Comforts die, but God lives[ Psalm 18]

We do not always mean what we say,take for instance our weather in England,we have had a few dry years,so their is a hosepipe ban,at the moment we are experiencing rain each day, and it is expected to continue. So what do we say when we meet people,ah well we need the rain,but really what we want is for the sun to shine each day.When a dear one dies we may say it is for the best,but of course,we will still want that loved one to be with us,it is understandable, dont be to hard on yourself. I still think of a loved one who died,still miss her, for many reasons.In Psalm 18 which is a very lovely Psalm, v 30, reads,/ As for God, His way is perfect/,it is so easy to read those words to speak, even to preach them with conviction,but[ yes that but again]be carrying within us ,bitterness,and a resentfulness with God.In that 18th Psalm v46 we read the word,/The Lord liveth/, H Lockyer writes the following in his devotional com on the Psalms,/ The story is told of a godly woman,having buried one of her children,sat alone in her sadness, yet had ease of heart when she read,/the Lord liveth/. Then another of her children died,still she remained calm and trustful as she said,/ Comforts die, but God lives,/ Then the heaviest blow fell, her beloved husband died,and this really broke her. Her surviving child who had heard her speak those comforting words, said to her disconsolate mother, is God dead mother?. This reached the sorrowing woman,s heart, and her former confidence in a living God returned.
A  prayer....../Dear God in Your mercy help us,for we dont always say what we really mean,we try  not to show, how we feel,but You know how we really feel when our comforts die,grant us the grace we need , at all times to find comfort in You our living God, in Jesus name Amen/

Is vengeance ever right?. [ Romans 12 v17 ]

When the Russian army was advancing into Germany during the last days of world war two, they were not only defeating an enemy, but they also were intent on getting revenge,because of all the  awful things the German army did to the Russian people. The German population sought to flee from the advancing Russians, and with good cause,but they could only run so far, and many of then,especially the women suffered .The question all this raises is, is taking vengence ever acceptable?,and the scriptural answer is no ,Romans 12 v 17 instructs us to leave God to deal with the wrong doers,/ Vengeance is mine, I will repay/. Does that mean we are to let wrong doers do as they please?, no of course not, there must always be a system of justice,and the wrong doer punished. This is one of roles of the state,justice also demands that the punishment should reflect the seriousness of the crime,the thief on the cross acknowledged he was recieving the just punishment for his crimes [Luke 23 v41 ] .
A  prayer....../Dear God we bring to You the many who are suffering injustice,especially Your dear children, we ask that they would leave their cause with You,in Jesus name Amen /

No ones perfect [2 Corinthians3 v18 ]

We live in an imperfect world,and it is obivious that even His church is imperfect,and even though I have been a Christian a long time, I am far from perfect. I heard of a Pastor who held and still holds a grudge against a person who did something on him 22 years ago. The point is, God knows and in His way ,His perfect way, He will deal with that brother, I am not to judge that Pastor,I need to pray for him. We read, as for God His way is perfect [Psalm 18 v30 ],yes God is perfect and His way is perfect,and we are told that He will perfect that which concerneth us [Psalm 138 v8 ]. How?, well He has His means ,if we keep ignoring His word, He has His means,this I repeat,God is not ignoring our imperfections,God is working in all His childrens lives His perfect will. It is called sanctification, that life long process in each of His childrens lives,one way or the other, He will deal with us,even if we are a preacher, Pastor,or whoever,we may not like the means in which He will use to change us,but then He is the potter and we are the clay.
A  prayer..../Dear God help to not gloss over those things in our lives that are contrary to Your will and word in Jesus name Amen /

Burdens [ 2 Corinthians 12 v1-10 ]

 We can carry many burdens in life,some have to be borne,God will give us grace,He will grace to the humble, we are exhorted to cast our cares upon Him,for He cares for us, and will sustain us [ Psalm 55 v22/ 1 Peter 5 v7 ]The burdens we are called to bear are never sent to destroy us,but they are meant to be borne,and in all things we are meant to glorify Him,it is natural to want to be burden free. I wonder what we would be like if we never had a burden to bear,would we better people?,as  I observe life I see how that material prosperity, does not make people more content, it just appears to create a desire for more. Consider the wisest yet foolhardy king Solomon,read the book of Ecclesiastes,he had everything and appears he was never satisfied,  he found it all meaningless.He appears to have lost sight that being king, was not just to accumulate,wives,gold,nor was it right to oppress his people[1  Kings 12 ] Could it be that we need burdens, to keep our sinfull selfish tendancies in check?, sunshine all the time brings its own dangers,prosperity can cause us to loose sight of what is most important,love for God, and love for people.We all want self satisfaction,not realizing that when ever the word self is first in our list,it can never bring satisfaction[John 4 v13-14],let me also say we are not,to be self  absorbed with our burdens also, for that can only bring frustration, resentfulness, and even bitterness.
A  prayer..../ Dear God grant us the grace we need for those things that must be borne, that in them we may glorify You in Jesus name Amen /

A football match .[ Romans 3 v23 / 6 v23 ]

I was watching a football match and I often surprised how the team that should have been beaten wins against the odds,they team that won against the odds had a man sent off,a penalty was awarded against them,and it was missed, by one of the greatest players in the world. It seem that they were destined to win no matter what,does a football hold any importance in Gods purposes?,how important is a football match?. In some ways it is not important, but like all of life happenings, we can see spiritual lessons even in a football match. Paul used sport to illustrate spiritual truths,and as I consider football I know there are rules to be obeyed,and I gaurantee you ,that every player who has ever played football, has broken the rules,and the obvious application in this relates to life and Gods commandments. Gods laws are violated every day, in thought ,word and deed,as the scripture says for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.[ Romans 3v 23 ]. No one ,can live a perfect sinless life,and that has very, very serious consequences,those sin we commit cannot be removed by anything we do, and if we are going to be saved,those sins must  be forgiven. We cannot have them forgiven by good works,or by being religious,when it comes to sin, only Jesus can forgive sins,the cross on which Jesus died, was a sacrifice for sin, when we ask Him and trust Him to be our Saviour, then He forgives us freely and fully.
A  prayer..../Dear God we thank You that there is someone who can and will forgive our sins ,even Jesus Amen /

You will understand. [ Psalm 18 v30 ]

I happen to glance at a little plaque I have , it has these words on it,/Jesus never fails/,I remember my father in-law pointed to these words when his daugther my wife died. To him those words were untrue, and unfortunately  drove him further into an attitude of unbelief,I have never thought that Jesus has failed, oh yes I have grieved over my loss, and still shed tears,but no , Jesus never failed me or my wife. For you see my wife and I had a life verse, which we had framed ,and I see it every day, it reads ,/And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God [ Romans 8 v28 ] I may not understand these words, and as you read this blog ,you may not understand . Let me remind myself and you that these words are true, even though your heart is breaking,and you are bewildered as to why the Lord has allowed you or those you love to suffer, God would say to you,/ I love you ,I have not failed you, I will never fail you, I have a path that you  my child must go.This path can hold pain, and suffering,and what I desire of you is trust, I know how you feel, I understand your pain,remember there is a day coming,when you will understand./
A prayer...../ Dear God help us to trust You when our hearts are breaking,when we are going through  those things we cannot understand, grant us the grace we need in Jesus name Amen /

Deliverance.[ Psalm 18 v 2 ]

Here is another song I have just listened to ,it is a war time song,it goes,/There will be blue skies over the white cliffs of Dover./ As we get further away from the events of the 2nd world war,and the older generation dies of,we are lest inclined to appreciate those events, and the absolute dire situation our country and the world faced.If Germany had invaded England ,it is unthinkable the thought,for it would have affected the world,but it didnt happen,blue skies are over the white cliffs of Dover. How did this country survive, to God be the glory, great things He hath done, we were to some extent a Christian country, and God in His mercy granted a deliverance. If the Nazies had succeeded ,they would have destroyed so much,and they would have indoctinated our youth with their false beliefs,the weak would have gone to the wall,and hitler would have become a god to them. So today raise a prayer of thanksgiving, for such a deliverance, and if you are in a situation that is threatening you, yes even with death, there is a God in Heaven ,who hears and answers prayer,and can deliver you.
A prayer...../ Dear God thank You for past deliverances from evil powers that would have enslaved us , as we face life and those evil forces that would harm and even threaten to destroy us,grant us deliverance ,in Jesus name Amen /