to be a Judas who betrayed his master for 30 pieces of silver,or Demas who give up,because he loved the world ,or like those in the garden ,who forsook their Lord.I read the following,'Don't be so naive and self confident,that anyone of us could fall, flat on our faces,self confidence is not the answer,I need God-confidence, for without Him I can do nothing.Lots wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt, Jonah disobeyed and ended up in the belly of a great fish,for three days. Samson beguiled by a woman,lost his eyes and his freedom, godly David became the ungodly David when he gave into lust.Yes I must pray every day for only then will I finish the race,'Oh God give us all grace and ,enable us all to .fight the good fight,to finish the race,to keep the faith,in Jesus name Amen'.

Yes He can. ( Ephesians 3 v 20 )

Last time we consider Gods giving His greatest gift, which brought with the wonderful  assurance that he most give us the lesser things. Now let us consider another verse Ephesians 3 v 20, ' Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think,according to the power that works in us'.Did not Jesus tell us that mountains can be removed and cast into the sea.( Mark 11 v 22- 23) if we have faith ever so small.Yes God is generous and His power greater than we could ever imagine ,what mountain are you facing?,is it to much for you,you cannot see a way out, or a way forward,remember with God all things are possible ,  there is nothing to hard for Him to do.The great events in the Bible really happened,they are historically true. David did actually slay a giant,Samson really did bring the house down.Christ really did walk on water,and did actually rise from the dead. ( 1 Corinthians 15 v 3 - 8 )The power of God has not changed, nor will it,that power dwells within every child of God .R.C.Sproul writes,'Sometimes believers feel so impotent . They see themselves as spiritual failures because the power of the flesh is so great,the temptations of this world so overwhelming ,and their progress is so slim. The answer to this outlook is to understand the greatness of this power'Paul is reminding us of the power of the Holy Spirit,the arm of flesh will fail us,but with the power of God's Holy Spirit all things can be overcome.

Freedom ( 2 Corinthians 5 v 17 )

The great cry of mankind is for freedom,freedom from poverty,freedom of worship,freedom politically,freedom from racism,the cry of William Wallace in Brave heart as he was at the point of death was ,'Freedom''. Recently we went out for a picnic,it was windy,so we choose a place that would give us a little shelter from the wind. It was there I noticed a lot of silver containers on the ground,from those containers people get a gas which they inhale,and I suppose it gives them a high.You know what happens when a person inhales that gas for the first time?,they give up their freedom, addiction takes over. You know what happens  when you look at pornography ,you become an addict,you loose your freedom.Our Saviour said this ,'everyone who sins is a slave to sin', ( John 8 v 34),it means you have lost your freedom. You may say I can stop anytime I want, I have done it many times,lets face it you are no longer the master you are the slave,the tail is now wagging the dog. Whats your addiction?,what or whom have you surrendered your freedom to? ,has your addiction  blinded you as to the pain it is causing you and even those you love?.There is a TV series called father Brown  ,he always solves the crime,but along side of that he wants the perpetrator , to repent and seek forgiveness.if you want to be free you can be , if you repent,repentance is a deep sorrow and has with it a deep desire to change ,then seek Jesus  for  forgiveness ,for Jesus said He will set you free ( John 8 v  34 )