The ripple effect. (1Corinthians 10 v 12 -13 )

We are all familiar with the term,'cause and effect', and it can be applied to so many things.what causes ripples in the water?.Well we all know that its when you throw a stone in the water, when you do the  ripples go out in a circle,having an affect on the surface of the water. Years ago I read in a book how a man was tempted,and then he thought about his family, and the damage to them ,if he yielded to that temptation . Chuck Swindoll a well known preacher,said that when  he was away preaching,and was out for a meal on his own ,he put a photo of his wife on the table,it was a reminder to him of  the consequences of being unfaithful. When one sins it has a ripple effect,it can cause so much hurt and pain,all the good things you have done will be forgotten ,you will always be remembered for that sinful act. Yes God forgives his erring children, if they repent and seek forgiveness, but when you consider the harm you have done,you may find it hard to forgive yourself. Your spouse may not forgive you,so you will have lost the one you love,who knows how far the effect  of what you have done will go.Whenever your tempted ,be it sexual,or financial, or whatever, think of the ripple effect.

                                                   'Yield not to temptation,for yielding is sin,

                                                    Each victory will help you some other to win;

                                                    Fight manfully onward,dark passions subdue,

                                                    Look ever to Jesus, He'll carry you through.'

                                                                   Words Horatio R.Palmer

Tomorrow ( Matthew 6 v25- 34)

 None of us know what tomorrow holds,oh yes we make our plans,but there is nothing certain,who knows what tomorrow will  bring to us,for good or ill.One of the things Jesus taught as regards tomorrow, we can read about in Matthew 6 v34,'Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.Each day has enough trouble of its own'.The word, ' therefore',  takes us back to what Jesus previously taught, He reminded his listener's  to consider how God looked after  his creation,the birds do not sow or reap.or store food  in barns, but our heavenly Father feeds them. and He reminds us that we are more valuable than them. As Christians our Saviour said that we are not to be like the non-Christians, nothing is hid from our heavenly Father ,what our priority must be, is to put God first and all will be well .He also reminds us of the pointlessness of worry. (Mt 6 v 25- 34)  Tomorrow inevitable will bring all sorts of troubles,so here is something helpful that David Livingstone wrote.,

                                             'Leave tomorrow's troubles for tomorrow's

                                             strength; tomorrow's work for tomorrow's

                                             time; tomorrow's trials for tomorrow's grace-

                                             and all for tomorrow's God.'

0                                                                                       

The worst of people. ( 1 Kings 1 v 12 - 17 )

 I wonder if the Christians living during the persecution by Saul ,later known as Paul ,(Acts 8 v 3),that one day he would become a Christian ,not only that, but an Apostle, they would  have have not believed it, would you have believed it?. Most of us wouldn't have,  it was just to far fetched,oh yes the Christians would have prayed for those being persecuted,and that God would him stop him persecuting God's people, someone may have prayed that God would deal with Him. The word of God says that Christ our Saviour came into the world to save sinners,no matter  how evil ,no matter how wicked,yes even the worst of sinners. And in the case of Saul / Paul ,he did just that.One of most amazing conversion in the Bible , was that of king Manasseh son of  King Hezekiah,read about him in 2 Kings 21 and 2 Chronicles 33.It was possible under his reign he had the prophet Isaiah put to death,he did terrible evil things.But God whose ways are not our ways dealt with him ,he was taken as a prisoner by the Assyrians with a hook in his nose,and bound with bronze shackles to Babylon.But there He greatly humbled himself,and prayed to God ,the result was God forgive him, He brought him back to Jerusalem and restored him as king,and blessed him,

                                                       ' God can save the worst of people'

It's all about Him. (Isaiah 53 )

 We owe Christ so much,in the book ,'The valley of Vison', we have a collection of prayers by the  Puritans ,we have one entitled,'Love Lustres at Calvary'.we read the following.

                                           'Christ was all anguish that I might  be all joy,

                                            cast off that I might be brought in ,

                                            trodden down as an enemy

                                            that I might be welcomed as a friend,

                                            surrendered  to hell's worst

                                            that I might attain heaven's  best,

                                            stripped that I might be clothed,

                                            wounded that I might be healed,

                                            made a shame that I might have eternal light.

                                            My Saviour  wept that all tears might be wiped

                                            from my eyes,

                                            bore a thorny    crown that I  might have

                                            a glory -diadem.

 'When I think of all He's done  for me the guilty one,can you wonder why it is I love Him so'

                                           

                                      

Such Love ( Romans 5 v 6-8)

 Psalm 103 written by David has much to say to us,it has 22 verses, Scroggie divides up into three sections,'1-5 are Personal; 6- 18 are National;  and 19-22 are Universal.' v1-5 begins by urging us to praise God,from our souls,and forget not all his benefits,'forgiveness,healing,redemption,satisfaction, and renewal.I will leave you to look at the Psalm yourself,  I want to highlight v 10-12,verse 10 reads ,'He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities'.in other words we don't get our just deserts,if we had we would be in hell,The reason why we are not consigned to that awful place is  because one called Jesus, bore are punishment, 'He took my sins and my sorrows, He made them His very own; He bore the burden to Calvary,and suffered and died alone'.  (Words C H. Gabriel) Next v11,Tells us, For as high as the heavens are above the earth,so great is His love for those who fear Him'.The driving force behind the work of salvation was love,In the Song of Solomon 8 v7 we read,'Many waters cannot quench love', Satan did all he could to quench that love,all to no avail,fallen humanity likewise committed unspeakable evil in their attempts to quench that love,they failed,'Such love springs from eternity; such love,streaming through history; such love,fountain of life to me; O Jesus such love. (Graham Kendrick) Last but not least v 12.'As far as east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. Spurgeon comments,'Sin is removed from us by an act of love, removed so far that the distance is incalculable'.

                                                        

No escape. (Genesis 2 v 16 -17.)

We live in different times than our forefathers,there have advances in medical care,the result is people living longer,It wasn't always so ,there was a high degree of child mortality,in the 17th century 400 out of a 1000 did not live to their first year,there were so things that could kill children. Of course there so many thing that kill people,medical science had not advanced much until the 20th century,As I go on life I  am amazed at the wonderful treatment that their is for fighting sickness now,for which we praise God.Yet there is one thing medical science can't do, is defeat death,they can prolong life,but that's all. Mankind has never come to terms with death, one person wrote as regards the aftermath of death the effects are often, rage and sorrow,and loss ,We cannot change it,often we cannot come to terms with it,So what can we say that may help? .I think of what King David wrote in the 23rd Psalm.as regards the valley of the shadow of death ,he would fear no evil for the good shepherd was with him.I think  one could broaden that out,as regards those Christians who have lost love ones, and its aftermath. It is like going through a dark valley,  it is very dark , butut hear is the good news ,in that valley of darkness there is one with you,even Jesus,He alone knows what you are going through,and He just asks one think of you,trust,yes trust Him,He will bring you through,The scripture tells us,' Weeping may endure for a night,but joy comes in the morning'.  (Psalm 30 v 9)

God's Kingdom ( Hebrew 12 v1 - 3)

When our dear Saviour stood before Pilate,he was asked,'Are you the king of the Jews?' (John 18 v33),this was a very important question,for Pilate the Roman governor would  have been keen of any one who was a threat  to the rule of Rome.In fact the Jewish leaders leaders played into that, when they  cried out,'We have no king but Caesar,(Jn 19 v 15) ,of course that was far from the truth,as they and the Jewish people hated the rule of Rome,but it suited them,as a means of persuading Pilate to put Jesus to death. So what did Jesus say to the question from Pilate?,here is His answer,'My kingdom is not of this world'.Jn 19 v 36 .Jesus never once spoke out against the rule of Rome,why because as He said His kingdom was not of this world.In Romans 13 we are told to be subject to the governing  authorities v 1,but we must balance that out with what Jesus said in Mark 12 v17,' Give back to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's'. Of course Jesus is a King Rev 17 v14, but He does not rule in an earthly place of power, in Psalm 96 v 10 we read,'The Lord reigns', the old Latin Version puts it like this,''The Lord hath reigned from a tree''.the tree is symbolic of the cross ,1 Peter 2 v24.A hymn by Mrs C Charles says the following,'Tell all the earth the Lord is King! Lo , from the Cross,a King He reigns'.The sinner comes to God at the foot of the cross to receive forgiveness,and as a saint lives a life in light of the cross.'His kingship  breaks out of the narrow confines  of nationalism, that kingdom embraces all humanity'.(Derek Tidball)

                                                        'Near the cross! O Lamb of God

                                                        Bring its scenes before me;

                                                         Help me walk from day to day

                                                         With its shadow o'er me.'   ( Words Fanny Crosby)