Feeling irritable . [1 Corinthians 13]

Felt irritable this morning with her who must be obeyed, it does not take much for most of us to get irritable with people, with the children , the dog, the neighbours. It is in 2 Corinthians 10v1, we read of ,/ the gentleness and kindness of Christ/, I must do a lot of things that could cause my Lord to be irritable , but He is,nt,no He is patient,kind and believe it or not ,is never irritable with me. My study Bible says this,/Much irritability comes from a love of perfection, a deep desire that programs, meetings, and structures be run perfectly/, and goes on to say,/ Those who are easily irritated need to remember that perfection exsists only in God. We need to love Him and our fellow Christians, not the visions we have for perfection here on earth. [ Dear Lord thank You for being patience with us, we acknowledge we do so many things that could justify You become irritable with us, but You never are, instead You are patient, gentle and kind, grant us the grace today to treat others as You treat us. Amen.]

Did you think to pray?. [ Proverbs 3 v 5-6 av ]

Did you think to pray?, so goes the words of a hymn,it is so easy to forget to pray, we are busy people, always in a hurry, and suddenly we find ourselves in difficulties. We read in Joshua 9 how Israel , faced with a decision, did everything, they listened to what was said, examined the evidence, made their decision, and here is where it all went wrong,/but they did not consult the Lord/[ Joshua 9 v14]. We have all failed like Israel to pray about certain things even the most prayerful of us, and then we discover we are ensnared in something we shouldnt be. What can we do? we can be honest enough to acknowledge our mistake, before God,tell Him we are sorry, and ask Him to overrule, and most of all learn from our mistakes. [ Dear God forgive us for our forgetfulness in rushing into things without consulting You, help us ackowledge You in all things , in Jesus name. Amen ]

Small prayers.[ Matthew 6 v5-14 ]

Will my prayers make any difference?, I found myself asking this question, in relation to a disaster in the Philippians, such a small prayer, for such an enormous problem. Jesus said we are not heard by babbling on, the worth of our prayer is not in its length,or correct grammar, the worth of our prayer is weighed by God.Our prayer may be small but we are praying to a great God, who loves to hear His children come into His presence, and talk to Him. When we pray ,God has not got a score board , giving us marks from one to ten. In Proverbs 15v8 we read,/ The Lord........delights in the prayer of the upright, there are things that hinder our prayers,wrong attitudes, sin, these can be barriers, that need dealt with, if our prayers are to make a difference. Let us pray even when we dont feel like praying, let us pray to our loving heavenly Father even small prayers,they can make a difference. [Dear loving heavenly Father teach us how to pray in Jesus name . Amen ]

Feeling flat [ 2 Corinthians 4 v7-10]

While most of us dont believe the world is flat,but often we feel flat[ not fat], we seemed to be drained of energy,physical, and spiritual, it is like someone has pulled the plug out. Mybe the reason is we are tired,we need rest, we need a holiday, the work we are doing may be demanding, there are many reasons, but one thing we dont need is guilt. What we we need to do, is to be honest with God,honesty is always the best policy with God, the most important thing to remember God understands, He knows how weak we are, He remembers we are only dust.[ Psalm 103v14]. So let us not today, add that extra burden of guilt upon ourselves, let us ask God to to enable us to press on in our Christian walk. It was William Cowper who wrote,/Sometime a light surprises, The Christian while He sings, It is the Lord who rises. With healing in His wings. When comforts are declining, He grants the soul again, A season of clear shining, To cheer it after rain./ [ Lord we ask that you would help us in our various moods, and that You would enable us to press on in our walk with you, and in thy great mercy, grant us a season of clear shining,to cheer us, in Your precious name we ask this Amen ]

Redeemed [ 1 Peter 1 v 18-19. av ]

I found myself singing an old hymn this morning which goes,/ Redeemed how I love to proclaim it, Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, Redeemed through His infinite mercy, His child, and forever I am/. Throughout the Bible we have this idea of redemption,it has a number of meanings , [1]Buying back something that was sold,[2] Of purchasing a slave with a view to their freedom.The best illustration of this is Israel in Egypt , they were slaves, God had to redeem them, by the slaying of the passover lamb,and the shedding of its blood, when this was done they were freed.[Exodus 11-12].This is a picture of what took place on Calvary, when Christ was crucified, His sacrificial death was redemptive, by His death He was paying a price to buy those who are slaves to sin[ John 8 v34], and set them free. This is a wonderful truth, to all, it offers hope, to all who are in bondage to sin, that they can be set free, by trusting in Jesus who paid the price of redeeming sinners. [ Dear God thank You for Jesus who died to redeem sinners. Amen ]

Let God.[ 2 Chronicles 20]

Let God,sometimes there are situations we cant do anything about, we try to resolve them, yet the more we try, the worse it seems to get, nothing changes,and we just experience more pain. So what does one do , let God. Yesterday we thought on Joseph, when he was in prison he thought that the cup bearer would , speak a word in high places and have him released, but he didnt, he forgot about Joseph. It is often the case that we have to stop our struggling,our manoeuvring, and let God take over, a person can only be rescued when he submits to their rescuer. The Israelites were in great danger of being destroyed, God spoke through Moses/Dont be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today,[Exodus 14v13], and He did. Today let us be still and know that He is God[Psalm 46v10 ], to have confidence,trust, and Faith in Him, who can make a way ,were there is no way, to Him who can provide, a job, a wife/ husband, a home, a family , a friend.[ Dear God help us to understand what we have to do in every given situation, help us to realize that there are times when the best thing we can do is simply be still and to trust You to work on our behalf, in Jesus name Amen ]

God really does have a plan.[ Romans 8v 28. av ]

One of the most instructive stories in the Bible is in Genesis chapters 37-50, it is about a man called Joseph , a man loved by his father but hated by his brothers.These brothers treated him very badly, they wanted to murder Him, but instead they sold him into slavery , and he ended up in Egypt. In Egypt he was accused falsely of attempted rape, thrown into prison and forgotten about, there was a monent when it appeared that he would be released,but it didnt happen, then suddenly everything changed, he was released,and became second in command to the Egyptian Pharoah. The great lesson we see in all this is the sovereignty of God, many years before this God declared to Abraham that He had a plan for his decendants, [Genesis 15v13-14] in order to fulfill that plan Joseph had to go through his trials.Mybe you are experiencing a trial today,it appears unjust, and even cruel, consider the life of Joseph and learn from it, and hold unto this vital truth God is in control, and has a plan, and will cause everything to work out for your good. [ Romans 8 v28 ], and His glory.[ Dear God help us to trust you in every difficulty, to have faith in your Sovereignty, to believe that all things are working together for our good, in Jesus name. Amen ]

Doing good. [ 1 Corinthians 3 v 10 -15 ]

Do all the good you can, In all the ways you can,In all the places you can, At all the times you can,To all the people you can, As long as ever you can.So wrote John Wesley. We can do this in many ways, by praying for people, helping in practical ways, by showing them Jesus in our lives, and by telling them about Jesus. In Acts 10v 38 we read that Jesus went about doing good, so in doing good we are following in His footsteps. In Galations 6 v9 we read,so let,s not get tired of doing what is good,we may feel discouraged in doing good, we get no thanks, people can be so ungrateful, let us remember that God will not forget,and He will reward us in a coming day.[Hebrews 6v10] So today let us do good to everyone, especially to those in the family of faith. [Galations 6 v10 ] [Father in Heaven grant us the grace today, to follow in the footsteps of Your dear Son, by doing good. Amen ]

Burdened[ John 4 v34-38]

Today I feel a burden, for the lost, my family, brothers ,sister, and other relatives, neighbours, work mates, and many others, for our nation, for the area in which I live,so few people are saved. So many people are going to Hell, so few are going to Heaven, and this causes me pain,so few know our Saviour, is there anything we can do?, yes we can pray .Let us never underestimate the importance and power of prayer, we can tell others about our Saviour, how shall they hear without a preacher, the answer is they wont, faith comes by hearing the word of God, so today let us tell others about Jesus. Fanny Crosby wrote many hymns, here is a verse of one of them,/Rescue the perishing, Care for the dying. Snatch them in pity from sin and the grave. Weep o,er the erring one, Lift up the fallen. Tell them of Jesus , the mighty to save.[ Dear God, who would have all to be saved,we ask that You would use us, to be fishers of men,to rescue the perishing, in the name of Jesus. Amen ]

Rejoice [Nehemiah 8 v10 ]

Sometimes it seems life is all gloom and doom, for some it appears that way, as we read the life of the apostle Paul , we see a man who suffered so much c.p 2 Corinthians 11 v21ff . Yet he was not a doom and gloom person, in his letter to the Philippians, which was written from a Roman prison, he is so positive and encouraging in what he writes. In chapter 3 v1 ,he writes,/What ever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord/,these are challenging words, is it possible to rejoice what ever is happening to us?, not in ourselves, it is a fruit of the Spirit Galations 5 v22. Today let us ask the Holy Spirit to fill us with joy unspeakable and full of glory, so that whatever happens to us today we may rejoice.[ Dear Lord fill us with Your Spirit so that whatever happens to us today we may rejoice in You. Amen]

He understands. [ Hebrews 4 v14-16 ]

Sometimes I am tempted to sin, [lets remember it is not a sin to be tempted] but then I think of the consequences if I yielded to that temptation, the consequences , to my family, friends, neighbours, myself, and the consequences with my relationship with my Lord. It is easy to sin, to taste that forbidden fruit, to be carried away with the emotion, and to justify what we do, on the grounds that we are hard done by.We will all be tempted in one way or another, make no mistake about that, until the day we die, so take care today, let us be on our gaurd. There is a gospel song which I like, it goes,/ Sometimes I feel discouraged , and feel my works in vain , Im tempted ,oh to murmur, to grumble ,and complain , but then I think of Jesus and what He,s done for me , then I cry to the rock of ages , hide thou me.[ Dear Lord we come to You in all our need,we thank You that You understand about temptation, for You were tempted, so today help us not to yield to temptation. Amen ]

Freedom [Mark 5 v 1-20]

The wonderful message is that Christ died to set us free, before we come to Christ we slaves to sin,in Isaiah 61v1, we read how our Saviour has come to set the captives free. In John 8 v34, our Saviour declared,/ everyone who sins is a slave to sin/, not all prisoners are behind bars,sin has affected all of us, we dont have to look very much into our hearts to realize that we are bound ,in some way. We try to deny the truth of our bondage in many ways, by judging others, by rationalizing that what we do is acceptable, everyone is doing it, or by thinking, it is just the way I am, or by escaping into atheism. The Bible states that our sins will find us out[ Numbers 32v23], our sins will catch up with us, all will be revealed, if not in time ,in eternity. Today Christ offers freedom to all, if we but surrender to Him, acknowledge our need, and trust Him as our Saviour, we will then discover true freedom[John 8 v36]. [Dear God have mercy upon us, open our eyes and let us see ,help us acknowledge our bondage to sin, help us to trust in Your Son Jesus,for true freedom. Amen ] [ I will be on holiday for a week, I will return to my blog next Sunday]

Looking [2 Corinthians 4 v 16-18]

In 2 Corinthians 4 the apostle Paul stresses the importance of looking at life in a spiritual way, and not a natural way, it was Selwym Hughes who wrote,/The difference between natural thinking and spiritual thinking is the difference between heaven and earth/. The apostle Paul suffered many things, but he did not look at them in a natural way, he could see his sufferings as opportunities, to glorify God,[Acts16v25],an opportunity to prove the grace of God,[2 Corinthians 12 v7-10],his suffering caused him to think spiritually, and as he did, he came to the conclusion that his present troubles were small in the light of eternal glories[2 Corinthians 4 v17]. The challenge for all of us is to look at life in a spiritual way, if we dont we will become discouraged, if we do ,then as S Hughes wrote, the less perplexed we will be, so today think spiritual . [Dear God forgive us for looking at life in a natural way, help us look at things in a spiritual way, in Jesus name. Amen ]

Struggling [Psalm 20]

There are many things that are hard to cope with, the list is endless, sickness, death,loneliness,poverty,watching a love one suffer,injustice,the suicide of a friend or loved one,betrayal,rejection, failure,and so we could go on. Today we may be in the pit of despair,wishing that things could be different, not knowing how we are going to cope, mybe wanting to run away from everything. If you are a Christian, and yes ,Christians will experience all those things, I would encourage you, to be honest with God,tell Him how you feel, pour out your heart to Him, and simply ask Him to help you, there may appear to be only a silence, but God is listening, and will answer your prayer. Psalm 120v1 reads,/I took my troubles to the Lord, I cried out to Him, and He answered my prayer/, I would encourage you to read the Psalms,for in them You will recieve much encouragement.[Dear God there are times we are overcome by the things that come into our lives, there are times in which we are driven to despair, so today help us, in Jesus name. Amen ]

The end of the world. [ 2Thessalonians 1v7-12 ]

This is the 9/9/09, spooky is,nt it?not really,it is just another day,as is Friday the 13th, it seems that 9/9/09, will usser in the end of the world, so some people say.I thought about this, it is only 9/9/09 in this part of the world , but because of the time zone, it is either the, 8th or the 10th in other parts of the world, so mybe only half the world will end, it is all so stupid.Take the JWs their history is littered with failed dates, of when the world is going to end, as Jesus said to a religious group,/Your mistake is that you dont know the scriptures [Matthew 22v29]/. The world will come to an end, cp =2 Peter 3, but we dont know when, nor are we meant to know ,[ Acts 1v7], what is most important is to be ready.Being ready involves knowing Jesus as ones Saviour, and living a holy godly life, if we know Christ as our Saviour, then whatever the future holds for us, all will be well [Dear Lord Jesus help us not to be taken up with vain speculation as to when the world is going to end, help us all to realize that the most important thing is to know You as our Saviour. Amen]

Going through the motions [ Psalm 85v6]

I suppose we are all guilty of going through the motions, driving can be like that,and so many other things, and also our walk with God. A lady asked me why we did not pray the Lords prayer at our services, I suppose there is no real reason why we dont, mybe we will, like many things praying the Lords prayer can become a meaningless ritual, were we mouth the words, and dont think about the meaning, hymn singing is like this . Going through the motions can invade all our life relationships, with our wives, or husbands, and when this happens, relationships suffer, Let us think about our lives, about our relationships with those we love,and with our Lord, and ask ourselves are we just going through the motions. [Dear Lord we are creatures of habit, and we confess that often we just go through the motions, with the result that so much that we do has very little meaning; we ask that today You would breathe afresh into our lives, revive us, and awake us out of our meaningless. Amen ]

Change [ Romans 8v 28 av ]

God has given us all gifts, one of my gifts is singing, yet as time goes on my singing voice is not what it used to be, my vocal chords are showing wear and tear. The question I ask myself should I lay this fading gift down?, we will see. It causes me to think on different people, gifted people who are no longer able to exercise their gifts, footballers,drivers,, in a sense it affects most of us in some way, as we become older.Life for all of us will bring change,let us remember our worth is not in our gifts,but who we are in Christ. All some people have ,are their gifts, or their jobs, they see those things as giving them value, but it is not so, we have one who loves us, just as we are, gifts or no gifts. No matter what stage we are in life, He sees us as being of worth, and would encourage us to face the challenges of life, would encourage us to trust Him, in all the changes we are faced with.[ Dear Lord we confess that we do not like the changes that come into our life, uninvited,and we are forced to give up in many things we hold dear, help us to see that we are of worth, inspite of our loses, grant us the needed grace to face each new challenge in life. Amen]

Save them. [ Ephesians 2 v1-4 ]

Being a parent is such an awesome reponsiblity, as a father of five lads, I cannot say I was the greatest of fathers, if only one could go back, I do have regrets, and yet I loved everyone of them. I believe that a parents love should reflect Gods love,and in many cases it does, but then we hear of cases of abuse, of neglect, and it fills us with great sadness. Recently we have heard on the news, how two young lads,nearly murdered two other young lads, and the question many ask, is why?. Well we dont have to dig very much for reason ,their mother was on drugs, her partner abused them continually, they were often hungry, and most of all unloved. It is so easy to point the finger, but what we need to do is pray for them , and their abusers,[ not forgetting the other children who suffered at the hands of these two boys], the words that Jesus give me,/ This is why I came/, continue to challenge me, may they continue to challenge us, to pray,and to befriend those whose lives are a mess.[ Dear Father in heaven we bring to you these two lads that acted so cruelly, and ask that You would in your mercy, may save them through your dear son Jesus. Amen ]

Eight days a week. [Romans 5v5 ]

As I write this I am playing a beatle song about loving someone eight days a week, what do you think they meant?, well it could mean they cant love enough. As a Christian I am faced with the challenge to love, and love, and love , and love,a never ending love, a reflection of Gods love. I loved yesterday, I am to love today , and tomorrow, and all my tomorrows. The love that God has for this world is constant, and unchanging, it is an unending love. God never gets tired of loving,He never says I have had enough, Im not going to love anymore,He loves eight days a week.How can we possible love and love, and love?, when some people are so unlovely, when they are hurting us continually, in ourselves we cant. In Romans 5v5 we read,/ For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love/, we have His Spirit in us to help us to love eight days a week, so today rely on Him , and His resources.[ Dear God Your love is so amazing, for You just keep on loving, and loving, and loving,today we ask that You would fill our hearts ,and lives with Your love,so that we can love eight days a week, in Jesus name . Amen ]

Timing. [ Esther 6]

Timing is important in life , if you play cricket it is vital that you get your timing right, if you get it wrong ,you are out,boxing is the same, timing is all imporant. . In Romans 5v6 we read,/ When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners/. My study Bible says,/Christ came at exactly the right time in history- according to Gods own schedule. God controls all history, and He controlled the timing, method, and events surrounding Jesus death/.Was it by chance that when my last job finished, my present job opened up? I do not believe so , I believe Gods timing was perfect. When will Christ come again ?,I dont know , but I do believe that God has His perfect moment, and then it will happen.There are so many things we desire and pray about, mybe for years , and nothing appears to be happening, yet God has given us a promise, hold unto that promise, in Gods perfect time it will happen. [ Sovereign Lord help us to trust in your timing, for things to happen, help us to wait patiently , help us not to fret or worry, knowing You never come to late, and that Your timing is perfect, in Jesus name. Amen]

Innocent.[ 1 Corthinians 14v 20]

It appears that children in the west grow up before their time, many of them dress up like little adults,and they loose an innocence in regards to so much. They see things and hear things which former generations didnt, there are different reasons for this, TV, irresponsible parents, no absolutes, in other words anything goes. In 1Corinthians 14v20, we read,/ be innocent as babies when it comes to evil/,most of us are not,we have all been affected ,by the filth that is in the world, none of us have escaped untarnished. Now that we are Christians the challenge is to have a different attitude and emphases in our lives, to aim for holiness, aim for maturity in our thinking, let our hearts not be controlled by our passions .So let us fill our minds with thinking of what is true, wholesome,noble,pure,beautiful, not on the ugly things of life, not on the unwholesome things.[ Dear Lord we ask You to help us to be innoncent as regards evil, help us to fill our minds with right thinking, and fill us with Your Holy Spirit. Amen ]

A Jigsaw [ Revelation 21 v1-4 ]

The book of Esther is a very instructive book, Esther is suddenly chosen to be queen, and she was a Jew, in many ways, the book of Esther is like a jigsaw, and Esther being chosen to be queen was the first piece. As in a jigsaw only as each part is added does the whole become clear, it is the apostle Paul who wrote about knowing in part, and then He adds , but then shall I know[1 Corinthians 13v12]. Life will bring many unexplainable things into our lives, mybe you are experiencing such a thing now, it may be very painful, and you dont understand this part of the jigsaw.Ira Stanphill wrote,/The shadows deepen and my heart bleeds, I will not question the way He leads. This side of heaven, we know in part- I will not question a broken heart. We,ll talk it over in the bye and bye, We,ll talk it over my Lord and I, I,ll ask the reasons, He,ll tell me why, When we talk it over in the by and by/. [ Loving Heavenly Father we believe Your way and will is perfect, help us to trust You in each experience of life, especially those parts we dont understand, in Jesus name. Amen .]

I did not like school. [ Hebrews 12 v1-12 ]

I must confess I did not like school, I used to sit and daydream, and look out the window, I think I got most out of primary school , but after that, not to much. I do thank God for school , for even though I did not like it , I did learn things that have helped me greatly in life, like reading and writing. As a Christian I see myself still in school, Gods school, He is the teacher, and I am the pupil,when I am facing frustration, He is teaching me patience,when I am struggling He is teaching me to persevere, when I am weak through phyisical pain or whatever , I am being taught to rely upon His grace, when difficulties come, I am being taught to trust the Lord to overcome, and when bad things happen, I am being taught to trust in the promise that all things are working together for my good. Well my fellow pupils ,what lesson is God teaching You today? [Dear God I thank You For Your ongoing work in our lives, for the valuable and life changing lessons You are teaching us , in Jesus name . Amen ]