Compromise ( John 8 v 31 - 36/ 14 v 6 )

Viewing our country's political situation at this time, can cause one to be concerned,many voices are to be heard ,each zealously proclaiming their point of view.They have the answer,they know what to do, it reminds me of my history,in the land of my birth., a general strike brought down the government.The bombing and killing went on,until the one who appeared the most extreme person,compromised,the result, the violence stopped.Someone once said ,'the art of politics is compromise'.generally speaking that's true. Many conflicts in the world would cease,if people were willing to compromise,but unfortunately they wont,the result the suffering continues.As a Christian I know I cannot compromise in relation to vital truth,for truth is the most important thing in the world.I must hold fast not just for my own sake,but for others sake,and most of all for my Gods sake.There are many Christians who are paying the price  for not compromising ,they have lost everything,but they are still standing for the truth. It is my dear Saviour who said  the truth sets us free .C P.  John 8 v 32.true freedom is a very precious thing,many are enslaved in by false religion,by falsehood clothed in politics,materialism, science,race,but truth will not be silenced.

Its impossible ( Genesis 1 v 1 )

A friend of mine years ago was speaking at a school assemble ,in his message he spoke on creation, afterwards the person in charge challenged him,as the school taught evolution. As the conversation progressed, my friend said, 'that his wife  put his working shirt into the washing machine,he forgot to tell his wife that there was metal in the pocket.Well when the wash was finished they  discovered there wash a watch in the pocket,a perfect watch in every way,and his wife exclaimed,how could that have happened, there was no explanation, other than it just happened. That's impossible,yes it is,its like a hurricane blowing through a scrap yard,when it had finished the result a perfect aeroplane. Or like eating a beautiful meal and saying there was no cook,these are simple illustration, but they make one solitary point, this world with all its diversity of life, did not, could  not, have  just happened, its impossible.

God is not wasteful. ( Romans 8 v 28 )

I had received an order from Amazon ,but I had to return it,which I had never done before,I must confess I got a bit stressed out over it,but eventually it worked out,and I was able to return it. On reflection there are two things that stand out in all this, one ,stress,yes I got stressed out,sometimes it does not take much to stress me out.It reminds me how fragile I am,how easily it is to loose that all important peace ,even with small things.The second thing is, stress can drive us to God,yes it reminds me ,how weak I am,yes I do feel at time in the words of a song,'I'm the weakest of your children,how I need Thee'. The second thing is now I know how to to return things to Amazon,and possible be able to help someone with the same problem.God is not wasteful,he lets  us go through difficulties ,and in them He helps us ,and teaches us lessons,the result is we can help others,out of our experience .                                                                                                                                                                                                                             ' Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord                                                                                             Jesus Christ,,the Father of compassion and                                                                                               the God of all comfort, who comforts us in                                                                                               all our troubles ,so that we can comfort those                                                                                           in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves                                                                                           have received from God.'                                                                                                                                        ( 1 Corinthians 1 v 3 - 4 )                                                                                                                                                                                     

Sin ( Psalm 51 )

Psalm 51 was written after King Davids sin of adultery and murder, when the prophet Nathan spoke those faithful words,'you are the man' to which David responded, 'I have sinned against the Lord', (2 Samuel 12 ).It is in verse four of Psalm 51  , we read David praying to God,'Against you, you only,have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight'.This is telling us a very important truth,that the evil we do to others,goes beyond that person,they may forgive us, but that evil ascends to a greater level,to a holy God.We look at the evil we do at one level,as only important to our fellow man, the criminal is punished by society,sent to prison,they serve time,and come out feeling they have paid the debt  in full..We have not a thought for God, it is finished with, no its not,our sin remains,and will always remain until like David , we acknowledge that what we have committed was a sin against God.All sin is ultimately against God, it is an act of  defiance ,unforgiven we will be judged for our sins in a coming day.David realised this, I hope you do,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            The good thing is, David was forgiven,                                                                                                    we also can be forgiven, by trusting in                                                                                                      Jesus.                                                                                                                                                                   

Conscience ( Hebrews 13 v 18 )

It was dear William S who wrote,'conscience does make cowards of us all', he further writes,'a man cannot steal but it accuseth him'.All men are born with a conscience,was a person like Hitler ,and the like,yes.The most evil of men are born with a conscience,yet it does not appear that they had,why?,we have a clue in 1 Timothy 4 v 2,where we read of those' whose conscience have been seared as with a hot iron'.Another translation puts it like this ,'whose conscience has been branded with the mark of Satan.W Hendriksen writes,'By constantly arguing with conscience,stifling its warnings,and mulling its bell, they have reached the point where conscience no longer bothers them'.This can be very serious and can have awful consequences,for when the brakes of conscience is removed, then anything goes.Now of course conscience is not perfected, but it does remind us that there are things we should not do,places we should not go. Conscience doth make cowards of us all,because of the consequences of our actions,if you considering doing something that you know you shouldn't  do,obey your conscience,if you don't you will end up with a conscience ,that will plague you for the rest of your life.

Its for your own good. ( Proverbs 14 v 12 )

Growing up is hard, as a child becomes a teenager,and they start asserting themselves, and it becomes more challenging for parents. Often the teenager does not like being told,its for their own good,as the parent curtails certain activities .The child thinks  they know best and resents being told by the parent that they know best ,they do not appreciate that their parent has walked the same path that they are on,and know the pitfalls of life,and the fact is ,they actually do know whats best. In Deuteronomy 10 v 13,the children of Israel are told that the commandments that God commands them  to obey,are for their own good .There is a lady I know who left the church she attended because she said,' what right has the preacher to tell her what to do', of course the preacher was only preaching  Gods word.When God told Adam and Eve not to eat of the tree of  the knowledge of good and evil,it was for their own good,remember if anyone knows whats good for us it is God.

Pruning time ( Psalm 138 v 8 )

Its that time of year again when I prune my rose  bushes, , cut away any dead wood,it does not kill the rose bush,in fact in should give me a nice lot of roses next year.It reminds me as it may remind you, of what Jesus said in John 15 v 1 - 2,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    I am the true vine, and my Father is the                                                                                                    gardener. He cuts off every branch in me                                                                                                  that bears no fruit,while every branch that                                                                                                does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be                                                                                                even more fruitful.                                                                                         These are very meaningful and yet very challenging  words,they cut across the so called prosperity  gospel,of wealth health. If you are a child of God do not be surprised if you are going through a trial,it is not that you are not loved. In fact is an evidence that you are loved ,and that you are His child,because we read the Lord disciplines those He loves ( Hebrews 12 v 6 ).He is in fact  pruning you,cutting away the dead wood, removing the old and bringing  in the new.Those things that He brings into our lives are to make us better than what we are,dear child of God It is in Galatians 5 v 22 - 23 ,we read of the fruit of the Spirit, love,joy,peace,patience, kindness,goodness, and self  control.Let  us be honest,how many of these are missing in our lives ?speaking for myself  too many.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  A  prayer                                                                                                                          Dear Father in heaven perfect that which concerneth                                                                               us in Jesus name Amen.