PROLIFE

It is God's prerogative to take us out of the womb.
'But You are He who took Me out of the womb;
Who made me trust when I was on My mother's breasts.'
Psalm 22

By You I have been upheld
From my birth;
You are He who took me out
Of my mother's womb
Psalm71

Human choice may lead to abortion, betrayal in a safe place.

Others weep for loss of potential motherhood.

HUMAN RIGHTS

It is those least deserving of respect who are the loudest in calling for their Human Rights.

SUMMER FLOWERS

It seems this summer that there are flowers of different kinds blooming in profusion on the bushes and in the flower beds. Every branch laden down with its own kind of beauty.

Nature so often rejoices to reflect the character of the God who made it. Paul mentions this in his letter to the Roman Christians.

This reminds me of reading of the 'Prodigal God', likened to the longing father in the parable who showered kindness and gifts on his returning son. It seems to be in God to show forth His kindness and handiwork in reckless abandon, often unseen by the eye of man. God took great pleasure in seeing the universe take form, the fruit of His all-creating word and pronounced it 'good' at each stage.

We are without excuse and do well to do the same.

ET

Just recently the evocative music from ET has been played together with comments as to the strong feelings it arouses. Perhaps compassion for a little stranger to our world?

Aren't we all strangers to our world at times, looking for a familiar face to whom we can turn? A mother standing at the gate of a new school, watching to see if her 'little stranger' finds a friend?

Was God not like that as He sent His one-and-only precious Son to a hostile world?

'Jesus came to His own and His own received him not.' Surely reason enough to turn away from us. Yet He didn't but went on to give His life in a most shameful way, being cursed in our place. Greater demonstration of God's love to us through His Son there cannot be '....while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us'.

'How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation'

SPARROWS

Birds have been nesting under the eaves of my house. Sorrowfully one of their nests fell to the ground this morning and two baby birds were killed. As I picked them up it came to me so clearly that God was just as concerned as I was at the tragedy.

What an amazing God we have who is touched by the death of a baby bird, not able to protect itself against the forces of nature. Why do I say this? Jesus assured us that the Creator God, whom He came to make known to us, cares even about the death of a sparrow.

Man values sparrows lightly, two for a farthing, but God values them as His handiwork. How much more man who reflects His glory. The baby in the womb is known to Him too. How dare we tear them out of their God-given nest.

VIRTUE

The pursuit of excellent living in the face of temptation to selfgratification, much loved by early philosophers. The sure sign of calling and election as God's children. Faith that does not flower into virtue is no faith at all.

'Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me'

It is the prerequisite.

HIDDEN

Jesus kept His sorrowful countenance from the view of man. He came to bring Life not Death. Even as death drew near with all its horror, He drew aside to agonise alone.

Any sorrow He displayed was on our behalf. Lazarus died and Jesus wept.
As He drew near to Jerusalem He wept over the city saying if only you had known the time of your visitation. But they did not recognise him.

We despised Him as He was shamed through Crucifixion for our sin.

'He is despised and rejected by men.
A man of sorrows and aquainted with grief
And we hid as it were our faces from him;
He was despised
And we did not esteem Him.'
Isaiah 53

KNOWLEDGE

Man's self-centredness and self-glorification has poisoned the roots of the Tree of Knowledge, tainting its fruits. God warns that such branches and fruit will be burnt up and man's glory will return to dust.

Only the branches and fruit of the True Vine will remain.

Jesus encourages His followers in His final hours before death, that as they gave themselves in imitation of Him, '...you shall bear fruit and that fruit will remain'

YOBS

...'and he (Elisha)went up there from Bethel; and as he was going up the road, some youths came from the city and mocked him and said to him "go up,you bald head! Go up you baldhead!" So he turned round and looked at them, and pronounced a curse on them in the name of the Lord. And two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths. Then he went from there to Mt Carmel.'

2 Kings 2 vs 23,24.

Where would Elisha have ended up in these days?

CHARACTER

That part of personhood which is acquired as we go through life. It reflects the ability to relate to life and others in response to easy and difficult times, success and failure. We tend to think of a strong character as one which stands firm
under adverse circumstances or standing up against destructive relationships. A weak one as giving way.

With present lifestyles there is little time or inclination to work at living skills, alighting only briefly at 'destinations' along the way, forging passing relationships and reaping little satisfaction. It seems that character building is a rare occurrence, most overcome by lethargy in response to drudgery and speed of change.

The ideal is a 'life-sustaining'pathway, but there are few that find it.

LOST TIME

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German pastor imprisoned in Nazi Germany. Shortly before he was hanged for his part in the plot to assassinate Hitler, he wrote: 'Time lost is time when we have not lived a full human life, time unenriched by experience, creative endeavor, enjoyment and suffering'.

Do you make time or lose it each day?

GOD'S WAY

For four hundred years God was silent, from the time of Malachi to the appearance of John the Baptist, designated the last of the prophets. He came to prepare the way for the Messiah, a People ready for their Saviour.

In another part of the world God was speaking, making Himself known through men's thinking and living in the City of Athens. A time such as this had not been known before. The Gentile world was perhaps being prepared for the coming of the one true Man, made in God's likeness, the One who perfectly lived out the excellent virtues the philosophers spent so much time discussing.

As with John, it could be that this prepared the way for the revelation of the good news of Jesus Christ who had come for the 'sins of the world'. It was perhaps so that all men should recognise Him. His own people, the Jews, failed to do so and put Him to death. The Greeks, who now had a witness in their own hearts as to true goodness, saw God's news as foolish and were in turn condemned.

'For God has committed them all to disobedience, that he might have mercy on them all' Romans 11 vs 32