I wish. ( Matthew 5 v 5 )

 A lady whom I know visited a lady aged 90,for years,these visits went fine,there was no discord,until one day she called and received no answer,a next door neighbour thought she may be in the garden,but no she wasn't there. As the lady turned to go home ,she noticed the lady,at the window. When she arrived home she sent the old lady an email,saying she missed her,but she would make up for it ,next time,The old lady replied in a very unpleasant manner,telling her not to visit anymore,the lady felt hurt and upset,she could have been angry, but she didn't,she sent her another email wishing her well and assuring her that she would visit her in the future,if she wanted her to visit. It is so easy to react in anger,when those we are trying to help,  turn on us for no apparent reason. Our Saviour went about doing good ( Acts 10 v 38 ) in spite of the fact that people were ungrateful ( Luke 17 v 11 ff ), in spite of the fact that he was hated,with a murderous hatred.the good that he did ,meant nothing to them. In 1 Peter 2  v  23,we read,'When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly'. I wish I was more like my Saviour and that lady who responded in a Christ like manner.

And then?. ( Hebrews 9 v 27 )

 There was a conversation between a young and ambitious lad and an older man who knew life.'' I will'', said the young man,''learn my trade'',''And then''? said the older man, '' I will set up in business,'' ''And then? ''    ''I will make my fortune'', ''And then ?'' ''I suppose I shall grow old and retire and live on my money,'' ''And then?''  ''Well, I suppose that some day I will die''.  ''And then''. In these days we cannot escape  what many people never speak about, that is death,like that young man, many do not give any consideration to that last,''What then?''.It is important that we gave serious thought to this most important question ,as to where are we going to spend eternity. We are fools if we ignore this reality,will it be heaven or will it be hell ?,ask yourself  this question, where am I going to spend eternity?. Listen, this will not go away,it is appointed unto men once to die,and it does not stop there, for we read,'and after that  to face judgement.'  ( Hebrews 9 v 27 ) Why did Jesus die on the cross? he died on the cross as a sacrifice for sin,on that cross he experienced the wrath of God,so that you and I may be saved from it. Horatius Bonar wrote,'Upon a life I did not live,upon a death I did not die. Another's life,another's death ,I stake my whole eternity'. He is answer to that last ,'What then.?''

Gratitude . ( 1 Thessalonians 5 v 16 - 18 )

 P.E,Hughes commenting on Hebrews 12 v 28, which begins,'Therefore let us be grateful','Ingratitude lies at the very root of all sin and rebellion against God. and he points us to Romans 1 v 21 ,which reads,'For though they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor give thanks to Him'.No matter how much people are blessed by God most of them never offer a word of thanks ,to the giving God. I never see anyone unsaved saying grace,or singing God's praise,if God gets a mention it is usually when  they .blaspheme. But if we are a child of God ,and Christ is our Saviour,we have good reason to be grateful ,for that very fact. I know many Christians in this world are having it hard,persecution, poverty,painful illnesses. The challenge for all who call themselves Christians is to remember, that we are blessed beyond measure ,we are loved, more than we could ever realise . Consider the apostle Paul, there was a man who suffered so much,and after experiencing a flogging and being cast into a prison with his friend Silas they sang hymns and prayed Acts 16 v 25. Let us not be a moaning Minnie Christian, in other words a complainer and one who is never satisfied . My son Brian said the following  ,in Romans 12 v 2,we are exhorted to,'  not be conformed to the pattern of this world.  The pattern of this world is based on what they don't have,I need this and I need that, the anti dope to consumerism is gratitude to God.'

Whose is in Charge? ( Isa 64 v 8 / Mal 3 v 3/ Num 23 v 19 )

 Do you ever ask the question, whose in charge?,whose in charge in your home? ,people often say this when they have a complaint,and when things go wrong they want to know who is in charge. President Truman had a motto on his desk which read,'The Buck Stops Here',for the President is supposed to be in charge, well that may be true,but in spite of his great powers,there is only so much, he or any government can do.Where does God fit into everything, if we lean upon our own understanding,we may give in to unbelief and a spirit of cynicism take hold of us.We will never fully understand the truth,that God is sovereign,that He rules over all  the affairs of life,looking back over the wreckage of history,we may say how can it be possible,that he rules.?.Well the fact is, if  He does not rule then he is not God.In the midst of the ruins of Jerusalem ,Jeremiah declared ,'The Lord has done what He planned' (Lamentations 2 v 17 ),yes God has a plan for this world ,and for you and me, and it will be fulfilled,nothing can stop God's purposes.In Philippians 1 v 6, Paul reassure the Christians that God is doing a wonderful thing in their lives ,'that He (God) who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ'.A. Motyer, writes , 'God  rules. The pressures of life are in the hands of the Potter who is also our Father; the fires of life are those of the refiner. He does not abandon the perfecting process to others; nor is he ever; in his sovereign  greatness , knocked off course  by the malpractice of evil men or by the weakness of good men. 'God is not a man, that he    should lie, or a son of man,that he should repent. Has he said,and will he not do it?.Or has he spoken, and will he not do it'.  He will do what he says, because he is in charge.

There is a harvest day coming. ( Matthew 7 v 15 - 23 )

 There is a lot of confusion in the world, and that applies to those groups who say they are Christians,yes we have the cults,but I also include many of the so called mega Churches in America  . Now one of my favourite preachers is Chuck Swindoll, and I also appreciated the late R.C.Sproul,and I have been using Daily Bread daily reading notes for most of my Christian life. So I am not anti- American,but on You Tube one hears of the errors ,and dubious practices, of many of these people,a word of caution, we have to be careful that we don't go along with all those who voice criticism on You Tube.Having said that there are genuine concerns as regards much that is going on. I just want to stress that we must  be on our guard, and to be discerning at all times. I found myself asking God as regards these wicked people,why Lord?, the prophet  Habakkuk asked why?,he could not understand why God allowed  evil people to get away with it.My thoughts were directed to the story our Saviour told in Matthew 13 v 24 -30 .about a farmer who planted wheat,and how someone planed weeds in his wheat field.The farmer said an enemy had done this. His workers asked him should they go and pull up the weeds? but he said no, as they  might uproot the wheat with them. He said let both grow together until the harvest time ,then collect the weeds and burn them. No one will get away with anything as these false teachers, money loving rascals will find out,  because there is a harvest day coming.

Why Me ? (

'Why me Lord?, what have I ever done,to deserve even one,of the pleasures I've known. Tell me Lord , what did I ever do,that was worth loving you? ,or the kindness you've shown' ( Words by Kris Kristofferson). When I think of all God's goodness to me, his salvation,and it has not stopped there,that would be enough, that's the greatest gift of  all,and yet, his mercy does not stop there, for as Romans 8 v 32 reminds us,' how will he not also,along with him ( Jesus),graciously give us all things'.How good is the God we adore, That godly young man Robert M. M'cheyne wrote the following ,'When this passing world is done,When has sunk the radiant sun,When I stand with Christ on high, looking o'er life's history. Then, Lord , shall I know,not till then , how much I owe. Why me?, why you?, R.M.M'cheyne writes,'Chosen , not for  good in me,wakened up from wrath to flee, hidden in the Saviour's side,by the Spirit sanctified, Teach me,  Lord, on earth to show,by my love how much I owe'.

He left us. ( 2 Timothy 3 v 16 - 18 )

 Here is a wonderful truth, God has said,'' never will I leave you; never will I forsake you'',( Hebrews 13 v 5) Since I have come to know Him, he has never left me alone,those words are very reassuring, to every child of God,in other words those who know Christ as Saviour.I remember seeing the first Jurassic Park movie,which I really enjoyed.They all have the same pattern to them ,the big creatures break out of their enclosures, causing fear and mayhem. There are two children in the movie I think they were called. Lex and Ted, they are in a vehicle with a man ,and the monsters have broken out ,the man runs away leaving them.Meanwhile the main character in the movie called Sam comes to rescue them, He is with the girl,and decides to go and get the boy,the girl becomes very afraid ,and says ,'he left us, he left us', Sam looks at her and says,''but its not what I'm going to do''.Child of God, listen, you may have been forsaken by your husband, mother, father ,wife,children, best friend.Hear is what God is saying to you,'They may have forsaken you, but its not, what I'm going to do'.