There shall be deliverance!

Acts 2:14-41New International Version (NIV)

Peter Addresses the Crowd

14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning!(A) 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

17 “‘In the last days, God says,
    I will pour out my Spirit on all people.(B)
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,(C)
    your young men will see visions,
    your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants, both men and women,
    I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
    and they will prophesy.(D)
19 I will show wonders in the heavens above
    and signs on the earth below,(E)
    blood and fire and billows of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned to darkness
    and the moon to blood(F)
    before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
21 And everyone who calls
    on the name of the Lord(G) will be saved.’[a](H)

22 “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth(I) was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs,(J) which God did among you through him,(K) as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge;(L) and you, with the help of wicked men,[b] put him to death by nailing him to the cross.(M) 24 But God raised him from the dead,(N) freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.(O)
 25 David said about him:“‘I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;   my body also will rest in hope,
27 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, you will not let your holy one see decay.(P)
28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.’[c](Q)

29 “Fellow Israelites,(R) I can tell you confidently that the patriarch(S)David died and was buried,(T) and his tomb is here(U) to this day. 30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne.(V) 31 Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay.(W) 32 God has raised this Jesus to life,(X) and we are all witnesses(Y) of it.33 Exalted(Z) to the right hand of God,(AA) he has received from the Father(AB) the promised Holy Spirit(AC) and has poured out(AD) what you now see and hear. 34 For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,

“‘The Lord said to my Lord:
    “Sit at my right hand
35 until I make your enemies
    a footstool for your feet.”’[d](AE)

36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord (AF) and Messiah.”(AG)

37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”(AH)

38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized,(AI) every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.(AJ) And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.(AK) 39 The promise is for you and your children(AL) and for all who are far off(AM)—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”(AN) 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number(AO) that day.

Humans were born to ask "Why?" From the chattering toddler tugging at his mother's skirts to the seasoned astrophysicist puzzling over her computer-enhanced images from outer space, the response to the novel is the same: Why? In fact, we ask this question in two directions. We want to know the cause, and we want to know the significance, especially for us.

To find an answer that satisfies both "whys," especially in regard to one's personal destiny, is to discover the best good news.Apologia for Pentecost: Ultimate Cause and Saving Significance (2:14-21)

Seizing the moment in the midst of the crowd's bewilderment and confusion, Peter addresses the people in Spirit-filled utterance (see 2:4). He begins with a formal address, Fellow Jews, which will soften as he proceeds (men of Israel, 2:22; brothers, 2:29). His message will explain the Pentecost event as God's saving acts (see also 4:12; 13:38: 28:28) and show its crucial importance for his hearers and for us.

Though those drunk and those filled with the Spirit are "carried out of themselves into an abnormal sense of freedom and expressiveness," the cause and the end results are entirely different (E. F. Harrison 1986:64). Peter with good humor dismisses this empirical explanation with further empirical evidence: in a culture where the first meal is not taken until ten o'clock, nine o'clock in the morning is too early in the day to find people drunk (see Josephus Life 279).

The ultimate cause and significance of the Spirit's empowerment is found in God and his saving purposes, as the prophet Joel foretold. 

In the last days--the final days of this age, the time when the "age to come" is inaugurated--God promises to pour out his Spirit on all people. 

Joel used the imagery of the vivifying impact of a Near Eastern torrential downpour on parched earth to picture the generosity, finality and universality of the Spirit's coming.

 And Peter declares that this is now happening before the very eyes and in the very hearing of his audience. In contrast to the selective and occasional outpouring of the Spirit on king and prophet in the Old Testament time of promise (1 Sam 10:10; 16:14; Ezek 11:5), here the Spirit comes without regard to age, sex, social status or, as Acts 2:39 indicates, ethnic origin.

What the Spirit empowers people to do is prophesy. Prophecy for Luke encompasses Spirit-filled speaking in other languages (2:12, 16), predictive discourse (11:27; 21:10; compare 9:10; 10:10; 16:9; 18:9, where dreams and visions guide the post-Pentecost church) and proclamatory witness (15:32). As the Old Testament prophets made God's will known by witnessing to his Word, so now, as Luther says, all Christians are Spirit-enabled to bear witness to "knowledge of God through Christ which the Holy Spirit kindles and makes to burn through the word of the gospel" (Stott 1990:74; compare Acts 1:8).

Joel and Peter remind us of the decisiveness of these last days by pointing to cosmic signs on earth and in heaven. The universe will reveal what a shambles sinful humankind makes of things by its constant assault on God's moral order. From this the human race should know that judgment must come at the day of the Lord (Is 13:6, 9; Ezek 30:3; Zeph 1:14-15). The hope held out by Joel is thus vitally significant. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Acts 2:21/Joel 2:32).
                                      -------------------------------------------------------------------

Today, living in a time of rapid social change, moral decay, environmental crisis and seemingly unmanageable economic and political problems, we can identify with the apostle's and prophet's sense of the end. We are comforted that history is not out of control, for God is constantly at work. We live in the time of the Spirit's life-giving presence--and there is the challenge: will we call on the name of the Lord and be saved. 

Apostolic Gospel at Pentecost: The Immediate Cause (2:22-36)

Who is this Lord? How can we know he can save? What does Pentecost have to do with this salvation? Peter directs the crowd's attention to Jesus of Nazareth. He characterises Jesus' earthly ministry as the arena of publicly witnessed divine power. Through him God did miracles, the power of God at work; wonders, astonishing, significant portents that point to God's presence; and signs, miraculous embodiment of spiritual truth. God accredited Jesus' mission by these marks of the messianic age and showed that it was the very beginning of the last days.

Peter next boldly implicates the crowd in Jesus' death. He was handed over into their power. With the help of lawless men--that is, Gentile Romans (NIV wicked men)--they did away with him through crucifixion. Peter sets their responsibility in tension with God's determined purpose and foreknowledge (compare Luke 22:22). Far from discrediting Jesus as God's Messiah, this shameful death was very much a part of God's set purpose and foreknowledge (see Acts 3:18; 13:29). Though Peter does not explicitly refer to Jesus' death as a vicarious atonement, he gives us the objective fact, which is the basis for such an understanding: an innocent man suffered and died.

But there's more. Human beings may have killed Jesus, but God brought him back to life. It was not a resuscitation but an eternal resurrection. In a remarkable mixed metaphor, death's agony became its birth pangs: death was in labor and unable to hold back the "delivery" of Jesus.

As Peter will go on to prove, with respect to Pentecost, Jesus' resurrection is the answer to the question "Why?" from both angles. It is Pentecost's immediate cause (vv. 32-33), and it is the ground for the saving significance of the Pentecost event.

Peter now argues, based on Scripture, that Jesus' resurrection is part of God's saving plan. In verses 25-28 he introduces a quote from Psalm 16:8-11 to explain Jesus' resurrection as the fulfillment of prophecy about the Messiah (NIV does not translate the Greek gar, causal connector between vv. 24 and 25). The psalmist declares that because of his ongoing relationship with the Lord God, he will not be shaken. This accords well with Luke's portrayal of Jesus in his last hours (Luk e23:46/Psalm 31:5; the cry of dereliction is absent--Mark 15:34/Psalm 22:1). The psalmist expresses joyful confidence that his flesh (sarx, NIV body; v. 26) will live in hope. He openly declares that there is no abandonment to Sheol or experience of decay, but rather the path of life and the joy of God's presence forever.

How is it possible to understand a first-person psalm attributed to David, in which he appears to speak of his protection from death, as a prophecy of the Messiah's hope in a resurrection out of death?

 Peter comes to such an understanding by using two hermeneutical principles: literal interpretation and a messianic reading of first-person Davidic psalms. 

Thus David, "not . . . as a mere person but David as the recipient and conveyor of God's ancient but ever-renewed promise," can predict the Messiah's experience (Kaiser 1980:225). 

Pointing to the well-known tomb of David, Peter contends that David could not be talking about himself. By a process of elimination, then, someone else must qualify to experience the literal fulfillment of this promise. That someone is the Messiah. For David was a prophet. He had received the divinely sworn promise of an eternal reign for one of his descendants, who would be the Messiah (2 Sam 7:12-13; Ps 132:12).

But how can a Messiah who suffers and dies also reign forever (Ps 22:15-16)? It is possible only if that Messiah rises from the dead. David was permitted to see ahead of time this vital stage in God's process of redemption. So he could speak confidently of Messiah's resurrection when he said that Messiah was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay (Acts 2:31). What a wise God to plan a path the Messiah would follow to effect salvation! What a merciful God to reveal a portion of that path to prophets, so that now, as we look back after the fulfillment, it all makes sense (see 1 Pet 1:10-12).

Now Peter moves from argumentation to proclamation (Acts 2:32). The great good news is that God has now raised to life the same Jesus who was crucified (v. 23). Peter adds his voice and those of the other apostles to the witness of the Scriptures. So confident is he of the apostolic witnesses' compelling testimony that he can divide his presentation into two steps: (1) the Old Testament bears witness to a risen Messiah and (2) we bear witness to Jesus as the risen Messiah.

Peter unveils an even greater truth about Jesus which turns his audience into witnesses of God's saving grace. Jesus is the exalted Lord raised to the Father's right hand in heaven (see also v. 30). From that position of authority Jesus mediates the gift of the Spirit (Jn 14:16, 26; 16:7).

Peter now completes the second half of a chiastic (or reverse parallelism) construction that extends all the way back to verse 25. 

He has 

(a) preached Scripture proof of Jesus as the Messiah risen from the dead (vv. 25-28), 

(b) given an interpretation (vv. 29-31) and

(c) made a kerygmatic proclamation (v. 32). 

Now he 

(c') proclaims Jesus as the exalted Lord and giver of the Spirit (v. 33), 

(b') gives an interpretation (v. 34) and 

(a') presents Scripture proof (vv. 34-35/Ps 110:1). 

This construction binds together Jesus' resurrection, his exaltation and his giving of the Spirit.

Again by a process of elimination and literal interpretation, Peter applies the Old Testament text to the Messiah. David is dead; we cannot claim that he has ascended to heaven. Then, following the lead of Jesus, Peter claims that David is addressing the Messiah when he says, "The Lord [God] said to my Lord [the Messiah]" (Lk 20:41-44/Ps 110:1). When Jesus asked how David could call his descendant "Lord," he was not simply making Messiah and Lord synonymous titles. When the One who is literally exalted to the right hand of the Father is called "Lord," he is addressed as more than an honored human descendant of David. The way Jesus formulated the question implied as much. Peter, unveiling what Jesus' question hinted at, declares him to be Lord in the sense of Yahweh. Jesus is God! (See also Acts 2:21, 36, 38.)

Peter calls his listeners to know for certain that God has openly avowed Jesus to be Lord and Messiah (compare Lk 1:4). Jesus may now rightfully be declared Messiah, since he has done Messiah's saving work and has been vindicated by God, who raised him from the dead. He may properly be proclaimed Lord in the highest sense of the word, as the respectful designation of the unpronounceable name of God (YHWH). For by his resurrection-exaltation he has demonstrated that he is the ever-living and life-giving God, whom death cannot hold and who pours out the Spirit (Acts 2:24, 33).

Peter immediately reminds his listeners that it is this risen and exalted Messiah and Lord whom they have crucified. "They were not trifling with a Galilean carpenter, but God!" (Ogilvie  1983:71).Application of Pentecost: A Call to Repentance and Promise (2:37-41)

By the Spirit (John 16:8-11) the crowd feels the sharp pain of guilt  For Luke, this is as it should be: the heart, the inner life, is the source of all the thoughts, motivations, intentions and plans of sinful human beings (Lk 6:45; 12:34: 21:34; Acts 5:3-4; 7:39; 8:21-22; 28:27). Realising they have killed the Messiah, their only hope of salvation, they desperately want to know, "Is there anything we can do about this? Or are we doomed to suffer God's certain wrath on the day of the Lord?" (see 2:20). They address Peter and the rest of the apostles, for it is the apostolic gospel, not a gospel of Peter, that they must receive and cling to (2:32, 42).

The sin of people today put Jesus to death just as surely as the sinful hatred of first-century people. This fact leaves no room for anti-Semitism. With Peter's first audience, we must return to the scene of the crime, the cross. We must face up to our guilt before almighty God, the Judge. We must throw ourselves on his mercy, asking, What shall we do? (v. 37).

Peter's invitation is to repent, this turning from sin and turning to Christ is the necessary condition for receiving salvation blessings (Lk 13:3, 5; 15:7; 16:30; 24:47; Acts 3:19; 17:30; 20:21; 26:20). 

What about faith? It is mentioned in verse 44. John Stott observes, "Repentance and faith involve each other, the turn from sin being impossible without the turn to God, and vice versa" (1990:78).

Peter calls for each one of them individually (hekastos, but NIV every one) to be baptized . . . in (on the basis of) the name of Jesus Christ--that is, as Joseph Addison Alexander puts it, "by his authority, acknowledging his claims, subscribing to his doctrine, engaging in his service, and relying on his merits" (quoted in Stott 1990:78). By repentance and baptism we show that we have met the conditions for receiving forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Spirit. By making repentance and baptism conditions for the reception of salvation blessings, Luke does not imply that salvation comes by merit or ritual. He is not promoting some necessary second experience. He consistently presents both forgiveness and the Spirit as gifts of grace (3:19; 5:31; 13:38; 11:17; 15:8). The gift of the Spirit is the Spirit himself, who regenerates, indwells, unites, and transforms lives. All the fruit and gifts of the Spirit flow from this one great gift.

Peter now declares the universal extent of the salvation offer. He reaches out across time and space, generations and cultures (your children and . . . all who are afar off--that is, Jews of the diaspora and Gentiles; see Is 57:19; Eph 2:13). And he does not let his audience forget, even as he tells them their responsibility, that salvation is God's work from beginning to end. For the promise is for all whom the Lord our God will call. Those who respond are answering the Lord our God's effective call on their lives (compare Acts 13:48; 16:14). "He set me free to want what He wanted to give!" (Ogilvie 1983:72).

Now we have come full circle. The salvation promised by Joel (and everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved--Acts 2:21/Joel 2:32) is accomplished by Jesus (God has made this Jesus . . . Lord--Acts 2:36). And it is humanly appropriated when one is baptized in the name of Jesus Christ (v. 38) with the assurance that the gift of salvation is for all whom the Lord our God will call (v. 39).

There were many other things Peter said to the crowd as he warned them. He kept on exhorting them to allow themselves to be saved, rescued from a corrupt (literally, "crooked") generation. The Old Testament labeled the Israelites who wandered in the wilderness a "crooked generation" (Deut 32:5; Ps 78:8). Peter's use of this phrase intensifies the call to repentance. The "wilderness generation" experienced the judgment of God when it did not repent. So will those of the present generation if they do not answer God's call and turn to him in repentance.

The gospel call comes clearly and urgently today. "The question is not, shall I repent? For that is beyond a doubt. But the question is, shall I repent now, when it may save me; or shall I put it off to the eternal world when my repentance will be my punishment?" (Samuel Davies in Wirt and Beckstrom 1974:203).

Three thousand souls welcomed the word (compare 28:30), met its conditions and were baptized. They joined the ranks of the apostles and disciples in the nucleus of the New Testament church. "The kerygma,indeed, has the power to evoke that which it celebrates" (Willimon 1988:36).

We must not be negligent either in giving or heeding invitations. Lloyd Ogilvie strongly encourages pastors to make invitation a standard part of regular worship services. In whatever form--whether printing an invitation in the bulletin, designating a room for inquirers or calling people forward during a closing hymn--the Lord's call for those to be saved should be consistently present. "People are more ready than we dare to assume. And why not? The Holy Spirit is at work!" (Ogilvie 1983:73).

May God bless you and your beloved in abundance in the name of Jesus, Amen

Source, click here

My inmost being

One of my favorite bible verses!

If you think you are standing...

be careful that you don't fall. No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up over it!

1 Corinthians 10: 12-13

A Warning For Us

All other ages pointed toward this last great one in which we live. Notice "all" of them received God"s blessings and mercy (1 Corinthians 10:1-4), yet "some" turned away (1 Corinthians 7:1-40; 1 Corinthians 8:1-13; 1 Corinthians 9:1-27; 1 Corinthians 10:1-33). Their sins grew out of lust (James 1:14-15; 1 John 2:16-17). Since they had many blessings yet fell, it serves to warn us. Trusting obedience will keep us from falling (1 Corinthians 10:11-12; 2 Peter 1:10).

1 Corinthians 10:13 teaches God watches out for us as individuals and providentially cares for us. It also shows he has control over all things, even the forces of evil, since he will not allow too much pressure to be brought against us. General kinds of temptation are listed in 1 John 2:15-17. Other Israelites had resisted that which caused some to fall.

Source: in G Hampton's commentary.

Have you taken the time to read the word of God today in the middle of all you activities, I know that at times it's hard to find time but as they say, if there is a will there is a way or rather ask the Lord to help you manage your time and go for it. Aren't we privileged to be in a safe country where we are free to pray, to gather in a fellowship and to encourage each other, to take communion and to read the bible at any time. Let's fix our eyes on our saviour Jesus-Christ who watches over us. Let's take time to listen to him and ask the Holy Spirit to guide us on the right path away from the turbulences and wicked behaviour of the world. 

I  pray that the Lord bless you and your beloved and keep you safe under his wings in the name of Jesus-Christ Amen

His perfect will!

An evangelist boasted during a crusade that his God was more able than all the other gods in the town and the powers of the universe that the villagers worshipped put together. Just then, rainstorm sounds started sounding overhead, threatening the progress of the crusade. 
The evangelist lifted up his voice and declared with confidence that if the rains fell, then he wasn't a man of God; he would stop preaching!
Before he could finish his boast , the rains began to hit the crusade grounds so vehemently, apparently in disregard to his declarations !
The whole town left the crusade grounds to their houses, shaking their heads in disappointment and dismay.
The evangelist, so distraught and angry, packed up and left the town the next day. On his way through the next town, he checked into a local drinking spot and drank himself to stupor.
As he laid on the ground cursing God, an old seedy looking man tapped him gently on the shoulder.
"Man of God", the old man began.
But the evangelist quickly cut in, "don't mention the name of God to me. He is fake. He is unreliable. I am no longer a believer in this God. A God who chooses to disgrace his servants. Leave me alone!"
But the old man would not let him be. He continued,"I am the fetish priest in the village you just preached at. During your one week stay in that village, you destroyed all the charms I had made for the people for 45 years!
Your prayers and your words always came with some fearful fire and power. I tried so many times to eliminate you but i couldn't. My last chance came yesterday. I had loaded my gun with gun powder lying in wait on the mountaintop where I had a very clear view of you. My plan was to shoot you from a distance since I couldn't get close enough to you due to the fire around you.
But just when i lifted the gun, the rains came from nowhere, wetting my gunpowder and covering you in a cloud so that i couldn't even see you. All I saw was a bright man holding a sword in front of you. I was so terrified. I concluded that your God was indeed all powerful and Almighty. That is why I 've been looking for you since then. I want to follow this your God!" Alleluia!
The ex-evangelist bowed his head in shame!

Dear friends, sometimes, it is just wise for us to believe that our Father knows the way He is taking us. We should just trust His leading. Let our boast be in the Lord, not in ourselves.
If we decree a thing and it doesn't happen, let us not see it as disappointment or dishonor from the Father. Let us just believe that the Father wants his perfect will to be done in all things.
A friend sent this to me and it has motivated me.
Everything that happens is for a positive purpose for a child of God.
We might not see it but God does everything to always favour us.
God is in control all right!
I found this story in another blog however I am sorry to say that it must have been a late night and I forgot to get the link. If it's your blog let me know. God bless you all

The only one God to bring you freedom!

My friends out there, if you are in pain, in trouble, emotionally hurting or dying inside, do not despair, have you ever taken the time to consider Jesus-Christ? 

In the Bible, the apostle John writes:  16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Consider then Jesus-Christ who walked on our earth to save us not to condemn us.

Jesus-Christ who was crucified for our sins instead of us. This is why Jesus is called our Redeemer, He's taken on him the price of our debt. 

Isaiah, a prophet of the Lord in the Old Testament prophesizes about Jesus-Christ dying for us on the cross. Call on Him and He who is the only living God, will give you freedom and take your burdens on Himself. 

Trust God to take away your fear!

2 Timothy 1:7
7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
In some versions, it says 'cowardice' instead of fear, in others, it speaks of 'timidity'

Our King and Saviour, Jesus tells us in the gospel of John 14:27

27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Again, in the  Gospel of Matthew 6:34 Jesus tells us: Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

The apostle Peter encourages us too, he says in 1 Peter 5:6:7
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.
7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

So brothers and sisters in Christ, let's us be joyful today and confident in Jesus-Christ, our rock and King, not letting our heart tremble by what we hear or see in the news for He loves us, we are his beloved children.  Amen.

Were not our hearts burning within us?

On the Road to Emmaus

13 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles[a] from Jerusalem.14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16 but they were kept from recognizing him.(C)

17 He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”

They stood still, their faces downcast. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”

19 “What things?” he asked.

“About Jesus of Nazareth,”they replied. “He was a prophet,(F) powerful in word and deed before God and all the peopl20 The chief priests and our rulers(G) handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21 but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel.(H) And what is more, it is the third day(I) since all this took place. 22 In addition, some of our women amazed us.(J) They went to the tomb early this morning 23 but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive.24 Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”(K)

25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?”27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

28 As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. 29 But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.

30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 32 They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”33 They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together 34 and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” 35 Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.

On this rock!

Dear friends, I have the pleasure to share with you this beautiful worship song interpreted by Steven A. Have a blessed day in the name of Jesus. Amen

Syria: under bombs and under fire

TO SECRETARY JOHN KERRY AND PRESIDENT OBAMA,

The repeated targeting of healthcare workers and hospitals by the Russian and Syrian governments are war crimes. We call on you to give Syria’s heroic healthcare workers and the communities they serve a zone free from bombing to ensure their protection. The international community has agreed the bombs need to stop. The resolutions are in place. They simply need to be enforced.

SPREAD THE WORD

BOMBS AND UNDER FIRE

We are in an emergency. In July 2016 a medical facility was attacked on average every 17 hours. Many facilities have been attacked multiple times, often changing location for safety. When they started building a hospital in one northern Syrian town, local residents begged them to move -- knowing the hospital would be targeted.

Since Syria’s peaceful uprising was met with brutal force doctors have been systematically targeted by the Syrian government and its allies. For the Syrian government anyone treating people on ‘the other side’ is a valid target, and their elimination part of a deliberate strategy to force people back into areas under its control. 

Of the 750 medical workers killed since the beginning of the conflict, all but 52 have been killed by Syrian or Russian government attacks - this is just what has been documented, the real number is likely much higher. 

Despite being in clear contravention of international humanitarian law, medics have been executed and tortured. One doctor who was interrogated said “the most important thing was not to reveal my medical work,” since it is common knowledge that doctors are tortured worse than other prisoners.

However, the biggest killer of medical workers in Syria is neither torture nor execution. The greatest threat comes from the air - the Syrian government and Russian bombing. At least 750 medical workers have been killed and over 400 hospital attacks have been destroyed by these indiscriminate weapons. 

These attacks are not just killing physicians and damaging hospitals, but destroying entire communities. When you kill a doctor in Syria, you are ensuring that hundreds, if not thousands, of people will die. 

When you destroy a medical facility, you push people out of their communities to seek desperately needed services. In addition to routine aerial attacks targeting hospitals, health workers face a chronic lack of supplies and specialists. This is particularly dire in besieged areas, where treatable diseases and injuries can be a death sentence.

Bristol - Limoges

10:40. Limoges airport was full of expats waiting for their beloved to come through customs and it took more time than usual, half an hour! My sister-in -law Pauline did not show any sign of nervosity after her flight but I know how hard it's been for her to come to visit us by plane. She did think of coming by coach but it would have taken 23 hours (Bristol - Poitiers) 

Last time she flew to Spain was 16 years ago and she just remembered the scary turbulences! 

The first thing she told me about the flight was that the Lord gave her peace of mind before the flight and she felt very grateful! 

We are proud of her and so pleased that she made it. Tomorrow is market day in Civray, then we'll have a walk round the town. 

It's been a warm day here and I hear that in Bristol, it was pouring all day.

We were all babies once!

When I read this verse in Jeremiah I was in awe. This verse opened my eyes to our Father's deep love for all his children not just when they pop out but when they are tiny. It also meant that we cannot forget that the beginning of life is happening in a mother's womb and that at each step of its 'knitting' it's precious. 

In Psalm 139 13-14 The Psalmist reminds us that each baby is wonderfully made. 

What do scientists make of those amazing verses? According to Dr. Alfred M. Bongiovanni, professor of obstetrics at the University of Pennsylvania, 'human life begins at the time of conception. I submit that human life is present throughout this entire sequence from conception to adulthood and that any interruption at any point throughout this time constitutes a termination of human life.” 

Speaking of the early stages of a child’s development in the womb, Professor Bongiovanni says, “I am no more prepared to say that these early stages represent an incomplete human being than I would be to say that the child prior to the dramatic effects of puberty is not a human being. This is human life at every stage.”

Also Dr. Jerome LeJeune, genetics professor at the University of Descartes in Paris, states, “after fertilization has taken place a new human being has come into being.” He says this “is no longer a matter of taste or opinion. Each individual has a very neat beginning, at conception.”

Professor Micheline Matthews-Roth of Harvard University Medical School argues, “It is scientifically correct to say that an individual human life begins at conception.”

To conclude, I share these verses found in the Book of Job, ch 10 v 8:12 when Job is in utter adversity and rightly worried about his future! 

“Your hands shaped me and made me.

    Will you now turn and destroy me?

9 

Remember that you molded me like clay.

    Will you now turn me to dust again?

10 

Did you not pour me out like milk

    and curdle me like cheese,

11 

clothe me with skin and flesh

    and knit me together with bones and sinews?

12 

You gave me life and showed me kindness,

    and in your providence watched over my spirit.

UK gene editing: taking place soon!

The following information is very disturbing! Is this really going to happen!

A British ethics committee has greenlighted the use of human embryos for genetic research.

Dr Kathy Niakan of London’s Francis Crick Institute was given permission by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority earlier this year to edit single genes, despite international criticism. Christian Concern’s Chief Executive, Andrea Williams, said at the time that the move had crossed a "dangerous ethical line".

The Cambridge Central Research Ethics Committee, the relevant regulator in this case, has now given Dr Niakan the go-ahead, making the UK the first country to approve gene editing and only the second to attempt it. China previously experimented on embryos but this was not approved by a regulator.

Single gene editing

The new technique, known as Crispr-Cas9 (CRISPR), is thought to be able to edit single genes, by making the 'faulty' gene inactive or replacing it with a healthy copy. This would alter the DNA of an embryo.

Experiments, which will begin later this year, would take place on the human embryo within the first seven days of its life, and afterwards it would be destroyed. The embryos will be donated by women who have some left over, after undergoing IVF treatment.

The practice has not only been criticised for destroying human life, but there are also concerns about both the technique’s unknown consequences and the potential to create ‘designer babies’.

Dr David King, director of the Human Genetics Alert organisation, said earlier this year: "This is the first step in a well-mapped-out process which is leading to GM babies, and a future of consumer eugenics."

'Misleading'

Scientists claim that CRISPR will be able to discover the reason for failed IVF and miscarriages.

"We would really like to understand the genes that are needed for an embryo to develop into a healthy baby," Dr Niakan claimed.

"Miscarriage and infertility are extremely common but they are not very well understood. We believe that this research could improve our understanding of the very earliest stages of human life."

"If we were to understand the genes, it could really help us improve infertility treatment and provide crucial insights into the causes of miscarriage."

Yet experts have warned that this claim is misleading. Earlier this year, Dr Peter Saunders of Christian Medical Fellowship said:

"The fact is that we already have quite a good understanding of what causes IVF failure and miscarriage and it has very little to do with anything that can fixed by Crispr-Cas9.

"Only abnormalities in single genes can be readily fixed with gene editing of the sort that the Crick Institute is proposing. Gene editing tools like Crispr-Cas9 do not fix chromosomal abnormalities".

Pushing boundaries

Dr Trevor Stammers, Programme Director in Bioethics and Medical Law at St Mary's University, has also spoken about the many concerns surrounding gene editing and its approval in the UK.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4 in February, he outlined the moral problems with the destruction of human embryos and the dangers of introducing even restricted experimentation.

By gradually removing restrictions surrounding the technique, he explained, the practice will be "unstoppable", as scientists push to break further scientific boundaries.

'Ploughing ahead heedlessly'

Commenting on the Cambridge Research Ethics Committee’s approval of gene editing, Christian Concern’s Chief Executive, Andrea Williams, said:

"It is disappointing that an ethics committee should greenlight this kind of experimentation. The number of ethical considerations involved in gene editing has led many nations to warn against its use, yet here in the UK, scientists are ploughing ahead heedlessly. An ethics committee should aim to safeguard human lives at every stage, not condone their destruction for the purpose of experimentation."

Read more here

What is love then?

What is love?

In Peter's epistle, we read: 'Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins' (1 Peter 4:8) 

Here is another verse that I like too.

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

 1 Corinthians 13:1 

And I mustn't forget this one:

7Beloved, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.9This is how God’s love was revealed among us: God sent His one and only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him.…

1 John 4:8

What is love then? When we go at a wedding, we often hear those verses about love. You may have heard them before, you may not!

4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails.

It's a definition of the perfect love! (1 Corinthians 13:4-8) 

Hope in the name of Jesus!

Anchor of our soul

Even youths (teenagers) grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 

but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary, 

they will walk and not be faint. 

Isaiah 40:30-31

God’s Chosen Servant

15 Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. A large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were ill.

 16 He warned them not to tell others about him.

 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:
18 “Here is my servant whom I have chosen,
the one I love, in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will proclaim justice to the nations.
19 He will not quarrel or cry out;
no one will hear his voice in the streets.
20 A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out,
till he has brought justice through to victory.
21 In his name the nations will put their hope.”

Matthew 12:15-21

Encouraging verse!

The English Standard Version says

Psalm 42:8

By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,

and at night his song is with me,

a prayer to the God of my life.

Puffin Rock

Our three year old daughter loves a children's program called Puffin Rock; read on , click on the link 
Dreaming of the Country : Puffin Rock:

One way to make picture quotes on line!

Love your neighbour: One way to make picture quotes on line!:

Good morning friends You must have noticed those picture quotes everywhere.

Missing Chibok girl found after 2 years

When Amina Ali Nkeki was kidnapped by the Nigerian terrorist group Boko Haram more than two years ago, she was a mere schoolgirl.

On Tuesday night, she apparently wandered out of a forest, asking for help, accompanied by a baby and a man who claimed to be her husband, according to witnesses.

The man is being investigated by Nigeria's joint intelligence center, according to a military statement.
Amina Ali is the first of the more than 200 Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram to be freed after the two years in captivity, Nigerian military officials say.

Military officials and locals gave different accounts of how she was liberated. Nigeria's army said she was rescued by army troops, but a witness told CNN the girl wandered out of the Sambisa Forest in the northeast of the country along with her child and a man.

The Sambisa Forest, believed to be the terrorist group's stronghold, has long been the suspected location of the girls. As many as 276 of them were kidnapped at gunpoint from their boarding school in Chibok in Borno, northeast Nigeria, on April 14, 2014.

At least 57 girls were able to escape soon after their abduction, but more than 200 of them remain missing.

Breaking news, click here

Please join me as I am praying for the safe return of all the rest of the girls home. May our Father protect them and may He change the hearts of their kidnappers in the beautiful name of Jesus-Christ our Saviour. Amen

Nigeria-Chibok Girls: BBOG Campaigners March To Presidential Villa

Nigerian Government
Bring back all our Abducted Girls

The march in commemoration of the 2-year anniversary of the Chibok girls abduction, which started from the Unity Fountain climaxed as planned at the Presidential Villa.
That did not, however, stop the campaigners from continuing with their planned itinerary at the Presidency which ended with a press conference.

They delivered their message to the President right there.
First they asked the President to act fast to rescue the girls, some of which some parents had just identified in recent pictures on CNN.
Other major demand of the group is that government should investigate every case of kidnapping, whether or not it is related to Chibok, set up a missing persons verification bureau as well as a rehabilitation platform for victims of insurgency.


The Chairman of the Chibok community, Tsambido Hosea, asked for the establishment of a special search and rescue team with a special mandate to locate and rescue the Chibok girls.

He said that members of the community have continued to grieve over the faith of the girls and are asking the federal government to step up efforts to find them.

The campaigners said that 731 days is no joke and is too long a time for young girls to be left at the mercy of insurgents and away from home but they are not giving up until the girls are back and alive.

They insisted that government must act fast on the new information available.
One of the parents of the Chibok girls, Esther Yakubu, while berating the Police for denying them access to the Presidential Villa, said tearfully, “It is not our fault. We didn’t beg for it and we didn’t pay the Boko Haram to kidnap our girls. They did it just to fulfill their selfish interest.”