Rock of ages [ Hebrews 7 v 25 ]

It was A M Toplady who wrote that old hymn, Rock of ages,and there is an other old hymn, Im not sure who wrote it ,and it goes like this, /Oh safe to the Rock that is higher than I, My soul in its conflicts and sorrows would fly/. These hymns express a desire for salvation ,safety, and security, who is this rock they wrote about?, Jesus [1 Corinthians 10 v 4] . Who else but Jesus can save us?, no one, only He can save, and keep us in this life, only He can comfort, strengthen, and keep us secure.Who are we looking to, to save us, to protect us,? , is it Jesus?, I hope so , Jesus never fails.Untold millions have found in Jesus all they need, He saves to the uttermost,He provides, protects,guides, and never leaves us, He trully is a Rock in a weary land./ How oft in the conflict, when pressed by the foe, I have fled to my Refuge and breathed out my woe, How often when trials like sea- billows roll, Have I hidden in Thee, O Thou Rock of my soul/. [ Rock of ages we come to You, for you and You alone can save, and bless us with all we stand in need of, Amen ]

Somewhere [Psalm 23 ]

One of my favourite singers is Eva Cassidy, and she sings a song from one my favourite movies, The Wizard of Oz,/ Somewhere over the rainbow/, when Eva sings this song it takes on a spiritual meaning, and I think of home, I dont mean Ireland, I mean Heaven. I wonder do you ever think of home? I wonder what it is going to be like, I can only imagine. Well it will mean rest, often in life we feel tired, not of life which is a precious gift from God, but one feels weary at times in the struggle of life.Home will be such a change , where all will be harmonious, a place of peace , a place of no discord, a place where faith will give way to sight, when we will see at last our Saviour,what joy will fill our hearts then, to see Him whom we love, to be with Him for all eternity. When I think of home ,at times I become homesick, but until then by Gods grace, let all of us live for Jesus, following Him, serving Him, loving others for His sake. [Dear loving heavenly Father , help us to keep eternal realities, and values,in our lives,and by your grace, bring us safely home, to be with our Saviour Your dear Son, Amen ]

Where is love [ John 3 v16 ]

One of my favourite songs from the musical Oliver, is , /Where is love?,/ many people ask this question, as they experience pain, or as they observe lifes tragedies. There is within us all that desire to be loved, by our parents, friends,families, but so many feel unloved, and are crying out today ,where is love?. People ask the question, if God is love, why?,you can add your own answer to the why, so many people are judging God, because of evil, painful things that are happening in this world. Well it was Job who suffered tremendously, who said,/Surely I spoke things I did not understand, things to wonderful for me to know[42 v3 ], let us not charge God foolishly, I believe God is love. Where is love?, let us lift our eyes, from the gloom and doom, to the ultimate place of suffering the cross, and hear the one on that cross , saying I love you, I am dying for you because I love you, will you not trust Me? as your Saviour.Isaac Watts,wrote of Calvary love,/ Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul , my life, my all.[ Father help us to see beyond the many obstacles that blind us from seeing , and embracing Your love for us in your Son Jesus, Amen ]

Longing [John 4 v1 -15 ]

Drug taking, alcohol, sex addiction,speak of mankinds longing for satisfaction, and the point is this they cannot satisfy . Addiction can never satisfy, no matter how much we try, the longing ,and addicton only grows stronger the more we feed into it. I picked up a magizine yesterday, and read of a world famous entertainer, who was addicted to certain pills.Addiction is like chasing the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow,it will always be out of reach, in fact it is all an allusion. Our Saviour spoke to a woman at a well, He said, /Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again, , but those who drink the water I give will never thirst again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life, [John 4v 13 ]. There is an old hymn which goes,/ now none but Christ can satisfy/,and it is true, only He can satisfy the deep longings in our hearts. [ Dear Lord Jesus come and fill these hearts of ours with Yourself, Amen ]

Transparency [ John 1 v 45 - 50 ]

It is a rare thing to find a person who is transparent, but in John 1v47, we read of a person called Nathanael, and this is what Jesus said about him,/ Here is an Israelite indeed.....in whom there is no guile, nor deceit ,nor falsehood, nor duplicity. [A V ]/. Nathanael was a man who had no hidden agender, no alternative motives, the Message puts it like this, he had not a false bone in his body, unlike Nathanael , so many of us say one thing but inwardly we have other plans, there are to many crooked salespersons about, and to few open cast mines. Nathanael was transparent am I ?are you ?. [ Dear Lord help us to be more transparent, help us to be open in all our dealings, Amen ]

The great unnmentional [ John 11 ]

I always remember when I was young our local paper, The Belfast Telegraph, had on its second page , a list of people who had died. Death the modern great unmentional , it is something that is never the focus of our conversation, even when death comes to those we love, yet it is part of life. In former days there was times of mourning,again when I was young, people used to wear a black band on their arm as a sign that they where mourning, not now. I remember a son telling his mother at a funeral I attended to keep control, keep control when you have been married to someone for a life time, and suddenly they are not there. Mybe we need to think more about the mourning process , how important it is, and we should not be afraid of emotions ,and we should weep with those who weep, did not Jesus weep at a funeral,[ John 11 v35 ] [Father Have mercy upon all who have been touched by death, in their loss comfort them , and help us to mourn with those who mourn, in Jesus name Amen ]

Hold unto that dream.[Philippians 3 v 1-16 ]

Bruce Springsteen said, I spent most of my life as a musican measuring the distance between the American dream and the American reality. As a Christian I often think of the distance between what I preach , and what I am, between what I profess and what I am.The dream and reality seem distances apart, and yet as a Christian we cannot afford to loose that dream of what we should be, and what we could be, more loving , more trusting, more obedient, more like Christ, we all need to hold unto this dream. [Father we know that we are accepted unconditionally in Jesus, and yet we also know that we can never be satisfied with the distance between the dream and reality, which is You, grant us the grace, fill us with Your Spirit that both dream and reality may merge as one, for Jesus sake we ask this Amen ]