Paradise .(1 ) Genesis 1 v 1 .

I have a little garden,I weed ,I water,I feed, I cut,oh yes, nice gardens don't just happen, but it is rewarding,when I finished working on my garden,I sit down and admire it,it gives me pleasure.In the beginning God our creator, when He had finished  His work of creation, He declared ,' That it was very good'.it looked good,and it was good ( Genesis 1 v 31 ) . It was a perfect work,a finished work,as John Calvin writes,'There is in the symmetry of God's works the highest perfection, to which nothing can be added'.There was a perfect harmony in everything, no note of discord, no imperfections, everything was pleasing to the eye.Such was the world at its beginning,and into that world God placed the man and the woman He had created, in a garden called Eden,Eden means delight ( Genesis 2 v 8). A place as one person puts it, of pristine or natural beauty. there they dwelt in harmony with each other,  it was to all intents and purpose an earthly paradise.That couple were sinless ,and so they had a perfect relationship ,with God  who is sinless,there was nothing between, no sin and no guilt.no fear.,no shame ,no death, everything in the garden was rosy. If only it had stayed that way,if only, we will continue this next time.

Is that all there is? ( Proverbs 4 v 18 - 19 )

 I like football, or as it can be known also as  soccer,every year the contest called the,' F A cup',takes place . often after watching it,I used have an empty feeling. It reminds me of something I read recently, of  a famous baseball player,whose team had won the championship,to him it felt like an anti climax,and  he is reported to have said,' Is that all there is?'.  As I said ,I like football, but I am grateful that's not all there is, my thoughts turn to a man who from a human point of view, had everything, Power, wealth,women ,etc, he even was granted great wisdom by God. Then he acted foolishly, sinfully,and he lost sight of the meaning of life, he became very cynical, his name was Solomon.Charles Swindoll writes,'He had pushed God out of his life,' and he felt it, and expressed it, in words like this,'Meaningless ! Meaningless!......   Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless'. Next time when you go to a funeral service, or you see a hearse, ask yourself this question, is that all there is?. There is a greater  purpose in life,it can only be found in God ,through trusting Jesus as your Saviour. When you do that, then like a blind man who has suddenly regained his sight,  cried out,' I can see, I can see'.

Poem ( 1 Peter 5 v 7 )

 I found this little poem on the fly leaf of a tattered old Bible that belonged to my dear first wife,it did not tell me who wrote it, but I would like to share it with you.

                                                   Through every moment of the day,

                                                   Whate'er may meet thee on life's way,

                                                   This thought shall be thy strength and stay,

                                                                        He cares.

                                                   When shadows veil the fairest scene,

                                                   And pleasures fade that might have been,

                                                   On the unchanging Saviour lean,

                                                                        He cares                         

                                                  He marks thy steps, He goes before,

                                                   From this time forth for evermore,

                                                   Then from thy heart let praise outpour,

                                                                        He cares.

New phone. ( Romans 3 v 23 )

 I bought a new phone awhile back. I liked my old phone, and I  hankered after it, eventually  I  went back to the place I purchased my new phone, and asked If I could transfer what was on my new phone, to my old phone, he said no, explaining to me why. He then said ,''you have to move on'', I thought about what he  said and I saw the wisdom in those words .Many people embrace change, but many of us want to hold unto the past.Many years ago the Presbyterian church in Ireland updated their hymn book,my oh my, that caused a stir,there were those who could not accept this.The fact is , we live in a world  that is always changing, and we must learn to adopt, it is the only way,or should we say, it is the only sensible way. we must move on. I am sure there are many fine  Mennonite Christians, all I  can think of  is ,why  do they still live in the past?.  Well, so be it, but what should never change ,for us as Christians, is truth, the fact is humanity will always be sinners, who need the Saviour our Lord Jesus Christ, that will never change.

The impossible( 2 )( John 11 v 40 )

During Jesus earthly time on earth ,He performed many miracles, we only have a select few recorded, CP  Mark 1 v 32 - 34/  3 v10 . Consider the sickness that prevailed in those days, and the demonic activity. the hopelessness of those people, no doubt they would have come from  everywhere to be healed, and Jesus did just that. He performed miracles, not only did He heal, but He raised the dead, what  was humanly impossible ,but He did it. He actually did feed 5000 plus ,and about 4000 other people, with a few loaves and fishes. God is the  God of the impossible, ,no one is able to perform miracles, except God, when it comes to so called faith healers, they are people who often are nothing more than charlatans, and lovers of money. I am careful what I am writing, people who are reading this may have loved ones who are dying, yet I believe Jesus can heal today, he still does the impossible, He is  the same yesterday, today, and forever,  He has not changed. I mention healing but there are many other impossible situations, Jesus  is able to deliver, to provide, to make a way ,were there is no way,

                                                          Have faith in God.  

The importance of. (1 ) ( Matthew 4 v 4 )

 Two things I was reminded of this morning, first one was all things are possible with God, I was reading Mark 6 v 14 ff, when Jesus seeing a huge crowd of people, he had compassion on them, he described them as sheep without a shepherd, a miracle was coming, but first He taught them. We do not know what He taught them, as Christians we need to be taught by Jesus, that's not hard, it means we must take time to read God's word, seek to understand ,and live it out  Feed ourselves, we can buy good books, even commentaries ,to help us understand Gods word, also godly teachers on the internet, two I would recommend, Charles   Swindoll, and John MacArthur, I have found them helpful, Hopefully you have a godly minister who does not deviate from God's word, sadly there are an increasing number who are straying from the truth, they will not build you up in your faith, always be discerning, the Holy Spirit will be your guide, John 16 v13. Remember what our dear Saviour taught, ''Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God''  Matthew 4 v 4''. We will move on next time next in Mark 6 v 14ff .

He does care . ( 1 Peter 5 v 7 )

 Continuing on from last time recorded in Mark 4 v 35ff ,Jesus and His disciples in a storm, how they  woke the sleeping Jesus, with the words, 'Teacher, don't you care if we drown?'', these words were spoken out by fear ,it is apparent that they did not know the character of Jesus. they at this time could only see the teacher, but as time went on they would see and understand that Jesus was the most loving , caring person who ever lived. At that moment it appeared He didn't care, but He did, we look on Jesus who had compassion on the multitudes, He would feed them, He would heal the sick, comfort the down cast, He wept outside the tomb of one He loved. And they would see how loving and compassionate He was when He died on the cross. Christian are you in  storm , don't be tempted to think that He does not care, it may be a mystery to you ,as regards your suffering, but as Jesus said to Peter when He was going to wash his feet, and Peter objected,'' You don't understand now what I am doing, but some day you will'', John 13 v 7 In my living room hangs a embroidery from a poem by Florence M. Alt,  which my first wife did, it reads,

                               '  Not till the loom is silent, and the shuttles cease to fly

                                Shall God unroll the canvas - and explain the reason why,

                                The dark threads are so needful in the weavers skilful hand,

                                As the threads of  gold and silver, in the pattern He has planned'

I don't know why my dear young wife died, but someday I will ,never let any of us  think that  Jesus does not care, He does.