2023

In this coming year, where there is going be

preasure heaped on to just survive, there is

always going to be those in a worst off state than

you, lets be kind.

Proverbs 6: 4 Because of Adultery (pt2) V30/5

   4 Because of Adultery (pt2) V30/5

V31 “..Yet when he is found, he must restore sevenfold..” Here, at this time, you must restore .. restore sevenfold..” Today the thief must serve time in prison for his crimes. Some of the act the thief commits should today, must work off as recompense, to those whom they have committed the offence. “..He may have to give up all the substance of his house..” I have long wondered how many would re-offend? Even their wives/partners would let them, knowing this is going to happen. I hear many off you screaming at the screen ‘what of their human rights'? But, whay of the human rights of the victims ‘human-rights’, of those they committed the offence? I’m not saying an eye-for-an-eye, but something has to change. In case you think I have been a saint all my life I have not.

V32 “..Whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding..” ‘The truth will always out’ It may not be today – next week – Month or year, but just when you don’t expect it, it will come. “..he who does so destroys, his oown soul..” In times of temptation, ask yourself ‘is it really worth it’?

V33/4 .. Men in today’s age, with technology as it is, there is NO excuse or reason today. Or this will happen .. “..wound and dishonour he will get..” .. The same will be when the wife is left at home for long periods of time, I have been guilty of this myself. Then got defensive/angry as it fell apart. “..For jealousy is a husbands fury .. he will not spare in the day of Vengance..”

Songs of Solomon 8 v6
“..Set me as a seal upon your heart, As a seal upon your arm; (so all can your intentions) For love is as strong as death, Jealousy as cruel as the grave; Its flames are flames of fire, A most vehement flame..”

   These flames burn us not, in fact we encouraged to ‘fan-the-flames-of-love’, as this is to ignite the passion within us, and between our partners. It took, just, 6months, from meeting my wife, till we were married. For the first 4months she lived in Northern Ireland, and I in South Devon England. We would talk twice daily, as well as sending letters 3 or 4 times a week. So you could say this was our dating period.

“Will it be worth it” 

V35 .. “..He will accept no recompense, Nor will he be appeased though you give many gifts..” In closing I have an exercise for you to do. Get a dinning chair, take and place in the middle of the living room/lounge, now get a bed sheet and cover the chair. The chair is your adultery/sin, the sheet represent all those ’extra’ little gifts you have bought over the years to ease your conscience, and cover the dalliances. Tell me does the sheet ‘take-away’, or can you still see it?

"Was it worth it? 

Make the right choice now”

You Should Love Your Neighbour....

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You Should Love Your Neighbour

Leviticus 19 v18   “. .You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbour as yourself: I am the Lord. .”

Mathew 5  v43/4   “. .You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you. .”

Romans 13 v8/9   ^{“. .}  Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, You shall love your neighbour as yourself. .”

   Definitions are important such as. . .Who is your neighbour?. . . Do you know them?. . . What it is to love your neighbour?

   Why all these questions I’ve bombarded with from the start? It happened one day whilst Jesus was on His travels that a man tried to catch Jesus out by asking Him ‘Who is your neighbour?’ We all should know the answer to this question, if not please look up the parable of ‘The good Samaritan’.   

  So who is your neighbour? Well, they are not restricted to those live on either side of us. A good neighbour is one who by-chance happens to be near to you in need of distress or danger. They may be the worst people in the world, out lawed/ cast by their sins. But if they are near to us and are need of help, they are our neighbour, the very same person the commandment bid us to love.

   We would be willing to love our neighbours more if only we could choose them, but, unfortunately we cannot. With love and affection we must let God choose the particular neighbour He wants us to love. So again ‘Who is our neighbour’? No matter what they have done to you, no matter you anger ~ hatred you may feel, yet loving will/has to be the hardest feeling we must show them. We could do almost anything else short of loving unpleasant neighbours.

   Here are some verses that best express those feeling that cores around our bodies. .

“Dear Lord will it not do if we return wrong for wrong?

Neither love nor hate, but love ~ O’Lord our souls

Are far from strong and love is such a tender,

home nursed dove ~ How can we Lord, our enemies

bless and love

Fasting! How one could fast and pray!

One could most pathetically pray. But love our enemies?

Dear Lord is there set unto the easier way.

Some way through Churchly service song or psalm

Ritual grand to reach Heavens calm”.

   We need to take note that ’Love’ is the word and no matter your version of the Bible it will never change that .No matter how disagreeable ~ unlovely ~ unworthy our neighbours for the time may be still the commandment persistently and relentlessly say to us . . Leviticus 19:34  “. .Thou shalt love him as yourself. .”

   Remember, our neighbours are about us, all the time, needing our love, will you give unconditionally, the next time they call for help. May be unknown to us they continually touch our lives.  There for we must guard our every look/word or act, unless we will badly hurt/offend some sensitive spirit.

   Always try and remember others have feelings to. Sadly knowing this some will continually say words and do things that will cause pain.

“True love is thoughtful”

   We ought to be mindful and train our hearts to be the most sense of kindness, that we may never, even in jest, give pain to another human being. Our neighbours have hearts, and we owe to every one of the . . .

Ø (From) the beggar we meet on the street

Ø The poor wretch we find crawling in the mire of our bins.

Ø The enemy who flings insults in our force

Ø Everyone we owe the love, that is thoughtful, gentle and gives no hurt.

  

Charles Kingsley has been attributed in saying the following.. (Which could have come right out of Proverbs or Psalms?)

Ø Never seek to hurt anyone’s self-respect

Ø Never trample on anyone’s soul, (though it may be lying in the mire any way).

      Who knows, for that spark of self-respect is it’s only hope, it’s only chance, the last seed of better life, the voice of God which still whispers to it. You are not what you ought to be. You are still Gods child, still an immortal soul, you may rise and conquer yet, and be a man yet, after the likeness of God who made, and Christ who died for you. Oh why crush that voice in my heart. If you do crush their spirit/soul, the creature is lost, and lies where he or she falls never to rise again.

   We should all, train ourselves to such regard, to have a reverence for human life, that we should never hurt the heart of one of God’s creatures, not even by a disdainful look.

   A common phrase that gets banded about is ‘If only I knew’. So if we did know the story behind someone’s life, the hidden loads they have to carry day-in & day-out, often even carrying someone else’s as well, whilst all the time never letting be seen the cracks be seen. Yet also never letting be seen the unhealed sore in their heart, surly then we would have been more gentle with them.

   Life is hard for most people; certainly have enough without us adding to its burdens by our censoriousness, our charity, our jeering and our contempt towards them.

There is a Hymn that goes . . .

Is it worth that we jostle a brother,

Bearing his load on the rough road of life?

Is it worth that we jeer at each other’

In the bleakness of heart that we war to knife?

God pity us all our pitiful strife,

God pity us all we jostle each other.

God pardons us all for the triumphs we feel.

When a fellow goes down ’neath’ his load on the

Heather pierced to the heart. Words are keener than steel

And mightier for woe than for veal.

Were it not well, in this brief journey

On over the isthemus, down into the tide.

We give Him a fish instead of a serpent

Ere folding the hands to be and abide

For ever and aye in dust at his side?

   It is a sad state of affairs but all the more true, in that, many of us neglect and fail in our ‘love duties’, as much as the hurts we give others. How many would walk in ‘cold’ silence beside those whose hearts are aching or breaking, and not saying the warm rich words of love we might say and which would give so much comfort?

   If only we would open our eyes we could see those who are hungry, and the master is saying unto us ‘give ye them to eat’. Are we really withholding from them what we might give, they are starving when they might be filled. The thing is, I’m sure we don’t mean to be so neglectful towards them. In this moment many don’t realise how lucky a position they are in. To be such a blessing to those in need of such kind words of reassurance.

It touches our influence; we must not do that which

will hurt him or cause him to stumble.

   To wrap up this ‘Life’s Lesson’, all this has it’s important bearing on missions. We owe love to the perishing ones far and near to whom we may carry or send the gospel of salvation.

   Our miss conception about who is our neighbour, does not stop or limit to who live next door. When ’Thy neighbour’ is in fact any man woman or child, of whatever condition, character, Nation or even religion, whom God place us near to them in need.

   Am I finally getting through to the most stubborn of you, is that penny actually dropping? All that said, there is a brotherhood in Christ that is closer still. Christ our Lord has called us to be nice to ‘all men’, especially to those who are of the household of faith. I don’t mean just to the one’s own Church.

   There was a man who went up in a balloon, said that as he arose the fences that divided the country into fields & farms faded out, until he saw only one great, wide beautiful landscape of meadows and of fields and forests with winding stream and river shining rich in loveliness beneath the pure skies. So as we sawed nearer to God is love and faith and Christian experience.

The fences that divide our great ‘Church’ into ecclesiastical farms and pasture fields grow smaller and smaller until at last they vanish altogether, and we see only one wide Holy Church.

   The accidents of denominationalism are but of minor importance is comparism with the love of Christ ~ The Cross ~ The Bible ~ The Sacraments and of cause Heaven, which we  have in common. We all should learn to love one another as Christians. Love will soon break down the hardest of fortifications. We all need to learn to comfort one another and help each other on the way home.

Each giving to others need,

Each helping to the others best

& blessing each other as well as the rest.

For together we can be one

Making Life a Song

Making Life a

Song

Psalm 33 3  “ . . Sing to Him a new song; Play skilfully with a

shout of joy. .”

   It would be amazing to be able to write a song that everyone sings for years to come. But, oh to have composed such Hymns such as

•      Rock of ages, Or
•   Jesus lover of my Soul . .

   It would been far better than to say, build a Pyramid, for such a large percentage of us can’t write a songs. Most of us are not poets, able to weave words that create the most amazing tapestry. Words that are sweet thoughts that are rhythmic verse that will charm even the hardest of souls. For the of us are unable to make Hymns which shall become angels of peace – Comfort – or give Joy – or give inspiration to weary lives. Only the select few in a generation are blessed with such incredible gifts.

NKJ - Ephesians 5 19  “ . .speaking to one another in psalms and hymns

and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart

 to the Lord . . “

MESSAGE - Ephesians 5 19  “. .Don’t drink too much wine. That cheapens your life. Drink the Spirit of God, huge draughts of him. Sing hymns instead of drinking songs! Sing songs from your heart to Christ. Sing praises over everything, any excuse for a song to God . .” 

   There is a way  in which may all make songs. We don’t need to be poets either. We all can make the sweetest music with our lives. We only need to true & loving, from there will the music flow. There many among us who live in circumstances and conditions that seem to make no music. Their lives devoid of all sentiment which has no place amid the severe toils and burdens in their daily lives. Yet even the likes such as these, that seem doomed to hardness, dreariest toil, may and often becomes songs which can minister blessings to many others. You may not see it or feel it, but others in a similar plight will gleam strength and encouragement, just to know someone else is a similar boat as them.

   As a Christian we told not to hide our light under a bushel. I was told of a story about this guy went to Church out of the blue. When asked at the end of the meeting, what it was that brought him along, ‘ was a Sermon he had heard? To which he replied NO. Was it a ‘word’ he had read? he replied NO. Then to what it was that lead him to church?

   The guy said it was in fact a fellow worker. For years the guy has seen his fellow workman had been so true, so faithful, so Christ like in his character & conduct, that his influence had brought himself to Church. His fellow workman’s life, amid all the hardness, was a song of nothing but . . . Love.

   God want all our lives to be songs. How I hear to still say do we get these songs, as well as get the words for the songs? The Lord gives the words, through the duties and life’s experiences which come to us day by day, and is our part to set them to music, in our daily obedience’s and sub-missions. It’s our duty, however the notes may be God gives us, whatever the words He writes for us to sing, to make harmonious music. 

  

Jesus said . .

“My peace I give unto you .”

. . An Inspired promise reads . .

“The peace of God shall keep your heart and mind through Christ Jesus”

A Heavenly Counsel is. .

“Let the peace Of God rule in your heart”

   Whatever the notes, or, the words, therefore the song which we sing should always be of peace.

Our lives are songs, God writes the words 

and we set them to music at pleasure 

and the song grows glad, or sweet, or sad, 

as we choose to fashion the measure 

we must write the music, whatever the song.         

Whatever the rhyme or metre and if 

     it is sad we can make it glad or, 

if sweet we can make it sweeter.

   A perfect Holy life would be a perfect song. But our lives are anything but perfect, hence why the harmonies, through our lives are off key. Being disciples of Christ, we should be learning new harmonies all the time. They then in turn will grow sweeter day-by-day, Month-by-Month, as well learn to do Gods will on Earth. Only the Masters hand can bring out of our souls the musical harmonies that slumber.

   Without our Masters tuition, we are likened to that of a Violin. We lift off the table, and bow in hand, we draw the bow across it’s strings. It will let out a sound that of 2 cats fighting. That is till a master Violin player lifts it up, strokes the bow across the strings. With that the sweetest sound fills the air. We must never give up, as giving up is saying to GOD, you don’t know how to do this with my life, my soul. In essence calling our Lord Jesus Christ a LIAR, are you really ready to this??

   I learnt of a tale concerning the a composer Mendelssohn. He once visited to the great ‘Frieburg Organ.’ Its old custodian refused him permission to play upon the instrument, not knowing to whom he was speaking asking to play. At length Mendelssohn kept asking, whoever he did after a few minutes grant him some time to play on the Organ. Mendelssohn took his seat and soon the most wonderful music was coming from the Organ. The custodian was spell bound. At length he came along side Mendelssohn and kept asking the strangers name? The custodian, upon knowing the his name just stood there humiliated, self- condemned. Saying, after Mendelssohn had stopped playing, and ‘I refused you permission to play upon this old organ’.

   There comes One to us and who desires to take our lives sand helps our souls to make the sweetest music. But, we keep with holding our selves back from Him.

    When, if we would but yield ourselves to Him, He would bring forth the most Heavenly music our ears would have ever heard.

We are but organs mute, till a master 

touches the keys. A vessel 

of Earth into which pours the wine,  

harps are we, silent harps that have 

hung on willow trees, dumb till our 

heart strings swell and break 

with a pulse divine.

   No matter our lives, we should make our lives songs. We have no right to add to the out tunes in the World. Or, to sing, any but sweet strains in the ears of others. We should no longer sing out of key, about sadness in the World which, is already over flowing with songs of sadness. We need to be adding songs of Joy, songs of Peace, and songs of Love.

“If we are truly Christ’s, and daily are 

walking with Him, we should no longer hold back these songs”