Change. ( Hebrews 13 v 8 )

 I recently returned from Belfast, I have not been there for 9yrs, and I have lived in England for over forty years. my visit was to do with my sister who passed away.She had suffered with dementia for two years, she was cared for by her husband,it was quite a challenge for him .One of the things that I observed in my visit home was the change that has taken place, since first I left Belfast,new houses built.,and so many other things.At the funeral I saw the change in those who were there,caused by ageing, and sickness, the hymn writer put it,'Change and decay in all around I see',so true.but he goes to say, 'O Thou who changest not abide with me'. I have seen much change in life,and experienced much,but here is the wonderful thing, the Lord Jesus who is with me, never changes,He always loves me, cares for me,watches over me,He is my constant friend and companion and I love Him so much, He will never,never,never,leave me ,nor forsake me.My burning desire is that all may know Him,who to know is life, and life eternal.

                                                      ' I have a friend that sticketh 

                                                    closer than a brother,his name is

                                                                    JESUS.'

Sort of. ( Job 19 v 25 )

 I was standing waiting at a certain place,as I waited , I was singing quietly to myself, someone passing by heard me singing and commented on it. I spoke to him and said,''if you have the Lord in your life you can have a song'',he began walking away from me, and I asked him ,do you know the Lord?'', he answered ,''Sort of ''. One the meanings for the term ,'sort of', is vaguely, in other words ,uncertain,unclear,which to be me is a clear indication that he didn't know the Lord. It was the Lord who said,' I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me' (John 10 v 14) There is a certainty  in those words,the apostle Paul wrote ,'I know whom I have believed,and am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted  to  Him until that day'.I wonder can you say that ,or is your answer,'sort of ?'. I wonder can you say with a certainty,'The Lord is your shepherd?'. ( Psalm 23 v1 ) ,have you trusted Christ  as your own and personal Saviour?, my advice to you is ,to sort it out, trust Him today,and come into a sure and certain faith in Christ.

                                                       'Dear Saviour, Thou art mine,

                                                        How sweet the thought to me

                                                        Let me repeat Thou name

                                                        And lift my heart to Thee.

                                                        Mine! mine! mine! I know 

                                                        that art mine;

                                                        Saviour, dear Saviour, I know

                                                        that Thou  art mine.'

                                                               Words Anna Hudson.

Unconditional ( John 3 v 36 )

 The term unconditional love is banded about, lets look at this statement,consider this statement,'For God so loved the world, that He gave his only  begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish ,but have everlasting life'.Surely that means .God is offering the world unconditional love ?,my answer is no.It is true that in love God in love is providing for this world,being patient with this world, J.I. Packer writes of,'the longsuffering,  forbearance,and His slowness to anger that continues to show kindness towards persons who have persisted in sinning '  2 Peter 3 v9 .You could say that is a in a sense unconditional love,but that it is not in fullest sense,for when many who speak of unconditional love, they mean we are accepted unconditionally . To be accepted by God there are conditions,now we are entering into what J.I.Packer calls,sovereign redemptive love,and what John Stott calls holy love. Knowing that love ,experiencing that love, receiving that love,entails repenting of our sin,and believing in Jesus to forgave us our sins.Then and then only, will we be accepted by God .

A Prayer. ( Philippians 3 v 8 -14 )

                                                              A prayer.

Lord I have not got there yet,so many battles yet to be won,help me not to give up in despair,to press on,of being more like my Saviour. The gulf  between you and you me Lord is great,in so many ways. The words  crucify the flesh come to mind, reminding me of the cost of being your follower. Lord your path was not easy,from the time you left heaven,until you returned to heaven,I want to be like you,keep that desire in my heart each day until you take me home. Help me in every situation to be like you,so easy to make excuses when I  don't reflect you, help me to quickly repent,and to keep lines between me and you open . Amen.

Are you thirsty? ( John 4 v1 - 14 )

 In John 7 we read that our Saviour  attended  the festival of Tabernacles , ( Lev 23 v 33ff )part of the festival involved a priest taking a golden pitcher and going to the Pool of Siloam and filling it with water. It was then  carried back through the Water Gate while the people recited Isaiah 12 v 3; ''With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation''. The water was then carried to the Temple and to the altar and poured out on it as an offering to God.It was against this background , Jesus said in a loud voice,'Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink'.J.C. Ryle comments on this,'We should note the breadth of the invitation. It is for''any man''. Then note the persons invited. They are those who ''Thirst''. The expression is a figurative one, denoting the spiritual distress and anxiety which anyone feels when he discovers the value of his soul, and the sinfulness of sin, and his own guilt. Such a one feels a burning desire for relief, of  which the distressing sensation of ''thirst''- a sensation familiar  to all Eastern nations- is a most fitting  emblem. No  further qualification is named. There is no mention  of repentance,amendment, preparation, conditions to fulfil, new heart to be got. One thing alone is named. Does a man ''Thirst''? Does he  feel his sins and want  pardon?- Then the Lord invites him'.

Thank you. ( Matthew 6 v 1 -4 )

 Thank you is very important, we try to teach our children to say thank you,when you say thank you ,you are expressing gratitude. The apostle Paul expressed gratitude to the church at Philippi for their support  Phil 4 v10 ff. Thank you does not only involve receiving a gift of money,a kindness shown,I often say I am praying for them,and usually they say thank you.Our Saviour highlighted certain people as regards their giving, because they gave money publicly, to be admired by others.Matthew 5 v1 . Our giving should not be  done for the general public to  applause,it should be privately, even secretly, done totally for the glory of God.If  someone gives you a gift ,it is not wrong to say thank you,if you give a gift and they don't say thank you,don't  worry, your heavenly father who sees everything , will reward you.  Matthew 6 v 4.

Jesus wept. ( 1 Peter 5 v 7 )

 The 11 th chap of John has so much to teach us, it is mainly about the death and  amazing resurrection of Lazarus by our dear Saviour. I want to turn you to that point in this event to v 35,Jesus is standing outside Lazarus tomb, he had been dead 4 days.As our Saviour stood there we read,'He wept', this is the shortest verse in the bible, it has so much meaning attached to it.Our Saviour was not just a miracle worker, I do not read that of miracle workers who make a living out of it, very rarely do we see any weeping. Most of them are more interested in self glorification,it is easy to start up as a miracle worker,so many dear people are desperate to try anything to see a loved one healed, and usually money is involved.Jesus never did anything for what he could get out of it, never once did he charge anyone for healing them,freely He gave and freely they received. I do believe that miracles happen, not  to glorify any person, but to glorify God. Let me return to the weeping Christ, he is the one who feels for suffering humanity,especially those who are his,in your suffering cast all your cares upon Him,for he cares for you.May His love ,compassion, peace fill your heart, May you hear his gentle whisper speaking words of comfort, telling you that he is with you always.