"Look! He comes with the clouds of heaven. And everyone will see him--even those who pierced him. And all the nations of the world will mourn for him. Yes! Amen!" - Revelation 1:7 NLT

There's a gospel song that goes something like this  "What a day that will be, when my Jesus I see, When He takes me by the hand, Leads me through the Promised Land.  When I look into His face, The One who saved me by His Grace.  What a Day, glorious Day that will be!"

We can't deny, our world is in one right mess, and will get worse before it gets better.  Unidentified millions of people are displaced, persecuted, victims of war and starving for the want of the simplest of items - bread, and water.  Sanitation in most countries of the Third World is practically non-existent, and diseases, previously unknown
keep rearing their heads.  Medical Science is struggling as antibiotics are no longer working.

Here in the Western world, we see the gradual breakup of the European Union, while around the world there are wars, rumours of wars, earthquakes, hurricanes and floods.  Pointing ahead Jesus said in Luke 21:26 that in these times there will be "....people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken."  It's ironic that in the midst of all this, the nations are spending inestimable amounts of money seeking to find how the universe was made and why we are here!   Do they not read their Bibles?  All of that wasted money would eliminate poverty.

Our memory verse tells us the struggle will soon be over.  We already have the deeds to our heavenly property, and the Bible tells us what the place will be like....

In Revelation 21:21 it says; "And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass." To be really honest, that doesn't have any particular appeal to me. I'm not big into "gold" so a pretty patterned brick road sounds more my style or even a lovely carpet of the thickest greenest grass to tramp barefoot through, and picnic with Jesus on....yes, that will do nicely.

It isn't so much the physical attributes I'm so looking forward to in heaven. I'll tell you the part that makes me excited.

"And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." (Rev. 7:17) Won't it be wonderful to be past the time of sorrow, grief, and tears?  To be reunited with our families, and friends.  'Lost' children in their rightful place - their mother's arms.

"The tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." (Rev. 22:2) Won't it be wonderful to be past the time of sickness, disease and death?  No more cancer, heart disease, or sciatica - right now I'll settle for that!

"They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads." (Rev. 22:4) Won't it be wonderful, to see God face to face, speak to him, wear His name like a great family crest!

Browning poem; "Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be." I know he wrote it with Elizabeth Barrett Browning in mind but we can think of it another way; as an invitation from God. He wants us to invite him into our life now and love and serve him each day until eternity when He can show us the best which is yet to be. I don't care if the streets are gold or not; as long as God is there, I wouldn't miss heaven for the world.

If by some chance you don't have a personal relationship with Jesus and you would like to, read tomorrow's blog.
(Acknowledgments Hannah's Cupboard)

I have chosen for today's music, ""No More Night" (LIVE) sung by David Phelps.  Click on the picture to listen.

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight" - Proverbs 3:5-6

The traffic was awful. There was rain in the air, it was getting dark and people had just left one traffic jam to be faced with another. I noticed the big red bus just outside my lane and saw the strap line for the film ‘Deepwater Horizon’ – “When faced with our darkest hour, hope is not a tactic”.

 I can almost imagine the bosses of Samsung struggling to cope with not just one disaster but two of them. The shareholders meeting will be a very interesting occasion. I can imagine that technical heads will roll.

SmartStewards are the kind of people who are Christians right down to their little cotton socks, but that doesn’t mean that they rely on hope. They may well hope, but they don’t rely on hope as their prime resource.

 I love the way that my friends, when in the deepest, darkest pile of financial mess that I could possibly imagine found themselves reading books and having long deep discussions after earnest prayers. They had reached the bottom floor, but even then did not simply rely on hope alone, though they had little else to rely on.

Their sole tangible resource was that God would. They were probably not sure what God would do, but they knew God would. As it turns out the original SmartStewards found a book that gave them a plan that they liked the look of. They had no reason to trust the books advice, nor a particular reason to follow the advice, but they had worked out that anything else they might try would only dig them deeper into the mire.

A blogger, Karen Evans, Managing Director for the Asia Pacific region at Acendre wrote this encouraging companies to plan ahead but also to have patience. “Good things come to those who wait, so the next time you find yourself under pressure and needing to fill a critical role, take a step back to gain a holistic view of the situation. Sacrifices in the short term will pay off in the long run, through new hires who are committed, engaged and ready to align their professional goals to those of their new organisation.”

Turn this into good Christian practice, make a plan, realise that the plan may take some time to fulfil, know that good things will come to us as we wait for the blessed hope. Know that with God a thousand years is a blip on His timeline. Know then too that God is looking after us.

 Take this advice from a sign on the side of a bus. Find your solution before the disaster strikes. Have a plan for your life that is written down, logical, backed by God and confirmed by the good advice of your friends and your family. Then, no matter the disaster, you can then have hope.

"Help is on the Way" - Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver perform today's music - thanks Bryn.  Click on the picture to listen.
 

‘God’s word is alive and working. It is sharper than the sharpest sword and cuts all the way into us. It cuts deep to the place where the soul and the spirit are joined. God’s word cuts to the centre of our joints and our bones. It judges the thoughts and feelings in our hearts.’ Hebrews 4:12

We recently brought a new set of kitchen knives as the set we had really wasn’t cutting it (excuse the pun). Sure, they looked nice, as all new purchases do, but I really didn’t understand just how sharp they were until I almost accidently sliced through my finger. The only reason my finger was saved was because I was dicing slowly whilst marvelling at the incisiveness of the blade.

If we live our lives based on borrowed or old Christian experiences, then it is like using an old set of knives in the kitchen. Yes, the vegetables will still get done, but a sharper set of tools makes the process so much more efficient.

God’s word can only have this effect on our lives if we are reading it, studying it and living it daily to have it implanted in our hearts. Remember God doesn’t judge to condemn us, rather to let us know where we are in relation to him as Matthew 5:48 says;

‘Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.’

Let us aim for this perfection in our own lives.

‘Refiner’s fire’ by Hillsong is our song today. Please click on the picture to listen.

‘My brothers and sisters, you will have many kinds of trouble. But this gives you a reason to be very happy. 3 You know that when your faith is tested, you learn to be patient in suffering. 4 If you let that patience work in you, the end result will be good. You will be mature and complete. You will be all that God wants you to be.’ James 1:1-2

I am going to do something really unusual in todays blog. I am going to recommend a film I have never seen. What is more unusual about this request is that I am not an avid cinema goer. But what I do know is that technology and especially the media is going to play a huge part in last day events primarily because it can reach more people that one person shouting the message on the top of their voice.

The film, directed by Mel Gibson, is called Hacksaw Ridge and tells the real-life story of Private Desmond T. Doss who joined the army during World War II to save lives instead of to kill others, due to his Christian faith and beliefs. Doss initially suffered ridicule from fellow army privates and officers for his pacifism, but eventually gained respect due to heroic deeds, despite his refusal to carry or use a weapon.

Christianheadline.com reports that at a film festival where is was shown it received a 10 minute standing ovation. If people are soon going to be talking about what this film portrays about Seventh-day Adventists what better witnessing tool than one out in the public eye.

No music today just the film trailer. Click here to view it.

October 7-8 – Practice makes perfect

That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”

Solomon answered God, “You have shown great kindness to David my father and have made me king in his place.  Now, Lord God, let your promise to my father David be confirmed, for you have made me king over a people who are as numerous as the dust of the earth.  Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?”  God said to Solomon, “Since this is your heart’s desire and you have not asked for wealth, possessions or honor, nor for the death of your enemies, and since you have not asked for a long life but for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I have made you king, therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given you. And I will also give you wealth, possessions and honor, such as no king who was before you ever had and none after you will have” - 2 Chronicles 1:7-12

Chuck Swindoll writes: “True wisdom requires us to read God's Word with the goal of practical application, not merely intellectual stimulation. Wisdom applies truth to all of life....and that takes a lot of time..”

He goes on to say that in more than five decades in ministry, he has learned that the quickest way to put the truth of Scriptures into people's lives is first through their heart and then through their head.

This is so true of the Wisdom Books – Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Job, and Song of Solomon. All of the poets learned how to trust God through the day by day challenges they experienced and faced head on.

“When hunted by King Saul, David sought the Lord and then praised God when He rescued him. Job endured unimaginable tragedy and ultimately grew to appreciate God's sovereignty. And Solomon finally found the meaning of life in God – only after exhausting every other meaningless pursuit.”

Right in the throes of their experiences, they all clung to God's promises trusting Him implicitly. It was the years of struggle and suffering that showed them how to apply God's truth to their lives in all of it's true reality.

So, let us too press on, and not just graze through the Bible nibbling a word here, and a word there. God's Book deserves our serious concentration because it's wisdom will help us cope with the nagging and inescapable pressures we each face in our daily lives.

Whom have we, Lord, but Thee,

Soul thirst to satisfy?

Exhaustless spring? The water's free!

All other streams are dry.

Mary Bowley Peters.

“Who But Jesus” (with lyrics) – Laura Story, my music choice today. Click on the picture to listen.

October 6 -

“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” (John 15:2).

As I write this tree surgeons are toiling away in the garden reducing, pruning, and trimming an overgrown pear tree. The work is well overdue because of my reluctance to lose the shade it has given on hot summer days. Grown from a pip – a seed, in a pear my mother was eating, the tree had been nurtured and cared for over the years, yielding pounds of fruit each year after it reached maturity. This spring the tree was completely white with blossom, and I had been quite confident that his year would be a good year, but for some reason the fruit didn't set and just five pears were produced.

As I looked closer I saw that some branches had died and fallen away from the trunk. Some were broken off and tangled in other branches. Some were dead, or half dead, and still attached to the trunk – the time had come for remedial action! "If you do not remain in Me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned." -John 15:6

Watching the men as they work, they're pulling away the small, dry, brittle, lightweight branches that are still attached to the trunk, and cutting away the ones that are half dead—the ones that would suck the life from the live branches. All of the dead and half dead branches are easily identifiable because none bore any leaves (fruit) in late spring…

"He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit..." -John 15:2. The only fruitful branches they are cutting are those for shaping purposes—the ones that would benefit the overall practical purposes of the tree to produce more fruitful branches elsewhere. "...while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful." -John 15:2

As I watch I realise how essential pruning and training is to achieve the desired appearance and fruit crop. Bonsai trees are a great illustration of this. Incredible plants - pruning can take as much as 80 years for the desired effect to show!

Two thoughts came to me. As a bonsai tree grows, the pruner must vigorously cut off various branches to develop the right shape and size. Even healthy growth must be cut if is not going in the planned direction. There's also a lot of waiting involved. Sometimes it takes decades for the plant to become what the pruner desires it to be. Once that goal is reached, there will still be maintenance pruning as long as the tree lives.

Our lives could be compared to one of those trees, and that God really is a patient pruner. Like my pear tree, He started us from a small seed and has watched us grow for decades – patiently moulding and shaping despite our protests. Many times He's cut off unhealthy branches in our lives, but He has also cut off what seemed to us to be good growth as well. I have found personally, that He will cut what is necessary for my life to take and keep the shape He has designed specifically for me.

The fruit of the Spirit is in Galatians 5:22-23, "But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." And God’s fruit of The Spirit must be worked in us before it can be produced through us. It is a process over time that only God can do.

These trees achieved the purpose for which they were created. If and when I don’t like the pruning and shaping God is doing in my life through my pain, I want to remember that I am being conformed into the perfect image He has chosen just for me. And it is good.

How is God pruning you inwardly and outwardly to produce more fruit? Pruning can be painful, but it is always divinely purposed. May you yield to God’s will over your own to be a vessel that produces much fruit for His Kingdom. To God be the glory.

Remember as you go…

Isaiah 58:11 (NLT): "The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring."

(Acknowledgments Bronlynn Spindler and Margaret D. Mitchell)

Our music today is "The Potters Hand" (Lyrics) by Hillsong.  Click on the fruit to listen.

^"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;  in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight" - Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV

I was visiting with a couple who are still in the middle of training for their professional lives – good income but big educational fees to cope with. There is light at the end of the tunnel for them, they are beginning to think about buying a house. Thank God they are thinking about buying a house and not a mansion!

My thoughts turned to mortgages and the knowledge that I have had many mortgages but am not an expert in such financial matters. What does a person do when you want to give advice but don’t have the expertise? The quick answer is to hunt for good advice and not just rely on the newspaper adverts and those who use Google ads.

I had a hunt through different reputable magazines and focussed on one called ‘moneywise’ to scout for some quick advice.

Ten tips were mentioned, check your credit report, make sure you are on the electoral role, clear your debts, cancel direct debits you no longer need, switch to the cheapest energy provider in your present home, reduce your transport costs, stop saving (temporarily), make your deposit for the house you are buying as large as possible, think about getting a very long-term mortgage and then use a mortgage broker to help you find the very best mortgage.

It is up to you to work out if any of the above advice is of any use to you, what really matters is to really think through what you can do in order to make a mortgage provider think you are the most wonderful and reliable person to offer a mortgage to.

May we look at just two items? The first and second items are clearing your debts and cancelling certain direct debits. Why should you do these? It seems obvious that clearing your debts is important.  You don’t want debts hanging around your neck all the while strangling your future with increasing interest. The second, cancelling certain debits, is likewise an obvious step. Do you remember that phase you went through when you fancied yourself an Olympic athlete? You took yourself down to the gym and took out a membership at the gym. Can you remember how often you went? Cancel that Direct Debit if you can, hopefully without penalty. The same too with the magazine subscription for the camera magazine, finish that one.

Apart from trying to reduce your monthly costs what you are actually doing is letting the mortgage provider know that you have the regular disposable income available to know that you can afford many months of mortgage payments.

 Years ago anyone could get a mortgage. My friend Joe, not his real name, managed to get himself a 105% mortgage. Thank God he could afford it. Not everybody could, which was the reason why many mortgages had to be foreclosed. These days banks are a little more wary about the money they are looking after. Mortgage providers set out to check that you can afford to pay your mortgage over a long period of time. They have to do this by law.

I can’t think of a direct spiritual application here, what I can think as sensible is the idea that Jesus advised even kings to think through the wisdom of going into battle against a king. We should be doing the same with all of our activities. We are to think our actions through very carefully. We really should be seeking advice about new things we plan to do, we should be looking to experts and we should truly be measuring whether those experts really make looking after your life a priority. Then we should give thanks that in a modern society there are some protections in place to act as a guard over you.


"People Need the Lord" - performed by Steve Green is Bryn's choice of music.  Click on the picture to listen.

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations…” Matthew 28:19 first part

How is your political knowledge? Do you understand the fiscal policies of your government? How about the implications of freedom of movement in Europe post Brexit? Ok, what about the UK Prime Ministers vision to bring back the Grammar School, what does that actually mean?

I had a conversation at work with someone who made this “I listen to politics but don’t feel I know enough about it to make a comment so I just say nothing.”

I am sure that you may know someone like that or even be that person yourself who feels that they do not immerse themselves into politics enough to have a valid point. My friend, who was also in the conversation, replied “Well, you must know something! Just say it”

And that is my point for todays blog. Even though I was born into a Christian home, was baptised in my teens and have held various church positions, I sometimes feel that I don’t know enough about the state of the dead, 2,300 days or the 3 Angels messages BUT what I know I try and share.

Sure amongst the disciples there was a Doctor but the rest of the men were not scholarly they were working class, like me, us.

Do not be afraid of what you do not know, rather share what you have and leave God to bless and develop the rest for the listener.

Dallas Holm sings ‘Come unto Jesus.’ Click on the picture to listen.

‘For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.’ Matthew 6:21

If you were to look at a world map, I would like to suggest that you might look at one of two countries first, the country of your birth or a place that holds special emotions i.e. your favourite holiday destination or the place where you took your honeymoon.

As a school boy growing up I had little interest in geography as these islands and continents with strange shapes were places I never dreamed I would get to visit in my young minds eye. As an adult now, a map is like a scrape book of precious memories, as I have had the opportunity to travel and experience the some of the world beyond my own borders. 

When Anaximander, a Greek philosopher who lived in Miletus in the 6th century, drew the first map, then in 1492 Christopher Columbus embarked on his discovery of the ‘New World’ they drew oceans, sea, lands and borders. But what they could not draw was he sky. Airspace only became territorial after the invention of airplanes in 1903 by the Wright brothers

Jesus however had already drawn his own world map in the sky, as Revelation 1:7 tells us,

‘Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.’

Furthermore, the apostle Paul writes in Act1:11 concurs,

‘Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

Which concurs with the gospel writer in Matthew 24:30 who pens,

‘And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Maybe next time we look at a map we too should look for what is not there. Instead look up to the clouds where you new home will be. As Matthew 6:21 puts it,

‘For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.’

Wintley Phipps sings ‘Jesus is coming again’. Click on the picture to listen.

September 30-October 1 - Jingle bells

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace” - Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Now, I'm going to sound a bit like a chip off Pastor Peter's block, but the other day I was thinking over his SmartSteward Wednesday blogs when I was told that the local garden centre and shops in town are all set out with Christmas displays – Father Christmas's, angels, baubles, tinsel, artificial trees....the lot. Personally I can't stand those artificial Christmas trees, especially the black and silver ones. Give me the genuine article despite the mess they make as their needles drop. The smell of pine that fills the house takes some beating.

Once I'd digested the incongruous image of late summer sunshine and roses in full bloom outside the garden centre, with decorations and Christmas carols inside the garden centre, I thought it might be a good time to remember the admonition: "Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another." (Romans 13:8) Why? Because from now till the end of the year is the most likely time for people to be pressed into overspending, and consequent debt.

It's a well-known fact that as the Christmas season approaches the pressure to spend, spend, spend, is great - Special food, travel to family, gifts; new clothes, party's to attend. Standing alone the accrued cost is bad enough, but many out there haven't finished paying for last year so more debt will create an even deeper pit.

If we removed every debt from our life except the obligation to love one another, what would that be like? I bet many health problems caused by worry or anxiety would disappear. We wouldn't dread opening the mail to find another bill or another credit card over-draft. Bankruptcy filings would plummet.

Best of all, we would be obeying the Word of God and nothing but good can ever come from that. Before launching into shopping this year, think of how great it would be .to go into a new year free from debt.

Christmas is a season of love, so let us think about ways to love one another. That way, instead of practicing writing cheques and signing credit cards slips, we can concentrate on the true meaning of God's gift to us on that silent night, and the tree that one Easter, was to buy our salvation...

“Love One Another as I Have Loved You” - John 13:34, music for today. Click on the picture to listen.