Look for the mercies[ Lamentations 3 v22 -26 ]

It has become colder here, and the question on my mind is this, will it snow?I am not to happy when it snows, and yet I live in a home that has central heating,plus I have warm clothings, so even if it snows I should be warm. I believe we should always look for the mercies of God, painful things can happen to us,and we can let them destroy us,so thats why it is important to look for the mercies.In every situation no matter how difficult, will be mixed with mercies, this is not just about being optimistic, no, it is about looking to God, who is in control.I read this years ago about a Christian father, whose son broke a leg , God reminded him that all things work together for good ,for His children.Well there was a war on and because the young man had broken his leg he could not go to war. Think much on the providence of God,and His mercies in every situation, trust Him who loves you. Job may have lost so much ,but He never lost his God, and God used his experience to bless countless millions of His people. Today look for the mercies.
A prayer....../ Dear God help us in every difficult experience to look for Your mercies in Jesus name Amen /

Gods medicine. [ Psalm 23 ]

As I am sitting here I am listening to Psalms being sung,I really do love the Psalms, especially in the AV[ Although I am not just an AV person, but it is favourite version ]. Last week we got a phone call from our son,he has been stressed out for a while, but when he phoned us he was having trouble breathing. This upset me greatly, yes we prayed for him,later we phoned and he was feeling better, to our relief,but what could I do to help him?.Well I thought about it, and so I spoke to him later, and asked him to read the 23rd Psalm twice a day. Why did I do this?because I believe the words of Psalm 23 [ and all the words in the Bible ]are the words of God, they are the living words of God. When we focus on Gods word it can effectively change our lives, I believe that this wonderful Psalm can really help my son. Mybe you are struggling, afraid,frustrated ,a feeling of powerlessness, I advise you to read Psalm 23 twice a day ,till you know it by heart, and its truth becomes part of you, I believe it will be the medicine that can bring healing .
A prayer...../ Dear God we thank You for Your Word, that is all powerful and can bring peace to troubled hearts, and minds in Jesus name Amen /

The soul. [ Hebrews 10v39 ]

Yesterday we thought on the soul, John Bunyan wrote the following,/ The soul is immortal, and it will have sensibility forever. No one can kill the soul or annihilate it,if it may be said, God cannot do what He will not do, then He cannot annihilate one soul.When the rich man died as to his body,his soul was found alive in hell[Luke 16v23 ]./ So that is why I wrote that so many dear people are putting their souls in jeopardy,it has eternal consequences,now I am not saying the here and now is not important, but it is not the all important thing. Life is a gift of God, and He gives us all things richly to enjoy[1Timothy 6v17],I love life,music, reading watching the TV, holidays, work, and so on,but God has placed eternity within us,a consciousness that there is a spiritual context to our being, and our being here.Sin has blinded us to that reality, and so we live just for the here and now,fooled by sin and satan,the result is we suffer here and in the hereafter. In the person of Jesus ,God has broken into this world in order to save our souls, but in order for Him to do this ,His dear Son would have to die on the cross. On that cross Christ paid fully the penalty for our salvation, He made it possible that our souls could be saved eternally.
A prayer...../Dear God help us all to not neglect our great spiritual need,and the desperate need of our soul,and to look to Jesus the only one who can meet that need Amen./

A reminder. [ Luke 17 v 20 ff. ]

C S Lewis wrote ,/Horrible countries have horrible religions/, take the belief of incarnation, there is a temple in India infested by rats.Now I have nothing againsts rats,[ or India ] one of my favourite characters in the Wind and the Willows is ratty, but of course that is just fiction.Now back to the rats in the temple, people actually believe they are reincarnation of their ancesters, so they feed them , and treat them with what seems reverance, after all one of those rats may be their deceased mother. It all goes to show how far people have wondered from the truth,rats,and it is the truth that will only set people free, of course we in the west would not reverance a rat, or a cat like the ancient Egyptians did, or a wooden idol. The dollar has the words printed on it/,In God we trust/, but I think many Americans ,have forgotten that. Could it be that these times of recession are reminders of our need to focus on our souls needs ,we have gorged our physical beings on so much that is empty, and starved our souls. Not only have we starved our souls, but we have put them in great jeopardy, as we are reminded by the words of our Saviour in Mark 8 v36,/For what shall it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfiet his soul/.
A prayer...../Dear God of all the earth, of India ,America,Ireland, England ,have mercy and turn the nations to Jesus Thy Son,who died that all ,may be saved. Amen /

Lonliness. [ 2 Timothy 4 v 16 - 17 ]

It is said that one can be lonely in a crowd, mybe you feel lonely today,mybe you are single, mybe you are not near any other Christians,or you have lost your wife or husband. I have never lived alone ,and yet I have felt lonliness, the Bible says it is not good that we should be alone [Genesis 2 v18 ]. I am sure lonliness is more common than we realise,what can we do to help others? ,well we could visit them, befriend them,and indeed pray for them,and mybe in our trying to help others, we will be helped. When people come into our church situations make them welcome, not just initially, when someone is bereaved ,they need long term support, let us show people we care, and that we are there for them, long term. I know that it is not a nice feeling lonliness,but I believe we can experience a deeper relationship with our Lord in those times of lonliness.I want to leave these words with you and pray that the reality of them may encourage you in your lonliness./ For He [Jesus ]hath said,I will never leave you , nor forsake you. [Hebrews 13 v5 ]Andrae Crouch wrote a lovely hymn called /Through it all/, here are a few lines of it./ Ive been to lots of places, and Ive seen a lot faces, There ,ve been times I felt so all alone. But in my lonely hours,yes, those precious lonely hours, Jesus let me know what faith in God could do. Through it all ,Ive learned to trust in Jesus, Ive learned to trust in God, Through it all, Ive learned to depend on His Word/
A prayer.../Dear God help us in our lonely moments, for we do have them, in Jesus name Amen/

Strength enough to give. [2 Timothy 2 v1 ]

We have a slow cooker ,it does a grand job,it cooks meat slowly,and so the meat is usually nice and tender,years ago we used to have a pressure cooker that was quick in its cooking.Now I cant help but think that for most of us life is like a pressure cooker,when we really need to be more like the slow cooker.So many of us are being pushed,and pushed, with the demands of life,trying to keep deadlines,and if we continue like this then as the saying goes,somethings got to give.I observe people stressed out, and my heart goes out to them,and my prayers. An old Puritan William Gurnall wrote,/When you are oppressed with the weight of any duty and service in your calling, improve your trust in Gods power....encourage yourself with that which God said to Gideon. Go in this might, has not God called you? Continue in the work God sets you to do, and His strength will be engaged for you.....Set your needs all before the Almighty. God has strength enough to give./
A prayer..../ Dear God sometimes the pressure of life is overwhelming and we struggle, grant us the grace to cope in Jesus name. Amen /

Do not give up.[Philippians 3 v 13 - 14 ]

The challenge of the Christian faith is ,as C S Lewis puts it,to become a little Christ, and that trully is a great challenge,we may despair of such a challenge,and say it is to much for any person. John the Baptist said that Christ may increase, and that he may decrease[ John 3 v30 ],now of course it is hard for us to judge, how great a transformation is taking place, but it is not hard to know what is hindering it taking place. It is the hindrances in our lives that we must seek to overcome, and they can be,but it is ongoing, there is no place for complacency, we must be vigilant, we must not fall asleep on the job,for then the enemy of our souls will attack us.[ 1 Peter 5 v8 ] If we fail or fall we must hold short accounts with God, run to Him,not from Him, confess and forsake ,and by Gods grace move on. My dear manager just passed her driving test, she had failed a good number of times, but she didnt give up,we must not give up[ cp Proverbs 24 v16] Remember His divine power has been given unto us to become Christlike ,and this includes the grace we need to rise from our failures, and the grace to go on, and to change.
A prayer......Dear God grant us the grace we to be overcomers, grace to persevere,and grace to change , in Jesus name Amen.

God is faithful. [ Romans 7 v 24-25 ]

Brennan Manning wrote the following,/ The communist who accepts Karl Marx but not his doctrine is scarcly different from the Christian who accepts Christ but refuses to shape his life according to Christs teaching. / Consider for a moment as I will ,what do we struggle with? as I look back on my life even as a youngster I had a temper,that got me into scraps and fights, this followed me into my Christian life, and to my shame into my marriage. So often I grieved the Spirit by uncontrolled rage,and hurt those nearest to me. I also had thought patterns in the sexual area that was not healthy,also at times I would act rashly. I am being honest ,Have I conqured these yes but it is ongoing, I still fail in these areas , I am a work in progress, as we all are. It is not enough to say we cant help it, ,remember what Peter wrote ,/By His divine power,God has given us everything we need for living a godly life/.Whatever our weakness God can help us,if we are honest,and are prepared to surrender to His will in all things, and a humble dependance on God.This is a spiritual battle and we will only know victory on our knees, I leave a precious promise with you , /The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful, He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted,He will show you way out so that you can endure.[ 1 Corinthians 10 v13 ]
A prayer..../ Dear God help us to change, help us overcome those things that blight our lives in Jesus name Amen /

Make a promise, and keep it.[ Psalm 119 v 9 -16 ]

So let us continue to consider how we can be transformed, let us make this journey together,for I am no different than you,I have to be honest also. In 2 Peter 1 v3 we read, /By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have recieved all of this by coming to know Him, the one who called us to Himself by means of His glory and excellence./ God has no favourites we are all precious to Him ,but Gods desire for you and I,that we be transformed, changed to be more like Jesus, and He has given all of us the means to accomplish this.Let us move down the passage in 2 Peter 1. Where we are told we have recieved great and precious promises v4, consider how important the promises are for salvation and our ongoing spiritual growth. We get to know the promises by reading the word of God, I observe some saints and they do not read the word of God, if we neglect the word of God we must not be surprised if things dont change in our lives. God has given you and me His word ,we neglect it to our cost,so let us begin to face what lies ahead,by promising God and ourselves, that we are going to read His word.
A prayer..../Dear God help us to read and study Your word the living word of the living God in Jesus name Amen/

Honesty the only policy.[ Luke 17v 17-18]

In Romans 12v 2 we read/,And be not conformed to this world,but be transformed by the renewing of your mind./ I believe in these words we have the key to understand how we can change, and be transformed in our Christian life. Vine puts it like this, / The adjustment of the moral and spiritual vision and thinking to the mind of God, which is designed to have a transforming effect upon the life/If a transformation is to take place, the way we think must be changed,into thinking a different way,if this is to happen we must be honest with ourselves,and we must yield ourselves to the the controlling influence of the Holy Spirit.We must stop hiding behind excuses,stop decieving ourselves, stop feeling sorry for ourselves,stop trying to justify wrong behavior that comes from a natural way of thinking based on worldly ideas. Let me stress again that honesty is not only the best policy ,but the only policy if we are going to change, and be transformed,change can happen only when we are honest with ourselves, and honest to God. The change came in the prodigal sons life when he was honest with himself [cp Luke 17 v 17-18], he then started to act different, like the prodigal we can cause so much pain to ourselves and others, but it is possible that things can change when like him ,we our honest with ourselves.
A prayer...../ Search me O God, and know my heart, try me, and know my thoughts. And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting, in Jesus name we ask this Amen /

The renewing of our mind [ 2 Corinthians 10 v 5 ]

I found myself arguing in my mind with someone,for what they had said to me, I give them a good tongue lashing, the only thing is it happened over 35 years ago. Why I should still remember this and have an argument in my head after so long a time,beats me, but the fact is we do remember . We remember being put down, being humiliated, hurt ,especially by words, we retain so much in our minds,that cling to us. Mybe it will always be so, or does it, much of lifes battles are battles of the mind, it is in Romans 12 v2 ,we read ,/be ye transformed by yhe renewing of your mind,/ I believe these words are very significant,how we think is vital, when we become a Christian,our minds are full of wrong ways,and wrong things, wrong thought patterns.These things need to be dealt with, so that we move on, and be transformed,it will not happen immediately, but it must happen, Gods will for us all is that it should happen.We will think tomorrow how this can happen.

Healed /forgiven [Isaiah 53]

I sometimes tell jokes , this morning while I was cooking my breakfast I thought of one,so here it is / A man goes into a shop picks up a carton of 6 eggs and then proceeds to walk out of the shop, he is stopped by the owner, who asks him to pay,he looks at the owner , and then points to the writing on the carton , free range eggs. Now I told this to my wife and all I got in response was a blank look, I wonder why?, I better keep my day job. Some say our Saviour used humour to illustrate his teaching , I not sure of this, I am sure He must have laughed and smiled, for that is part of being human, for Christ was trully human. What kind of human?, well a sinless human,now that is hard for us to take in, but He was,and had to be, for on the cross He died for sin. The question whose sin?it is in Isaiah 53 v5 we recieve the answer,/But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed./Now these words not only tell us whose sin Christ dealt with ,ours, yours and mine, but it also tells, that the results of this was, we are healed. We often use the term ,sin sick soul , yes the greatest sickness humanity suffers from is their sinful condition, and the only cure is to have our sins forgiven, by Christ.
When I survey the wondrous Cross.
On which the prince of glory died.
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride
A prayer .../ Dear Lord Jesus we praise You for Your death on Calvary , Amen/.

Carried on eagles wings. [Exodus 19 v 4 ]

The account of the Exodus is a wonderul story that has so many lessons to teach us, from start to finish it was a work of God. From the start Moses was reluctant ,and continually the Israelites dragged thier feet,their believing [Exodus 14v31] was soon followed by unbelief [16v3 ], they continued to be inconsistant. The important thing was Gods faithfulness,He literally carried them,put up with them, but above all else ,He kept loving them. To some extent we are like Israel ,often inconsistant, often reluctant to follow were our Saviour leads,now I am not writing this to discourage but to impress upon all our hearts that salvation is of the Lord. Salvation has three tenses to it, past,present and future, salvation from start to finished is a work of God. It is a sovereign work, we have come this far by the grace of God. Our God who brought Israel through ,will bring us through ,He will complete what He stared, and He wii continue to love us.
A prayer ....../ Dear God we praise You for Your faithfulness and love in Jesus name Amen ./

Sixty billion dollars.[ 1 Samuel 16 v 7 ]

Billy Graham mentions in his book,Nearing home,life,faith , and finishing that Americans spend about 60 billion dollars a year on antiaging products.I checked this out on the inter-net,I felt he may have made a mistake,or it was a misprint, but sure enough it appears to be so. Now of course there is nothing wrong with looking after ourselves, but it does seem that there is an imbalance,a big imbalance ,and one would ask the question, what about our souls? what about a relationship with God?.C S Lewis writes of guarding the temporal, while not neglecting our bodies,should we not give more consideration to the eternal?,if you are not a Christian I beseech you to ask Christ to be your own and personal saviour. If we are Chistians let us not be sucked into the worlds imbalance,let us always give priority to our spiritual condition, our relationship with Christ.
A prayer ..../ Dear God ,help us to see that we have a soul that needs You, that needs Christ, help us to get our priorities right in Jesus name Amen /

Sarah [Hebrews 11v11 ]

In Hebrews 11 v11 we read,/Through faith Sarah herself recieved strength to concieve seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. A Pink lists 5 things in relation to Sarah and her having this child. [1] The impediment of her faith, she was old and barren,she had gone way past the age of childbearing. [2]The effect of her faith, she recieved strength [ CP Isaiah 4 v 29-31]. [3] The constancy of her faith, she never gave up believing. [4] The foundation of her faith, the divine promise [ Genesis 18 v10 ] [5] The fruit of her faith ,Isaac. The hymn writer, wrote/By faith directed and sustained. The saints of old their conquest gained. Fought, and endured by faith. O Lord, this gift on me bestow, That I may serve Thee here below,and triumph over death./
A prayer....../ Dear God help us to follow in the footsteps of men and women of faith , in Jesus name. Amen /

The unexpected [James 4 v 13-15 ]

Years ago I used to watch a program called tales of the unexpected, the title reminds me of the nature of life, the unexpected is happening all the time. Most of us dont think much about this aspect of life, but we are suddenly reminded of it when a major disaster happens, yet it is happening all the time.The scriptures declare in Proverbs 27 v1, /Boast not thyself of to morrow for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth/.Now this has two applications, [i] if you are not saved ,then it is vital that you consider that because of the uncertainty of life,if you die where will you spend eternity?. Your greatest need is Christ, [2] If you are a Christian ,live as a Christian,depend upon your God,in all your ways acknowledge Him,dont live in fear of the uncertainty of life,live in the fear of God,and trust Him.
A prayer..../Dear God Thou who changest not, we look to You to help us in a changing world in Jesus name Amen. /

Stealing. [Exodus 20 v15 ]

I was driving behind a van that delivered doughnuts, and I noticed a sign on it, that read / there are no doughnuts kept in this van overnight/. I am not sure why they had this sign , would people actually break into the van for doughnuts?, you can see the headlines, great doughnut robbery.I must confess I saw the funny side of this, and yet I know stealing is wrong, the commandments tell us ,that we are not to steal[Exodus 20 v15 ].I remember stealing when I was a youngster, raiding someones orchard,stealing cigarettes from a vending machine. It may seem obvious, but stealing is a sin ,and is no laughing matter, be it a doughnut,an apple, cigarettes,the commandment makes no distinction,and we are told in Ephesians 4 v28,/Let him that stole steal no more/.
A prayer...... / Dear God help us be honest in all things in Jesus name Amen/.

Dont look back. [ Luke 17 v 30 - 33 ]

Genesis 19..../ We saw yesterday how judgement is no joking matter, it must be taken seriously, this chapter is a tragedy , but an even greater tragedy is what happened to Lots wife. The family were rescued by the two angels, in fact it appears they were reluctant to leave Sodom ,they were practicaly dragged out v16. If you ever had any fire training you are told to leave everything and get to a place of safety, if the alarm goes. there must be no lingering back,but Lot his wife and daughters , lingered. Yes they lingered, but God is merciful ,consider the extent He goes to save people,the patience He shows. As they are dragged out ,they are told,escape for your life, look not behind thee v17,this was not a suggestion , it was a command to be obeyed, for whatever reason , if only Lots wife had taken it seriously, she didnt, and suffered the consequences, she looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt. Consider if we are going to be saved there must be no looking back, those Israelites who were brought out of Egypt were continually looking back, the result ,they never entered the promised land , they perished in the wilderness. William Hendriksen is helpful in his Lukes commentary chap 17 v32, he wrote,/that in her scale of values Lots wife placed earth above heaven, material things above spiritual/
A prayer..../ Dear God thank You for salvation, we thank You that You desire all to be saved, and yet we are told that that men love darkness ,oh Father have mercy and save in Jesus name . Amen /

Judgement no joke [ 1 Thessalonians 1 v 10 ]

Genesis 19..../ The two heavenly beings enter Sodom to observe and to warn, what they observed was a people given over to gross wickedness, which would bring the judgement of God . They warn Lot to leave that place, but first to warn any of his his family to leave as soon as possible,this Lot did warning his sons in law, but it seems they thought he was joking.The result was they would perish , if only they had listened, and taken serious the warning that been given. The judgement of God is no joke it must be taken serious ,hell is full of people who wish they had taken it serious, I write this with great sadness, as I look back in my life , I have offended people by witnessing to them, mybe I was not always been as wise as I should have been,but you see I take judgement seriously. Let us learn how vital it is for us as to warn people, ministers in their pulpits must not neglect to remind their congregations of coming judgement, yet it is not only ministers responsiblity but every Christians responsiblity just like dear Lot.They did not listen, and as Robert Candlish wrote,/Their blood was on their own heads, they died in their iniquities/.
A prayer...../ Dear God help us to tell others that You so loved them that if they but believe in Jesus they will not perish bur have everlasting life Amen /

He will always do that which is right. [Genesis 18v25 ]

Genesis 18 v25.../Now we come to consider the last part of this verse,/ shall not the judge of all the earth do right?/,this a question, God does not mind us asking questions, but we must be prepared to accept His answer.Habakkuk asked God questions, as he felt God was acting out of character, but of course He wasnt,God will not act contrary to His holiness,but He will act in ways that we do not appreciate or understand [ cp Isaiah 55 v 8 -9 ], and that is when we must trust Him/ Habakkuk 3 v 17- 19./. Abraham reasons with God ,we can do this [cp,Isaiah 1 v18 ]God is willing to listen to our reasoning with Him. Abraham reasons ,shall not the Judge of all the earth do right ?, do you believe this, I believe Abraham did, God responed ,by agreeing with Him, because God will always will do whats right, the ungodly accuse God of many things .A man called Jeremiah stood in midst of a devastating situation, when all appeared lost, and all that was left was ruins , and He cried out, great is Thy faithfulness [ Lamentations 3 v23], because inspite of everything, he believed that the Judge of all the earth always did that which was right.
A prayer..../ Dear Father in heaven ,help us to trust You in all the ways You lead us,that You will always, always do that which is right, and that You will cause all things to work for our good, in Jesus name Amen/

Wishful thinking. [Hebrews 9 v 27 ]

Genesis 18 v 25/ The next thing is to consider is Abraham refering to God as a judge, C S Lewis writes the following,/ Some people talk as if meeting the gaze of absolute goodness would be fun. They need to think again./God will judge us make no mistake about it, in the case of the cities in the plains they would be judged, dramatically as a lesson for all of us. The evolutionist have a god that has no moral requirements, again C S lewis is helpful here,/ he writes of that great mysterious life force, that has no morals and no mind, will never interfere with you like that troublesome God we learned about when we were children. The life- force is a sort of tame god.You can switch it on when you want, but it will never bother you. All the thrills of religion and none of the cost. Is not the life force the greatest achievement of wishful thinking the world has yet seen./ We must get real ,and begin to appreciate the true nature of God as revealed in His word, He is as Abraham declared the Judge of all the earth.
A prayer......../Dear God help us not be fooled into thinking anything goes ,our behaviour,attitude, these matter to You,for You will judge, help us to seek mercy by forsaking our sins and trusting in Jesus Amen,/

Great is the Lord.[ Psalm 86 v 10 ]

Genesis 18/ In interceding for the doomed cities ,Abraham reasons with God v25, Shall not the judge of all the earth do right, first we see that he does not see God as a local diety, which was a common belief.There is only one God, and He is God of all the earth,Psalm 24 v1 tells us that the earth is the Lords, and the fullness thereof, and they that dwell therein. I love to read Isaiah 40 with its description of my God, as one who sitteth upon the the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers, that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in.Such is the greatness of our God, great in His power, in His wisdom, His love, mercy,forgiveness, wrath ,justice, holiness, truth, and so we could go on. Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised,who knows all things, and His ways are past finding out. John Mason wrote the following./ How great a being,Lord is Thine, Which doth all beings keep, Thy knowledge is the only line. To sound so vast a deep Thou art a sea without a shore. Thy sun without a sphere. Thy time is now and evermore , Thy place is everywhere.
A prayer..../Dear God trully how great Thou art,the greatness of Your being takes our breath away,Amen /

Keep on praying. [ Luke 18 v 1 ]

Genesis 18/ So judgement was going to fall on those cities ,unlike Jonah who appeared to want Nineveh to be destroyed, Abraham starts to plead with God. His request involved two things I believe ,the general population, and his nephew, he was pleading for mercy on them. We learn a very important lesson ,we need to pray for the lost, often that is all we can do,consider how Abraham persisted,recently I told you how my oldest boy came back to the Lord,I prayed for him everyday of his life, he is 43yrs of age. Of course as a child we ministered into his life, but we prayed ,and prayed, and prayed, and God answered.There are so many ,many people I have prayed for, literally for years,we may see results, but only eternity will reveal the answers to our prayers, and I believe there will be answers.
A prayer......./Dear Heavenly Father help us like Abraham that we may pray for the lost continually in Jesus name Amen.

I exaggerate not.[ Romans 1 v 18 ]

Abraham is told that judgement is going to fall upon the cities of the plains because of their sin, God cannot ignor sin, be it blatant or not so blatant. God of course does not usually act the way He was going to act with Sodom and Gomorrah,their extreme wickedness warranted it. Now it is possible that as you read this account in Genesis 18/19, you may thing well I am not as evil or wicked as those people, you may reason , I know Im not perfect ,but I an not that bad, grant it, but consider,even one sin if it is not forgiven ,will keep you out of heaven,and condemn you to hell for all eternity, I exaggerate not. To speak light of our condition ,is a clear indication that we are unaware of the gravity of sin and its consequences, yes even one sin. It also indicates that we think we dont need Gods solution, we dont need Jesus as our Saviour, and that is very foolish,and dangerous.We may not commit the extreme wickedness that some do, but the Bible clearly teaches that we all have sinned and come short of the glory of God [Romans 3 v23 ].
A prayer...../ Dear God help us to see the gravity of sin,yes even one sin, and grant us the grace to trust in Jesus that our sin may be forgiven Amen /

There most certainly is. [ John 3 v16 ]

We continue to consider Abrahams and his times, both Abraham and Sarah had recieved good news, but these heavenly visitors had come for another purpose, judgement.The cities in the plains, Sodom and Gomorrah and others, had become so wicked ,that like those at time of Noah, were ripe for judgement.The thought of judgement is not something that many Christians can come to terms with, some people in trying to come to terms with it, speak of the God of the new testament, and the God of the old testament. This is of course is wrong, for they are but one,and it has been said that Christ spoke of Judgement a great deal,more than others. In the best known verse in the Bible John 3 v16,we have both the love of God , and the judgement of God declared, and this recorded by the apostle of love, John. Let none of us live under the delusion that there is no hell, there most certainly is , as sure as there is heaven . Judgement was coming for those cities, why?, because of there sin, they had given themselves over to all sorts of wickedness. A book on Aushchwitz the German extermination camp has the following,/ Let nothing grow at Aushchwitz, Nothing, Except the will to never forget, Never. Of the darkness in the human heart, Ours, Which can put out even the sun, Forever and forever./ The darkness in the human heart, make no mistake our hearts are dark, so dark that we caused Jesus to die, look at the cross, and learn the truth that we are sinners, and if sin is not forgiven , it will be judged[John 3 v36 ], as Sodom and Gomorrah would find out.
A prayer..../ Dear God we thank You for saving us from hell, we praise You that You so loved the world that You gave Jesus ,to save us, thank You Amen/

It came to pass. [ Hebrews 11 v 6 ]

What God says, He will do, and not only will do, but can do,now God had promised Abraham a son,when the promise was given Abraham would have had no problem believing it,but now Abraham is 100 yrs of age and Sarah over 90. People that age dont have children, so Abraham and Sarah laughed when the Lord said that the child would be born the following year, the scriptures tells us , that they were old and stricken in age. We need to put ourselves in their place, this is not the age when an egg can be put within the womb, so that an older person can have a child,no humanly speaking it was not going to happen. Here is the important thing, God was in it, remember what God says He will do, and not only will do, but can do. And so the Lord asks a question,/ Is anything too hard for the Lord? Genesis 18 v14 / It is obvious what the answer is, Sarah and Abraham knew the answer, and believed [ Romans 4 v 19 ff/ Hebrews 11 v 11 ], and lo a child was born,it came to pass.
A prayer...../Dear God forgive are lack of faith,help us believe Your word,that what You promise us, You will do, in Jesus name we ask this Amen/

God delaying.[ Habakkuk 1 v 3 ]

I am reading the life of Abraham at this time, and I have come to the place were he is visited by the Lord and two angels ,it was just before God would destroy Sodom and Gomorrah.Now the Lord had promised Abraham a son , but that was years ago, and nothing happened. This couple Abraham and Sarah were very old ,humanly speaking they were past it, at this stage they both thought it could not happen,so when they were told it was going to happen, they both laughed. Why did God keep them waiting? why does He keep us waiting? I recieved a promise from God a few years ago, no sign of it coming to pass, why the waiting?. There are a number of reasons, to develop patience and that we may more appreciate the glory of God, when it does happen. In Proverbs 13 v12 we read , Hope deferred makes the heart sick , but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life. Charles Bridges comments on these words./ Here however the child of God is often tried in his faith, but never disappointed of his hope. Long we may have to wait, but never let us despair/. Yes like Abraham and Sarah we may have to wait till God fulfills His word,but oh the Joy when it comes to pass.
A prayer....../Dear God help us to hold on by faith to the promise you give us ,even when it is delayed, knowing that delay is not denial, in Jesus name we ask this. Amen /

He understands [ Hebrews 4 v 14 - 16 ]

In the Billy Graham book he writes of a person whose friend had lost a love one,/I told people I didnt understand why my friend didnt snap out of it and stop dwelling on her mothers death so much , but when her brother died, she said, now I understand./ Now I understand ,as one who has works with mentally ill people ,I hear so often how family,and friends, fail to understand mental illness.The beauty of our relationship with Jesus He fully understands how we feel ,because He entered into the lives of suffering mankind,be it mental illness,or whatever illness. Not only illness but every aspect of human experience, the lonliness, the rejection, the failures ,Jesus understands. In Hebrews 4 v 15 [TM] we read,He,s been through weakness and testing,experienced it, but not sin. Hebrews 2 v 17 - 18 [TM] reads, it was for people like us.......He had to enter into every detail of human life.Then ,when He came before God as high priest to get rid of the peoples sins,He would have already experienced it all Himself-all the pain, all the pain, all the testing- and would be able to help where help was neded.There are those who cry out no one understands how I feel, but it is not true as the old hymn declares, no one understands like Jesus, no matter what.
A prayer..../Dear Lord we thank You that You understand the human situation, and when we come to You in all our need You understand. Amen /

The finished article. [ 1 Corinthians 15 v 50 -58 ]

In Billy Grahams latest book , /Nearing home, life, faith and finishing,/he writes about his late wife Ruth, that while out driving ,they came to a sign, which read,/ End of construction. Thank you for your patience/. Ruth chuckled at those words, and then went on to say,/I want those words engraved on my stone ./As Billy rightly points we are all under construction by God, in 2 Corinthians 3 v18. we read, / and the Lord who is the Spirit, makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into his Glorious image/.Now this is only applies to the Christian, in are natural self many things bear in upon us and bring a degree of change into our lives, parents , circumstances,many things play their part in changeing us.But Paul is referring to the change brought about by the Holy Spirit in the Christians life ,till as M Henry puts it,/till grace here be consummated in glory for ever./ The bible refers to us as earthen vessels[ 2 Corinthians 4 v7 ], and yet the Holy Spirit is going to transform us to beings of great beauty ,in the book of Malachi 3 v17 the saints are referred to as Jewels. Jewels and there will not be one flaw in any of us, for He will perfect that which concerneth us [Psalm 138 v8 / Philippians 1 v 6 ].Yes one day we imperfect beings will be perfect ,and complete, to God be the glory.


A prayer.......Dear heavenly Father we praise You that You are changing us,that You will not give up on us, but will continue on till the job is finished, till that day when we will stand in your presence the finished article ,Grant it, in the name of Jesus Amen .

Honour. [ Revelation 5 v 11 -14 ]

In the movie ,Gone with the Wind,Scarlet O Hara pleads with the man she loves Ashley ,to run away together,but Ashley is married, and there were other considerations. Scarlet says to Ashley ,there is nothing to keep us here, but Ashley replys, nothing but honour.Honour , now there are things which are far from honourable,but true honour is a fine thing, honour in business,in marriage,in politics, in life.Our Saviour was always honourable,in what He said, what He did, what He thought, he never betrayed anyone,never hurt anyone,oh that I was more like Him, and yet I can but try. His was a perfect honour, as was His love, as was His holiness, and through His perfect life ,He provided the perfect sacrifice .Let us in the coming year ,do our best to hounour Him , in all things
A prayer...../Dear God help us to act in an honourable way in all things,to be more like Jesus Your Son .Amen /

A mystery to be lived.[ 1 Corinthians 13 v 12 ]

I believe , that with God all things are possible, because He is God,He can heal, He can, add what you want to it, He can do it. And if HE can, then it is only natural we look to Him to do the impossible. When someone prayed for me recently for healing, nothing happened, yet I do recieve answers to my prayers,my oldest boy came back to the Lord ,now that is a miracle, and that all my boys, know the Lord. But there is that but again. although He can, it appears He does not always, that is a reality, Philip Yancey writes,/Prayer offers no ironclad gurantee/.Philip also writes of being chided by a young man for it appeared to him that Philip was undermining the truth that if we have faith we can move mountains. Philip somewhat agreed with him ,and that he was limited in the area of chidlike faith.But he went on to say that he could not dishonour the pain of suffering people by telling them their faith is somehat defective. He goes on to write , that life is not a problem to be solved but a mystery to be lived.
A God Prayer ...... Dear God we believe that with You all things are possible, forgive us for are lack of faith that hinders are prayers being answered, we know also, that the secret things belong unto You,and there is a mystery in life which is in Your hands, we ask this in Jesus name Amen .