Rock of ages [ Hebrews 7 v 25 ]

It was A M Toplady who wrote that old hymn, Rock of ages,and there is an other old hymn, Im not sure who wrote it ,and it goes like this, /Oh safe to the Rock that is higher than I, My soul in its conflicts and sorrows would fly/. These hymns express a desire for salvation ,safety, and security, who is this rock they wrote about?, Jesus [1 Corinthians 10 v 4] . Who else but Jesus can save us?, no one, only He can save, and keep us in this life, only He can comfort, strengthen, and keep us secure.Who are we looking to, to save us, to protect us,? , is it Jesus?, I hope so , Jesus never fails.Untold millions have found in Jesus all they need, He saves to the uttermost,He provides, protects,guides, and never leaves us, He trully is a Rock in a weary land./ How oft in the conflict, when pressed by the foe, I have fled to my Refuge and breathed out my woe, How often when trials like sea- billows roll, Have I hidden in Thee, O Thou Rock of my soul/. [ Rock of ages we come to You, for you and You alone can save, and bless us with all we stand in need of, Amen ]

Somewhere [Psalm 23 ]

One of my favourite singers is Eva Cassidy, and she sings a song from one my favourite movies, The Wizard of Oz,/ Somewhere over the rainbow/, when Eva sings this song it takes on a spiritual meaning, and I think of home, I dont mean Ireland, I mean Heaven. I wonder do you ever think of home? I wonder what it is going to be like, I can only imagine. Well it will mean rest, often in life we feel tired, not of life which is a precious gift from God, but one feels weary at times in the struggle of life.Home will be such a change , where all will be harmonious, a place of peace , a place of no discord, a place where faith will give way to sight, when we will see at last our Saviour,what joy will fill our hearts then, to see Him whom we love, to be with Him for all eternity. When I think of home ,at times I become homesick, but until then by Gods grace, let all of us live for Jesus, following Him, serving Him, loving others for His sake. [Dear loving heavenly Father , help us to keep eternal realities, and values,in our lives,and by your grace, bring us safely home, to be with our Saviour Your dear Son, Amen ]

Where is love [ John 3 v16 ]

One of my favourite songs from the musical Oliver, is , /Where is love?,/ many people ask this question, as they experience pain, or as they observe lifes tragedies. There is within us all that desire to be loved, by our parents, friends,families, but so many feel unloved, and are crying out today ,where is love?. People ask the question, if God is love, why?,you can add your own answer to the why, so many people are judging God, because of evil, painful things that are happening in this world. Well it was Job who suffered tremendously, who said,/Surely I spoke things I did not understand, things to wonderful for me to know[42 v3 ], let us not charge God foolishly, I believe God is love. Where is love?, let us lift our eyes, from the gloom and doom, to the ultimate place of suffering the cross, and hear the one on that cross , saying I love you, I am dying for you because I love you, will you not trust Me? as your Saviour.Isaac Watts,wrote of Calvary love,/ Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul , my life, my all.[ Father help us to see beyond the many obstacles that blind us from seeing , and embracing Your love for us in your Son Jesus, Amen ]

Longing [John 4 v1 -15 ]

Drug taking, alcohol, sex addiction,speak of mankinds longing for satisfaction, and the point is this they cannot satisfy . Addiction can never satisfy, no matter how much we try, the longing ,and addicton only grows stronger the more we feed into it. I picked up a magizine yesterday, and read of a world famous entertainer, who was addicted to certain pills.Addiction is like chasing the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow,it will always be out of reach, in fact it is all an allusion. Our Saviour spoke to a woman at a well, He said, /Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again, , but those who drink the water I give will never thirst again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life, [John 4v 13 ]. There is an old hymn which goes,/ now none but Christ can satisfy/,and it is true, only He can satisfy the deep longings in our hearts. [ Dear Lord Jesus come and fill these hearts of ours with Yourself, Amen ]

Transparency [ John 1 v 45 - 50 ]

It is a rare thing to find a person who is transparent, but in John 1v47, we read of a person called Nathanael, and this is what Jesus said about him,/ Here is an Israelite indeed.....in whom there is no guile, nor deceit ,nor falsehood, nor duplicity. [A V ]/. Nathanael was a man who had no hidden agender, no alternative motives, the Message puts it like this, he had not a false bone in his body, unlike Nathanael , so many of us say one thing but inwardly we have other plans, there are to many crooked salespersons about, and to few open cast mines. Nathanael was transparent am I ?are you ?. [ Dear Lord help us to be more transparent, help us to be open in all our dealings, Amen ]

The great unnmentional [ John 11 ]

I always remember when I was young our local paper, The Belfast Telegraph, had on its second page , a list of people who had died. Death the modern great unmentional , it is something that is never the focus of our conversation, even when death comes to those we love, yet it is part of life. In former days there was times of mourning,again when I was young, people used to wear a black band on their arm as a sign that they where mourning, not now. I remember a son telling his mother at a funeral I attended to keep control, keep control when you have been married to someone for a life time, and suddenly they are not there. Mybe we need to think more about the mourning process , how important it is, and we should not be afraid of emotions ,and we should weep with those who weep, did not Jesus weep at a funeral,[ John 11 v35 ] [Father Have mercy upon all who have been touched by death, in their loss comfort them , and help us to mourn with those who mourn, in Jesus name Amen ]

Hold unto that dream.[Philippians 3 v 1-16 ]

Bruce Springsteen said, I spent most of my life as a musican measuring the distance between the American dream and the American reality. As a Christian I often think of the distance between what I preach , and what I am, between what I profess and what I am.The dream and reality seem distances apart, and yet as a Christian we cannot afford to loose that dream of what we should be, and what we could be, more loving , more trusting, more obedient, more like Christ, we all need to hold unto this dream. [Father we know that we are accepted unconditionally in Jesus, and yet we also know that we can never be satisfied with the distance between the dream and reality, which is You, grant us the grace, fill us with Your Spirit that both dream and reality may merge as one, for Jesus sake we ask this Amen ]

Stubbornness. [Hebrews 3 v 7 - 19 ]

I think Pharaoh must have been the most stubborn person who ever lived, we read about him in Exodus, he was so stubborn that he was prepared to see his land devastated,and suffer the loss of his son. The reason being, he did not want to obey what God was saying , all the suffering could have been avoided, but no ,he dug his heels in and suffered as a consequences. We all have a degree of stubbornness when it comes to doing what we are told,you see it everyday in the supermarkets,the screaming stubborn child, and when it comes God and us, my, we really can be so stubborn just like Pharaoh. Consider how many people resist the gospel, refuse to seek forgiveness, refuse to trust Christ, even though the consequences for doing so is a bondage to sinful ways, and a lost eternity,all could be so different if only they would yield. The scriptures tell us , if today we hear the voice of God harden not our hearts,[Hebrews 3 v 7-8 ].[Dear God thank You for your patience with us, we acknowledge that we are stubborn at times , when You speak to us, help us to yield to Your will, in Jesus name we ask this, Amen ]

A new heart. [ Jeremiah 31 v 31 - 34 ]

God wants us to have healthy thoughts and motives, not just healthy bodies,so reads my study Bible, we live in a world that is obsessed with the outward appearance. The outward appearance includes so much that is of very little importance, designer clothes cater to this, this atitude is called the pride of life , pride in our achievements and possessions,these are not from the Father, but are from this world. [ 1 John 2 v 16 ]. The religous people of our Lords day led a great stress on the outward observance of certain traditions, that had nothing to do with what God desired. Jesus continually challenged the trivia in life , the religious people didnt like it ,for it challenged their control and power, people dont like you doing this, in fact they hated Him for doing it. He faced them with what was most important the inward, the heart,He pointed out that this is were the trouble lay, the heart[ Matthew 15 v 19 ] . In Jeremiah 17 v 9 we read, /The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked/, this is what needs dealt with, and only Christ can do that, we need to surrender our hearts to Him. [ Father help us to see that our greatest need is for a new heart, which comes when we accept Jesus as our Saviour, Amen ]

I belong to Jesus [John 3 v16 ]

I belong to Jesus ,so reads the words on Kakas shirt, Kaka in case you didnt know is a Brazilian who plays football for AC Milan. Well I dont wear a shirt with the words ,I belong to Jesus on it, but I do belong to Jesus.In 1 Corinthians 6 v 19- 20, we read, You do not belong to yourself,for God bought you with a high price. If we are Christians we have been redeemed,this term is used, both in the NT, and the OT, what does it mean ?, well when I was young it was a common thing for people to take an article to the pawn shop, they would pawn it, which simple means they would recieve a certain amount of money for that article, in order to get that article back even though it was theirs, they would have to pay to get it back, if they didnt, they lost it. This illustrates what redemption means, we belonged to God, but we were in sins pawn shop as it were,in order for God to once again own us ,He had to pay a price for us, 1 Peter 1 v18-19 tells us the price God paid to redeem us back to Himself, consider these words,/ Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold.........But with the precious blood of Christ, and because God did this, you belong to Jesus. [ Dear God from hearts that have been redeemed we worship and praise You,we ask that You would help us to continually remember ,that we belong to Jesus. Amen ]

Reality[Job chapter one ]

President Obama has now to face reality, the economy, unemployment , and so the list goes on, one asks the question how can one man cope with it all?. I had to laugh at a cartoon in one of our national newspapers it had the President crying , Help, and in the same newspaper one of the headlines read,/ Now the miracle worker must deliver/, expectations are very high. When I was a wee boy , I loved going to the cinema, it was an escape from reality,but the film would soon end, and then I would be faced with life as it was. Many people would ,if they could,would escape from reality, but the fact is there is no escape, reality must be faced, by the grace of God. Whatever our reality is, bring it to God, and ask Him to help us ,the only way we are going to get through, is on our knees, humbly depending on our Saviour, I write from experience. [Dear Father we commit all our realities to You, ask You in the name of Your Son, to help us face lifes realities , help us to persevere by Your all sufficent grace, Amen ]

Wringing good out of evil. [ Acts 2 v 22 -41 ]

Today ,a momentous thing is going to happen, a black president is taking office in America , many today will remember former days, those days when things where so different, many will shed tears. Yesterday was Martin Luther King day, in America, he was a wonderful man who said so many memorable things , and paid with his life for what he believed. One of the things he said, at the funeral of four children who had been killed by racist when they bombed a church ,/God still has a way of wringing good out of evil/, today, I believe bears witness to that truth. The greatest example of this truth is the death of our Saviour, men took the Prince of Glory,the sweetest gentliest person who ever lived, abused Him and nailed Him to a cross, yet God took that evil deed and wrung good out of it. The good that God brought out of the death of His son , was salvation for you and me, Charles Wesley wrote, / And can it be that I should gain an interest in the Saviours blood? Died He for me, who caused His pain?/, you see we all caused the death of Christ, and yet through that death we can be saved eternally. [ Almighty God we are overwhelmed by Your Great love , a love that allowed Jesus your Son to die on a cross, in order that we could be saved eternally Amen ]

Monday[ Psalm 100]

Many will be getting up this morning with the Monday morning blues, I suppose there are reasons, lets face it,there are some jobs that would give anyone the blues, I have been there, I know. I have been very fortunate that I love my job, I have been in the same job for about 19 years, I believe God got me this job, and has kept me in it, I feel like a square peg in a square hole. I dont usually get the Monday morning blues, but there are some things that get me down, life is never perfect . I believe God can open doors, can give us jobs that are satisfying, but, oh that but again, there will always be something we will have to cope with,and it is then, we will have to rely on the grace of God, whither it is an uninteresting job or a difficult relationship, so today rejoice in the Lord, and trust Him for the grace you need even on a Monday morning. [ Father grant us the grace to face each day, with joy , we ask this in Jesus name . Amen ]

All [Romans 3 v23/ 6 v 23 ]

We are all different, different shapes, different tastes, we are like the snowflake ,there is not two that are alike, but we are all alike in one way, we are all sinners. In Roman 3v 23 we read, / For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God/, consider what that inclusiveness means, our parents, our children,our friends, and ourselves, there are no exceptions. Consider the affects of this ,in Romans 6 v23 we are told ,/ The wages of sin is death/, my study Bible says,/The currency of sin is eternal death/. Most of us have fears,but live without fear of the consquences of our sin, Jesus told us to ,/To fear God/, because He has the power to punish us eternally, [Matthew 10 v 28 ],but the good news is He has also the power to forgive us our sins. Gods power to save us ,is in His Son Jesus, through Him we can recieve the forgiveness of all our sins, in order for this to happen we need to acknowledge our sinfullness, and ask Christ into our lives. [Father God we thank You for providing a way back to You from the dark paths of sin, through Your Son Jesus. Amen ]

Everything is going against me.[Romans 8 v 26 -39 ]

Sometimes we feel the roof is going to fall in upon us, thats what Jacob that ancient saint felt, he had just been told something , that filled Him with dread [ Genesis 42 v 36 ], I have been there, we all have . What do we do when we come into a place of apparent difficulties ?, well I tell you what I do ,I seek to hear Gods voice, and when I hear it I hold unto it like grim death, I try to resist the temptation of being panicked, and pray, and let me tell you, it works. I love that old hymn by William Cowper,which reads, /Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take, the clouds ye so much dread are big with mercy, and shall break in blessings upon your head. Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, but trust Him for His grace, behind a frowning providence , He hides a smiling face/. Let us take comfort from those words, and let us rest in the One who loves us with an infinite love, Jesus. [ Dear Lord recieve our heartfelt thanks for your loving care of us, help us to see that you always come to our aid, help us to remember if You are for us, who can be against us. Amen ]

Be active . [ James 2 v14 -26 ]

In W. Chantrys book on David, he touches on Davids attitude to the son of Jonanthan his dead friend, Mephibosheth, how David searched for an opportunity to be generous to him.[2 Samuel 9 ] This searching for an opportunity to be generous struck a cord with me, many are seeking for an opportunity to harm others,or an opportunity to get ahead, but David seeks an opportunity to be generous. As we look at the life of our Saviour we are told that He went about doing good [ Acts 10 v38 ], surely the Christian life, must have that driving force to it. David was actively seeking an opportunity to be generous, let us seek out such opportunities, be active , write a letter, pray, give of your time, and most of all of your love, let us not be passive.[ Father help us to be like David, today, help us to search out opportunities to be generous, we ask this in Jesus name, Amen .]

Fear [Romans 6 v23 ]

Many times in the Bible we are encouraged not to fear,in relation to provision, time after time we are assured that God will provide [ Philippians 4 v 19/ Psalm 23 v 1 ]. Also we are assured in the Bible that God will protect us, we see this in the life of David , and we are given many promises that God will protect, and preserve us. [Psalm 121. Isaiah 41 v 10 ]. So while we are not meant to live with fear in relation to what we need, be it protection, or provision , there is an aspect of fear that is important, and healthy. Continually we are told to fear the Lord, to live our lives in a reverent manner, that is to have an attitude of deep respect,awe, and love, for Him.It is John Flavel in his wonderful little book called, The mystery of providence, who writes, / Fear nothing but sin/, and this is so important,for sin is a cancer that destroys all that is lovely and good, and will cause God to deal with us, how important it is to live a holy and godly life [ 2 Peter 3 v 11 ], yes fear sin.[Almighty God have mercy upon us, and help us to live with a healthy fear of You, and of sin, we ask this in Jesus name , Amen ]

El- Shaddai.[ Ephesians 3 v 20 ]

El-Shaddai means God Almighty, so God told Jacob [Genesis 35 v 11], He then went on to tell Jacob,how He would bless him and his descendants, in wonderful ways. God had a destiny for this man Jacob, Jacob the twister, the deciever, but one whom the grace of God had changed, and to mark that change , he had recieved a new name Israel. In this we see a picture of the believer, what we were once, twisters, decievers, liars,the list goes on, but then we experienced the grace of God, we were changed, and to mark that change we recieved a new name, Christian, and with that new change, like Israel we are promised a new destiny. a destiny with promised blessings,in this life, and in eternity,[ 1Corinthians 6 v 2- 3. i John 3 v 1-3 ]. El- Shaddai Jesus ,will accomplish this, for He is none other than God Almighty. [Dear Lord Jesus we thank You for all You have accomplished in our lives,You have saved us and transformed us, we thank You that we have a wonderful destiny in front of us, Amen ]

God is generous [ Matthew 18 v21- 35 ]

When it comes to describing Gods faithfulness,,the writer of scriptures tells us ,he declares, Great is Thy faithfulness[ Lamentation 3 v 23], and when it comes to answering our prayers we are told , He does exceeding abundantly above all we ask or think, [Ephesiana 3 v20 ]. When Solomon asked for wisdom, God promised to also give him , riches and honour also,[ 1 Kings 3 v13 ]. God is generous, I have more than I need, I am also conscious that I am meant to be like my loving heavenly Father, as He has blessed me so I must bless others, as I have been forgiven so I must show a generosity in forgiving others. The mark of a Christian should be a generous spirit , those who hoard Gods riches, are the poorer for it, and their Lord is not pleased. [ Matthew 25 v 24 - 30 ]. [Father in Heaven we thank You for all the blessings upon our lives , help us to be more like You, grant unto us a generous spirit, we ask this in Jesus name, Amen ]

You know better than I. [ Isaiah 55 v 8-9 ]

I heard a song yesterday on songs of praise, with the words,/You know better than I/,very meaningful ,easy to listen to, but not always easy to see it as we should. Take me ,when I went to Bible college, I thought I was training to be a missionary, and felt God was preparing me to work in Brazil, yet I ended up in as a minister of a small church in England.So many times our percieved goals , dont happen, and we struggle with that, in fact we can broaden the idea out further, in so many areas of life, it seems Gods ways are not our ways, whatever are situation, be glad and thankful, that Gods ways are not our ways. The words of that song are so true, God knows better than I, whatever our circumstances, whatever way we have been laid,Gods way is best, I see this more and more, as I look back in life, a life when I have experienced disappointments, sadness, frustrations,He really does know better than I, the Psalmist David wrote ,/ Gods way is perfect . Psalm 18 v 30 .[Dear God we confess that we struggle with many things, and we wonder if things could not have been different, help us today to see that You know best, help us to rest in Your perfect will, we ask this in Jesus name, Amen ]

Be still [Psalm 46 v 10 ]

In this very restless world, this cant stay still world , we need more than anything else, to be still, and in that stillness discover more and more, the reality of GOD ,and in that reality rest. Before we do anything we should stop doing,and seek unto that place of quite rest,that place of renewal, that place of casting all our cares upon our God.When Elijah the prophet was filled with fear, and thoughts of dying, he was taken to a mountain to meet with God, the God of the still small voice.[ 1 Kings 19 ] Hear the voice of your Master today saying, come aside and rest, lay your burden down, and simply rest in my presence,and listen to what I say, then go forth with confidence and assurance, knowing that I am with you, and If I am with, all will be well. [ Dear God help us to continually seek You, to rest inYour presence daily,to see this as a priority, to find that rest that can only be found in You, we ask this in the name of Jesus, Amen ]

Performing or ministering [ Matthew 6 v 1- 6 ]

I love the movies , I have from a child,it is a make believe world,of people performing, yes they are only performing.I have my favourite actors ,but they are not my idols, they are only actors, performers, what they portray on the big screen, is not the real them. When our Saviour was on earth he witnessed the performers, the religious performers, people who stood on the street corners, and prayed, so everyone could see them. [Matthew 6 v5 ]. As Christians we need to remind ourselves that we are not part of the performing arts, we are all called to be ministers ,in all we do. This is important for us all in what ever we are doing, as one who preaches I have to remind myself that I am not called to perform, I am called to minister, and when I sing I am not peforming I am ministering, that means when I seemingly make mistakes, I am still ministering. Our Lord wants us all to be ministers in all we do, so today let us forget about performing. [Lord forgive us for, forgetting that we are called to be ministers, not performers, Lord help us by Your Spirit to glorify You in all we do, Amen ]

Perseverance [ 1 KINGS 18 V 41-46 ]

The perseverance of the saints is an old theological term, which is very important, it implies not giving up. We can apply the idea of perseverance to what it means to be a Christian, of that enduring to the end, it is an evidence that we are Christians. One aspect were perseverance is important is prayer, in Matthew 7v7 our Saviour tells us to ,/ Keep on asking, and you will recieve what you ask for, Keep on seeking, and you will find, Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened. So we see how perseverance in our prayer life is important,there are many things we will need to keep on praying about, day after day, week after week, year after year.There are different aspects of prayer, perseverance is one of them, one of prayers, are answered, but often perseverance is the key. Think of those people Jesus healed, many must have prayed many times for healing, so let us keep on praying, let us not give up, let us persevere, in prayer. [ Father grant us the grace of perseverance, in our Christian life, and especially in our prayer life, we ask this in Jesus name ,Amen ]

The Lord will provide. [ Genesis 22 v 14 ]

One of promises that has blessed me is , Genesis 22 v14/ The Lord will provide/, there was a four year period in my life, when my wife and I went to Bible college,we had three children, and we had no grant , no resources, all we had was the promises of God, that He would provide. Now I can assure you this was not easy, during that time we were tested, often the cupboard was literally bare, but God provided our needs.Now I want to say the usual way God provides is by us earning a living, what we did was not the norm, and I would not advise anyone to act foolishly, but what it highlights is the truth that God provides for His children.What is your need today? are you worrying? we all do, listen to the words of our Saviour,/Dont worry.....saying , What will we eat? What will we drink?, What will we wear?. These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your Heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God, above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need. [ Loving Heavenly Father we confess we become anxious at times ,forgive us, and help us ,yes help us ,to trust in Your care , and love, we ask this in Jesus name, Amen ]

Security [ Psalm 46 ]

Selwyn Hughes wrote,/The sooner we learn how to make God our security the better, for we are going to face some dark and difficult days up ahead.Ever kingdom is shakeable except the Kingdom of God/, and propheticaly,/The kingdom of finance is shakeable/.I dont want to be a doom and gloom person, but the fact of the matter is, the things that many put their trust in are built on sand, I dont just mean the unbeliever, I mean all of us. It is our Saviour who taught that true security lies only in Him, and that means trusting Him for salvation, and for life, this also means hearing what he says , and doing it, [Matthew 7v 24 27 ]. Today let us take stock of our lives,can we say like the prophet Habakkuk,/Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines, even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren, even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in the God of my salvation, The Sovereign Lord is my strength. [ 3 v17-19 ] [ Loving Heavenly Father we thank You for Your Kingdom which is unshakeable, it is the only true place of security, in a world where so many things are collapsing around us, we rejoice that in Christ, we are safe, Amen ]

Them shoes. [ Exodus 20 v 3 ]

Yesterday I discovered I had over twenty pairs of shoes, bought over many years, so I threw some out , give some away, and kept the rest. I am reminded of the old spiritual which goes /all Gods children got shoes/, well I have anyway, but I am also reminded how easily it is to accumulate things, we dont mean to, but we do. Our Saviour taught that we should hold lightly to the things of this world,[Matthew 5v40 ] that it is more blessed to give than recieve. He also taught us to lay up treasures in Heaven, and reminded us that as my study Bible tells me, / What we treasure the most controls us, whether we admit it or not /[Matthew 6 v 19 -21 ]. So mybe today we need to take stock , and ask ourselves the question, what do we treasure the most?, and then threw some things out, give some things away, and yes keep some things. [Dear God, we confess that we to easily take our eyes of You, and let other things steal what is rightly yours, our love, forgive us, and help us, in Jesus name, Amen ]

I blew it [ Judges 7 ]

I was ministering last evening, singing and playing my guitar, when the words of the song I was singing escaped me, I did manage to carry on, and finish the song. After this I give a short word, ,I came away feeling it was not my best effort, but I remembered that I had asked God to take my weakness, He appears to be taking me at my word, He does . Weakness is not something we rejoice in , we glory in our strengths,yes God has given us strengths ,but he allows weakness to remain,in order that we keep relying on Him, and do not forget Him [ Read Deuteronomy 8 ]. We are no different than ancient Israel, we need our weaknesses ,in order that we will remain faithful to our Saviour, it was the apostle Paul who wrote,/I take pleasure in my weaknesses/ , why ?, because God told him,/ that His grace was all he needed, for His power worked best in weakness. [ 1 Corinthians 12v 9- 10 ] [Father we thank You for our strengths, but we also thank You for our weaknesses, those things we wish we didnt have, those weaknesses are Your ministering angles,they are there for a good purpose, a loving purpose, we ask that we may experience Your all sufficent grace, so that we may glorify you in our weaknesses, we ask this in the name and for the sake of our Lord Jesus. Amen ]

Division [ John 15 v 9 - 17 ]

In the book of Genesis [ 10 v 25 ]we read of a man called Peleg, he was a decendant of Shem a son of Noah, now we dont know much about this person, but we know that his name means, division. We live at a time when many people seek to trace their ancestry, I think many of us are the decendants of Peleg, and I am speaking about us Christians. Within the Christian church from time to time division raises it ugly head, it is not new , the Corinthian church was full of it, read about it in chapter 1 v 10 -17 of first Corinthians, the fact of the matter is, it is still happening, sad to say. Our Saviour prayed that we may be one, [John 17 v 21 ], He also commanded us to love one another,[ John 15 v12 ], the question is ,are we fulfilling these things ?, or are we ignoring them as if they dont matter, it is the apostle of love John, who wrote, / If we love our Christian brothers and sisters, it proves that we have passed from death to life [ 1 John 3 v14 ] .[ Dear loving heavenly Father as You have loved us, help us to love one another, we ask this in the name and for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen ]

Noah [Hebrews 11 ]

As we consider certain things in the Bible,we may struggle to accept it literally, the miracles, the virgin birth, Jonah and the great fish, and of course the story of Noah, and the great flood, that covered the earth. How do you think Noah felt,what did he think?,well ,we are not told, but what we are told is this, Noah acted in faith, [ Hebrews 11v7 ]. Like Noah,many people in the Bible when told by God, to do certain things , things that they intellectually would have struggled with, obeyed, how?, by faith, let me stress that these people were no different, to modern man, [ James 5 v17 ]but they rose above their human reasoning,and exercised faith, and obeyed God. If God speaks to us, commanding us to do a certain thing , then we are called to obey, by faith, ours is to not reason why,ours is but to obey. [ God we come to You by faith, we confess that we struggle to live by faith, struggle to accept certain things in your word, forgive us, help us to cast of our unbelieving thoughts, and to rise in faith and obey You in all things, we ask this in the name of Jesus, Amen ]

Our Strength or His.[ Philippians 4 v13]

There are those I work with who have a, to do list, things they hope to complete, I dont write mine down but I do have a ,to do list,in my head, what we all need to do is to Commit our, to do list, to God .Let us remember, God is not in the buisness of overburdening us, others do that, and we also do it to ourselves.We need to cast our burdens unto the Lord and He will sustain [help, support,carry]us[Psalm 55v22 ] , and when we do, we will discover the truth ,that we really can do all things,through Christ,who gives us strength.[Philippians 4 v13 ], we must stop trying to do things in our own strength,we have all been down that road and know from experience how futile, and frustrating it is. Consider how Samson failed when he attempted to defeat his enemies in his own strength,[Judges 16 v 2o-21 ] the more we rely on our Saviour , the better, remember it is not I can do somethings through Christ, no, it is ,I can do all things through Christ. [Father we thank You for Jesus who saved us when we were without strength, help us to continually look to Him to strengthen us in everything we do, Amen]

I will be with you [ Exodus 33 v 14 ]

As we look to the new year, whatever it may hold , the greatest comfort, and that which should give us the greatest confidence is the knowledge that Jesus will be with us. The new year may hold difficulties, problems, pain, and so on, but as we proved in the year that has gone ,the presence of Jesus made all the difference, so for the coming year His presence will make all the difference. This truth that Jesus will be with us may seem obvious, but I believe it is so important to be reminded of it, His presence ,will assure us of His protection, provision, and power.In Hebrews 13 v5, we read,/I wil never fail you/, many things may fail us , but Jesus will not fail us. [ Dear God we praise for Your Son Jesus, that He is with us, now and in the future , help us to take in what that means, and help us to rest in that reality, Amen ]