The providence of God.( Romans 8 v28 )

 I was backing my car out of my driveway and I hadn't seen the car parked on the road opposite  ,fortunately I didn't hit it. I could have so easy hit it. I hadn't looked in my mirror and it reminded me again of God's providential care for me.What people call chance I call the providence  of God,as Christians we need  to be different than the non-Christian,they talk about chance,about luck. Consider Romans  8v 28,'And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God,to them who are the called according to His purpose'. Consider those profound words ,all things,our disappointments, our trials,He is overlooking all things in our lives,He opens doors and shut  doors, that job we didn't get,and the job we did get. He keeps His eye upon us 24/7 ,52 weeks of the year,and every minute of every hour . Let us rejoice in such a wonderful God,even in our trials.Consider dear Joseph and all the wrongs  his brothers did to him,Hear what he said to them,'But as for you ,ye thought  evil against me ; but God meant it for good.' ( Genesis 50 v20 ),What applies to Joseph applies to you,and to every child of God,so let us think much on God's providential care for us His Children,even when we do not understand it.

Amazing grace. (Ephesians 2 v 8 - 9)

We are experiencing  a period of very heavy rain,with the result that many places are being affected by floods,fortunately not many have died. The Word of God tells us how God flooded the whole world,it was so severe that all the population of the world,with the exception of eight people drowned.(Genesis 6 v13 ) It was  a one off  event,God promised never to repeat it (Gen 8 v 21)The flood was a judgement on mankind for their sinfulness, Gen 6 v 5,reads,'The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth,and that every inclination of the thoughts  of the human heart was only evil all the time.' There are exceptions to the rule,those who walk with God,as opposed to those who don't. there is no middle  road.In the midst of the world about to be judged, we read,'But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord'.Gen 6 v 8. The word grace means, undeserved favour, something that cannot be earned,it is something that is freely given,and that's what saved Noah.Noah was a good man compare 6 v 9,let us remember even good people are sinners.( Romans 3 v 23). Like Enoch ,Noah walked with God, he was a godly man,the grace of God had touched his life,and so he walked in newness of life, all good men are not godly men, by the grace of God Noah was a godly man. We get saved by the grace of God through faith in Christ, and so our walk continues by the grace of God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

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Heed the warnings. ( John 3 v36 )

We have two alarm detectors in our home,a smoke detector,and a carbon monoxide detector,most homes have them,but some don't. I mention this because of an incident that happened in one of my son's home,my wife and I where visiting him and the family. While we there the carbon Monoxide alarm went off,my son had turned on the central heating, but the boiler was malfunctioning,and it was pouring out carbon monoxide. We responded by turning the gas off and opening the windows.my son phoned the emergency people,who soon arrived.Here is something we were told ,that little detector saved our lives, because this gas has no smell,it will surely kill if left undetected. I read that it is a leading cause of deaths by poisoning in the United States, about 40 people die of it in the U K .I thank God for the warning the detector give us,that our lives have been spared.  The prophets of old were like alarm detectors , warning the people to forsake their sins and turn to God,Jonah is a fine example of that ,he told the people of Nineveh that in forty days judgement was coming from God, because of their sin,so they responded and God forgave them and judgement did not come .What about now?,the fact is that every Christian is meant to be a warning detector,because God has not changed,He still will judge sinners,unless they  like Nineveh, repent ,forsake their sins,and come to Christ to forgive them. Consider this if  we had ignored the warning given off  by the alarm detector we would have all died, I urge you, don't ignore the warning that I am giving.

                                                      'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ

                                                      and you shall be saved'.

                                                               Acts 31 v16

Being generous ( Luke 6 v 38 )

 When our Lord performed the feeding of  the 5000  John 6 there was left overs,the fact is our Lord is very generous,oh yes I know that we are told that our needs will be supplied,and that's very true,as Israel experienced in the wilderness,but there are times when are cup runs over,or overflows with His blessings. The word of God tells us He will do 'exceeding abundantly above all we ask or think'(Ephesians 3 v 20 ) God is the giving God,and here is challenge for all of us  He wants us to be like Him,to have an open hand,not a clinched fist. Remember God delights in a cheerful giver, I personally try to live up to that,but I don't always succeed ,while on holiday recently,with my wife,our son ,his wife and our two grandchildren, we went into a restaurant for a meal.  The young girl that served us very helpful and I felt I should give her a tip,let me say tipping is not necessary in our country, I only had 10 pound on me,but I wanted to give her five pound,so I didn't  give anything,but I did personally thank her .Later on I thought I should have given  her the 10 pound, I could afford to do that, it is an on going challenge,to be generous like our loving heavenly Father.

God the object of trust. ( Proverbs 3 v 5-6 )

 The word trust in reference to God appears so many times in the Bible, in  Charles Bridges commentary I found what he had to say as regards trusting in God. Proverbs 16 v20  we read, 'And  whoso trusteth in the Lord,happy is he'. 'God the object of  trust'.  This is our peaceful security in all things'- Luther said- 'in my hands,and I have lost them all. But  whatever I have been able to place in God's, I  still possess.' In this quite confidence we have nothing more to do with ourselves. A  thousand perplexing thoughts are scattered to the winds. God now takes the place once filled by my unquiet  agitations. The soul is fixed in God.  He reigns over all with an unseeing eye, and an all moving hand.' He mentions in relation to the promises of God ,'that all the world cannot rob us of one word of God.There is more reality in the least promise of God, than in the greatest performance of man. I will therefore ever trust Him on His bare word; with hope, beside hope,above hope, against hope,for the small matters of life.Never did God intend to create our happiness out of our own resources.To feel that we know nothing,that we can do nothing , contrive nothing; then to look up to Him as our supreme Good, and to trust Him as our only Friend - when was such reliance and expectation ever disappointed?.

A historical fact. ( John 14 v 6 )

 In the little town of Tintagel in Cornwall  the legendary and mystical King Arthur is remembered,there is a large center in which one can visit and  hear about him.I  spoke to the one in charge,and pointed out the obvious problems of Arthur being a legendary king,he replied,there was no evidence that he existed, and there is no  evidence that he didn't. I smiled at that answer,later while visiting a store in the town,I mentioned this to a lady ,and I pointed out that Christ was a real historical person,and that His death ,and resurrection really happened,and that when we believe in Jesus are sins are forgiven and we go to heaven. That lady was not a Christian I have prayed for her that she may be saved. It is tragic that so many believe in things  that are dubious and have no foundation of truth ,they are in fact built upon lies.Jesus said three things about Himself ,that He was the ,'Way', the 'Truth', and the ,'Life'. (John 14 v6).  Thomas A. Kempis said,' Without the way there is no going,without the truth there is no knowing,without the life,there is no living'.Let me ask you a question,do you know where you are going?if one is on the wrong road , one can get into serious trouble,and be seriously messed up.,and it doesn't end there,hell awaits.Without truth we are just playing blind mans bluff,although it is not a game,believe me it;s not. the opposite to life is death,without Christ you are dead spiritually,,only Christ can give you eternal life, He said the following  to the religious people of His day, 'unless you  believe that I am he,you shall die in your sins' (John 8 v24-25 )

Children and discipline ( Hebrew 12 v 4- 11)

 I heard a minister say that God was not a disciplinarian,I suppose the  word disciplinarian gives the impression,as it has a sense of unloving severity.that's a worldly discipline It may give the impression that God is standing over us, ready to beat us the moment we step out of place,which He is not .In Proverbs 13 v24 we read,'Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them'. Here we have a biblical,or godly discipline,as it mentions the word love, Loving discipline is good,but sometimes as Christians we can be to austere, with our children.,Ernest Hemingway's parents were very strict ,he had a mother who was domineering, and religious,and he lived under a cloud of judgement .Of course children need discipline,it was Luther who said,''Spare the rod and spoil the child,that is true,but have an apple to give them when they do well''.Having said that we may get into serious trouble if we use a rod on our children in the times we live in,but they do need discipline of some sort, but  make it loving discipline, for that's the way our loving heavenly Father treats us His children.