The Scriptures cannot be broken. Fears are gripping hearts of many across the world. Visible amazing signs in the skies are seen across the world. There are shocking frequencies and magnitude of natural disasters across continents. Political as well as economic downturn and unrests are more manifest. The rallying base and dependable structural unit of the family is being battered under the silly guise of political correctness. Immorality is being celebrated in high and low quarters. There are wars and rumours of greater wars. Weapons of mass destruction are being assembled. Human migration is being handled with looseness, perverseness and heartlessness. Indeed men’s hearts are failing them for fears. As we pray, may the LORD have mercy, deliver us and uniquely deliver his chosen people Israel. May all of us, as children of God, saved through faith in the name of Jesus and cleansed by his precious blood, be preserved faithful and be found blameless and watching when our Saviour comes soon. The atmosphere is charged. Come, Lord Jesus.
Before Jesus returns, please, dear friends, call upon him before it is too late. Repent of your sins and turn to God. Make a U-turn to God. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Romans 10:13.
At this time of the year , November precisely, we often remember and celebrate the lives and commitment or our beloved ones who gave their lives in order that we may have and enjoy relative peace. Our memories of them is a continuing source of encouragement and strength to our lives as individuals, as family members, as friends and as patriots. There have been moments of tears, deep sighs, thoughts, dreams and heartfelt expressions. Different emotions and sentiments are expressed, based on the depth of love or closeness with these dear, departed ones. Life is a mixture of sweet and bitter; pleasant and painful; joyful and sorrowful experiences. Some of these losses both recent and from distant past still feel fresh or are being continually refreshed.
In the midst of our pain, sorrow, loneliness, anxiety and grief, Jesus Christ offers us comfort, companionship, peace, hope and joy. Wars and hostilities, both internally and internationally have raged and are still raging. From the 1st and 2nd World Wars, to regional wars, civil wars and onslaughts of terrorist activities, human lives continue to be undervalued and wasted. Hostilities are still going on in Syria, Iraq, Ukraine and Nigeria. The conflict between Israel and the Palestinians has not been easily resolved. Abuses of military and economic powers continue to promote and fuel acts of terrorism and vandalism across the globe.Some individuals and nations are guilty in this regard.That is why irresponsible and barbarous groups as IS and Boko Haram are still flexing their muscles. The International Community looks relatively helpless! BUT THE TIME FOR UNITED NEUTRALIZING ACTION IS NOW, BEING ALREADY OVERDUE!
Christopher Foster once said:
“The memories we cherish are enduring, the pains and sorrows we feel do not often pass quickly, and we are conscious of our lives continuing to be changed by the past and the present. Often we are sustained by the love and care of others who support us while, for many, faith nourishes us with the promise that eternal love binds us together in life and death.”
It is only good and worthwhile to look after the families and dependants of the departed fallen heroes and heroines!It shows more how truly appreciative we are. On the same not ex-service men and women should be properly looked after, including those who have become disabled!
Thomas Attig said:
“As we cherish memories we return to freshen and deepen our understanding of those who have died, attend to them again, bring them closer, embrace them in their absence, reconnect with some of the best in life, feel grateful, feel the warmth of our love for them, sense that they are grateful for our remembering and feel the warmth of their love for us.”
Human beings throughout history look confused and helpless in the face of death. Death strikes when he is ready. Death is the common enemy of mankind! We are limited and powerless, but God Almighty knows it all. God has power over life and death! Jesus Christ has defeated death!
Jesus said: “I am the living one! I was dead, but I have authority over death and the world of the dead. ” (Revelations 1:18).
Death came because of sin. Mankind was designed by God to live forever! The corruption and wickedness in the world is the fruit of sin and death is the due reward. At the right time in history, God took the initiative to rescue mankind from sin and death. He did so through Jesus Christ. God then made it possible for us to receive his nature and thus become free from the power of sin and its consequences, which are spiritual and physical deaths. These bring in sicknesses, diseases and all kinds of woes! Jesus Christ delivered us from all of theses woes which come from disobeying God. Jesus set us free.
The Bible states: Being now made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord(Romans 6:22-23).
Jesus Christ died for our sins to pay the wages for us. He arose from the dead to make us assured of pardon and give new life from God[the God-Kind-of Life] to us.
The Bible states: If you shall confess with your mouth, Jesus as Lord and shall believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. For with the heart a person believes and is made righteous and with the mouth he confesses and is saved. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Romans 10:9-10, 13.
Jesus is alive. Death is vanquished! Because Jesus lives, all those who believe in him shall live also. For the believer in Christ, death is not final. At resurrection God gives those who believe new bodies; bodies which never die. (2 Corinthians 5:1-10)
Jesus said: I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. (John 11:25-26a).
Overwhelmed by the problems of life, Jeremiah encouraged himself in the prevailing power of God Almighty: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22-23). Jesus is the Prince of Peace. A time is coming soon when there shall no longer be wars. When Jesus comes to reign as King of kings and Lord of lords. Then people of every nation shall not learn about wars. Swords shall be converted into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks. (Isaiah 2:2-4)
Life is full of choices. We make choices daily. The choices we make affect our lives presently and for the future. Each person needs to examine his life and make a U-turn back to God. A good gift offered needs to be received in order to be owned. God offers us his peace. Peace in the heart and mind; peace at home; peace in our communities; peace in our nations and peace in our world.
Prayer: O LORD of peace; Thank You for the offer of your peace. Help us to accept the peace you have given through your Son Jesus Christ, who has made peace between us and You. Forgive us of our failures and trespasses. Help each one of us to repent and be converted to You. At this time of remembrance, we thank you for the lives of millions of our people across nations of the world who fought and served in various wars, so that we may have relative peace. Help each one of us still alive, to humbly examine himself, call upon Jesus and receive your pardon and inward peace. We ask through the same Jesus Christ, who is the coming Prince of Peace; King of kings and Lord of lords. Amen.
Tolerance does not condone immorality or evil. How about the Christian B&B Ruling: Is it fair after all? The law and legal judgements are respected because legal experts and judges are expected by God to give a good and fair representation of the mind and the law of God! Therefore judges themselves shall give account of themselves before the judgement throne of God at the end! In the light of these, nobody is excusable before God, Who is the final authority.
A gay couple is declared right over the owners of a Christian Bed and Breakfast (B&B) facility! The owners do not allow unmarried couple to sleep on double beds in their B&B facility. By Biblical standard, no gay couple is truly married, but by societal laws which oppose God, they may be called married or in the so-ca!led Civil Partnership! Is it wrong or illegal to have a B&B or hotel, run along Christian principles? Is it wrong to have a school run along religious principles? Is it wrong to have a Bank run along religious principles? Why do we have FAIR TRADE? Why do we have Islamic Banks? Why must a society force people to discard their religious views in running their business of 28years standing? Because of these immorality, and many other disobedient sinful unnatural laws and activities, the wrath of God and the wrath of nature are moving across many nations of the world today and people are asking WHY, out of ignorance?
Who is right? Is it the society or God? What is justice? Is it merely to favour a section of society against another? Everyone has a right to be treated fairly. You do not rob a person of his right in order to please another person. Tolerance is the ability to be fair and understanding to people whose ways and opinions are different from one’s own. Does that empower anyone to deliberately go to a place where the views are different from his with the purpose to impose his clearly diverge views? NO. What is religious tolerance? Is it to throw away your beliefs to favour another belief? Must a person be forced to condone views which he or she clearly knows to be evil, on the basis of his beliefs? NO. Where and what are the bases of religious freedom? What is the role of the Church in all of these? Is the Church a mere spectator in the face of these absurdities and immoralities which clearly violate the rights of others, notably Christians in this instance and go further to challenge the authentic voice of God? Each one of us shall give account to God. To Mr. Peter and Mrs. Hazelmary Bull , I say; Cheer up! If you suffer for righteousness sake, be happy and do not be afraid of any terror, neither be troubled; But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts and be ready to give an answer to every man who asks you to give reason for the hope that is in you. Only do so with meekness and fear of God. Be courageous and bold and never feel ashamed at all. At the worst you may close up the B&B, but God shall reward you. You are no losers, but winners because God is on your side[1 Peter 1:12-17].
Let the Church leaders speak out now in truth and not in hypocrisy; or keep quiet forever in failure and damnation! Enough is enough! The Church must not follow the multitude to do evil! The statutes of England and the United Kingdom still indicate Biblical Christianity! Would any leader in the Church allow the way of truth to be spoken of as if evil? When did the Church become a group of cowards? Where are the Bishops, Archbishops, Presidents, Moderators, General Secretaries, Chairmen, G.Os, Superintendents, Pastors etc? Are they hiding out of fear, timidity or nonchalance? [Read Exodus 23:1-2;Romans 1:18-32; 2 Timothy 3:1-17; 2 Peter 2:1-22; Leviticus 20:10-24]. The grace of God which now gives much room for repentance, overlooking the sins and wickedness of us human beings does not condone any act of wickedness or immorality, but it gives us second chance. The patience of God should compel all of us human beings to urgent and committed repentance. Whilst offenders may not be stoned to death or hanged today, the evils committed do not change from being less evil than in the former times. Let God be true and every person else a lair. Homosexuality has not stopped from being less evil than it was in the days of Lot, in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which were destroyed because of their wickedness and sexual immoralities topped by homosexuality! Homosexuality is no less evil in the Twenty-First Century United Kingdom, United States of America, France, Germany, China, Japan, Nigeria, Ghana, Saudi Arabia, Greece, Egypt, Iraq, Australia, South Africa or Israel, or anywhere else! The selfish, partial and imperfect laws of mankind must not be allowed to underrate the Commandments of God! Cheap political gains, acclaim in the eyes of the public, flexing of muscles in financial and material wealth, good oratorical prowess, use of physical forces, use of legal powers, misuse of scientific and medical skills are no sufficient reasons or excuses to impose man-made rules against the commandments of Almighty God! Underrating the commandments of God would bring untold sorrows and hardships, both in the present and in the near future! The only escape route is GENUINE REPENTANCE!
God’s final testimony of His laws, rule, judgment, love and salvation has been revealed through Jesus Christ. Unto Jesus Christ God has committed all things. By this man, Jesus Christ, God made this world and the whole universe! He is coming back soon as King of kings and Lord of lords, to reign and rule in righteousness. It is therefore important that everyone pays close attention! Mankind disobeyed God and as a result, sickness, hardships and death came into our affairs in life. Abortive efforts were made by mankind to solve his problems. God sent prophets,through many generations in order to bring us back to himself. Mankind was still incorrigible and deviant. Finally God sent his Son Jesus into this world. He was born in such a miraculous way that he never inherited the sin nature of man. God by the power of his Spirit came upon a pure and chaste virgin called Mary,who bore the pregnancy of Jesus. Jesus was born into a humble family led by Joseph, the carpenter. He was engaged to be married to Mary, but before the nuptial knot was tied, Mary became pregnant miraculously. Through angelic visitation, Joseph was instructed and encouraged to take care of his pregnant intended wife before they were married and not to dump her secretly, as he was planning to do! Thus Jesus was born in Bethlehem under strange miraculous circumstances. He grew up in the town of Nazareth, under the parental care of Joseph and Mary.
Jesus Christ grew up, working as a carpenter and later started his ministry which brought healing, comfort, deliverance and hope to many. His teachings of truth brought him into conflict with the political and religious leaders of his days. He was arrested, wrongly accused and crucified. All those were in line with the divine plan of God to rescue mankind from eternal death and ruin. Jesus Christ by divine plan, voluntarily laid down his life through the shedding of his blood on the cross, to clean us all from sin. He rose up from the dead on the third day and is alive forever. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it through Jesus Christ. If you submit to Jesus, you have life, but if you reject him, you have death. The basis for judgement and death is this: Jesus is the light of the world. God made this world, man and the universe through him. People who were evil inclined hate the light. Anyone who loves the truth comes into the light, having nothing to hide, because his deeds are in harmony with God and done through his power. Anyone who believes in Jesus, the Son of God, is not condemned, but has everlasting life. He who does not believe in Jesus shall not see life, but the wrath of God is upon him, because such a person is condemned already[ John 3:16-17,18-21,35-36 ]. The power of sin and incorrigibility have been broken by Jesus Christ, through his blood shed on the cross, outside the city walls of Jerusalem, over two thousand years ago! Whosoever shall call upon the name of Jesus Christ shall be saved. The power to save mankind has been given to Jesus Christ. Come to God through Jesus now. You are not condemned unless you condemn yourself through deliberate rejection of the provision made for us all by God. That provision is JESUS CHRIST! Come to Jesus without delay. God bless you.
No man or woman should enter into marriage deceitfully; otherwise such marriages are not true marriages! A life time relationship should not be taken carelessly. God watches over all of us and He cannot be deceived. Each person shall give account to God. Marriage should not be handled loosely as to allow it to make us guilty before God. Where guilt exists, there must be repentance for healing and refreshing to take place. Neither POLYGAMY nor POLYANDRY is good or right. Marriage is honourable in all and the bed undefiled, but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge[Hebrews 13:4]. God does heal marriages today. He heals broken minds and hearts. He is the Restorer and Healer.
1. When God established marriage, He meant it for life time, till physical death parts the couple. Let God be true and all others liars. [Genesis 2:23-25; Romans 7:1-3; Malachi 2:14-16; Mark 10:2-12;]. What God has joined together, let not man put asunder[Let NO man/ woman/ family/ culture/ religion/ parliament/ legislature/ government/ law court put asunder.].
2. Can God heal sick, corrupted marriages? YES! If human beings would allow God by inviting Him in and patiently waiting for Him to do His miraculous operation. No case is too advanced for healing or beyond healing. Humility and true repentance can lead to wonderful, positive results. Examples do abound today of what God is doing. Divorce is not a remedy. Remember the example of the woman of Sychar in Samaria, who met Jesus at the well. That lady had five previous husbands and the sixth man she was having relationship with then was not her husband! [John 4:6-42]. If divorces gave any solution that woman should not have had up to six men in her life before she had miraculous encounter with Jesus. We were not told what happened to the lady afterwards, but if she ever married again I would expect that to have been a stable marriage because her life had been renewed and her focus brightened.
3. When God is at the centre of a marriage, problems are easily overcome. God never promised us that we would not have challenges or problems, but He assures us in every area of our lives that we would overcome problems. No one should build castles out of problems and make use of such castles as excuses for initiating divorce! Bring all your anxieties; all your worries; all your hurts; all your experiences of rejection; all the verbal and psychological abuses; all your broken hearts; all your own failures towards your spouses too; bring them all to JESUS! Jesus turns all sorrows into joy. Jesus will lift off the problems that weigh you down. Call upon Him without delay and wait for His miraculous operation! He truly cares [Matthew 11:28-30].
4. Do you seek forgiveness from God? Do you quickly forgive others when they offend you, even after their apologies? [Matthew 6:12; 7:12;]. Where in the Bible is it written that the sin of adultery cannot be forgiven? Many have used adultery as the basis for divorcing their spouses. God did not say that adultery should not be forgiven. When God said He hates divorce, it is implied that there is a remedy. Remedy for divorce is to stay faithful. Remedy for divorce is to stay vigilant and be our spouses keepers[not as spies, but as loving carers and watchers]. Remedy for divorce is to make yourself more pleasing and attractive to your spouse now that the ring is on your fingers and you have each other! Remedy for divorce is to submit to one another. On sexual intimacy each person should remember that his or her spouse should never be refused sex, except in rare cases of giving oneself to prayer and fasting. I would add also that by mutual consent it should be assessed that physical weakness as in tiredness arising from work or long travel could be a temporary excuse. The cure for that should be adequate rest. Shortly after child birth sexual intimacy may be postponed till the woman regains strength. No room should be given to temptation from Satan as a result of negligence on sexual intimacy. Brother Paul rightly states this in his epistle[1 Corinthians 7:3-6]. The stubborness or hardness of people’s hearts was the reason in Moses days why divorce was permitted, when adultery was reported. God never condoned adultery. The Israelites were very frequent with their spiritual adultery through abominable relationships and idolatrous practices. They were punished for such dirty practices, but when they cried out for mercy and repented, God forgave them many times and He restored them back into clean, fresh renewed relationship. God also restored their fortunes. Who can be likened to the LORD, the Almighty God, Who forgives sins and iniquities? Who are you to refuse forgiveness to your spouse? Are you wiser or more righteous or holier than God?
Remedy for divorce is to uphold your family altar of worship, reading of the Bible, meditation, prayer and thanksgiving everyday. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. [Psalms 119; Psalms 107: Micah 7:18-20; Colossians 3:16-17].
The only unforgivable sin is to reject Jesus Christ. Another remedy for divorce is humility before each other. TALK together in turns and LISTEN to each other. The seniority of the man as husband and father makes him the biggest servant at home and not the task master! The humility of your husband should never be taken for granted. Accord to him the honour due to him as the head who is as Christ to you. As a mark of humility it is not too difficult to say and mean sorry when wrong or when you offend each other. Because you are married, work out your marriage with love. It takes the two to work out their marriage successfully. GOD is ever faithful, His Word is true and cannot be undermined. In marriage God wants each couple to win. True love honours, trusts, serves, obeys, endures, gives and forgives. [1 Corinthians 13: 4-7]. As a Christian couple God expects you to make your marriage honourable and successful. Grace be with you.
In the midst of trials, temptations, problems and various challenges of life, Jesus Christ is nearby, willing, ready and eager to come to our rescue. Nothing is too difficult for him. Simply invite him into the ship, boat, vehicle of your life. ALL will be well.
Jesus came to the rescue of his disciples while they were on board a boat which was threatened with storms and appeared ready to be swallowed by the waves. He commanded: Peace,Be Still! . In the same way, he commands peace into your life, when you invite him into your life.
Jesus also said: Come unto me all ye who labour and are heavy laden; And I will give you rest………. Jesus assures you of rest. Solution to your life’s problems, giving you a new lease of life of peace and joy. Call upon Jesus now. Waste no more time.
The taste of the pudding is in the eating. Come! Respond to the invitation of Jesus Christ.Your welfare is assured, both now and eternally,after this present world comes to an end.
Please, join in as the enthusiastic Marske Fishermens Choir sings ‘I’ll Stand By Until The Morning’:
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AgapeFocus 
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