He restores. [ Matthew 11v 28- 30

He restoreth my soul [ Psalm 23 v3 ].We often apply this to a backslider but it has another meaning to it here, it applies to the child of God, who is exhausted, weary and sad. Oh yes Christians can feel like that ,the fact that David is inspired to write these words, bears out the truth that even the greatest of saints ,can feel washed out . Behind that smile there can be a sad heart,we must not judge others, or even ourselves, but simply be honest to ourselves and to our God. I like this reading from Matthew 11 v 28- 30 in the Message,/Are you tired? Burned out on religion, come to Me. Get away with me, and you will recover your life.I will show you how to take a real rest. Walk with Me and work with Me, watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I wont lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with Me and you will learn to live freely./ Last Sunday I went to minister at a church , and as I arrived , I felt weary,so I whispered a prayer, when I began to take the service, I felt God infused me, and enabled me to minister.
A prayer ...../ God, we are prone to so many things that wear us down , restore our souls
in Jesus name Amen.

Gods spoilt children. [ Psalm 37 v 3 -4 ]

Psalm 23 v 2. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures, he leadeth me beside the still waters/ Now I want you to imagine that you are a sheep , you are walking through a dry and barren landscape, with not to much to eat or drink,what you are dying for, is lush pastures, and cool water to drink. The shepherd knows this, and I suppose he will deney them their hearts desire, no of course he wont, he loves his sheep, so he gladly leads them to the place of plenty. Our Lord is not out to deprive His sheep, He delights to bless ,sometimes we give the impression that all God wants from us is to suffer and go without, and He wouldnt give us a smile. Now I am not into the prosperity so called Gospel, but sometimes I think He loves to spoil us His children,in the nicest sort of way. I see this in so many ways, in the small things He gives me, and in the gracious way He treats me.
A prayer.....Dear Father in heaven, thank You for treating us Your children in such a generous
and loving manner, at times we feel that You spoil us, we offer our thanks to You
in our Saviours name Amen.

A dependable Father. [ Matthew 6 v 24 - 34 ]

The Lord is my shepherd. [Psalm 23 v1 ], and then we read, /I shall want/, how often I have read those words, and depended on them. Why are these words there? to mock us in our times of need, no ,emphatically no, they are written out of Davids experience, in God, who keeps His word. It was God who moved David to write these words, so you and I ,would be encouraged to trust in the Lord ,who would provide for His children.When I was very young , my mum and dad seperated,a magisrtate made an order that my father was to pay my mother 25 shillings a week to help support his family,I had two older brothers and a sister ,well sad to say my dad never did pay my mother that princely sum of 25 shillings.The fact of the matter is, some fathers can not be depended on ,but from experience let me assure you, my loving Heavenly Fath er, can be depended on to look after His childrens needs.
His love in time past
Forbids me to think
He will leave me at last
In trouble to sink,
Each sweet Ebenezer
I have in review
Comfirms His good pleasure
To help me quite through.
A prayer..../Dear God we thank You for past mercies and trust You to undertake for us, all
our days, in Jesus name. Amen .

I will remember their sins no more. [ Jeremiah 31 v 31 - 34 ]

The Lord is my shepherd.[Psalm 23 v1] In John 10 we read how those hired to look after the sheep, will leave the sheep to their fate, if they are threatened, but not so with the one whose sheep they are. He will defend the sheep to the point of dying for them, all this reminds us of what Jesus did for His sheep, He died for them. The laying down of His life had to be ,if we were going to be saved, if He had not been willing to lay down His life, then there have been no salvation, we would have all perished in our sin, with all the consequences that would mean. No forgiveness, no acceptance with a holy God,there would be bo promise of a heavenly home, for nothing that defileth can enter heaven [Revelation 21 v 27 ] In His death that awful thing called sin was dealt with totally ,completly, [ Hebrews 7 v 27 ], Let me share another story from the book Ragamuffin Gospel, by B Manning. A minister was told that a lady in his church , was claiming to have visions of Christ [B M points out, that there is always a thin line between the authentic mystic and the lunatic fringe]so the minister goes to her, and says,is it true that you have visions of Christ?, yes the lady replied. Well the next time you have a vision ask Him what sins I last confessed to Him. The woman was stunned. Did I hear you right, you actually want me to ask Him this, to tell me your sins. Exactly, please call me if anything happens. Ten days later the lady notified the minister of a recent apparition, so the minister went to see her. He arrived and questioned her, so you saw Jesus?, well did you ask Him what I requested?. Yes I did ,and you know what He said, these are His exact words, I Cant Remember.
A prayer...../Dear God we praise You for our Saviour who died to save us,that through Him our
sins are forgiven , help us to accept this wonderful blessing, in Jesus name Amen ./

I know my sheep. [John 10 v 14 ]

The Lord is my shepherd[ Psalm 23v1 ]Now most of us dont know much about a shepherd, in John 10 we have things mentioned that help us to understand their role. In verse 3 we read that the shepherd knows his sheep by name, in the shepherds eyes they are not just a number.The worlds population is reckoned to be 7 billion ,we do not know how many of them are Christians,but the good Shepherd Jesus does ,he knows them by name. Next we read that He leads them,He goes before them ,and here is the important thing,the sheep follow Him. Now it should be a great comfort to have the assurance that Jesus our good shepherd is leading us. Joseph H. Gilmore wrote,/He leadeth me, O blessed thought. O words with heavenly comfort fraught. Whate,er I do, where,er I be. Still tis Gods hand that leadeth me/.This is a blessed thought, a great comfort, but has this implication for His sheep, for we may not appreciate what this fully means, for the hymn goes on to say./Sometimes mid, scenes of deepest gloom. The vital thing for us all,I believe is to trust, the one who is leading. I read this story recently,/ A two story house caught fire, most escaped but a little boy panicked and ran back upstairs and into his room. Suddenly he appeared at a smoke filled window,crying like crazy. His father ,outside ,shouted, jump son, jump, I,ll catch you, but daddy the boy cried, I cant see you.His father called, I know son, but I can see you./For that little boy if he was going to be saved , he would have take a leap of trust, it is the same for us all we are called to trust the one who is leading.
A prayer..../Lord I would clasp Thy hand in mine
Nor ever murmur nor repine.
Content, whatever lot I see,
Since tis my God that leadeth me. Amen.

The new covenant.[ Jeremiah 31v31 ff/ Hebrews 8 v13ff]

David declares ,that the Lord was his shepherd[ Psalm 23 v1],yes it was possible even under the old covenant to have this very personal relationship with God. During the period of the old covenant fellowship with God was possible ,but this fellowship included adherence to the ceremonial laws, the offerings,the Sabbath keeping. But when we come into the new covenant these things are swept away, and for those who put their trust in Jesus ,there is a relationship with God, that is free from legalisim, and the only barrier is sin.Through the good Shepherd, Jesus, we can come boldly into the presence of a God[ Hebrews 4 v16 ] who accepts and loves us freely and unconditionally. These words of a poem declare a wonderful truth,/ Near, nearer I cannot be, for in the person of His Son, Im just as near as He/,amazing but true.
A prayer..../Dear Father in heaven , for Your unconditional love in Jesus we thank You. Amen/

The Lord is my Shepherd. [ Psalm 23 ]

We will begin looking at the 23 rd Psalm , next to the Lords prayer , the 23rd Psalm must be the best known of the scriptures. So let us commence our study. ...../ The lord is my shepherd, consider how wonderful these words are, and yet how amazing. A little boy whispered into the ear of his new born baby sister,tell me what the God is like, for I have forgotten. What knowledge people once had of God is long forgotten most people are like Pharaoh, who declared, who is the Lord/ I know not the Lord [ Exodus 5 v 2 ].There is a darkness throughout our land, Christmas is but a commercal occassional, we who are Christians continue to tell people the true message of Christmas,but to little avail, these are not words of despair, for I believe in the Sovereignty of God. They are as it is, I wish it was not so, but alas Santa is as real to most people as our dear Saviour. Unless God reveals Himself, the dark ignorance will continue, such is mankinds condition they have forgotten what God is like.
A prayer..... Dear God we ask that in Your mercy,that You shine into the darkened hearts of people , and bring them to a true knowledge of Your Son Jesus. Amen .

Be faithful, and trust God.[ Proverbs 20 v 6 ]

Earlier in the day I took a funeral service, my neighbours mother had requested ,that I take her funeral. I felt anxious but the Lord helped, and the mourners expressed appreciation. In preperation for the service they had requested no hymns, this sort of threw me hence the anxiety,did they want a secular funeral service?. Well I am not into secular funerals so I just went ahead and prepared , I read some scriptures and spoke on the 23rd Psalm, and finished reading that lovely old hymn, Abide with me. Tomorrow I will highlight my 3 points from Psalm 23,the lesson I learnt from this experience,we must be faithful, and trust God,for inspite of my forebodings, it appeared to go well.
A prayer...../Dear God it is so easy to feel intimidated ,help us by Your grace,to trust You, and be faithful in Jesus name Amen /

The secret of success [ 1 Corinthians 2 v 1 -5 ]

After engaging with someone in a conversation about Christianty, I came away feeling I had make it sound to complicated, I found myself saying why cant I make it more simple , why indeed.It was the great apostle Paul who wrote of his ministry to the people at Corinth wrote that his message and preaching were plain, he did not use lofty, clever or persuasive speech. [ 1 Corinthians 2v 1/4]. In fact he writes to feelings of weakness, fear, and even trembling, so we could ask the question, how was his ministry so successful?.As a preacher I can really identify with Paul, sometimes one feels so inadequate as one comes to minister. Now here is the secret of his success, the power of the Holy Spirit [ 2v 4 ], not Pauls personality,not fancy speech, as the Message puts it, none of these things, it was the power of God. I remember someone pointing to a preacher of note and his success, I pointed out it is God who saves, and to God should go the Glory. Once Dr Chalmers was congratulated on a great speech to a crowded assembly. Yes, he said, but what did it do?.
A prayer...../ Dear God help us to continually realize that the secret of our Christian life and
ministry is the person and power of Your Spirit, in Jesus name. Amen ]

A shrug of the shoulder. [ Romans 1 v 18 - 32 ]

It was the prophet Ezekiel who spoke to the exiles in Babylon, he was moved by the Spirit of God to challenge Judah as to their sinful behaviour. The exile which lasted 70 years was a judgement for sin, the exiles in Babylon and those left in Judah had sinned greatly ,and it is in chapter 16 ,Ezekiel is declaring unto them their sin ,comparing them to a harlot. It is v47 he says ,/as if that were a very little thing/,instead of seeing what they were doing for what it was, awful and terrible ,they as it were shrugged their shoulders as if it didnt matter, they go on to commit even worse sins.Is this not a picture of this generation,adulterary, homosexuality,cheating in sport, many dont appear to be concerned with what they do, just as long as they get away with it. Their evil behaviour did not stop at what they had done, no, they went on to commit even worse things.So it is if the sinner is not challenged as to their bad behaviour ,they will go on to commit even greater sins.How does a person become an alcoholic?, by taking one drink, every sin starts somewhere , and we may shrug of any thing that may challenge us,and act as if what we are doing is not important,but sin of any kind should never be seen as a little thing,for as the Jews found out to their cost ,that their is a big price to pay.
A prayer...../ Dear God help us not to take sin lightly,to confess and forsake it,in Jesus name
Amen. /

That first step. [Romans 4 v 17 - 21 ]

Basil D Olivera died , he was a cricketer, he origionally came from South Africa, but left because of the apartheid laws,he was then 28. He came to England and became an England cricketer ,when he was chosen to play for England,to play against South Africa, he was refused entry , the result was, England pulled out of any future test matches.until the release of Nelson Mandela, it was said of him he succeeded against the odds.Many people have succeeded against the odds, to some extent I feel that it could apply to myself ,mybe today you are facing difficulties, no job, no qualifications, apparently no chance. Mybe you have an idea to develop something you feel strongly about, and there are those who say you have no chance of succeeding, they may be right but then they may be wrong,everything may be against you, but if God is in it, it can and will succeed, God will not wave a magic wand,it may require hard long years to succed, let us remember the road to success starts with that first step, so prayerfully take that first step.
A prayer..../Dear God save us from despair ,help us to see with Your help, there is always hope
and that we can succeed against the odds, in Jesus name we ask this. Amen /

Eternally grateful.[ Ephesians 2 v 1 - 9 ]

One of my sons, his wife and children are staying with us over this weekend, for most of us family is important,and rightly so.Now I want to quote a statistic, 70 percent of all young offenders come from single fatherless families, and a high percentage of young people involved in the recent riots were from single fatherless families. That is now, I find it interesting that I was brought up in a fatherless families, there were six of us ,and none of us got into trouble with the police . I suppose there may be many reasons why,our family escaped the law,we did have a larger family of uncles and aunts, also the times were different,there was also a degree of Christian influence, Sunday schools, childrens meetings,we all managed to find work. We also had Christian neighbours, hopefully they may have prayed for us, in the end I dont know, other than the mercy of God. I am grateful for the mercy of God towards my family,and towards me especially,for not only did God preserve my family, He saved me, and has kept me, for that mercy I will be eternally grateful.
A prayer..../Dear God we thank You for Your mercy in Jesus Your Son, a mercy that saves us
poor sinners Amen.

Just trust Me. [ Proverbs 3 v 5 ]

I must confess I am disappointed,the only supermarket were I buy my favourite bread, is no longer selling it. So what am I to do ?, I realize it is a very minor disappointment ,I am not complaining, after all I have a choice of a whole range of bread. But still I am disappointed, so what can I do?, well I had a brain wave ,I got on the net ,typed in what I wanted, and wallah, their was the recipe, so I am going to have a go at baking my favourite bread, watch this space. Disappointments can be trivial , more serious, and very serious, my disappointment I classed as trivia, but I appeciate that for many life is not easy, death,illness, divorce, unemployment,homelessness and so the list goes on. Well what does one do?, I read this recently in one my daily readings, it is one of the most meaningful things I have read. /Divine logic is beyond the grasp of my mind. I ask, Why this anguish?. The Father answers, Hush child, you wouldnt understand if I explained it to you. Just trust me.
A prayer....../Father we hear those words from You, just trust Me, they at times appear to mock
us, we hear the voice of doubt,and the enemy of our soul, so today grant us the
grace to simply trust You, in Jesus name. Amen/

An unsinning heart. [ 1 Corinthians 15 v 51 - 53 ]

Continuing on the theme of our sinfulness,now as a Christian of many years,and likewise a preacher, I suppose many people look at me, and think that butter would not mealt in my mouth. Yet it is not so, for I am still in this body of flesh, and I am often having to contend with temptation,from my fallen nature, and from satan, and I dont always win that fight.As long as I live I know it will be a battle to the grave, there is no escape ,it is onward Christian soldiers , marching as to war.Yet one day the battle will be over, when we will stand on heavens shore , and that will mean many things, and it is one of those many things that struck me recently , when I was singing an old hymn. It was written by Robert Murray Mcheyne , called , I am a debtor, and one of the verses reads,/ When I stand before the throne. Dressed in beauty not my own. When I see Thee as Thou art. Love Thee with unsinning heart, Then , Lord, shall I fully know. Not till then- how much I owe./ It is those words ,Love Thee with unsinning heart, that struck a cord with me. Can any of us trully take in the wonder of those words, that hearts that are now described as deceitful and desperately wicked [Jeremiah 17 v 9 ], will on that day be fully and wholly changed,we will have unsinning hearts.
A prayer..../Dear God grant us the grace to overcome sin,help us to fight the good fight of faith
,until the day we stand before You with an unsinning heart, in Jesus name .Amen.

It is grace all the way. [ Romans 16 v 24 ]

Many foolish people deney that they are sinners ,even though the word of God clearly teaches that we are all are sinners. When the Spirit of God convicts a person ,then the arguments cease, the protesting stops,and the only thing they can say is, God be merciful to me a sinner. We say amen to the truth in 1 John 1 v 8, which reads, if we say that we have no sin we decieve ourselves, and the truth is not in us. The Christian will always be but a sinner saved by grace , and will never cease to be amazed what God has done in saving them by His grace through His son Jesus.The words of that wonderful hymn by R Robinson come to mind, /
O to grace how great a debtor,
Daily Im constrained to be,
Let that grace ,Lord , like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander ,Lord I feel it,
Prone to leave the God Ilove,
Here,s my heart, Lord , take and seal it,
Seal it from Thy courts above.
A prayer..../Dear God we marvel at the wonders of Your grace in saving us, and keeping us,
grant us today an outpouring of that grace , in Jesus name Amen. /

Freedom is worth everything. [ John v 34 - 36 ]

It was rememberance Sunday yesterday, when most people wore poppies,and through out our land people stood before momuments ,and laid wreaths,we do such things to honour and remember, those who died in present, and past wars.We like to think that they died for us ,so we could live in what is known as a free country, so we honour them. I saw part of TV show presented by Sir David Jason one our countries finest actors, he was speaking to a war veteran , who had escaped from a prisoner of war camp, he said that he had vowed never to be a prisoner again, and then he said, / Freedom is worth everything/.I am sure he is right, freedom trully is worth everything, Jesus believed this so much so that He gave His everything, that He could set people free, from the greatest bondage that people suffer from, sin.In Romans 6 v 17, declares ,once you were slaves of sin, in Christ and through His death on the cross we have been set free fom sin.
Long my imprisoned spirit lay
fast bound in sin and natures night,
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray,
I woke, the duneon flamed with light,
my chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.
A prayer..../ Dear God we thank You for the freedom we have through Jesus Your Son. Amen.
[I will return to my blog Thursday morning ]

Strange heroes. [ Hebrews 11 v 31 - 38 ]

I like old cowboy movies , when I was young one of my favourite actors was Audie Murphy, now the thing about Audie ,he looked really young, no one would have thought that he was especially brave. The parts he acted in were mostly cowboy movies and he was the hero, but the fact about Audie he was a real life hero. In the second world war he was one of America,s most decorated soldiers, strange but true, and it reminds me of a Bible character called David. Initially David was overlooked by his father, when Samuel came to annoint a new king.Later on when all Israel were afraid because a big giant was threatening them it was David who volunteered to fight the giant. Well, when he faced the giant, the giant as much as laughed at him, but the giant learned to his cost, that you dont judge a book by its cover. I dont know if A.M.knew the Lord, but I know David did , and his success in all his battles was down to that one thing. It would do us all good to remember the words of 1 Samuel 16 v 7,/ the Lord seeth not as man seeth, for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.
A prayer.../Dear Father we thank You that when we know Your son Jesus it makes us special,and though we are ordinary human beings, we can accomplish extraordinary things. Amen/

Healing .[ James 5 v 14- 15 ]

Recently we were having an open discussion on healing in the church I attend, the pastor led the discussion, most of us have thoughts on this subject. Some people say that miraculous healings are not for today, it would be interesting to know if any of the people, who read this blog, have been healed.In some ways the subject appears to be a minefield, many people have prayed for healing and have not been healed, my first wife died from cancer, I did pray for healing, the night before she died I read a scripture,that indicated that she was going to die. There are no easy answers, of course we all believe that God can heal,but will He?,that is the question. Even today a girl came into the church hall were we run a group, she could not get into the chuch building to light a candle,it seems her friend is dying in a hospice,she is a single parent and has three children, I assured her that I would pray for her[ Will you pray for her as God leads ]. Coming back to that discussion, it ended with the pastor giving an invitation for anyone who wanted to be prayed for, to indicate so, I was one of those who did, it was not emotional or pressurized , he simply annointed us with oil and prayed a simple prayer.I was not healed, but this will not stop me from believing that God still heals.
A prayer...../Dear God we struggle with suffering,we think of that dear girl dying leaving 3 chidren,we know you can heal, but often it does not happen,guide us in this by Your Spirit, in Jesus name. Amen ]

Never cancelled, never rescinded.[ 1 Corinthians 9 v16 ]

It is that time again the anniversary of my coming to England to be a minister, much has happened since then, I still consider myself as a minister. Recently a person called me a lay preacher, I did not say anything but I did not appreciate what he said,in Romans 11v 29, we read,/ for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable, / the message puts it like this,/ Gods gifts and Gods call are under warranty- never cancelled,never rescinded/. When I became a minister a friend said to me they cant take that away from you, they have tried but they never will. It is not about status, it is about the importance of my ministry, often my ministry has come under attack, but I have continued to be faithful to my calling. One hears people saying that they are no longer in the ministry,but as far as I am concerned,I have always been in the ministry, and will always be in the ministry. Because the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable, yes I will always be Bill the preacher.
A prayer....../Dear God help us be faithful to our calling , be it a nurse, fireman, or whatever in Jesus name. Amen/

Wonder and worship. [ Psalm 19 ]

I read this today, /We miss the experance of awe, reverence,and wonder /, [ B Manning ] I am sure that this is true of many of us, our senses have been dulled by modern technology. Many of us have become blase, indifferent to the wonders all around us we are so under pressure , as the poet wrote ,we never stop and stare. There are I am sure many reasons why, we have reached the point we are at, we are distracted by financial pressures ,family pressures, personal pressures. We read in Psalm 8v3, When I consider Thy heavens , the works of Thy fingers, the moon, and the stars, which Thou hast ordained/, I remember the American astronaut while he circled the earth ,reading from Genesis 1, In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Mybe here is the reason why we are no longer filled awe, reverence and wonder, consider the program I watched earlier, about the origins of the universe, many brilliant people have theories, and thats all they have. As a Christian I believe this universe did not come into place by chance, it would be impossible for this to happen , I just hope I never forget this truth unfortunately many have,. There was a song that was popular many years ago called , I believe, here are some of the words.
I believe for every drop of rain that falls,
A flower grows.
Everytime I hear a new born baby cry,
Or touch a leaf , or see the sky,
Then I know why I believe.
A prayer....../ Dear God help us to never loose a sense of wonder of Thy creation, but let us above all else be filled with worship for You the Creator, in Jesus name, Amen ./

Coffee or tea. [ 1 Corinthians 14 v 33 ]

I was in a local garden center, and I read this,/ Orchard coffee bar,now serving afternoon tea every Sunday/, we all know what they mean, but I saw the humour in what I read. Now let see where we will go with this, as a preacher it is no good saying one thing and preaching another. When I preach, I try to make it as clear as I can, and I seek to proclaim a Biblical message , I must never forget my grave responsibility,that of the telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. It appears that certain ministers appear to forget their grave responsibility, that people need to hear clearly that they need to be saved. As a youngster I heard about sin and its consequences ,and about Jesus who became my Saviour, if the speaker had not told me this then, I would still be lost. The greatest need of mankind is to hear a clear Gospel message, and the greatest responsibility of the minister is to proclaim it, otherwise people are turning up for coffee and being offered tea.
A prayer..../ Dear Father help us to be true to You, and Your truth, in Jesus name Amen /

Greed. [ Hebrews 13 v 5 ]

I was watching an old movie called ,/ The million pound note /, and one of themes of this old movie is greed, it may be an old movie but the theme is very up to date. I am convinced that present economic situation is caused by greed , those financiers involved in what took place must have realized what was happening,but they were making a lot of money. It appears to me a great deal of life involves greed, and it is coming back to bite many nations and many indiviuals. Now dont get me wrong ,I am not down ,or a judge of anyone, but as a minister of the word, I, and everyone else need to face up to the challenge of the word of God , on the subject of greed. It is something a lot of us dont face up to, the land of Greece is now having to come to terms with it, and so is every other nation in Europe. Many of our members of parliament showed an attitude of greed, but through the world especially in the poor countries , there is a great deal of greed in politics. Having said all this we need to be on our guard, for it is so easy like everyone else to become greedy, Proverbs was written by a very wise man ,and of course a very wealthy man, asked of God the following. Give me neither poverty nor riches [Proverbs 30 v 8 ], for he knew the dangerous of both states, and a greater than Solomon said, A mans life consisteth not in the abundance of things which he possesseth [ Luke 12 v15 ]
A prayer..../ Dear God help us all to have the right emphasis in our lives , grant us grace to live lives that glorify our Saviour. Amen ]

Save our young people . [ Acts 4 v 12 ] ]

Yesterday we mentioned that all mankind, even young people are made in the image of God,which makes them very precious in Gods side. So the question why do they act so badly, that they are called animals?,well it is to Gods word we turn, and it tells us we fell from that initial state of sinlessness, to a sinful condition. This can appear to contradict the fact that we are created in the image of God, but the fact is ,our fallen nature is blind spiritually , [1 Corinthians 1v 14 ]we have hearts that are deceitful and desperately wicked [Jeremiah 17 v 9 ]. We can read Romans 3 and 5,to get a more full picture, so that is why some young people act like animals. This is also why Christ came ,to save and to change even our young people, and then hopefully they will start reflect the image of God to a greater degree, this process will come to its fullness and completeness, in Heaven.[ 1 John 3 v 1-2 ]
A prayer..../ Dear God have mercy upon our young people, save them we pray in Jesus name Amen /

Not just animals. [ Genesis 1 v 16 - 17 ]

There is great concern about the young people in our country,most of the people who took part in the riots ,were young people, many of them are taking drugs , and alcohol. Recently people were asked what they thought about the young, their reply was,/ they were like animals/,which is a sad thing to say.But then is this not what evolution teaches,that we are just a higher species of animal, this what is taught to our children in schools, this is what we told continually from the media. So them why complain if these young people do act like animals,why should we expect any different behaviour, if that is what they are. If you believe in evolution then you must not expect people to have any moral boundries, anything goes. But now let me declare unto a better way, we are not evolutionary accidents,the Bible tells us that we were made in the image of God[ Genesis 1 v 17 ], that is what makes us different in Gods eyes , and gives unto us eternal value. [We will consider this further tomorrow]
A prayer..../Dear God open the eyes of people to see their true worth, in Jesus name Amen/

Call on Him.[ Ephesians 3 v 20 ]

In Jeremiah 33 v 3, we read,/ Call upon Me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things,which thou knowest not./ These words were written when Jeremiah was in prison, sometime we let our circumstances , blind us to what God can do, and say, Jeremiah did not. The people are told to call on God, now the nations round about Israel had their own gods, and unfortunately Israel adopted these Gods ,so the opening words of this verse are mportant., Call upon Me, take your eyes and ears of any other source, or apparent source,let us fix our eyes upon God . Next we are to call on God , He delights to hear His children call upon Him, He will not turn a deaf ear to their call. The result of this will be trully wonderful,God will show us , great and mighty things,I was talking to one of my sons this morning, and we talked of the difficulties people are facing ,to get a place to live,there are so many difficulties in life, complicated situations,well whats the answer? God. Yes God , who can do exceeding abundantly above all we can ask , or think[Ephesians 3 v 20 ],so today call upon Him, and He will answer you.
A prayer..../ Dear God there is nothing to hard for Thee, so right now we call on You to undertake for us, in Jesus name Amen /

I asked for help.[ Isaiah 41 v 10 ]

I asked for help today from two people, and both said no,it was a bit sad, but it happens, I like the words of the Lord in Hebrews 13v6 ,/So that we may boldly say,The Lord is my helper/.These words have an expression of confidence ,we may boldly say, I am afraid I cannot say this as regards those two people today.If we need help we may think of a friend, or even ones family,and consider going to them for help, and we hope that may help us, but then again they may not, they may be just unwilling, or they may not have the resources to help. But when we go to our Lord we can be confident that He will help,no uncertainy. Let us stop and consider those words , and all that they mean, The Lord is my helper, the Lord, He the Lord has all the neccessary resources to help ,financial help, physical help, whatever help we need, He is able to help. There is no reluctance on His part to help us , consider the wonderful words in Romans 8 v 32, /He that spared not His own Son, but delivered him up for us all ,how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things/.
A prayer..../ Dear Lord we have so many ongoing needs,some small,some large,some complicated, so we look to You , with confidence to meet our needs, in Jesus name Amen./

Go to all. [ Matthew 28 v 19 - 26 ]

I did something today, that I have not done for years , I travelled on our local transport , and suddenly I was mixing with mothers with their children, elderly people, school children, and others. It made me realise how little contact I have with the general public,I spend a lot of time in my car, although I am often visit supermarkets , yet my ride on the bus mybe is a reminder of how it is so easy to become isolated from people. As we read the gospels we see one who left Heaven, and came to this earth, not into a palace, where He would have been secluded from the ordinary people, and would have been dressed in the best, and eat the best. No, Jesus was born into humble circumstances ,and He would mix with the poorest of people, and indeed the worst of people, and would enrich them, and make them the best of people.Jesus said follow me,as He left heaven and mixed with people,so the challenge comes to His followers to follow His example.
A prayer..../ Dear Lord Jesus help us to follow Your example to go to all with Your love, and Your Gospel. Amen /

Its impossible. [ Titus 1 v2 ]

My mother would often say ,you cannot trust a liar,it is amazing how some people can tell a bare faced lie, and never bat an eyelid. Hitler fooled the British Prime minister Neville Chamberlain, into believing that he wanted peace ,when all the time he was planning for war. In Romans 1 v 25 we read of those who changed the truth of God into a lie,so many people have been guilty of this ,the cults, false religions,in Romans it is said of those who worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator. The devil is seen both as a murderer and the father of lies , in other words he is the one were lies originate from, all men are not liars, but none tell the truth all the time. Someone told me something recently ,and after I had left him, I thought ,did he tell me the truth?. Now let us turn our thoughts away from sinful weak humanity, to God,and ask the question, do you know what it is impossible for God to do?. This is what we read in Titus 1 v 2, God cannot lie, what that means is ,He is completly trustworthy,what He says He will do. I rest my soul in the truth that God cannot lie,when His word tells me that if I believe in Jesus I shall be saved[ Acts 16v31],when I read that Jesus said He will return again [John 14 v s ], I believe Him,and when He says He will never leave me nor forsake me, I believe Him,why? because it is impossible for God to lie.
A prayer..../ Dear God we thank You for the truth that You cannot lie ,that You always keep Your word, help us to be like You, in Jesus name. Amen ]