The Dead Tree

I was out this morning sorting a kitchen for this beautiful old farm house that is being restored.

The sum was warm even at 7:30am and the air was crisp and clean. You could hear the sheep in the field across the road bleating , and the birds in full song. Added to that the job seemed to be going well.It was a air of tranquility and peace.
Yet in the midst of this beauty i saw this tree. Completely lifeless it stood out. I wondered what had happened to it and when it would be cut down.

Then I thought how easy it is to be spiritually dead in the middle of the rich blessings of God, how we can lose hope after so many years  of growth in God. How we need the sustaining grace of God. We are dependent upon Him for everything. In Him we live and move and have our very being.

update: On studying for tomorrow I have come across two references to the dry tree.
Ezekiel 17: 24 - I will make the dry tree to flourish.

Day out in London

Spent last Friday going around Hampton Court, a place rich in the history of the English & church. Henry VIII having been gifted a house from Cardinal Wolsey, set about making a statement about his kingship.
Of course it is from the Hampton conference that the King James Version was produced, and it was the home to William and Mary (Orange).
Afterwards we took a meal in Central London at Las iguanas which was good especially the warm chocolate brownie - see pics below.

Jerk Chicken

Chocolate Brownie Sunday







I thought it good value for London.

Adam and Eve wanted a superinjunction

It seems to me that nothing changes. Men, women , boys and girls sin and want to hid from it and not take responsibility for it.
Adam and Eve sinned, and were ashamed of their sin first making a fig leaf garment and then hiding from God. Of course they never could.
Currently news focuses on various celebrities taking out super injunctions in the courts to hid their sinful antics from general knowledge. Yet it appears that the more they do so, the more comes to light.
The similarities with our first parents is striking.
The attempt to hide is an admission of wrong doing - else what is the problem with people knowing.
Then we must realise that there is nothing that is hid from God. This should both be a comfort to us and a moderator of our behaviour. Comfort because God knows all about our needs and is able to keep us. Moderator because every sin is known to God, and causes Him grief.
All sin has consequences - not just for the sinner but also for those around them.  Sins recorded in the Bible such as Acans lost a battle, and ultimately lead to the destruction of his household.
The only real path is confession and repentance and godly sorrow.
             O thou hideous monster, Sin,
            What a curse hast thou brought in!
            All creation groans through thee,
            Pregnant cause of misery
(Joseph Hart)

Royal Wedding Preparations

With the Royal Wedding day approaching we have begun to make our own preparations.

The flag was raise on a temporary and somewhat precarious flagpole. Marriage in contrast should be permanent and solid.
My prayer is that God has prepared this marriage for the good of our nation.
The writer to the Hebrews tells us marriage is honourable.
May God help us in our marriages to show something of the nature of the relationship between Christ and His church.

1000 leaflets gone

With every Easter comes an opportunity to once more spread the word to households in the village, and this year is no exception. The leaflet contained a short message about Jesus making our peace and an invitation to the Good Friday Service and Easter Sunday services.
Did they have any effect? -Nobody took up the invitation to attend the services. How many read the message?- who can tell. It reminds us of Jesus parable of the rich man and Lazarus. "though one rose from the dead, yet they will not believe.
What a comment on the hardness of mans heart. Yet every believer knows the hardness of their heart, and knows it was only the sovereign grace of God which broke it.
(edit - to correct spellings)

Condemnation?

Last Sunday I preached to a small congregation, but a listening congregation .
My subject in the morning was "Who is he that condementh?", from Romans 8. We look at the condemners - the law, Satan the accuser of the believers, other people, and our own consciences. We found that all these truly condemn us.
But we also noted the answer - It is Christ that died - yea rather is risen again. Jesus took our condemnation, suffering what we deserved - so we go free.

Earthquakes in divers places,wars and rumours of wars

This is a good summary of recent news , with the earthquakes in New Zealand and Japan,and the unrest in the middle east. These however were the words of Jesus when his disciples quizzed him about the last times,and when they would be.

We believe that none of these events has taken God by surprise. They show the groaning of creation under the curse, the dreadful effects of sin. They remind us of the impotence of man. God is the one who controls the wind and the waves.

As Christians we have a duty of love towards our fellow man that we should do good to when soever we will (Mark 14:7),and especially to the household of faith. Jesus said that in so doing to the brethren we are doing it to him (Matthew 25 from v 31).

But the question is do these things signal the end time. Jesus said the end is not yet.. first the gospel must be preached to all nations - then shall the end come. - that is what we should be looking for.

Comfort of the Scriptures - Romans 15 v 4

I realize this is the first entry of 2011 - Have I really had nothing to say??
Tomorrow it is my turn to lead the prayer meeting, and I shall, God willing speak for a few minutes on the subject of the comfort of the scriptures?
Do we find the scriptures comforting? In what do we derive comfort?
Just a few simple thoughts - They are true. They proclaim the God who comforts his people - especially by the consolation of Israel.They show the lives of those who knew the power of prayer. They see that nothing takes God but surprise - and that they are more than conquers through Christ. They look forward to the hope that is ahead of them.