Blind Freddy is the one who knows it all ~ even before it began, he knew.
Amazing!
It is amazing that someone could know what would happen before it did.
It is amazing that someone could recognise the faults in a decision even before they were enacted
It’s amazing!
And for many, that is how they see what God is doing.
They know what God would do.
“Blind Freddy” could tell you what would happen.
But what if the opposite happens
What if some thing happens that you are not prepared for.
Take the corona virus for instance.
None of us were prepared for this
And I, for one, was not prepared for this day, this day that we have church, without actually meeting together.It’s different and it’s strange because we are not used to it.
They tell us nothing like this has happened since World War 11.
And many of us were not around for that.
But here we are today.
Would Blind Freddy have predicted it?
What I do know is that God knew.
How do I know?
Well, all I can say is I believe.
I believe in a God who does see everything before it happens
And I believe in a God who uses everything that happens to bring life.
Those who were with JESUS that day saw the blind man and wanted to know whose sin caused the man to be blind.
JESUS response I am sure shocked them because even Blind Freddy would not have seen it coming.
“No sin caused this,”, JESUS said.
Rather he was blind so the power of god could be seen in him.
I am the Light of the World.”

God less you
Ron

Now that we have worked out who JESUS is, you would think everything would get a little easier.
And by everything, I simply mean, trusting and following Him and having faith.
But that doesn’t seem to be the way things work out.
Take Peter for instance.
On two occasions he recognised JESUS to be the Son of God ….first when JESUS asked them all who they thought He was, and Peter answered that He was the Son of God.
And then on the Mount of transfiguration, He sees JESUS for who He really is.
You would think that is all Peter needed to be strong in his faith.
AND SO, on the night JESUS was betrayed, Peter took with him a sword, and went out into the Garden and when trouble came, Peter was the first to attack.
BUT what Peter was unprepared for was Jesus’ intentions, and when JESUS told him to put his sword away, he was lost and so he ran.
Later that night, still filled with confusion and uncertainty, Peter denied three times that he knew JESUS.
So much for learning something Peter.
You see, JESUS doesn’t need rescuing.
JESUS doesn’t need someone to stand up for Him
He wants us to be followers.
People, who will see what He is doing, and fall in behind, not running off in front.
And so, here’s the thing: JESUS doesn’t always do what we expect.
He sees things differently and He invites us to watch and follow.
Sometimes that is harder to do than doing.
But like Peter, when you get on God’s wave length it is wonderful.
God bless you as you seek to follow.

God Bless

Ron French

JUST WHO IS JESUS?

To some the answer is a no brainer.
He is the Son of God.
But what does that mean?
I mean, how did God get a son?
Especially when you consider that scripture tells us that JESUS is also God.
How can JESUS be the son of God and God as well?
How did the early church come up with this thing that we call Trinity ~ that God is three persons yet one.
As I have said a few times since I have been here, we tend to see JESUS as being human.
AND we also seem to treat God the Father as being human too.
I mean, that is understandable, considering we have no other benchmark.
We only know and see humans.
But and here’s the thing: JESUS was a ‘being’ before he became human.
Scripture tells us He was there at the creation.
In John’s terms, He was the Word who became flesh.
And as Paul writes, he emptied Himself of His divinity in order to become fully human with us
This period of Lent in the Christian year helps us stop and take in just who is JESUS, and our reading this morning, gives us a glimpse of just who He is.
Of course, to fully understand who JESUS is, you need to have faith (which I will talk about next Sunday).
Faith is not something you do.
It is not a verb.
it is a noun, which means it is something you receive and take hold of.
As you lean into Lent and ponder these things you will discover the hope of the nations, and discover as well the love that the Father has for you.

God bless you
Ron