The royal law [ Galations 5 v14 ]

Our Saviour lived in a society that was ruled by religious people,in some Islamic groups they have the beard police,in the society that Jesus lived they had those who watched what you did,especially in relation to the Sabbath. But the problem was ,what they considered keeping the Sabbath,and what Jesus considered keeping the Sabbath was worlds apart. The religious groups had devised so many rules and regulations, life became very oppressive, and fear driven, this is what happens when you try to please God by rules and regulations.The result of all this was a cold hard indifference when it came to others,and when Jesus cut across all that they hated Him , in Luke 6 v11, we read that they were filled with madness. What had He done?,well He had healed someone,rules and regulations have their place ,but when they get in the way of love, we are duty bound to break them, even if people become mad at us.[ Dear God help us to keep Your law, the law of love, in Jesus name Amen ]

Children. [ Mark 10 v13-16 ]

Last night I was watching an old film, when one the actors said to the child actor have you said your prayers?. As I heard those words I thought ,how many children are going to bed and never say their prayers. So many dear children have no spiritual imput into their lives,their parents have rejected God, and live only on a material secular level. Today let us pray for the children, our own children, our neighbours children ,children in our streets,in our schools,children everywhere. Childrens lives are filled with so much, but empty of any spiritual imput, is it any wonder that they turn to sex and drugs ,and so may other things. I thank God I was sent to Sunday school, I thank God for childrens meetings, it was at such a meeting I got saved. Children need to be saved, they need to hear about Jesus, so today let us offer up a prayer for children.[ Dear God have mercy upon the children in our famlies,our streets, our schools,our towns ,our cities, our countries, bring them to Jesus Your son Amen ]

One God,one mediator. [ 1 Timothy 2 v 5 ]

Let us consider 1 Timothy 2 v5,/For there is one God, and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus./ First consider the statement,/There is one God/, how vital these words are in a world of many gods,many people would say ,does it really matter,the answer is yes, it does matter. It matters because God says it matters and that should be enough for us, to believe in so called other gods has very serious consequences, as to our salvation, and indeed bars us from a relationship with God. Next we are told,that there is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus,this rules out so many fanciful and wrong ideas, such as Mary, priests,and the dead. As a Christian I come to God through Jesus and no one else, those who seek to go another way ,are classed as a thieves and a robbers.[John 10v1 ],as the old chorus says ,you must go in at the door, and that door is Jesus.[John 10v9]. [ Dear God open the eyes of men and women to see and accept the truth ,that there is only one God and one way to come to You, in Jesus name we ask this Amen ]

How serious?[ Numbers 15v12-36]

When certain things happen we often ask, how serious is it?,for example when we hear of someome who is ill , or of someone bieng in an accident. I wonder have you ever asked the question in relation to sin ?,how serious is sin?, let us consider this question. First of all , all sin is serious and has serious consequences, I stress the all,we have a mentality that makes light of certain things, people yes even Christians take the name of the Lord in vain,and every tme they do this they are sinning, and thats serious. We must begin to realize that all sin has serious consequences, and must be taken serious. Next ,all sin is taken serious by God who is holy, and must be judged,I stress must be judged,this judgement by God can be now ,but most diffently in eternity, when Jesus will judge sinners, those who have rejected Him as saviour. Next we see how serious God takes sin when we look at the cross,why is Jesus on the cross?,because of your sin and mine,God desires all to be saved, but sin is serious, so God made a choice, a most painful choice, His Son would have to die on a cross , now thats how serious sin is to a holy God. [Dear God help me to take all sin as serious, help me to take the consequences of sin serious,so serious that I will trust Jesus as my savioiur. Amen ]

Lists. [Luke 12 v13 -21 ]

Lets write out two lists, of what we want, and what we have, they dont have to be full lists, so the I want list, /I want a new camera, a certain dvd,and every week I want to be able to buy my favourite bread,you, I am sure have a list of your own. Next the ,I have list,/on second thoughts, it would be to long, just to say I have a very long list,I have a lot of things, as I am sure many of us have. Now let us consider a story our dear Saviour told ,about a rich man,who had a full list,he had everything he wanted and he felt so satisfied,then we have that but again ,but God said, /You fool , You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for. Yes a person is a fool to store earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God/ How do we have rich relationship, first of all by knowing Christ as saviour,and by fulfilling the law,which means not so much rules and regulations, but to love God with all our being, and loving others as we love ourselves.[ Dear Father help me to see my greatest need is Christ, not my want list or have list,help me to see that in knowing Jesus, I must always seek Your will first and foremost, that is to love and love and love . Amen ]

Disruptions. [ John 14 v27 ]

We have four of our grandchildren staying, and let me say that they are grand children, it goes with out saying that we love then,and all our grandchildren. But, ah there is always that but in life, when they stay they bring a bit of disruption, no matter how early I get up, they beat me to it. Let us consider the aspect of disruption in our lives,they can be major things ,and minor things, but usually we dont like them. Sometimes they bring confusion and pain ,they throw us,and we feel confused,and upset,so how do we cope?, can we cope?, the answer is yes,the poet wrote, if you can keep your head when all around are loosing theirs,again let me ask the question,can we cope?,yes we can. / How is this possible?well here is how,/Thou wilt keep in perfect peace ,whose mind is stayed on Thee ,because he trusted in Thee.[ Isaiah 26 v3 ]/[ Dear God when disruptions come into my life help me to focus on You in Jesus name Amen ]

How is your appetite? [Matthew 4 v 4]

Usually as I do my blog I am eating my breakfast, whats your faviourite food?, I have things I like,some I cant have because I am diabetic,like apple pie,or doughnuts,I dont like spicy food,and usually I find it difficut to choose what to eat ,when I go to a restaurant. Many people comfort eat,as a result they put on weight, then we have those who want to loose weight, it is called the battle of the bulge. When it comes to eating Jesus said ,man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God [Matthew 4 v4/ Deut 8 v3 ]. Yes we need food ,our Lord knows this,and assures us that our loving Heavenly Father will provide [Matthew 6 v24-34 ], But men and women are not just physical beings,we have a soul, we have a spiritual side to our being,if we are not Christians ,we need to realize that we need Christ more than we need bread. If we are Christians we need to feed our spirits ,by reading the word of God everyday, to memorize it it,to meditate on it. There is a little childrens chorus that comes to mind ,/ Read your Bible ,pray everyday , If you want to grow, not only is this good advice but vital advice, for our spiritual well being. [Dear Lord help me not to neglect my soul, grant unto me a healthy appetite for Your word, Amen ]

We must pray. [ Hebrews 11 v6 ]

I heard something yesterday that has upset me , someone I know is ill, what can I do?,well I can pray .In the act of praying we are doing the most important thing,most people pray,mybe even some atheist, we may be surprised. There is so much to pray about ,countries like Japan, Libya,our own country,persecuted Christians,neighbours, family,the list goes on,and yet it is not just a list, it is about real people, real situations,thats why we must be real in our prayers ,no hypocrisy, no falseness,no pretending, yes we must be real. Faith is important in prayer,faith in a God who honours faith,and will answer those prayers , offered in faith. As regards faith read Hebrews chapter 11, in that chapter we read of people acting in faith,but rest assured ,our acts of faith, should be preceded by prayers of faith, to God who hears and answers .John Newton wrote this on prayer,/ My soul, ask what thou wilt. Thou canst not be to bold,Since His own blood for thee He spilt,What else can He withhold?. Beyond thine utmost wants,His love and power can bless. To praying souls He always grants, More than they can express./ [Dear God who hears and answers prayer,we bring to you those things,that are burdening us, and ask that in Thy great mercy ,You would undertake ,we ask this in Jesus name Amen ]

The backslider. [Joel 2 v25 ]

One of my favourite stories is ,Wind in the willows, that wonderful story,by Kenneth Graham,of different animals,Ratty,Mole, Badger, and Toad of Toad Hall. These four are all friends, Ratty,mole, and badger are sensible animals, but Toad who is rich is an irresponsible animal. Toad flits from one thing to another,boating, caravaning, and finally to cars,and the latter takes over his life,to the point of bringing him to possible ruin ,financially, he is like so many people, mybe like you .But I move on, his friends love him, and with Badgers leadership,they seek to help,Badger takes Toad into a room on his own and lectures him,Toad listens agrees with Badger,they come out, no sooner are they out ,Toad declares he is not sorry, he only pretended to be ,in order to get Badger of his back, in utter frustration Badger calls him a backsliding animal. What is a backslider?well its one who goes back to what they once were,I know of many backsliders ,people who became Christians, and have gone back to what they once were, I wonder is that you?, as a youngster I trusted the Saviour, but I backslid, I went back, I remember a preacher saying that were no advantages in forsaking Christ, I found it to be so,and I deeply regret what I did,but God in His mercy forgive me, and restored me. [ Dear God I thank You for restoring me back to Yourself,we pray for those who are backsliden ,that You would restore them to Yourself ,in Jesus name Amen ]

Breaking point. [ 1 Corinthians 10 v13 ]

Many years ago I remember, us having a record player or what was known as a gramophone, it didnt work by electricity,it had a spring mechanism,which one had to wind up. I dont remember the music we played on it but I do remember that the spring kept snapping,and had to be replaced. Life for many is a bit like that ,we feel like a spring that is about to snap,we come under pressure, we feel stretched, and we cant take much more. Consider the following, and see if you idenitify with them,/troubled,distressed,perplexed,despair,persecuted.Now it is the apostle Paul who wrote those words [1 Corinthians 4 v8-9 ],so how did he respond to those things?. Well he declares that in all those things he was not forsaken, nor was he destroyed, in 2 Timothy 4v17 ,he declares in the midst of His trials, that the Lord stood with him, and strengthened him.Let us remember that in all our difficulties in life that the Lord is with us to strengthen us, so that we will not snap, and that He will not let those difficulties destroy us.[ Dear God we thank You ,that You are with us, and will not permit our difficulties to destroy us, but rather You will use our difficulties to transform us. in Jesus name .Amen ]

A worry pit . [ Psalm 40 v1- 3 ]

I wonder do you have a feeling in your tummy everytime you think of a certain situation ,I do ,and it will not go a way. I will call it my worry pit , a place where I have my worse thoughts. It involves situations that are arising, it involves change, it involves people,the result is ,a worry pit, and I cant seem to get out of it. You would think an old stager like me,would not have a worry pit, after all I am a Christian many ,many years, a minister , a preacher,this may be so, but I still have a worry pit.Well my mind turns to a man called Elijah, the great prophet,who had a powerful ministry, but he also had his worry pit cp 1 Kings 19. Is there a magic cure to help us out of our worry pits?, no ,but there is an answer,Elijah burrowed deeper into his worry pit,yes we can do that, or we can face those things that are worrying us,and trust in our Saviour to undertake.I read a verse this morning that will help all of us ,and its this. Isaiah 41 v10. Fear thou not ,for I am with thee, be not dismayed, for I am thy God. I will strengthen thee, yea I will help thee, yea I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. [Dear God we thank You that no matter how deep our worry pit may be , you are with us, and can deliver us ,in Jesus name Amen ]

The word of God.[ Psalm 119 v105 ]

As I was travelling on holiday recently, I listened to a Christian service on the radio,and one part of the service, I found interesting. After each Bible reading, they quoted Psalm 119 v105,which reads ,/Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path/. Some people think the Word of God confusing,not so ,William Plummer an old commentator, writes,/How sad is the state and how guilty the conduct of those , who reject the light of Gods word. It alone can solve a thousand doubts. It alone gives effectual comfort in the day of distress. It alone preserves our feet from forbidden paths, whoever has it has a great advantage/.It is the word of God alone that can make us wise unto salvation 2 Timothy 3 v15 ], for it reveals Christ to us,which must be a priority if we are to be saved and go to heaven and not to hell. [Dear God thank You for Your word, that reveals unto us Christ, and the principals we are to live by,and the path we are called to walk each day. Amen ]

Our heavenly Father. [Jeremiah 29 v11 ]

I heard these words while watching a movie/ I believe my Father has made me for a purpose/,I believe this, so many dont, because they dont know my Father.When you do know Him ,then life takes on a new meaning, you realize that there is one who is watching over you, caring for you. [cp Matthew 6 ] God is the best Father, by far, often earthly fathers, as many people are finding out,are not caring,they father children,they didnt want, someone I know had 6 children,but was left to bring them up on her own.Another person I know had a father who abused her. Now of course there are many good fathers,but they have their limits, and they do there best,but they cannot always help us and protect us, and be with us. We find in God, the perfect father, yes He will chastise us,because He loves us [Hebrews 12v6],we may not understand His ways, but we can trust Him, that He knows best,and will look after us, come what may. [ Dear God we thank You that we can know You as our Father when we trust Jesus to be our Saviour, Amen ]

What we need. [ Philippians 4 v23 ]

As I think what to write, the thought that comes to is the grace of God,this is something we all need to be reminded of,not only to be saved,but as we continue on ,in the Christian life.Grace to stand for truth as revealed in the word of God,grace to be the people we should be,and would like to be. Grace to overcome those things that would bring us down, grace to fight the good fight of faith, grace to follow our Lord in the path that He leads us on.Grace to be humble,grace to have a servants heart, and live it out,grace to apply truth to our lives, not just to accumulate knowledge for the sake it,let us remember that truth, Gods truth is meant to be lived out, in the rough and tumble of life. If I am going to be light,if I am going to be salt, I need the grace of God, let us therefore come unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need [Hebrews 4 v16 ][ Dear God pour out Your grace into these lives of ours in Jesus name Amen ] [ I will return to blogging next Sat as I will be holiday from tomorrow ]

The Bible.[ 2 Timothy 3v15 ]

When Israel became two nations after the death of Solomon ,who caused the split [cp 1 Kings 11v 9ff],one of the nations under Jeroboam, set up false worship,[cp 1 Kings 12v25ff]. In doing this they did something that many people have done, added to the what Gods word taught,it started with these words, Jeroboam thought to himself. From his human reasoning he led the nation down a very slippery slope, which ended in the nation being judged severely by God[ cp 2 Kings 17]. What have Islam, Mormonism,and Roman Catholicism, got in common, they have all added to Gods final revelation,the word of God the Bible. This is a very ,very, serious matter,because it has such a profound affect upon millions, and millions of people. How vital it is to stand for truth as revealed in Holy scriptures,if we are going to be saved,the Bible alone will make us wise unto salvation [2 Timothy 3 v15 ]. Those who add other, so called revelations ,are leading people astray, leading them to a lost eternity, let us not be lured into error,by leaning upon our own understanding, and straying from Gods word ,the Bible. [ Dear God of truth, help us to hold fast to Your finished revelation,the Bible ,in Jesus name .Amen]

Words. [ Psalm 19 v14 ]

I felt convicted I had said something I should not have, alas, once you speak words they cannot be recalled, you cant delete them . I spoke words and felt an uneasiness in my spirit , the Holy Spirit was at work,of course I could ignor His prompting, but in doing that,I would grieve Him, He would not leave me,but in some way ,He would remind me. So really its best to respond to His prompting, confess ones sin , learn from it ,and move on. Consider all the rash words spoken,all the fifthly words, the hurtful words, the lying words. One of my favourite poems is the ,/The Ballet of Reading Jail, by Oscar Wilde, it is about a man who was going to be hung, why?,The man had killed the thing he loved, and so he had to die, but then Oscar goes on to write,/Yet each man kills the thing he loves, by each let this be heard,some do it with a bitter look, some with a flattering word./ May we watch our words today,to all we come in contact with, and especially with our nearest and dearest, we dont want to kill the thing we love. [ Dear God forgive our wrong words, help us to speak healing words, not hurtful words,may the words that we speak today glorify You, we ask this in Jesus name Amen ]

We have a choice.[ Matthew 16 v 24 -27 ]

Jeremiah is my favourite prophet ,I wonder why? , for he lived in difficult times, experienced a lot of abuse,his ministry was not heeded ,by his fellow countrymen. And yet God preserved this wonderful book, to bless countless millions of people, Jeremiah is dead but his ministry speaks on, a verse from this book comes to mind, which is food for thought, and its this,/[10v23] O Lord ,I know that the way of man is not in himself, it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps/.The great truth that blazes from these words is Gods sovereignty, not something we can fully understand, but must be embraced by faith. We may argue with Jeremiahs words,but that will not change them, I did not choose where I was born, my parents,my circumstances. But I have a choice,I can trust God,or I can turn in on myself,and turn from God, or I can simply ask God to help me in that place He has placed in, and trust Him. It is the Christ of the cross who says to us all, follow Me,it is trully the way of the cross that leads home.[ Dear God help us to trust You, not to become bitter,or turn in ourselves,but rather to turn to You, in Jesus name Amen ]

To pray properly. [ Luke 18 v 1-9]

In my job we are required to do mandatory courses,on our Pc ,usually they are not to bad, but the latest one was difficult,most of my colleagues found it difficult to do. I read the material, colleagues tried to help me but in vain, so last night I attempted this on own pc, I lifted up my hands and prayed, and I did it first time. Prayer was answered there and then,praise God, that is one aspect of prayer,that immediate answer, but often we have to persevere in prayer. Richard Sibbes wrote,/To pray properly is no easy matter. To pour out your heart and soul before God, to believe He hears and will come to help you, to pray in faith, and to wrestle with Him, to strive for a blessing and hope against hope, being delayed, yet waiting for Him until He comes, this is exceeding hard to be done./ We may today recieve an immediate answer to our prayers, we may not, but keep on praying to the God who will answer .[ Dear God teach how to pray, help us to pray, and grant us grace to not give up in our praying, in Jesus name Amen ]

Strife or striving. [2 Corinthians 10 v1 ]

There are two words that come to my mind, Strife and striving, they appear very similar but they are not,but many Christians fail to see this. Strife has the meaning of ,anger, conflict,bitterness,discord and trouble. While striving has at its meaning ,making every effort,strain, struggle,trying hard,of bending over backward. Now let us apply these words into our Christian life,in Philippians 2 v3 ,we have this exhortation,let nothing be done through strife. Think of the word nothing ,today in your marriage ,in your family,in your driving,in your church, in your ,you get the picture.When we think of striving, consider the following, in 2 Timothy 2 v24, The servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all men. So today we are faced with a choice,to cause strife, or to strive to be gentle to all men. [Dear God help us to be controlled by Your Spirit, so that we bring harmony,and healing to those we come in contact with, in Jesus name Amen ]

Let go. [Philippians 3v 13-14 ]

I recently watched a movie about a man and a dog based upon a true story,the basis of the story is the loyalty of the dog to its owner. Everyday the dog would go to the train station with its master,he would go to his place of work ,the dog would then return home,then in the evening the dog would return to the station to wait for its master. Then one evening he never returned, he died,yet the dog from that moment on, still returned to the station, until the day it died, and outside that station there is a statue erected to that dog. I enjoyed the movie, but on reflection, I thought,would it not have been better ,for that dog to have moved on, to have accepted the death of its master. Often we are so like that dog, we refuse to move on, we hold on to so many things , instead of letting go of the past, the death of someone we loved dearly, let us ask the question to ourselves,what am I holding unto, that is affecting my life and my relationship with others, and my relationship with my Lord?.[ Dear God help us all, to let go , and to move on, in Jesus name. Amen ]

The end is coming [ 2 Peter 3 ]

I am sure most of us are firmilar with the cartoon, of the man carrying a placard with the words on it that read,/The end is nigh/.no one takes it very serious. Well there are those who do think that the end is nigh,or could be, scientist, I have just read a little article on the internet of five ways the world could end.Here they are ,solar storms ,pole shift,super volcano eruptions,global warming,and lastly ,meterorites and asteroids. So this a cherry thought to start the day, the end is nigh, I do agree that the end of the world as we know it ,will come to an end.The Bible tells us of a new heaven and a new earth,in the book of Isaiah 65v17, we read,/For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and in the book of Revelation 21v1, we read,/And I saw a new heaven and a new earth,for the first heaven and the first earth, were passed away/. There is much that one could write on this subject, the most important thing connected to this event,is the coming back of Jesus.Now we dont know when this will happen [Acts 1v7 ], the main thing ,is to be ready, by knowing Jesus as your Saviour, when we do ,all will be well. [ Dear God we thank You that we have nothing to fear, whatever the future holds, be it the end of the world as we know it,or the end of our lives ,if we know Jesus as our Saviour Amen ]

Fatherless [ John 1v 12-13 ]

I have only faint memories of my father,because early in life my mother and father seperated, so I grew up without the benifite of a fathers love,now this is very common. I had no contact with my father whatsoever, although I often saw him as he lived close to where I lived, near the end of his life I tried to make to make contact, but failed, I prayed for him each day mainly for his salvation. Today let us remember those children, who have no contact with their fathers,the pain that many may feel, the need they may feel, for on the whole, children do need fathers. So what does one do if one has an absentee father ,or a father has died?, well what did I do?,well early in my life, while lying in bed as a child an awareness came upon me that I had a heavenly Father, one I could not be seperated from, one who would care for me,have time for me. Today as you read this ,you can know my heavenly Father, he can become your Father,by accepting His son Jesus to be Your Saviour,Jesus the son of God, became the son of man, that we may become sons of God.[ Dear God I thank you that all can know You as Father through Jesus Thy son, Amen ]

Finish. [ Hebrews 12 v 2 ]

If I have an underlining desire, it is this ,to finish my Christian life as the apostle Paul did,he wrote the following words shortly before he died, [tradition has it that he was beheaded] I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith[ 2 Timothy 4 v7]. That is my desire, what a heartache to fail in this, I went to Bible colllege,things were difficult, money was so scarce, one day my principal spoke to me. He said he would understand if I had to give up ,he meant well,but I didnt give up ,I finished my course, yes with joy I finished it. There are always reasons to give up, yes legitimate reasons,there was legitimate reasons for our blessed Saviour, to not go to Calvary, the dreadful suffering involved, inflicted upon Him by those He loved. The great and good news is ,He didnt give up ,and on that old rugged cross He cried out ,it is finished[John 19 v30 ],yes He finished the work of redemption. [Dear Lord ,You who finished the work of salvation,help me not to give up in following You,help me to finish my course with joy. Amen ]

With God it is possible. [ Mark 10 v 27 ]

The disciples could not grasp what Jesus was saying, He had declared how hard it was for a rich person to be saved[ Mark 10 v17-27]. Why is it ,in poor countries people appear to respond to the gospel,and in the prosperous west especially Europe,it appears a spiritual wilderness?. As I look at my neighbours with their homes ,cars, and there desire to get on materially. I understand what Jesus said, more and more, and one wonders ,who can be saved, who will be saved?, but thankfully Jesus did not stop at the difficulties, He went on to say, with God all things are possible. He reminds us to not stop at the difficulties, so many of us stop there,and wring our hands in despair, I have prayed for years and years for people to be saved, it looks like they will never be saved, yet I continue to pray,to the God of the impossible,believeing as Jesus said that with Him all things are possible. So today as we see the difficulties, of materialism, or whatever, dont despair, God can save the rich and the poor.[ Dear God we bring to you our friends, neighbours,family and others ,who are blind to their true need,of Jesus, and ask that You would save , Amen]

Looking at life differently. [ Psalm 23 ]

A young man was talking to me yesterday,life for him it appears is so difficult, he appears to think that my generation had it so much easier. I dont think so, I can assure you that it is not true, life for every generation has its problems. As a Christian I can look back on my life ,when I was child, being brought up in a one parent family,life was hard,when I got married , wages were small, then I went to Bible college ,very little money to live on, often the cupboard was empty of food.Serving God as a minister, for a small wage in a small congregation,then my dear wife died , leaving me with four children. In all these things and more ,I want to testify to Gods faithfulness,I am not bitter,but grateful to a loving God.The thing that makes life better and not bitter is having Christ with me, knowing that He is with me in every situation. I can look back and see His hand in all my life, preserving me,providing for me, protecting me, in the words of the hymn, all the way my Saviour leads me,what have I to ask beside.[ Dear Lord thank You for Your faithfulness,thank You that when we come to know You as Saviour, we can look at life differently, and rightly. Amen]