Emmanuel [Matthew 1 v23 ]

Emmanuel, which means God with us,[Matthew 1v23] think what that means,we have such a companion with us ,who is human yet devine. One who is all powerful, one who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we can ask or think, and yet one who is touched with the feelings of our infirmities. We have all we need and more in this person called Jesus,friendship,we all want friends, well we have one in Jesus, one who will never leave us or forsake us, one who will stand by us when all others have forsaken us. One who will guide us in the right way,one who will stand by and defend us, against all our foes, He is for us ,so who can be against us, He will be with us in our failures to encourage us to not give up.He will be with us to bless, He will open doors that no one can shut,He will give us strength in our weakness. He will cause everything to work together for our good, He is Emmanuel, God with us , He is Jesus our Saviour.[ Dear Lord Jesus we thank You, that You are with us, and all that this means, Amen] [ I will be on holiday for a week]

Happy ever after. [ Revelation 21 ]

I have just finished listening on audio, the book by Charles Dickens, Little Dorrit, Charles Dickens was a great writer, a superstar of his day. It was not the easiest book to follow but it was enjoyable,and for the main characters in the book it ended happily ever after. I like nice happy endings, I am sure most of us do,but life is not a book written by Charles Dickens,we cannnot guarantee a happy ending,and yet if we are Christians we know that there will be a happy ending. When will that be ?in eternity, when as a child of God we leave this earthly scene, an earthly scene that is damaged by sin, an earthly scene in which none of us are in control. The vision glorious for the child of God is for an eternal glory, a glory that is so wonderful, that even Charles Dickens could not describe it, an eternal glory in which all things will be made new and perfect, untouched by sin, or satan.[ Dear God help us to see beyond this fallen world, to that vision glorious, of an a new and glorious eternal future, when all things will be new , in Jesus name , Amen ]

Lost.[ Luke 19v10]

I have an increasing burden, for the lost, who are the lost?, they are those who have never trusted Jesus to save them. Most people do not know that they are lost, they are ignorant to the fact that,they are sinners, and need a Saviour, but they are still lost. Why did Jesus come?, to seek and to save that which is lost, [Luke 19 v10 ] who is lost?, everyone, Isaiah 53v6,tells us,/All of us , like sheep, have strayed away . We have left Gods paths to follow our own./ When a person is lost, it has very serious consequences,which the many ignor,Hell is not a made up scare story, it is a reality,a reality that people discover to late,there is no escape from Hell, no early release,no time off for good behaviour, it is a permanent state,with no get out clauses. The Bibles warns us to flee from the wrath to come, where do we flee to? to Jesus, the only one who can save us from a fate worst than death. [ Dear God we thank you ,that You so loved this world that You give Your only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Amen ]

To knell or not to knell that is the question. [1 Timothy 2 v8 ]

The very first time I came to Grays in Essex ,while standing waiting for the couple to come in whose house I would be staying , I noticed a lady on the other side of the road, walking on her knees. I never did find out why she walked on her knees. When it comes to prayer I dont knell, because it began to hurt when I did, although recently I finish by kneeling. It was said of one famous Christian,that he had camel knees,because he prayed so much on his knees. We dont have to kneel when we pray,what we do need is a proper attitude to the one we are praying, a God who is holy, and awesome. Mybe some of us need to be on our knees,in humility and repentance, while others of us need to consider our hearts rather than our posture. [ Dear God we ask that we may always treat You with reverance, when we pray in Jesus name Amen ]

Failure.[ Philippians 3 v 12-16 ]

We failed , declares David[1Chronicles 15v14] , we can all identify, with those words,as I look back on my life ,like David I have failed. Some of those failures still live with me, and I only wish that I could go back, and undo those failures, wish they had never happened, but I cant. Yet there are positives in failures,they should keep us humble,and should help us to have empathy with others in their failures. Although David failed and it was a serious failure, he did not stay in his failure, he moved on, so must we,we must not live in our failures, thats what the devil wants us to do. In Psalm 103v13-14, we read,The Lord is like a father to His children, tender and compassionate to those who fear Him. For He knows how weak we are, He remembers we are only dust. Today let us bring all our failures to God, and ask for His grace, that will enable us to move on, inspite of how we feel.[ Loving Father we come to Your throne of grace, and in the name of Jesus we ask for the grace to move on inspite of our failures. Amen ]

Being wise before the event. [ Proverbs 3 v5-6 ]

Following on with David moving the Ark of the covenant,and the tragic results of David acting , contrary to Gods word.In 1Chronicles 15 v13, we read how David acknowledges that they had failed to ask God how to move the Ark properly. Consider the consequences of not asking, a dear man had died,this need not have happened ,if only they had asked God, if only, there are so many times we fail, because we fail to seek the Lords guidance. Seeking the Lords guidance is not a trival thing,so often, like David we seek Him after the event when things have gone wrong.Today let us determine to seek the Lords guidance in all we do, in the major and minor things, if we do ,He shall direct our paths. [Proverbs 3v6av] [ Dear God we ask that You will help us to seek You first in all things, in Jesus name. Amen ]

Stick to Gods plan.[ Exodus 27v8]

We continue to look at David bringing back the Ark of the covenant in 1 Chronicles 13, yesterday we saw that David was angry with God ,for striking Uzzah dead . Why did God act in this way,well the Ark was a symbol of Gods holy presence,to touch this holy symbol or to look into it was not permitted[ cp Numbers4v15/1 Samuel 7v19] Next the ark was to be transported in a the way God said [ Numbers 4v5-15], David realized this later [1 Chronicles 15v13], but then it was to late for Uzziah. Mankind is full of their own idea,s ,as regard God they think many things ,and they feel it is of little consequence ,how they regard God,or how they act,but it does . Even as believers we must act according to Gods word,we may be sincere , but if we are acting contrary to Gods word,then we are sincerely wrong, and God will deal with us, remember God is to be feared and obeyed. [Dear God forgive our foolish ways,when we act contrary to Your word and will,help us to take seriously what You teach us, in Jesus name Amen ]

Angry with God.[ Psalm 139v 23- 24]

In 1 Chronicles 13 we read how David a man after Gods own heart desired to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, that would mean that the Ark and the Tabernacle would be in seperate places. So David had the Ark put on a new cart, and as it was being transported,the oxen pulling the cart stumbled and a man called Uzzah put his hand on the ark , to steady it, and the moment he did that , God struck him down dead. David was angry at what had happened,there are many people who are angry with God. Some awful things happen to people, ,mybe you are angry with God, well we can let the anger alienate us from God,turn away from Him, not speak to Him, let me assure you there is no gain in that. Or we can humbly submit ourselves to God,ask forgiveness,and ask Him to restore us again to a place of fellowship, let us remember there was no fairness in the cross. [ Father have mercy upon us, we struggle with our feelings, of hurt,and disappointment,grant us the grace to trust You,and restore us again to a place of fellowship, in Jesus name Amen ]

The Ark of the Covenant. [ 1 Timothy 6 v11-13]

The ark of the covenant was a container, which held the tablets of stone with the 10 commandments written on them, it was overlaid with pure gold, it symbolized Gods covenant with His people.[cp Exodus 37]. It was kept in the tabernacle, the place where Gods people where to come and sacrifice before God,and to meet with God. Now yesterday we thought on Saul, and it is in 1 Chronicles 13v3, that we read,that the Ark was neglected during the reign of Saul.. My study Bible says,/Neglecting those things that remind us of God, the Bible, the church, and contact with Christians ,will cause us to neglect God./ Neglect is never a good thing, especially our relationship with our Saviour,it is all to easy to slip into neglect, so today , let us look at our lives and ask the question am I neglecting my relationship with my God ?.[ Dear God help us to be honest with ourselves and with You,and put to right those areas of our lives that are causing us to neglect our relationship with You in Jesus name Amen ]

Let us be careful. [ Galations6 v 1-5 ]

There are a number of reasons king Saul was rejected from being king, he was unfaithful to the Lord, failed to obey the Lords command, and failed to ask the Lord for guidance. [1 Chronicles 10 v13-14 ] We are saved by grace, but we are called upon to surrender our lives to God,to not live in continual disobedience to Him. The Life of Saul was a life of continual disobedience to God, we are not to Judge Saul, but we are called to learn lessons from his life, for there is a Saul in all of us. The scriptures tell us let him who thinketh he standeth take heed lest he falls [1 Corinthians 10v12 ], so let us be careful,let us cry unto to God , for His grace, so that we will not make the same mistakes as Saul, and suffer as a consequence. [ Dear God help help us do right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with You this day in the name of Jesus Amen ]

Wrong thought patterns. [Psalm 51]

In John 6 v61,we read,/Jesus was aware that His disciples were complaining/,these words remind me that our Saviour is aware of how we act, speak and most of all think. Our actions ,words are expressions of our thoughts, that is where everything starts,in our minds, as a person thinks ,so they speak , so they act. So here is the question for all of us to answer,how is our thought life? are we discontent?, are we angry?, are we unforgiving?,are we complaining?.In Psalm 51, David who had given into his thought life, and committed an awful sin, prays,/Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.[Or a loyal spirit ] David acknowledges that his thought life had led him away from God, caused him to be disloyal,if we are going to go away from God it will start in our hearts, so mybe today we need to confess to God our wrong thought patterns,and ask Him to forgive us and renew a loyal spirit within us. [ Dear God help us to think aright, to forsake ,and confess wrong thought patterns,that can cause us to be disloyal to You , in Jesus name Amen ]

Honesty. [ James 3 v17 -18 ]

Many years ago a person who was involved in the discovery of George Best told me I was useless at football, I suppose he was being honest, mybe I needed to hear that. I am sure we do need to be honest with people, to tell that person their faults, or do we?. Ephesians 4 v29, reads, /Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them/, and Ephesians 4v15 tells us to,/Speak the truth in love/. Honesty said in an unloving, unthinking , uncaring way, will help no one,we need to be careful with our supposed honesty,that we dont destroy that person we are being honest with, that should never be the Christians desire. In being honest let us remember,that our motives are often ill placed, and often the best thing to do is ,love the person and pray for them, and say nothing. [ Dear God forgave us for our unloving and unkind honesty, help us when we have to be honest, to be motivated by love for that person, and to remember it is not our task to be cruel in order to be kind, in Jesus name Amen ]

The unexpected. [Mark 4 v35 -41 ]

Something happened unexpectantly to me yesterday,which reminded me that healing from my operation will take time . In the Bible miracles occur in an instant, and Im all for the instant cure, but in the norm it often takes time, and we must be patient. We dont know what a day may bring forth, when suddenly the unexpectant happens, like the disciples in Mark 4v35-41,who where in a boat with Jesus when suddenly and I am sure unexpectantly , a great storm arose,and it was so severe , it looked like they were going to drown. Now Jesus was in the boat asleep,the disciples woke Him, with the words,/ Master carest thou not that we perish/ , but of course Jesus did care, and He stilled the storm ,and their fears. He also did something else ,He challenged them ,/why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?/.[ Dear Saviour grant us faith to overcome our fears,Amen ]

Pray about it .[Proverbs 3 v6 av ]

I will pray about it,these are important words, I am so conscious that we need to pray about everything,of course sometimes we forget ,we need not live in dread, prayer is not a lucky charm. Gods favour is upon us ,He is with us in all things, yet it is important that we do pray about everything, you see prayer makes a difference.We should try to, bring God into ever situation in life, the important and even the things that seem to us unimportant. Remember prayer is a ministry, that we can all be involved in, but it is also a vital resource that God has granted us, so let us today , take to heart the words ,I will pray about it. [ Dear God thank You that when we pray to You ,You listen and respond, help us to pray about everything, in Jesus name Amen ]

Seeing Jesus. [ Revelation 1v7 ]

I said to a friend ,how am I going to be able to see Jesus in heaven ?, because there will be millions of people there,because it is every Christians desire to look upon the face of our Saviour. Have you ever thought of this?,and yet we will, In Revelation 1v7,we read ,/everyone will see Him/, I dont know how that will be.It was Stephen in Acts7 v56,declares,/Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing in the place of honour at Gods right hand/. The greatest blessing for all Christians will be to see Jesus, to look upon Him , to be near Him. At this time we have not seen Him,yet we love Him [1Peter 1v8 ], but one day we will see Him, whom we love. At this time we walk by faith, but one day faith will give way to sight, and we will look upon the face of the one who saved us by His grace, what a day, glorious day that will be. [ Dear Lord Jesus your word tells us,blessed are those who do not see ,yet believe, help us to walk this pathway of faith, until that day when faith will give way to sight, and we look upon Your face. Amen ]

Mountain prayers. [ Matthew 17 v 20]

Our Saviour said in Matthew 17 v20,/ If you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, Move from here to there, and it would move . Nothing would be impossible/. These are very challenging words to me, and I am sure to you, the term came to me, mountain prayers, now we are not being asked to climb a mountain but to remove it. What mountain are we faced with ?, I dont want to go down the list, what I know inevitably we will all be faced with mountains. ,well one thing for certain nothing will happen by looking at our mountains, we all are inclined to focus to much on the problems, instead of focusing on the one who can solve the problem,and to have faith in Him to move that mountain. [ Dear God sometimes we are overwhelmed by difficulties, they become like mountains, please help us to have faith in You to move our mountains in Jesus name. Amen ]

The wishing game. [ Galations 5 v16-26 ]

A person I know said ,I wish that I could win the lottery, of course everyone who does the lottery has this wish. Now I dont gamble, I do remember when I was a boy running to the bookies with bets , and as I grew older I did indulge in gambling, but as a Christian I dont gamble now.I have a fear about gambling ,because I know it is so easy to be sucked into a situation that can destroy one financially.Is it wrong to gamble?what is the Holy Spirit saying to us about it? are we listening?. We really need to heed the promptings of the Spirit of God, be it about gambling ,drinking, the company we keep,the language we use, in other words we need to be led by the Spirit. The Christian life is not a wishing game, it is ,and should be , a life that is controlled by the Spirit of God, /so .. .. let the Holy Spirit guide [y]our lives.[Galatians 5 v16 nlt]. [Dear God help us not to be sucked into the worlds wishing game, but help us to be controlled and guided by Your Spirit in Jesus name . Amen ]

Difficult people. [1 Corinthians 13 v 4-7 ]

Here is a challenge, it is to do with people who we find difficult, people we want to avoid, people we would like to choke, we all have met then, and wish we had,nt. They may be part of our family,members of our church, or someone we work with, you know them and I know them. The question is what are we to do with them, how are we suppose to cope with them? the answer from Gods word is simple this,/ Be patient with difficult people 2 Timothy2v24/. We are being asked to do something, that God is continually doing, think of all the difficult people God has to deal with, and of course we can include ourselves in that number. I know that I can be difficult, what about you?, so today when we are faced with some difficult person, let us be patient. [ Dear God we thank You ,that are ever so patient with us difficult difficult people, help us to follow Your example in Jesus name Amen ]

Gods agender . [ 1 Timothy 2 v1-8]

Praying for others pleases our God and Saviour, so we are told in 1 Timothy 2v3, we have a new goverment, a coalition, the party we voted for, may not have got in , we may be very critical of what has come about, and even anxious. What we are told to do is pray, 1Timothy 2v2, in these secular days, those in power may not pray, but we can , and we need to, our prayers can make a difference. I am concerned that Christians are being marginalised,let us pray that we may be able to live in such a way that will enable the Gospel to spread . Whoever is in power need not concern us , they may have their agenders, but God has His agender the salvation of men and women, that is what we need to focus on, and pray to that end. [ Dear God we bring our goverment to You ,in Thy mercy guide and direct them in all things,and help us to stay focused on Your desire to see people coming to know our Saviour. Amen ]

Telling others. [Matthew 28 v18-20 ]

I must confess I am not as bold at witnessing as I once was, I remember times when some Christians, criticised me for witnessing in a certain way,they may have been right, mybe I did get it wrong, but then people are going to hell. Our Saviour said we were to as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves[Matthew 10v16], and so we should,but that is not meant to intimidate us from witnessing,let me tell you this from experience,the offence of the cross has not gone away. We will need a certain amount of boldness , we will not always get it right, we might become unpopular, but ours is the task of telling others about Jesus, and this is not optional, and to neglect this ,is just downright disobedient. [ Dear God help us to tell others about Jesus, with our lives and our words, Amen ]

Be prepared [ 1 Timothy 6 v11-14 ]

Be prepared is a good motto, yesterday our speaker did not turn up ,he was unwell, fortunately I had started a message the night before, I was sort of half prepared.I had an hour to finish it of ,which I did, and so I was able to preach. I have had a life time of experience in preparing sermons, hours and hours of studying, been to Bible college, many years ago, but one still needs to be prepared when one comes to preaching, I love preaching,but one has to work at it,so it is with the Christian life, one has to work at it,praying ,reading the word of God, reading godly literature, and in all things have a deep reliance on the Holy Spirit. [ Dear God help us to do all we can to equip ourselves as Christians, for service in Your Kingdom in Jesus name Amen ]

Feelings. [ Matthew 16v24 ]

I must confess I felt it hard to pray this morning,usually I dont struggle, but for whatever reason I did this morning. Here is the important thing ,I did not give into my feelings, I still prayed, it would be so easy to go down the road called feelings, to feel hatred and go with that, to feel that life is not fair,and of course often it is not. Our Saviour was not ruled by His feelings,nor should we be,the challenge of being a Christian, is so often the opposite of how we are feeling. Consider the words of our Saviour in Matthew 16v24/If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow Me /. We may not feel like doing what Jesus said, we may feel so far from what He said, we have a choice, we always have a choice, feelings or obedience, whats it going to be?.[ Dear God help us to not be ruled by our feelings, help us to press on in our walk with You, to realize afresh that it is the way of the cross that leads home, in Jesus name Amen ]

Breaking and making.[ Jeremiah 18 v1-4 ]

I want to tell you something ,I am not perfect, well those who know me, are aware of this already, but then none of us are perfect. There is still much land to be conquered,so much dead wood to be cut off, as I think of my imperfections, I could so easily despair, sometimes I do, yet God is in the business of making us what we should be. When He saved us we were imperfect, we are still imperfect, but we are a work in progress, He is the potter we are the clay, [Jeremiah 18 v1-4/ Romans 9 v21].I read a poem by John Donne ,here is a verse from it,/ O Saviour, as Thou hangst upon the tree. I turn my back to recieve, Correction, till Thy mercies bid thee leave. O think me worth thine anger,punish me, Burn off my rusts, and my deformity, Restore Thine Image so much, by Thy grace./ One day that process will be complete, one day we will be like Him [1 John 3v2], no more rust or deformities.[ Father we bow before You, we acknowledge our many imperfections,grant us grace to accept , Your breaking and making,in these lives of ours, in Jesus name Amen ]

This changing scene. [ Psalm 121 ]

We live in a world of change ,this especially applies to the political scene,yesterday was an election day , who will be in goverment?. Whatever the changes in goverment, or in life, the important thing to remember that there is one who does not change, our sovereign God. When I think of change,change of job, change of circumstances,or whatever ,I can become unsettled, and anxious ,God is in control of our world , and our lives. Frances Havergal wrote a wonderful hymn, the chorus goes like this,/ Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blest, finding as He promised, perfect peace and rest/.So today in a world of change, remember,in the words of that same hymn,/We may trust Him fully, all for us to do. They who trust Him wholly, find Him wholly true/. [ Dear God it does not take much to unsettle us, so help us to fully trust You to undertake for us, whatever the changes in life, in Jesus name Amen ]

Who cares? [ 1 Peter 5v7 ]

I noticed a bag of my wifes with the words ,/ Who cares/, on it, it is a good question, and is challenging, many people do care about others,I dont think there is a black and white answer to this question. It is a question we must answer for ourselves, and it is an ongoing challenge, to care, I work in what is known as the caring profession, but am I caring?. I believe God cares, He cares for everyone, the whole world, He cares for you , and He cares for me.Are we burdened today ?well here is what we can do, / Give all our worries and cares to God, for He cares about us[ 1 Peter 5v7 ], in Psalm 55v22, we read ,/Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He will sustain thee. [ Dear God we thank You that You care for us, we cast all our burdens upon You, and ask that You will sustain us in Jesus name Amen ]

There is an alternative to worry. [ Philippians 4v6-7 ]

Philippians 4 v6 ,reads /Dont worry about anything,are you worrying about anything right now? about your family,your health, your future, your financial needs. There is always something to worry about ,we all worry, if you dont ,I do, so here, you and I ,are being told not to worry about anything, let me stress the word anything. Next we are told to,/pray about everything/ so we have a choice, we can keep worrying ,bottling up all our fears ,loose sleep, be moody,or we can pray about those things that we are worrying about. Next we are told to, /Tell God what you need/now prayer is to be directed at God, after all , He alone is one who can help us [Psalm 120v1, reads/I took my troubles to the Lord. I cried unto Him, and He answered my prayers.] The result will be,/we will experience Gods peace, which exceeds anything we can understand/,and of course let us not forget to thank Him for answering our prayers.[ Dear Heavenly Father, you know us through and through, you know that we worry about so much,we ask that you will help us not worry ,help us to bring everything to You in prayer, in Jesus name Amen ]

No Glib answers. [ Psalms 119 v 105]

I have just found an old book in my library called,/ A mute Christian under the rod,/ by Thomas Brooks a puritan writer. The thing I like about the Puritans is how they dealt with lifes problems, they did not, give trite answers,or write glibly about suffering. We dont need trite answers when we are suffering, we need answers that will help us,that will instruct us. The puritans had Biblical answers, they were people who thought much of what Gods word taught, they meditated much on the word. They lived in different times, but there is nothing new under the sun, suffering, trials, difficulties, and death still happen, how are we to facing them?how can we cope?, are we murmuring, complaining?. Read godly mens writing, read and meditate on Gods word,and pray much. [Dear God we thank You for godly peoples ministries, help us hold fast to the truths that are taught to us by them, in Jesus name Amen ]

Past finding out.[ Isaiah 55 v 8-9 ]

I wonder what you think of the this statement ,/There are no second causes/, only God, He is the first cause in everything. Now I know I cannot fully explain this, and yet I believe it to be true, because God is sovereign, my study Bible says,/Hebrew writers do not always distinguish between primary and secondary causes/. In Romans11v33-34 the writer declares,/How impossible it is for us to understand His decisions and His ways. For who can know the Lords thoughts? Who knows enough to give Him advice/. All we can do is bow to His sovereign will in our lives, we are the clay , He is the potter, and the safest ground is to submit to His will in all things. [ Dear God we acknowledge that your ways are past finding out,but we also acknowledge Your way is perfect, and pray that Your will be done in our lives, in Jesus name Amen ]

Grace. [ Ephesians 2 v 8-9 av ]

The Bible tells us continually the importance of giving thanks, and just recently I found myself thinking about the grace of God, I am really grateful that I am saved by grace. I know this is something we are grateful for continually, but sometimes it becomes more meaningful, especially when we consider our failures. Yes we try to be consistant, try and try to be holy,but we inevitably fail, or even fall, and its then one realizes the importance of the Grace of God,we will always only ,be sinners saved by grace. The apostle Paul wrote, But by the grace of God I am what I am[1 Corinthians 15v10 ]. In the song by Gerrit Gustafson ,Only by grace can we enter,it ends with these words,/Lord, if You mark our transgressions, Who would stand? Thanks to Your grace we are cleansed,By the blood of the Lamb. [Dear God we praise You from the depths of our hearts for Your saving and keeping grace, in Jesus name Amen ]

No more sin.[ Revelation 21 v1-8]

As I was praying a thought came , as regards sin, that there will come a time when there will be no more sin. Consider what that means , no more murders, rapes,lies and so the list goes on, it is hard to imagine, we are so conditioned to accept the imperfect,thats the way it is ,it will never change. When God made us He did not program us to sin, He made us perfect, to live in perfect harmony with creation, and most of all with Him,Through the death of Jesus all things will one day be as they where meant to be,no disease ,no sin, it is my dream to be part of that new and perfect exsistance, a dream that will come true, for nothing can stop Gods plan and purpose. We can all be part of this wonderful eternal future by accepting Christ as our Saviour.[ Dear Father sometimes the sinfulness of our hearts, and in the world overwhelms us,but we thank You that there is coming a day in which there will be no more sin, thank You for Jesus who has made this possible Amen ]