Boundaries. ( Matthew 7 v 13- 14 )

One my granddaughters was being bullied, plus there were those who were very disruptive  in class, making it difficult for the teacher and for the other pupils who wanted to learn.The school did not address these things,so the only option was to take  my granddaughter out of that school ,and teach her home,there is network set up for that. They did this for a while ,then they enrolled her in another school,she is very happy in this school,enjoying the lessons and not being bullied.My son told me that the school was strict and didn't stand for any nonsense,The children knew what the boundaries where,and so everyone benefit from that. In the book of  Judges 21 v 25, we read that,' Everyone did what was right in his own eyes',the result was a repeating backsliding by Israel. The fact is we all need boundaries,society would fall apart if we didn't have them, but let me also say God has boundaries for all mankind to keep,the sacredness of life,the sacredness of marriage, and so many other things,of course most of us live in a secular society.,yes we may be in world ,but we are not off the world. But unfortunately there are those within the church who are rejecting some of God's boundaries,their views on the word  of God are to pick out what they want to believe, and reject what they don't like, unlike the boundaries in society ,Gods boundaries don't change. The Prophet Jeremiah ministered at  a time of Israels lowest point spiritually, he is known as the weeping prophet,he pleaded with them,prayed for them, through tears to obey God,I want to challenge you  with the words that Jeremiah spoke to Israel chap 6 v 16.

                                        'This is what the Lord says;'Stop at the crossroads

                                         and look around.And ask for the old, godly way,

                                         and walk in it, Travel its path,and you find rest for 

                                         your souls. But you reply, 'No,that's not the road

                                         we want.'

                                   ' They where not for turning ,and they paid an awful price'

Hope triumphant. ( Romans 4 v18 -25 )

Proverbs 13 v 12, reads,'Hope deferred makes the heart sick,But when the heart desire comes,it is a tree of life'. When one reads those words we can think of many examples of this happening,we can think of Abraham  and Sarah and their promised child, It was a promise given by God,we read  in Genesis 15 how Abraham was getting anxious about not having an heir, so God told him he would have a son,He took him outside and told  him to look up  at the stars and count then if he could.That's how many descendants he would have'. and Abraham believed God,and He counted him righteous because of His faith'.But it didn't happen right away,in fact they had to wait and wait years.It was a severe trial, Sarah and Abraham we're getting old ,to old  to have children , but God had promised,and Abraham kept hoping ,believing what God had said, and so it came to pass ,CP Romans 4 v 18-21.What joy must have filled his heart,but the promise went further than just  Isaac,it would have its fulfillment in Christ,and it goes beyond physical descendants ,but spiritual descendants,for everyone who puts their faith in Christ  becomes a Child of Abraham Galatians 4 v 29,and of course a child of God.And one day hopefully soon we who are children of Abraham,people from every tribe and every nation , will declare before the throne in heaven, worthy is the Lamb who was slain,and we will all bow down before our great triune God, Father, Son,and Holy Spirit ,and worship Him.

Divine Keeping ( Psalm 121 )

 Everyday of our a Christian life is  a miracle of grace,it should remind us of our great 'Divine Keeper', it does not nullify, our responsibility  on the ongoing  journey of our Christian life. In 1 Peter 1 v5 (AV) .we read of those who know Christ,' are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation',the new living translation ,puts it like this,' And through your faith,God is protecting you by His power until you receive this salvation.' He protected Joseph ,David,and every child of  God,yes He protects and keeps us, until we get to heaven.we often sing , 'Through many dangers , toils and snares,I have already come; Tis grace has brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home'. (Words by John Newton) He whose  eye is on the sparrow is upon us,He will loose none of those who are truly His (John 10 v 28 -29 ).I think it will be absolute amazing when we get to heaven,and remember how wonderful God has brought us through  so much. If your struggling at this time ,facing problems, dangers,fear not ,have faith in  Him who is your Divine Keeper.,I would urge  all of us to read and memorise Psalm121 and rejoice how our great triune God , is watching over us,and keeping us by His power.

Abide with me. ( Acts 17 v 24 -31 )

Many of us would not of heard of the Rev H.F.Lyte, he lived in Victorian times,he suffered from ill health which caused him to retire from the ministry,he died in 1847.He left behind ,as one writer puts it,' one of  the most   haunting lyrics of the 19th century ,the hymn 'Abide with Me'.It was the time when Darwin came on the scene,and so began the,  'Science vs Religion, controversy,'which has  continued to this day,and will continue  until our Lord comes back.We owe a lot to science,under God,but left to science alone we have no hope what so ever,life has no meaning, no  future only the darkness of oblivion.It is interesting that Tennyson  said of the hymn ,'Abide with Me', 'it was the cry of whole human race'. This hymn is sung every year at a major sporting event in England, sung as a tradition by most, yet for all that we have something of  the longing of the human heart in which God has placed  an eternal reality,that overrides ,the scepticism, secularism, modernism,atheism, which is so prevalent in life today.In the Christ event,God brings to us a message of hope, through His death  on the cross , and resurrection,is a  beacon of light to a lost world ,that in words from that hymn,'Shines through the gloom and points us to the skies'.

Lets get real( John 3 v16 )2

Yes lets get real,I do not live in a Walter Mitty world,when I write my Blog I desire to be truthful,I am not being cynical ,I am seeking to be true to God's word. I do not think it is right  to stick my head in the sand like the proverbial ostrich.I was born in the 20th century,it was a century of tremendous change,but it was also a century of momentous, awful ,terrible violence.take the wars,Here are some of them the,Russo- Japanese war,the 1st World war,Boer war,Balkan war,Irish war for independence,2nd World war, Korean war, Vietnam war,need I go on. Then there is the genocide committed by different nations, by Turkey possibly 5 million Christians massacred,then we know about the awful terrible treatment of the Jews, the Khmer Rouge genocide in Cambodia,you get the picture,we live in a very violent world.I  realise this is not a happy message I am writing,but it is not made up ,I wish it was just fiction, but it is not.There is much  evidence of humanities fallenness ,it includes all of us,there are no innocent human being ,we are all part of it,to some extent. I continually stress that this world needs a Saviour, that means everyone ,and that Saviour is Jesus.The cross you may say is awful ,and it was,but it is Gods remedy,and the only remedy for humanities desperate condition and plight.It is your only hope,it is my only hope,we neglect it, to our cost,for judgement is coming.

                                                         

                                            'Believe on the Lord Jesu Christs and you shall be saved'.

Lets get real. ( Romans 3 v 9 - 18 /23) ( 1 )

 The world we live in,I come from Ireland,a land of the little people,of fairies,lets get real,one of my favourite movies is' ,The quite man', I've watched it many time,it depicts an Ireland that's not real.The history of Ireland is one of oppression of the poor, of division, violence. Oh yes there are many good things,but its not that little bit of heaven  that fell from the sky one day,as an old Irish song puts it.Lets not look at the world and think that it will be an earthly paradise,it is a fallen world,how serious is it?,very, God's answer is Calvary,yes the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,that's God's answer,for you and me.Leon Morris writes, 'Believers must live in this world, not an imaginary world of their own choosing,they must not expect to live in a world that understands them and welcomes their witness'. We are to be lights in the darkness,salt in the corruptness,messengers of hope,as we point sinners to Christ,and in doing so remember to be faithful in spite of the cost.

Be wise. ( Daniel 12 v 1-3 )

  In Proverbs chap 11 v30, we read',He that winneth  souls is wise',let us ask the  question,'why did Jesus come?'. The answer is,'He will save His people from' their sins, it is as simple as that ,nothing complicated,He did not come to set up an earthly kingdom,or to rule from an earthly throne CP  John 18 v36, He came to bring  in a spiritual kingdom within the hearts of people,as  Jesus said to the Pharisees''The kingdom of God  is within you''Luke 17 v21,Michael Wilcock comments,'the Kingdom  is primarily an inward  reality and not a political institution'.When we are without Christ we are lost souls,we have a sinful nature, the fruit of that  nature is sinful practices,thoughts, attitudes,wrong attitudes towards God and man.No one is excluded from this,all have sinned and come short of God's glory ( Rom 3 v 36 ).As Christians we know these things,and we know that people need to be saved,from the consequence of their sin and the power of their sin..The consequences of our sin,will follow us beyond the grave,and takes us to hell,to say it is serious,is an understatement,words fail to express the  awfulness  of that judgement on any human being.That is why we need to witness to people without fear or favour .In Psalm 142 David is in real difficulties,and he declares '.no man cared for my soul'.do we care? if we do not tell them,no one else will,don't be like a bull in a china shop when you witness to people,,be wise as a serpent and as harmless as a dove (Matthew 10 v16 ),you may be considered a fool.fear not man's judgement remember God's word say's he  that winneth souls is wise and I would add .'in the home beyond the skies'.