She looked back [Genesis 19 v26]

She looked back, why one may ask,curiosity?,what ever the reason,she disobeyed God,so it is with us, God commands us not commit adultery.In other words we not to get involved with someone who belongs to another,but you can think of many reasons why you should.Maybe you have been denied a physical relationship by the person you are married to,or you feel they neglect you, your reason may be legitimate.Yet God says thou shalt not commit adultery, He means just that. She did not obey God, she must not have taken God seriously,if she had , she would not have looked back,God is not double minded ,like we are,He must be taken seriously,and no matter how we try to rationalise disobeying Him,we will suffer,when Aarons sons offered their own mixture of incense to the Lord He slew them[ Leviticus 10],this must have shocked their father Aaron,they were his sons and he would have felt sorrow,he was told not to show any outward signs of mourning, hard thing to do, but they obeyed.She looked back and suffered as a consequence,what ever her reason, she disobeyed God,she was not ignorant,just disobedient,so today let us remember Lots wife .Genesis 19 v26/Luke 17 v32/
A  prayer ...../ Dear God grant us the grace to obey, help us not to lean upon our own understanding,in Jesus name Amen/

Sodom,Gomorrah, and judgement [ Romans 1 v 18 ]

Sodom and Gomorrah are remember for not only being a very wicked people ,but also for the judgement meted out them by Holy God.Some people wince at this account,delegating it to the God of the OT, which is not only a shame,but an unbiblical way of interpreting this whole event.for if we read various scriptures, we see that God changes not....CP/ 2 Thessalonians 1 v8-9/ 2 Peter 3v10./   In Gen 18 v20 we read the reason for the judgement, /their sin is very grave/, let us look on sin as God looks on it,society can change its laws,as it sees fit,but God does not change His law to accommodate man. As we read this account of God destroying these cities ,be very careful not to charge God with wrong doing,Abraham reminds us,/Shall not the judge of the earth do right?[Gen 18 v25 ]. The answer is an emphatic yes,let none of us forget this,in chap 16/19 we read of the mercy of God,why was only three people saved, in Exodus33v19/Romans 9 v 18,we read God declaring that he will have mercy, on whom He will have mercy. F.L.Godet writes of a free initiative on Gods part....but without a shadow of arbitrariness.The God of love desires that all men may be saved and that they may come to a knowledge of the truth,He is long-suffering to us ward, not willing that any should perish,but that all should come to repentance.Remember God knows the whole story,we don't,those people had a righteous man living in their midst, Lot,whom they ignored[2 Peter 2 v8-9 ].
A  prayer...../ Dear God we praise You for Your mercy,and acknowledge that You will have mercy on whom You will have mercy, through Your dear Son Jesus Amen/

Is anything too hard for the Lord? .[Genesis 18v14 ]

Children have an expectation that their dads can do anything,but they cant,people have an expectation that science,and the medical profession have all the answers ,but they don't.A very elderly couple were told something by God that appeared impossible,but it wasn't,they were told they were going to have a child a son.The man questioned it and the women laughed at such a thing,but then they were challenged with the following words,/Is anything too hard for the Lord?/.[Genesis 18 v14 ]. Has God promised you something and it has not come to pass?,do you you thing it has gone beyond the point were God can do what He promised.Have you lost sight of the promise?,has it become buried in the history of the past?. Do you think it does not apply to you now?you have learned to live with that problem,whats the point of hoping?,you may be asking yourself ,forget about it,it will not happen. Maybe like Sarah as you read this blog you are think God is mocking you,well He is not,first of all what he says He will do,and what He says He can do,time will not change that fact,it has not weakened His power to do what He promised you. Is there anything too hard for the Lord?,what He cant do, is lie,His character forbids that,no matter how hard it may appear to you, and me, God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or thing according to the power that worketh in us[ Ephesians 3 v20]
A  prayer..../ Dear God grant us faith to believe what You have promised,that You will make it good,help us to grasp the truth that there is nothing to hard for you, in Jesus name Amen /

Our exceeding great reward.[ Genesis 15 v1 ]

/The word of the came unto Abram in a vision,saying,fear not,Abram, I am thy shield,and thy exceeding great reward /[Genesis 15v1] Let us consider these wonderful words,spoken to Abram,he is called Abram, but that would change to the more familiar Abraham,meaning father of many nations.God spoke in a vision,the general way He speaks to us now is by the Bible,now we cannot rule God out speaking us in a vision,or a dream,but the norm is through the Bible.This is the safest way,as the word of God is a finished revelation,so it rules out any other so called word of God,the Koran ,book of Mormon,etc. In speaking to Abraham,He declares I am thy shield,in other words God would protect him,as with Abram so with every dear child of God,you may not have a big brother to protect you ,but you have a big God. As J .Calvin wrote,/He will defend us,preserve us,and protect us by His power.Next He says that he is his ,exceeding great reward, mankind myself included have an on going appetite that never appears to be satisfied,the natural man try to satisfy there lives with everything and anything,the words of our Saviour are so true, the natural things cannot satisfy[John 4 v13]. So God reminds Abram that He is his exceeding great reward,and these words remind us,as so often we need to be reminded,that He is our exceeding great reward,let us continually bear this in mind,and not be blinded to lesser things.
A  prayer..../Dear God we thank You for the many blessings we enjoy,but most of all we thankful for You,in Jesus name we pray this Amen/


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Be sure your sins will find you out. [ Revelation 21 v 8 ]

A famous entertainer ,who was much loved and admired,has been charged with sexual offences,not so long ago he painted our queen,and from that moment on his paintings became very expensive,and much sought after,now they will only be fit for the bonfire.This entertainer is aged 83 his past has caught up with him,one commentator on the teaching or philosophy of Machiavelli ,said he did not teach,that your sins will find you out.But the bible teaches that they will as many sex offenders are finding out, I will add not just in this world, but eternity.We cannot escape the consequences of our sinful actions,we may as many people do ,escape human justice,but we are told that there are two appointments we will all keep,the first is death, and the next is judgement [Hebrews 9v27].On that day of judgement all our history will be judged,every sin will be laid bare,our very thoughts,words and deeds,all will be brought out into the light.The Great judge Jesus will pass sentence,and the sentence will not be for 10,20,or 50yrs,it will be for all eternity,it will a dreadful fate. Do not think it will just be the sex offenders who will be judged,no all have sinned[Romans3 v23],and all will be judged.But the good news is God is merciful,and had provided a way of escape,the judge that will be in eternity,is now the Saviour in time.All who seek mercy,who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved,every sin will be forgiven,
A  prayer...../Dear God we rejoice that you are faithful,loving and kind,but you  are  also righteous ,and will judge all those who sins have not been forgiven ,have mercy ,in Jesus name Amen/

Finishing school. [ Psalm 138v8 ]

For great deal of my life I have lived with an aggressive nature,it goes back to my childhood,like many things,it has dogged my life,but God who saves sanctifies,and generally speaking I am an amiable person.I can remember getting into scraps as a youngster,this was nothing out of the ordinary, as a child one sought to cope as best as one could. Among those I remember where those who appeared to want to fight others,I supposed to some extent I copied them,it was not easy growing up.Even as a Christian I still  feel aggression,and sadly show it, old habits die hard, old characteristics still cling to me. Maybe it even came across in my preaching,all I can say it is there,but God has his means of changing me, the dear Holy Spirit lives within me.He through different means ,has and is changing me,I am not the person I used to be,but I not yet the person I want to be,and indeed long to be. I know that until I die I will be imperfect, but the scriptures assures me that God will perfect that which concerneth me,for He is merciful.[Psalm 138 v8].God finishes what he commences,yes it may be hard to take in,but He will,He is faithful,I am confident of this very thing,that He which hath begun a good work in me, will continue it,until it is finally finished ,on the day when  Jesus returns[Philippians 1 v 6]
A  prayer../Dear God burn up the dross in our lives, help us not to loose confidence in your promise to perfect that which concerneth us, through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen/

Man of steel? [Isaiah 9 v6 ]

I watched the movie man of steel ,the latest superman blockbuster,it appears to me be it superman,or spider man,or some other man,there is underlying feeling for a saviour,someone who can save the world from destruction. I wonder why?could it be that there is an underlying feeling of doom,that we will be overtaken by our own greed and destructiveness,where is our fairy godmother?,who will come and put everything right. And so we center our eyes on certain individuals,or nations,as our saviours,only to find out like Superman,they have their weaknesses,the man of steel has feet of clay.Consider the following words, from an old testament prophet, Isaiah /For unto us a child is born,unto us a son is given,and the government shall be upon His shoulder,and His name shall be called,Wonderful,Counselor,the mighty God,the everlasting Father,the Prince of peace.[9v6].Yes I am speaking about Jesus the Saviour of the world,are you looking for a saviour?look no further,look to Jesus,the one who came to seek and save all who are lost.
A prayer..../Dear God the world does need a saviour, and we thank You that in love sent Jesus Amen /