The Cross. ( Colossians 2 v 13 - 15 )

More than ever I feel that the cross needs to be proclaimed, it is Gods only answer to mankind's terrible condition, without the cross ,hear this ,there is no hope. The fact is this, without the cross sin remains  ,without the cross wrath remains,( John 3 v 36 ),without the cross judgement is certain .Without the cross mankind cannot hope to change,the drunkard will remain a drunkard, the drug addict will remain an addict,the sexual abuser will remain an abuser.Without the cross there is no way back to God from the dark paths of sin. Religion without  the cross cannot save ,will not save,being sincere will not save ,being kind will not save,being smart will not save,without the cross nothing can save,and let me stress this again God's answer is the cross.,we have not got an answer almighty God provided the answer,ignore it ,at your cost. 'In the old rugged cross,stained with blood so divine, a wondrous beauty I see; for t'was on that old cross Jesus suffered and died to pardon and sanctify me '.  ( Words by George Benhard )

Unless ( Luke 18 v 13 )

Imagine  you are driving along ,you want to get home,you are looking forward to it,and as you turn the  bend the road comes to an abrupt end ,,the road has collapsed,and between you and the other side there is a great gap.You think, well I will have to turn round,and try another route,but suddenly you a rumbling noise,and you walk to see what it was and the road behind you has collapsed as well.,and you think how am I going to get home?. We realise that we cannot bridge that gap that separates us from home,you remember someone had you warned that this could happened ,but you didn't take him serious,you thought you knew best.We are all on a journey, we may not give much consideration as to what awaits us at the end of the journey,we may think that heaven will be our eternal home.The Bible teaches that we are all sinners,that means we cannot go to heaven,in our sinful state , the doors will be barred to us.In Isaiah 59 v 2 we read what sin does,'But your iniquities have separated you from your God'.that's it, sin  separates us from God. So it is, that unless sin is forgiven by trusting Jesus,heaven will never be our home,but hell will be.

Brokenness. ( Luke 15 v 11 ff )

When I was young my mum and dad broke up,I don't know what I felt at that time,I was very young,They never got divorced,it was hard to get a divorce in those days,I know my mun and dad would not have been able to afford it.So they remained separate,and from that time on I had no contact with my father,I don't think it affected me or my brothers and sister much. But now of course, divorce is more common,it is sad ,there are many reasons,but whatever the reason it is sad,there is an old song which goes,'Breaking up is hard to do'.A  couple I know,are getting divorced, and I have  heard the shouting and swearing,mainly over who gets what.They have young children,and I am sure its going to affect them,of course I can't get involved,but I can pray, it did give me an opportunity to witness to the husband. It is all part of the brokenness of life,for we all live in a broken world,that brokenness manifests itself in a multitude of ways. Here is a song I used to sing,about those who are feeling broken,'Have you failed in life's battle,to accomplish your plans?,Is your heart heavy laden,do you fear the Lord's command?. Do you feel that no one loves you,and there's no use to try? Just bring your cares to Jesus, your soul He'll satisfy. You may feel that there's no hope, broken hearts just cannot mend. Storms of doubt blow all directions, but don't you be afraid; God can make all  corrections,He made a body out of clay. Pick up the broken pieces, and bring them to the Lord,Pick up the broken pieces,trust in His holy Word;He will put them back together, and make your life complete. Just place the broken pieces at the Saviours feet.'

El-Alamein ( Matthew 7 v 13 - 14 )

In 1942 a battle took place in Egypt ,between the British Empires army and the Axis forces,made up of German and Italians,it is known as the the 2nd battle of EL - Alamein.  It began on the 23rd October, and ended on the 11th of November, the Axis commander was Rommel, known as the desert fox, the British commander was Montgomery.One of the ways the Axis forces sought to hinder the British was by laying half a million mines.It did hinder them, but it did not stop them. It was a narrow pathway and kept one safe from the mines. In Matthew 7 v  13 - 14, our Saviour spoke of two ways in life ,a broad road and a narrow road,he said that the broad leads to destruction,and that many are on it.the narrow road would lead to life,he said not many travel on that road. I wonder what path you are on?,the broad road with its dreadful end, in hell,or the narrow road with its wonderful end,heaven. That pathway through the minefield  cost lives in the making,as they came under enemy fire ,so it is ,that the pathway to heaven that God has made,was won at a tremendous cost,the death of Jesus on a cross,it cost him everything,why did he do it? because of his great love for people like you and me.'There's a way back to God from the dark paths of sin,there's a door that is open ,and you may go in,Calvary's cross is were you begin as you come as a sinner to Jesus'.

Novelty ( Timothy 4 v 1 - 5 )

Many people are looking  for that which is ''new, young,fresh'',in other words novelty,the entertainment world is an example of this,fashion is like this.It  is also manifested within Christianity,I heard a couple of so called Christian preachers ,say that we are gods,one even used the the term .'I am',as to himself,another said she did not sin.Another thing that we hear people saying we don't need to preach the gospel to believers there is an assumption that they do not need to hear it,but they do,consider the epistles,written to believers,full of gospel truth.There are so called ministers that don't preach about sin,about judgement,about heaven,   and hell. I ask the question why is this generation any different than former generations?,if you ask me,there is more need now than ever before. People need more than ever to hear the word of God expounded  not just as a life style that's not so different than the worlds.Let us remember that we are to be different,not just for the sake of being different,but because we are different,we are followers of a God who is holy,and who calls us to be holy,to love as He loves,to be light in the darkness,to be salt in this corrupt world..What I am saying may not be novel,but then I am not called to be an entertainer,I am called to preach the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth,as is found in God's word.

Forget to Live. ( Acts 16 v 7 )

Miss Havisham is one of the characters in the book ,'Great expectations', written by the great Charles Dickens.Early in her life she was jilted at the altar. From that moment on she wore her wedding dress, kept her wedding cake,all the clocks were stopped in the mansion she lived,she was also very wealthy.She could not move on ,she remained trapped in her dream of what might have been,someone said,'It does not do to dwell on dreams,and forget to live'. I saw the title of a book recently ,'No looking back'. Miss Havisham, did nothing else but look back,her dream  became a nightmare,she refused to accept the reality.and so there she stayed,until she died in a tragic accident.We can all say if only,we had got that girl,that job,and whatever, we must move on ,stop our day dreaming. Our Saviour said,'Follow Me',that means stepping into what His will is for us,which is perfect and good,God's will is always best.I never got my dream of going to be a missionary,that was my dream,but it was not the life God had for me,and I am not disappointed,I have been writing this Blog for 13 years and I know that its reaching people all over the world.The dream you have may come true if it is God's will,but if it doesn't,well that's all I will say,what are you going to say?

A person ( Psalm 8 )

W . Barclay,wrote something very lovely ,' One is struck , on reading the Bible, by the importance in it,of  personal names. Whole chapters are devoted  to long genealogies. When I was young I used to think that  they could well have been dropped from the Biblical Canon. But I have since realised that these series of proper names bear witness to the fact that,in the Biblical perspective,man is neither a thing nor an abstraction, neither a species nor an idea, that he is not a fraction of a mass,as the Marxists see him,but that he is a person'.And a person whom God so loves that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believes in him should not perish , but have everlasting life  ( John 3  16 )