Mercies. ( Matthew 5 v 3 -12 )

One of the things I would encourage myself and fellow Christians to do,is to always look for mercies in times of difficulties.One of the greatest examples of that is the prophet Jeremiah, we read about it in the book of Lamentations, for Israel it was truly the worst of  times. Babylon had conquered Judah,, many had perished,and many were taken into captivity in Babylon,read about it in Jeremiah 52. Jeremiah had survived, and as he surveyed the devastation ,he said,''Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed'' Lamentations 3 v 22.By sparing some of the inhabitants ,God had shown mercy,because the sins  of the people was so great ,they deserved to be wiped out.Look for the mercies in life and give thanks.I listened to a man who had been robbed, to say the least that's a bad experience,yet he mentioned a number of mercies,  ( 1)That it was not someone else, ( 2)That  they had only taken money . (3 ) That he was not murdered.He mentioned a number of other things I can't remember.I was out and about,it was cold and wet,but I thought I will be soon be back in a nice warm home. It is easy to focus on the difficulties but it is better to focus on God's mercies,they are always there if one stops and thinks. The word of God says,' Rejoice always, pray continually ,give thanks in all circumstances , for this is God's will for you in Christ'.  ( 1 Thessalonians 5 v 18- 19)  You may be experiencing trials,difficulties,and opposition, remember the greatest mercy you possess is Christ, because of Him your past was blest, because of Him your present is blest, and because of Him your future will be blest.

Scary times. ( Psalm 91 )

 My wife recently visited London,we don't live to far from London,and she was very upset because there where a lot of people,who didn't appear,to be taking any precautions,to her it all appeared scary.Even apart the times we live in, things can be unnerving. Many people in the world live in places of danger ,there are  wars going on,yes there is conflict in many places.Europe is inundated by people seeking a place of refuge,who can blame them.The history of humanity is a violent history,the world is a violent place,violence against women is awful. Travelling by car can be pretty scary,so much traffic, we could go on pointing to the dangers in this world. As I look back on my 77yrs I can trace God's providential care on my life,that doesn't mean I haven't experience problems and difficulties,I have,but God has graciously preserved my life,we are told in Psalm 31 v 15 ,'our times are in His hands',whose better.He will continue to look after  His children,and we will not die before His time,that does not mean to say we act irresponsible.Don't let fear take over your life,it can so easily do that, have faith in your God,to care for you,watch over you, .Focus on His reassuring word ,not on the news,not on the scary things of life.

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Shadow land. (Colossians 2 v 16 - 23 )

 I read something recently about those who work in the sewers in Pakistan, many are Christians,it is high risk,dirty and low paid. It is dangerous because of the deadly toxic fumes,in this particular case the workers were sent down without any protective equipment,and number of them died. The emergency services refused to help because touching the Christians would make them ritually unclean.When our Saviour walked on earth He was continually condemned for healing people on the sabbath ,He challenged their loveless and godless legalism.Years ago I heard a report of a fire in a girls school in an Islamic country,the emergency services,would not rescue them because they were not wearing the right clothes,that a Muslin person was suppose to wear. The gospel is good news,our Saviour continually challenged  legalism, legalism is an attempt by man to win God's favour. This will take priority over love,replaced by a harsh loveless attitude to those who do not conform,such an attitude can become cruel and wicked,and was condemned by our Saviour. Matthew 23 v 1 - 4. The word of God teaches that the God of mercy, would have us to be merciful, kind ,loving and forgiven,and not to judge people as to what they eat,wear,or the keeping off so called sacred days. All those things are but shadows, spiritual reality cannot be found in them, it is Dick Lucas who writes,' There is no need to return to 'shadow land' to find reality; for in Christ, at last and finally,the substance has come'.

The missing piece in this jigsaw.. (Psalm 5 v 15 )

 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.

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.

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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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.