Safe.

In the book of Jeremiah 38v26 we read ,but the Lord hid them, the wicked king Jehoiakim sought to arrest Gods servants, and shut them up, but God kept them safe. I read once of a dear Christian who was being hunted , a spider came and spun its web over the entrance, of were he was hiding, his pursurer saw the web, and moved on. Feel safe today, Psalm 121 v8, tells us ,The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this day forth, and for evermore.

Taller than trees.

There is an old Gospel hymn which goes ,on your knees you are taller than trees, there are more things accomplished by prayer than we could ever realize, have confidence today as you pray. Consider the tremendous potential in your prayers, dont look at your weakness being a problem, its your strength. Unlike people who despise weakness ,not so God , He tells us our weaknesses are our strength , so look up to God and in the name of Jesus ask.

Snuggle dont struggle.

Nice memories are precious, like when your children are babies ,and you hold them in your arms,as they sleep so trusting,to them it is a place comfort and saftey,there they feel secure. There is a lovely verse in Deuteronomy 33v27. which reads ,The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms, why dont we just snuggle into those everlasting arms today, and we will find that we are safe and secure from all alarms.

Our greatest need.

So many people are carrying burdens, financial, physical, the list goes on, there is a story in Mark 2 of a man who was paraliyzed, its a remarkable story[ do read it], two things in the story, faith, Jesus saw faith in Him, to meet the needs , were are we looking , is it to Jesus?. The next thing we see, Jesus , forgiving the mans sins, oh yes He did heal the man, you see what we need first of all is our sins to be forgiving, first things first, thats our greatest need, and that need can only be met through faith in Jesus.

Lost all.

Recently on the news I have heard people saying that they had lost all,and they had ,that is, lost all their material possessions .I do understand what they mean , and my prayers are with them,yet in another sense they had not lost all, they still had their lives, like most people they live purely on a material level. Jesus said, what shall it profit a man if they gained the whole world and lose his own soul [MT 16V26] , to lose ones soul , thats really losing all.

Cutting corners.

I am not the perfect driver, sometimes I cut corners,sometimes it is dangerous, there is a king in the O.T. called Saul ,he cut corners,the result he lost his way,and he lost his throne. Do things Gods way, be truthful, be faithful, and leave God to vindicate you.

The runaway.

There is a man in the Bible called Onesimus[Philemon] , he runaway from his master,his name means useful, but it appears he was anything but useful.You and I will meet people like Onesimus, [mybe we are like him ,or were like him], we might think they are useless, lazy, not trustworthy, well this useless runaway,came into contact with a Christian, called Paul, he heard the good news,that Jesus died for runaways and nogooders,he became a new person, changed. Dont give up on the useless runaways, God doesnt, pray for them , pray for them.

What God can do.

I know God is the God of the impossible, after all one just has to consider creation, we are encouraged to have faith in the God of the impossible.The apostle Paul experienced many dificulties C.P. 2Corinthians 11V22 ff, yet he still believed in the God of the impossible, consider this wonderful verse Ephesians 3v20. Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, what will God do ?,the impossible , have faith in God.

What God cannot do.

Titus 1v2 tells us that God cannot lie,He is a God of truth, all He says He will do,He will fulfill ,He can be trusted completley.Let me ask you, are you filled with doubt? about your salvation, well dont ,remember what God has promised, John the apostle wrote with the purpose of giving assurance to the believers,1 John 4v13 , reads,These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God,that ye may know that ye have eternal life. So cast aside your doubts , and trust the God who cannot lie.

I love.

I love the way the Bible, tells us the good and the bad in humanity, especially the main players, like , David, Jacob,and others.There are a number of reasons for this, to discourage hero worship , to remind us that even the best of people are in the end, sinners, like everyone else. We need not become cynical or despise them , God loved them , just as He loves you and I, the wonder of that love is this ,He knows the best about us, and the worse about us, His love really is unconditional and amazing, let us all look to proof of that unconditial love, the Cross of Christ.

Holiday time again

Just to say I will be on holiday so no new blogs till I come back in a weeks time.

A life of faith.

The Christian life is a life of faith,it means exactly that, so it is ongoing, every day brings new challenges, the book of Hebrews, deals with a people , who were in grave danger of going back on the life of faith , just like the Israelites in the wilderness ,there were reasons ,persecutions ,taking their eyes of Jesus. Let us remember in this life of faith , the enemy of our souls ,and our weaknesses , will be actively seeking to draw us away from God, and the life of faith , so today , ask God to grant you the Grace to carry on in this life of faith, ask and you shall recieve, in the name of Jesus.

He went about doing good.

Often people say im tired, In 2 Thessalonians3v13 [nlt] we read, never get tired of doing good,there are reasons why we may get tired of doing good, those we help may never seem to appreciate what we do for them , they take us for granted, they never say thanks. As a preacher I often wonder why people seem so unresponsive ,let us remember that what ever we do, it should be as unto the Lord , and that one day He wil reward us[Revelation 22 v12], remember its His well done that counts.

I am going to do.

We make our plans, and we plan to do different things, favourite verses of mine , Proverbs 3v5-6[a.v],Trust in the Lord with all thine heart , and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths. There are four simple truths in these verses, [1] trust in the Lord completlely. [2] Submit all to God.[3]Ask God to shew you the way in all things. [4]Rest assured , He will guide, and undertake.

I dont need this.

While on holiday recently ,my daughter in law, wanted to go to have a go at making a clay pot, she never got her wish. This reminded me of how God is depicted as a potter, and his people are seen as the clay [Jeremiah 18] .Consider what that may mean , we may cry out , I dont need this, listen God is the potter we are the clay. We may not think we need certain things, but if God permits us to experience whatever, then we do need it, remember God is love ,and He lovingly is making us to be more like Jesus.A.A. Pollard wrote the following. Have thine own way, Lord, have Thine own way , Thou art the potter ,I am the clay, mould me and make me after Thy will, while I am waiting yielded and still.

Charging our batteries.

One of my earlest memories of childhood, is taking a glass battery ,which was used to power the radio, to be charged up. Those of us who run a car ,know what it is ,to have a flat battery, and having , to charge it up, I have a tooth brush that continually needs recharging. The spiritual application to all this is simple, like batteries we become run down, bodily and spiritually, whats the answer ? rest , have a break , take a holiday ,and most important ,wait upon the Lord,for we are told, they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength,[Isaiah 40v31. a.v]

Spoilt for choice.

Unlike former generations, we are spoilt for choice, I remember asking a missionary from Brazil, he worked in the interior ,what was his diet, his reply was beans and rice. Many in this world have few options in life to choose from, but in the west we have , we are spoilt for choice, so lets be grateful for the abundance of Gods provision, and let us remember those who have so little to choose from, by praying, and by our giving, now thats a good choice.

Our lives .

Speaking to a fellow Christian recently , forced into retirement by ill health, he expressed a degree of frustration,which I understand. Frustration is experienced by many of Gods children , it was the Psalmist David , who himself experienced so many frustrations,who wrote in Psalm 31v15, My times are in thy hands[a.v] , my study Bible states, David was expressing his belief ,that all of lifes circumstances are under Gods control, these are very important words, for all of us to hold on to, our times are in Gods hands.

Be like.

Words of a little song comes to mind, it goes like this, Be like Jesus this my song, in the home and in the throng, be like Jesus all day long, I would be like Jesus. Think about what that means for you , what does it mean to be like Jesus ? ,a little child asked a missionary, are you Jesus?, we can be today,how?, by being forgiving, kind,helpful, by our words, and so the list goes on, and yet its not just a list of does and donts. just offer a simple prayer to God today, and ask Him to help you to be like Jesus.

Faithfulness

One of the qualities God desires in our lives is faithfulness, faithful in our giving, praying,faithful in our relationship with Him ,I have put God first, He must always be first, as we read the bible we see time after time people putting others , and things before G0d,so let us rise to the challenge of putting God first. This does not mean that others do not matter, they do., but God must matter most of all. be faithful to Him today.

Remember my chains.

These are the words of a great man of God, [Colossians 4v18] ,suffering takes many forms, today there are many who for the sake of Christ are suffering, remember them . There are those are suffering sickness , remember them, difficult marriages, remember them, mental illness,remember them ,as you listen to the news , of people suffering, remember them,your prayers can make a difference.

Pressure

It seems to me so many of us experience pressures, how are we to cope ? consider the apostle Paul ,2Cor4v8 ff, pressed on every side by troubles, but he says we are not crushed,we are perplexed but not in despair, he was not into denial,he did not put on a show,but he sees troubles like this, v17 For our present troubles are small and wont last very long.Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever. The challenge for us today is to think aright, and we do this by focusing on Gods word and looking to Jesus.

How are you?

Often we ask people , how they are? , out of courtesy, with no real interest in the person , when our Saviour met people, He was always interested in them. in 1 Peter 5v7 we read , Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares for you.People may act in a trival uncaring manner, God does not, we have a loving Heavenly Father , who really cares for us in total,two lines of a poem read, With every pang that rends the heart, the man of sorrows has a part., He would say to you , I know how you are , tell me , and rest assured that I care.