Is God the missing piece of the jigsaw?,daily we listen to the politicians ,scientists,and news reports as regards the pandemic,but we don't hear God mentioned. That makes me very sad, surly He should be mentioned,dare I say the following , the sovereign God,is over all things even this pandemic, and I believe He has sent it upon this world, If He has sent it ,the question is why?, it is a very good question, why?, could it be He is topping us on the shoulder,could be He wants to remind us of His presence,and of our need of Him.Is it not time that we listened to Him.Someone said ,I rejoiced in my pleasures,but I prayed in my difficulties. I believe many people are praying.We who are Christians can make a difference in these dark days,how? ,in Numbers 16 ,God judged Israel by sending a plague, but Moses told Aaron to offer up incense and coal from of the altar,he then ran into the midst of the people. We read that he stood between the living and the dead ,and the plague stopped.. Now we haven't incense, or coals from an altar,but we have the ear of God,we can pray beseeching our great and mighty God to stop this plague. the word beseech means to plead,to beg,to entreat, my mind turns to Elijah ,a person just like what we are,who prayed earnestly and God answered, and a miracle happened .James 5 v 17 - 18.
Saturday, 8 January 2022
Friday, 7 January 2022
It is a cert. ( Job 23 v10 )
I don't personally gamble, but I've often heard people say its a cert,'put your shirt on it',but of course ,the fact of the matter is,it may not win.The best team don't always win ,sometimes the underdog wins,you would never have thought David would have beaten Goliath.The greatest sportsperson can be defeated,the greatest footballer can miss the easiest of chances,the greatest cricketer can be put out for a duck,the great golfer can miss the easiest of puts.Yes there are no certainties in life, the word of God tells us we don't know what a day will bring forth ,Proverbs 27 v 1 .The fact is only God knows,in Jeremiah 10 v 23, we read, 'I know that the way of man is not in himself,that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps'.Jeremiah lived in very uncertain times,and so as Matthew Henry writes, 'The prophet here acknowledges the sovereignty and dominion of the divine Providence'.Often it takes profound situations to make us realise how limited we are,and that apart from God we know very little.If we bring God into our lives we do not need to know,all we need to do,' is to trust in the Lord with all our hearts and lean not upon our own understanding ;in all our ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct our paths' Proverbs 3 v 5- 6 .We will find out that the only certainties are God's certainties.
Thursday, 6 January 2022
Life is.... ( Ephesians 6 - 10 - 20 )
Life is a battle,especially if you are a Christian, you cannot go with the flow,run with the crowd,no we are those who are called to be holy,and that means a battle.That means doing the will of God,consider what that meant to Christ,it means standing for truth,it means bring a witness for our Saviour. So you see it is a battle,it involves the world,the flesh,and the devil.In 2 Timothy 6 v 12, we read,'Fight the good fight of faith'. Consider the idea of fighting,most of us do not want fight, as John Stott writes,' Fighting is an unpleasant business,undignified, bloody,painful. and dangerous'.But for we who are Christians we must do it,even if we get a blooded nose. We are reminded that it is a good fight ,so many people fight for evil causes,not us everything we are fighting for is good, and the one we are fighting for is good, even Jesus our precious Saviour, everything about Him is good,everything He did was good.Next we see it is a fight of faith, yes faith in our God to aid us and help us,by His grace.Lastly ,'For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does,The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world( 2Corinthians 10 v 3- 4)Peter had to learn that lesson in the garden ,when he drew a sword and cut of a persons ear,and Jesus told him to to put away the sword'. ( Matt 26 v 51 - 52 ) So don't be surprised if you are in battle at this time,it is part and parcel of being a Christian.
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Wednesday, 5 January 2022
Broken hearts ( Matthew 11 v 28 )
A song I was listening to had the following lines in it,'So easy to break a heart', the fact is there are hearts being broken every day,one hears on the news of murders, how dreadful for the loved ones effected by such an ordeal,their hearts must be broken.Or when marriages break up,when the husband comes in and says,''I don't love you anymore, I have found someone else'', or when wives do the same.Broken hearts follow and usually broken for a life time,it is all very sad.It is so easy for hearts to be broken, so difficult for hearts to mend. The effects can be serious,here are some examples,mental health,a withdrawing into a shell,isolating oneself.People as it were make a vow never to get involved with anyone else,a root of bitterness develops,even hatred towards that person that has hurt them.To not go back to church because one was hurt,after all you shouldn't be hurt by Christians,and so we could go on,and so the brokenness goes on. and it is so hard to live with a broken heart,whatever the reason, I want to leave a word of hope to you if you are broken hearted, there is one that can help,When Jesus walked and ministered to people, he healed every disease, think about that,every disease,and I believe He can heal your broken heart,nothing can change what had happen to you,but He can change you, and heal your broken heart.
Psalm 147 v3.
He heals the broken heart.
Tuesday, 4 January 2022
My forever friend. ( John 15 v15 )
I have purchased a lovely illustrated copy of one of my favourite books,'Wind in the willows', written by Kenneth Graham,a book about animals,Ratty, Mole,Badger,and Toad.I have read this book a number of times,and I am looking forward to reading it again. One of the things I like about it is the friendship the animals have,they are very loyal and faithful.Toad of Toad Hall,the wealthy toad is always trying something new,until he gets tired of it,and it gets him into a lot of trouble.But his friends try to stop him from wasting his money on the next fad,but unfortunately not with much success. Friends are important if you have one good friend that's good,Friendship is a two way thing,sometimes we forget that. Friendship needs to be maintained, I had a particular friend ,we communicated through the web, but suddenly it just stopped,no contact. that was that. My best friend is Jesus even though He is my Saviour ,my Lord,he is my friend, indeed the best friend I have ,He is loyal,faithful, and kind. Yet I know it is important that I maintain that friendship,by meeting with Him, and never take Him for granted,and seek not to offend Him in any way,and of course as I said He is my Lord,so I must obey Him at all times.He has promised to never leave me nor forsake me,He will not just cut me off.There is so much I could say about Him, and its all positive,yes He is my forever friend,and He can be yours to,if you ask Him to be your Saviour.
Vengeance ( Romans 12 v 19 - 21)
Alexander Dumas wrote a very popular book called ,'The Count of Monte Cristo', it is about a young man called Edmond Dantes, who was wrongfully imprisoned for life. During his time in prison he makes friends with a man called Abbe Faria a priest ,who had a treasure map, which he gives to Edmond .Edmond manages to escape,and eventually, finds the treasure,and becomes fabulously rich . With this wealth he reinvents himself and becomes known as the Count of Monte Cristo, he then sets out to get revenge on those who had sent him to prison, which he does ,ruining them. When in power Stalin murdered many people who had done him wrong,he took a particular pleasure in the way he did it. Now contrast that with Joseph ( Gen 37 - 50 ),who suffered dreadfully at the hands of his brothers, sold as slave,accused unjustly of a crime he didn't commit ,and then jailed. In Gods time released and appointed to be a ruler in Egypt, and in that position he could have taken vengeance on them he didn't,in fact he cared for them,and reassured them he would look after them,it took grace to forgive his brothers,and not to take vengeance on them
Monday, 3 January 2022
A new year. ( 8 v 31 - 39 )
2021 is gone for good it is just a memory,the future all unknown,looking back,what did we have?,two major things hunted us daily ,Covid and climate change.There are many other things we could mention,so what does 2022 hold for us,when I say us ,I mean those of us who are Christians?.Well here is a word for us all,it is found in Deuteronomy 31 v 8.
The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you;
he will never leave you nor forsake you.
Do not be afraid,do not be discouraged.
Consider,God will lead you Himself, he will make the crooked places straight, and the rough places smooth.look into your future,what do you see?. I will tell you, God going before you,and God with you.
Next. The nature of life can appear so uncertain, you look around and ask where are my friends,you feel suddenly, alone,it is not a nice feeling,don't let your heart be troubled,God says to you I will never leave you nor forsake you.
Next. Are you fearful as regards the future? ,hear what God is saying to you,yes you,''Do not be afraid''.I will look after you,I will care for you.Are you discouraged?yes, there is much that can discourage us,but our loving God says,''don't be discouraged'' take away the first three letters of that word and the last letter ,what do you read,courage.yes have courage, whatever you are facing now or in the future remember if God be for you,who can be against you?