"Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness." - Psalm 143 V10

"Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is." - Ephesians 5 V17

What is the most important task for you in your life? Is serving God more important than living life? Do we seek the will of God in everything we do?  These are the questions we should ask ourselves and see where we stand. Discouragements in life may be overwhelming but we should rather keep our focus on Christ and seek His will in everything we do. Trust in His strength and rely on Him for all our needs. Before going to the cross even Christ was tempted when the world's sins were laid on Him, yet He chose to die on the cross and do the will of our Father. For all who believed in Him for them He gave the power to become the sons of God, and also, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." (Romans 8 V14). Let us pray and seek the will of God and let Him be the Lord of our life for we are now the sons of God!

French President Nicholas Sarkozy has hailed tomorrow's Paris summit as the "best news for peace in the Middle East". Forty-one of the forty-four heads of state invited to the summit have agreed to attend. The list of participants include Albania, Algeria, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Latvia, Lebanon, Libya, Lithuania, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, Palestinian Authority, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey and the United Kingdom. French President Nicholas Sarkozy and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will co-host the event. But it is the presence Syrian President Bashar Assad and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that is expected to steal the show. Both countries have been involved in indirect peace negotiations since May, and have signalled their readiness to move to direct talks. 

There was a mixed reaction to the proposal for a Union for the Mediterranean (UPM) when it was first announced following Sarkozy's election in October 2007. Northern European states originally feared that the new project could become a competitor to the European Union, and objected to EU money being used to fund an initiative they had no part in. Arab states were concerned that the UPM would be dominated by wealthier European states, and objected to Israel's inclusion in the group. But the plan was adopted by the European Union on the 13th of March, and on the 13th of July the new Union for the Mediterranean will be formed...

Quote: "The union was the brainchild of his special advisor and speech-writer Henri Guaino. In Toulon in February 2007, Sarkozy said he wanted "to be the president of a France that will set the Mediterranean on the path of its reunification, after 12 centuries of division..." He wanted "to achieve a new Renaissance... undertake with this project a policy of civilisation as envisioned by the philosophers of the Enlightenment." In Tangiers last October, Sarkozy said: "Within every man and woman who lives on the shores of the Mediterranean sleeps the memory, nostalgia, for the unity lost 15 centuries ago." Not since the Italian dictator Mussolini revived the ancient Roman concept of Mare Nostrum ("our sea" in Latin) has a politician held such high ambitions for the Mediterranean.

Revelation 13:1
And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

And as you can see from these two maps, despite the watering-down of Sarkozy's original proposal, the above quotation is an apt description of what is happening here. For it seems that the European Union and the Union for the Mediterranean are fulfilments of Biblical prophecy. The old Roman Empire is being revived, just as the Bible predicted. Throughout the centuries Christians have proclaimed the rebirth of the nation of Israel and the revival of the old Roman Empire. These Christians staggered not at the promises of God, though there was little evidence of these things coming to pass during their lifetimes. We have been privileged to witness the rebirth of the nation of Israel and the revival of the old Roman Empire. There is no excuse. The fact that there is a nation called Israel in the world is plain for all to see. And just in case you are not sure if the EU is the revival of the old Roman Empire, we have the frequent allusions to it by European leaders, the references to it in EU paraphernalia, the design of the EU parliament building, the motif on our coins, and the geographical area of the EU and UPM are roughly the same. The EU is the revived Roman Empire, no question about it.  The Bible predicted over 2000 years ago that these things would happen. And today they are coming to pass before our very eyes. If the Bible was right about these things, what other things does the Bible say that we should know about? Jesus Christ is coming back soon (John 14:3). First, to take all those who have trusted in Him for salvation to be with Him where He is (John 14:3). And again, to judge this world for its wickedness (2nd Thessalonians 1:7-8). We need to be ready for His coming. How we can be ready? The Bible says our sins have separated between us and God (Isaiah 59:2). And if we die in our sins, where God is we cannot go (John 8:21). We need to have our sins forgiven. How can we have our sins forgiven? God sent His only Son Jesus Christ into this world 2000 years ago. He took God's punishment for your sins when He died upon the cross (Isaiah 53:6). All who believe on Him for salvation can have their sins forgiven and have eternal life in heaven (John 3:16). Turn away from your sins. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation today and you shall be saved (Acts 16:31).

Source Irish Times, Bloomberg, Wikipedia

"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." - Psalm 23 V6

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness..." - Galatians 5 V22

Those who follow the Lord and trust in Him, surely goodness and mercy shall follow them. The Spirit of the Lord is the gift to every follower of Jesus Christ and one of the fruit of the Spirit is goodness. Our Lord is faithful and His reward is great to all who follow Him. Praise God!

"for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God. - John 16 V27

"nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." - Romans 8 V39

God's love is unconditional towards us. God loves us no matter who we are or what we are. Sin separates us from God but still God so loved us that He sent His Son Jesus Christ to redeem us from our sins and He will forgive and accept all who come to Him through Christ. There is nothing that can separate us from the love of God and every person is invited to experience the abounding love and blessings of God through Christ our Lord.

"But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed." - Isaiah 53 V5

"O Lord, You have pleaded the case for my soul; You have redeemed my life." - Lamentations 3 V58

When the Son has set us free we are free indeed. The love of God is so great that He humbled and became flesh and lived a lowly life and preached the divine hope and ultimately He was bruised and He died for our iniquities. We enjoy eternal life by believing in His name but He paid the price which cost Him much more than what can be expressed. He will come again as the King of kings and the Lord of lords and all who believed in Him shall reign with Him for eternity. Christ only is worthy of all the praise and glory. Amen!