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I can but excuse myself for sending out yet another article today by quoting Jeremiah!

“Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay,” Jeremiah 20:9.

Most sincerely in Christ’s name,

Ivan Foster

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CRUMBLING BRITAIN!!

It is almost impossible to keep up with the visible evidences of the withdrawal of God’s kindness and mercy toward our nation, occasioned by the continuing and stubborn defiance of the Lord by the nation’s leadership, political and ecclesiastical, and its general population.

Blindness and ignorance of God’s truth has engendered the notion that we can ‘thumb our nose’ at the Lord and His truth, without any ramifications. That is most certainly not so!

“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting,” Galatians 6:7-8. This warning was written some 2000 years ago but is imperatively true still today!

Of late there has arisen, suddenly and without warning as far as the general public are concerned but that which must have been known by various agencies of government for quite some time, a great alarm about the innumerable buildings which were constructed by using a ‘a cheap version of concrete, and which are now in danger of collapse.

As a result, belatedly, schools have been forced to close on the very eve of a new school year. (more…)

“Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll. And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness. And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them,” Ezekiel 3:1-4.

On August 29th, I began reading the book of Ezekiel as part of my daily reading. On Thursday, the last day of August, I read the above verses at the beginning of the chapter in Ezekiel for that day.

I was immediately struck by what it was the Lord said to Ezekiel and saw the character and features of a true servant of God set out in the verses. I would like to share the thoughts that arose in my heart at that time.

While there is much in this book which, on the surface, appears ‘hard to understand’ (2 Peter 3:16), that difficulty arises from the dulness of our minds regarding the things of God and is not to be made an excuse to avoid reading and studying this wonderful book.

The verses which head this article are not difficult to ‘decipher’! The Lord here speaks plainly though employing metaphorical language at times.

I. THE FIRST THING I NOTICE ABOUT A TRUE MAN OF GOD IS HIS CALL BY GOD TO BE HIS SERVANT.

“Moreover he said unto me, Son of man . . . .”

I recall that early in my Christian walk, I heard Dr Paisley quote a saying by the great C H Spurgeon. The honoured Baptist preacher was in conversation with a young man who was enquiring about the requirements of being a preacher of God’s Word. CHS questioned the young man on his desire to be a preacher and told him that if there was anything else in life that he COULD DO, then he was to do it! Preachers are men who can do NONE OTHER than preach. They are driven men.

It is true, many of God’s great servants were most reluctant to respond to God’s call. Moses was one such. He put up many objections. This was the final one. “And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue,” Exodus 4:10. The Lord answered this objection also. “And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say,” Exodus 4:11-13. (more…)

“For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be,” Psalm 37:10.

It is acknowledged by many scientists that the universe is boundless. Every new and improved telescope that man has produced gives evidence of this truth. The Evolutionists pontificate about the ‘big bang’ as being the origin of the universe billions of years ago and that it is ever expanding, but I do not believe either notion.

Genesis chapter 1 tells us clearly HOW the universe came into being. Nehemiah wrote: “Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee,” Nehemiah 9:6.

I believe that here the prophet is telling us, by divine inspiration, that there was an immediate and complete creating of all that exists.  Isaiah the prophet put it like this. “It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in,” Isaiah 40:22. Here the prophet is telling us, again by divine inspiration, that as one pulls across a curtain or erects a tent, so the Lord in the six days of creation, stretched out — spread out the heavens in one glorious act so that what they are today came into existence on the second day of creation. “And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day,” Genesis 1:6-8.

Here is a Christian scientist’s view on the subject: Age of the Universe

I. FROM THE BEGINNING OF TIME AT THE CREATION UNTIL ITS END, AT THE GREAT WHITE THRONE OF JUDGMENT, IT IS BUT A SHORT PERIOD!

1. Of course, that is God’s view of time for He sees it in the light of His eternity. There is just no illustration that comes anywhere near setting forth this truth. To speak of a speck of dust in comparison to the earth, falls very far short of truly illustrating the contrast between time and eternity! If we were to replace the earth with the endless universe, we might be getting nearer to a proper resemblance of the true relationship between ‘time’ and ‘eternity’!

2. God has ordered all things that will take place within the sphere of time. This is a mystery to our human minds. It appears to contradict the freedom of man and seems to suggest fatalism, we cannot do other than that which God has predestinated! (more…)