A couple of nights ago before I went to sleep, I opened my Bible at a random page and started to read. The chapter I was reading happened to be Ezekiel 33. Sometimes when I read the Scriptures, I struggle to get any freshness out of them. Not because there is no freshness there, as my friend Rolly says, "the trees of the Lord are full of sap", Psalm 104:16. When we are dry, it is not because there is no satisfaction or saturation available for us (Psalm 1). Ezekiel 33 tells the story of the watchman. The Lord said He had made Ezekiel a watchman to the house of Israel. He said if the watchman sees the danger coming and does not alert the people, the people will perish and God will require their blood at the watchman's hands. But if the watchman blows the trumpet and the people refuse to heed the warning, the people will perish and the watchman will be innocent of their blood.

This passage has always condemned me in my mind. For I feel that I have not been a good watchman. I am a coward when it comes to witnessing to people, and I have remained silent at times when I should have spoken a word for the Lord. Sometimes I have done this because of the fear of man, and sometimes because I didn't want to stir up controversy. But in reading the chapter this week, I happened to notice something I hadn't seen before.

Ezekiel 33:2-7
Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman: If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand. So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.

The task that was given to the watchman was not a great one, but it was nonetheless very important. When the watchman saw danger coming, all he was required to do was to put his lips to his shofar and to blow as hard as he could. The responsibility then lay with the people as to how they would respond to the alarm. I found encouragement through that, for I thought, I may be a coward when it comes to witnessing for the Lord, but if all I am asked to do is blow a trumpet when I see the enemy coming, then I might be able to do that. Even if I am afraid or if I have no words to speak, I will blow the trumpet as hard as I can for as long as I can, so that all might take notice and know what to do.

We are not promised success in our witnessing. Noah preached for 120 years and only saw his own family saved. Likewise, we may warn the world of the soon coming judgement of God, and we may not have any great success in reaching the people. Some may say, sure Christians have been talking about this for hundreds if not thousands of years! Well there came a day when Noah's preaching ceased, and the flood came and took them all away (Matthew 24:39). So likewise there will come a day when our witness will be finished, and the judgement of this world will come (Matthew 25:10). The Lord Jesus also said that the night cometh, when no man can work (John 9:4). May God help us to be good watchmen, to remain faithful in whatever task He has called us to do.

Isaiah 21:11
The burden of Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?

Numbers 21:4
And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.

As Christians, sometimes our hearts can be much discouraged because of the way. We face many uncertainties in this life. At times we may feel we have our futures all planned out, and then what we expected to happen never comes to pass. That can be very disheartening. This has happened to me a couple of times, and I have often wondered, why when I pray for something for so long and only seek God's will in this thing, does the Lord not grant my request? Or we may face troubles in this life, and we wonder why the Lord has brought us in this way. If God wanted to, He could prevent us from having to ever face difficulties in life. He could fulfill all our desires when we have them, so we need never be discouraged again. But what sort of life would that be? The Lord knows what is best for us, and how would we learn to trust Him if we always had everything that we wanted, or if we never experienced trials?

Well I have felt disappointed this past few days about unanswered prayers, but I have taken courage that the Lord is with me and has a plan for my life. One of my favourite artists is a man called Len Magee. He has written some beautiful songs. One of my favourites is "I'll go before you", and it is based on several scriptures from the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 11:11-12, 31:7-8).

As I have been with you throughout the year
I'll go before you, so have no fear
And I will bring you to the land that I have chosen
I'll go before you, so have no fear

    A land which flows with milk and honey
    With mountain streams and winding valleys
    A land wherein I'll go before you
    My eyes are on this land the whole year through
    I'll go before you, so have no fear

You may not understand what I am doing
I'll go before you, so have no fear
Through fire and flood and cloud, I'll still be here
I'll go before you, so have no fear

I feel that no matter what circumstances I may face in life, no matter what disappointments I may have, no matter what experiences in this life I may be denied, I would not change a thing. Even when I had my motorbike accident, I felt inside that God has hedged in my way, and although I may see other paths over the hedge, I would not want to take them for it would mean forsaking my Lord. Like Israel's exodus from Egypt to the promised land, our life's journey may be fraught with difficulties. Has God promised us an easy life? Has God promised us prosperity and riches? Some seem to think so, but this is not what God has promised us. God has promised to be with us (Matthew 28:20), and I would rather have His presence with me on my journey than to have soul's ease or all the riches of earth. God's eyes are indeed on the land He has promised to give us. We may not understand the way in which He is taking us, but we know that He will go before us in the way. And when I finally arrive at my destination, when I see Him face to face, He won't be a stranger. For I will recognize Him as the One who has been with me every step of the journey, and I will thank Him for ever saving me, and for being with me in the way.

Isaiah 42:16
And I will bring the blind by a way [that] they knew not; I will lead them in paths [that] they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.

This is my God. You can know Him too, if you trust in Him for salvation.

I don't really feel much like commenting on news today. But I would like to get something off my chest, so to speak. I have been feeling very annoyed at something that happened in our assembly on Monday night. We have a prayer meeting in Bethesda on Monday nights, and it is one of the most enjoyable meetings in Bethesda, although there are few that attend. One member of Bethesda was not in attendance. He usually stands at the door and hands hymn books to those coming into the hall. Nobody asked him to do this work, but he took it on after another man who used to do it left some years ago. This man had an operation for throat cancer some years ago, and the cold weather affects him quite badly. On Monday night he was not at the meeting. Some wondered if he was not well. A few others mocked him, asking where the "security man" was, and my own grandfather who is the elder of Bethesda commented that "maybe he got the sack". This man also helps start the singing in our hall, and at the various nursing homes we visit in our town. He also wasn't able to attend the meeting at a nursing home last week, and of that my grandfather said they were missing the "choirmaster".

It really grieved me to listen to their comments on this man, especially considering the only times he misses the prayer meeting is when he is ill. And considering none of them would give of their time to stand at the door and welcome people in. Maybe he isn't the most inviting of people, but in my Bible it's availability that counts, not ability. I wasn't in the mood for praying when I went to the meeting that night as I had been feeling worn out and had a bad day in work, but I hoped that I would receive some encouragement by being there. But instead of receiving encouragement, I was only discouraged by the attitude of these men. So I didn't pray at the prayer meeting last week, and yet nobody asked why and nobody seemed to care. And only one person actually prayed for this man who was absent from our gathering. I didn't want to upset the meeting by saying anything, for Helen's mum was there and she has been through enough stress already without me adding to it.

On our letterhead for Bethesda a verse is written, "Behold how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity", Psalm 133:1. Yet it seems our gathering is not united.

Psalm 133
[[A Song of degrees of David.]] Behold, how good and how pleasant [it is] for brethren to dwell together in unity! [It is] like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, [even] Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, [and as the dew] that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, [even] life for evermore.

How can we pray and expect God to bless us, if there is no unity? How can we pray and expect God to answer, while regarding iniquity in our hearts? Proverbs 6:19 states that one of the things God hates is people that sow discord among brethren. So at present I am feeling a little angry. I am not one to upset a meeting by accusing others of faults, but at the same time I can't bottle-up how I feel inside.

Anyway, tomorrow I go to see Helen in the hospital, and Friday I will be having a day off work too. Not sure what I will be doing, perhaps mostly trying to relax and do something different for a change. Talk later.

Although this website is about reporting the news relating to end time prophecy, I don't always comment on everything that is happening in the world. Sometimes there is so much happening, I have to pick the most important event and let the rest go. Sometimes I purposely don't comment on some news items, for I don't feel particularly exercised about writing about them at the time. But in all the articles, I feel it is most important to quote the Scriptures and present the Gospel if possible, for it is the Word of God which is living and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword. And in all things that the Lord might have the pre-eminence. 

Sometimes my zeal for the Lord wanes, and I wonder at times if I am really being as much of a witness for Christ as I should be. I remember reading a story once about two children. I don't remember who this was written by, but the author told of two children who were going to visit a dear old man. The elder child, who had visited the old man before, had decided to pick berries for to give him as a present. The younger child helped to pick berries too. The elder child gathered a whole big bunch of berries, but the younger child grew hungry and ended up eating half of her own berries that she was going to give to the old man. Whenever they reached his house, the elder child presented her gift to the old man, who was very grateful. The younger child presented her gift also and the man was very grateful, but she stood with tears in her eyes. When the elder child asked what was wrong, she said, "If I had known how kind your friend was, I would have given him all my berries".

A few years ago I went to stay with a very kind old Christian couple in Inverness, Scotland. They were friends of Helen, and they had looked after her when she was studying to be a mid-wife in Scotland. Helen and I were to stay in their house for a week as guests, while we visited some of her friends. Mum had given me boxes of biscuits to give them as a present for looking after us. I gave Edwin the biscuits as soon as I arrived in the door, and the man and his wife were both very thankful. I was glad that mum had sent presents with me to give them, for I later discovered they were some of the kindest people you could ever meet. And all this made me think of the above story.

The same is true of our service for the Lord. No matter what we have done for the Lord Jesus Christ on earth, if it is done with the right motives, He will be pleased. We will receive that commendation, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou has been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things", Matthew 25:21. To hear that will be reward enough for me. Forget the mansion, forget the crowns, forget everything else... to know that the Lord has found something praiseworthy in His servant that He has been able to use for His glory, the joy of knowing that will last me for eternity. But to know the kindness of the Lord, and to know that I could have given Him more, that would bring tears to my eyes. As the hymn says, Bye and bye when I look on His face, I'll wish I had given Him more. I hope that the Lord will enable me to give Him more, before He comes to take us home.

Malachi 3:16-17
Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.