I read Psalm 19 today.

I read Psalm 19 today, a Psalm that reminds us that God speaks through His creation, and through His word. In verse 1o ff,the writer declares how precious Gods word is, because of the warnings he is given in relation to sin, yes the warnings are there,they are to be heeded. He then prays for grace to help him from sinning ,knowledge of God is vital,but so is prayer,we may know a thing is wrong, but we need to ask for grace, to not commit that wrong. In the last verse he ends with this request,/Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sigh,. O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer./Three things , his words, his thoughts, his desire,today let us be careful as to our words,as to our thought life, and may the desire of our hearts , always be to please our God and Saviour.
A prayer...../ Dear God help us in every part of our lives to glorify Thee in Jesus name Amen /

His peace. [ Isaiah 26 v 3- 4 ]

Many years ago my pastor spoke of what Jesus left us[as it were in His will], not money for it is obvious, that money can create a lot of pain, and He didnt leave us the ability to not experience pain, no then we would not rely on Him, and that would have had terrible consequences. He left us something very ,very special His peace,here is what He said,/Peace I leave with you, my peace I gave unto you, not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled,neither let it be afraid./[John 14 v27 ].So this peace is not an earthly peace,earthly peace can evaporate in a moment, no this is a heavenly peace,a gift from Jesus, to His own. He knew that this what we needed most of all to face life, with all its uncertainties, all its pain, all its evil. Today dear child of God ask him for His promised peace, ask and you shall recieve, seek and you shall find, the peace of God that passeth all understanding.It is a peace that is not depending on the weather, your circumstances,your friends,your bank balance, so ask Your Saviour for it right now.
A prayer...../Dear Lord Jesus may we know Your peace this day . Amen /

Lasting peace. [ Colossians 1 ]

A saying comes to mind,give my head peace,it is something we used to say in Ulster, give my head peace, peace, what a lovely word ,so many people are struggling,so many things annoy.Consider the world,for all their fanatiscim Islam does not appear to know much about peace, they appear to be always foaming at the mouth,always wanting a fight. I come from a country that has known more than its fare share of conflict, borne out of its history, there is degree of peace there now, people got so tired of the conflict,and they were willing to compromise, and Im sure they dread the thought of going back to the way it was. As I read history ,and look out on this world, it appears that the world is always tearing itself apart,a British Prime Minister waved a little bit of paper in the air,declaring peace in our time, and the crowds cheered,but it was an illusion,for in a very short time the whole world was plunged into a conflict, that would bring unthinkable suffering to millions of people. It was not meant to be like this ,but then sin entered in,and from that moment on,things changed,and not for the better, and so it continues. A spirit entered into man that affected their relationship with God, and their fellow man.[ cp Romans 3 ] Mankind has no answer to this problem, but God had, a cross, the death of His son,through that death peace with God can be experienced[ Romans 5 v1 ],all we have to do is trust in Jesus.
A prayer ...../Dear God help us to see that true lasting peace is only to be found, through Jesus. Amen ]

Jesus.[ John 3 v16 ]

Now let us consider further what those words mean, salvation is of the Lord[ Jonah 2 v9],it means that God has a provided an an absolute perfect salvation for all, Consider the words of John 3 v16,for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Here is how God provided salvation, through His son Jesus, this Jesus is unique, He is the son of God,coequal with the Father.[John 1 v1-2 ].He became man for the purpose of dealing with sin, now He Himself was perfect,he had no sin, and did no sin, we have stressed that sin is our greatest problem, we cannot have a relationship with a Holy God, while our sin remains unforgiven this can never be.On the cross Jesus in and through His death, experienced the wrath of God,this was vital, for a Holy God cannot let sin go unpunished, as Isaiah puts it , He was smitten by God, and afflicted.Our sin can be forgiven, we can escape the just punishment for our sin, by trusting in Jesus , who bore our punishment. we who were under the wrath of God,can now experience peace with God, because Jesus experienced wrath for us.
A prayer.....Dear God we thank You for providing such a free salvation,even though it cost You everything , grant us grace to trust in Jesus to be our Saviour. Amen ]

Thou must save, and Thou alone.[Jonah 2 v 9 ]

We have been considering the bases of being accepted with a Holy God, we have ruled out two things,the law , because we all without exception break that law,it is impossible for any of us to live and not sin. We also considered good works , how they have no power, to forgive sin, they do not count at all when it comes to being accepted with God. Augustus Toplady wrote,/ Not the labours of my hands, can fulfil Thy laws demands. Could my zeal no respite know,could my tears forever flow. All for sin could not atone,Thou must save, and Thou alone./ In those words, Thou must save, and Thou alone, we have the secret of being accepted by a Holy God, in the book of Jonah we read these words, /Salvation is of the Lord[2 v9 ]/,if we are going to be saved them we must look to God to do it,in other words salvation is not a do it yourself thing,and of course this hits at our pride,and pride is a great barrier in relation to being saved. Consider those words of the prophet Jonah, he prayed when he could do nothing to save himself,he was in the belly of a great fish,he was going to perish, unless God saved Him. So it is in relation to being saved unless God saves us, them we will perish in a lost eternity,our law keeping ,and good works will account for nothing. We will continue on this subject tomorrow.
A prayer .../ Dear God help us to understand ,that Thou must save and Thou alone. in Jesus name Amen /

Good works. [ Ephesians 2 v 8 - 9 ]

We have seen how we cannot be accepted by the law, but what about good works,and of course there is nothing wrong with good works ,and and of course if we are trully born again ,they are an evidence that we are a child of God,[James 2 ] An evidence, but it is not the bases of our acceptance with God,for good works cannot merit us salvation,good works are just what they are, good works,they have no power in themselves to deal with sin.We could do a mountian of good works and those good works would not deal with one sin, our sin would still remain unforgiven, we would still be alienated from a Holy God. Let me stress this again good works have no power to deal with our sin,many people feel that God will accept them because of their good works, but God cannot do this, cannot. The reason being, God is holy and He cannot accept us on the bases of good works,the only bases of acceptance is through our sins being forgiven.When it comes to acceptance with God our good works do not count, it is no good patting ourselves on our back when we do something good,it will not cause us to be accepted with God. It is not a question of the good we do outweighing the bad we do, the good we do, will not ,cannot, deal with the bad.We will continue to consider this tomorrow.
A prayer...../Dear God help us to see our position, that our sins remain ,inspite of all our good works,that they do not count with You, help us to see what does count, in Jesus name Amen ./

Not by the law. [ Galations 3 v11 ]

We saw yesterday why the law was given, to bring us to a realization of our true condition,that we all without exception are sinners [Romans 3 v23 ].In the light of this it is complete folly to try and be accepted by God through the keeping of the law. Then you may ask how can I be accepted by a holy God?, that is the all important question, how indeed?,well how was Abraham Justified, or accepted by God ?, and the answer is by faith,Galations 3 v6, tells us Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. When you are seeking to be accepted by God by the law, that is not faith,no,as Galations 3 v11 tells us,that no person is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident, for, the just shall live by faith. We move on to explore how are we going to be accepted by a holy God, we see how it is not by law, but by faith, but faith in what or who?. So many put their faith in so many things,the wrong things, the wrong people, the wrong religions, and if we are wrong that is very serious, if the light that is in you is darkness how great is your darkness, tomorrow we will consider this further.
A prayer...../Dear God help us to give up our trying to be accepted by the deeds of the law in Jesus name Amen /

Why the law?. [ Galations 3 ]

C S Lewis wrote, /You cannot make men good by law, and without good men you cannot have a good society/,the law of God was not given to make us good,it is impossible for the law to make us good.If we were good we would not need laws,if we were good then we will always love perfectly, and obey perfectly, but we dont.God give us His law not to make us good, but to show us we are not good.The law of God is good, but because of the weakness of the flesh,we fail to keep it, Israel who lived under the law,were a failed nation, the law never made them good it highlighted,there sinful nature, shown by their sinful behaviour.No one can keep the law of God perfectly[Romans 3 v23 ],the result is we come under a curse[Galations 3v10]. Many religions teach that if we keep certain laws, we will be accepted by God,and so their followers, try to obey, and they are sincere, but sincerely wrong, for a perfect God demands perfect obedience. My study Bible declares the following,/ The law has two functions. On the positive side, it reveals the nature and will of God, and shows people how to live. On the negative side, it points out peoples sins , and shows them that it is impossible to please God by trying to obey all His laws completely/. As we will see tomorrow,we need more than Gods law , we need the grace of God through His Son Jesus.
A prayer..../Dear God thank You for Your law that shows us our true condition before You, that we all are without exception sinners in Jesus name Amen /

Reason enough to give up.[ John 21 ]

Yesterday we wrote of the grace of persevering and how important it is in life in general, but especially in the Christian life.The fact of the manner is there is always a reason to give up, if you are married and you are having difficulties, or a multitude of other situations, we may consider giving up. The whole generation of Israel failed to perservere, and they lost out big time, oh yes there were the giants ,[Numbers 13 v33]reason enough to draw back, and go back, which they did.Alright what are the giants in your life? , financial, people, your thorn in the flesh, unanswered prayer, your weariness, your failures with temptation. Let me say this again there will always be reasons to give up, always , make no mistake about it,one just has to consider the saints in the Bible, Job, who lost so much, suffered so much, yes he had plenty of reason to give up but he did not. Peter had a a great reason for giving up ,he of all people had denied his Lord, the very thing he said he would not do, never in his wildest dreams did he think he would deney his Lord, but he did. This was Peters darkest hour, he wished that he could undo what he had said, undo his cowardly act, and so we have him saying, I go a fishing[ John 21 v 3 ].Yes he was going back to his old trade of catching fish,instead catching men,yes there is always reasons to give up. But listen there are greater reason for going on, for persevering, ,I will mention two, the one who loves you,even Jesus, and the glory that awaits you, these are reason enough to persevere.
A prayer....../Dear God help us not to give up,grant us the grace we need,to be faithful in all things, we love You but sometimes our love grows faint,we often loose sight of the eternal glories,oh God fill us afresh with Your love,and a renewed vision of eternal glories in Jesus name Amen/

Perseverance [ 2 Corinthians 11 v 23 ff ]

If you do not succeed the first time, then try,try again,very few authors have books accepted the first time, by publishers, so they try and try,and often they succeed. There are so many people who keep trying,if you read the life of Abraham Lincoln ,you discover a man who had many setbacks ,even as president many thought him a failure. But everyone now remembers him as a great president ,honest Abe, a man who tried,and tried, and in the end he succeeded.Consider God ,does He not persevere with mankind, and even with those who are His children, and He will not stop until He succeeds. If you love someone then you will lovingly persevere with them, every parent does ,many will be coming to particapate in the Olympics, this year in London,who had a desire, for that very thing. What did it mean for them? perseverance ,getting up when others were in their bed sleeping, and going out for a run when the rain was pouring down. One of the precious qualities mentioned in 2 Peter 1v6 is perseverance[ niv ]this is one of the most vital qualities in the Christian life,if you ever read Pilgrims progress ,you see Christian facing so many difficulties,but he kept persevering,until the end,likewise our dear Saviour persevered to the very end until He fulfilled His Fathers will.
A prayer..../ Dear God grant to us all the grace of perseverance,in Jesus name Amen/

Marching to heavens drum beat [ Philippians 2 v 5-11 ]

I am ministering twice today the first place I am going to ,has about 5 people who attend, on my last visit there were only two present,so I would not preach, what preach to only two people, and I stormed out, and went home in a huff. No I did none of those things, I just ministered to two dear souls , and felt privileaged to do so, let us remember heavens values are not earthly values. This applies not only to ministering but to all of life ,in India they have people who are despised, they are given the name untouchables, these dear people endure so much, and many of thier children suffer, often abandoned, left to live alone seeking food from from garbage bins, many abused, living lives of destitution and rejection. Does not heaven cry out against such things, we in the west strive for riches,we trot up to the shop counter buy our lottery ticket, thats earths values, not heavens. We who are Christians follow One called Jesus, who was rich yet for oursakes became poor,the challenge daily is to follow in His footsteps.
A prayer....../Dear God in a world of distorted values help us to march to the beat of heavens drum beat, in Jesus name Amen /

Weakness. [ Ephesians 6 v 18 -20 ]

I was talking to my son in Ibiza today,and he said that women outnumber men 3 to 1 in the church in England, I wonder if this is true?,if it is ,I ask myself why?. I dont know that I have an answer ,or has any one an answer to this?. It was interesting at that funeral on Friday ,the men where in the majority, in our Lords day everyone was religious, men were the leaders. From my own experience I would find it easier to witness to women, although during the week I met an old neighbour and spoke a simple word of witness to him . Could it be that we are being challenged to pray for men, but in doing this, remember, God may challege you to witness to men, we are His lips, we are the channels He will use. So what about it?, are we ready to pray?, are we ready to speak,to men, in the coming week?. Dont overstretch yourself , start praying for one person,and ask God to give you an opportunity to witness to him, and ask Him to grant you a holy boldness to speak, I can assure you ,that I was a bit anixious in relation to that funeral service, but then, is weakness not always the best to be in, then we are relying on the Lords strength.
A prayer..../ Dear God we ask that You may fill us afresh with Your Holy Spirit ,that we may be witness ,especially to men, in Jesus name Amen /

Rest . [ Matthew 11 v28 ]

I had an interesting experience I attended a Hindoo funeral service,someone I knew for years had died, I was asked by his family to do a reading of my choice. I was not sure what to read but I did put something together, but it was as you will see Christian. Now only two people who were at the service were Hindoos, the priest and my friend who had died,so most of what took place was totally foreign to those present. So this is what I read,I did say that I was Christian and asked was that all right to the Priest, who said it was; now my short reading.
/ Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses,to breathe free.The wretched refuse of your teaming shore, send these, the homeless, temptest tossed to me.I lift my lamp beside the golden door.These words are to be found on a plaque at the base of the statue of liberty, they were written by Emma Lazarus, but nearly 2000 yrs ago a person called Jesus said, Come unto Me , all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. A Christian , Horatius Bonar ,wrote a hymn based on these words it reads.
I heard the voice of Jesus say,come unto Me and rest,
Lay down thy weary one, lay down thy head upon My breast.
I came to Jesus as I was, weary and worn and sad,
I found in Him a resting place, and He hath made me glad.
I heard the voice of Jesus say, behold I freely give.
The living water,thirsty one,stoop down, and drink and live.
I came to Jesus and I drank, of that life-giving stream.
My thirst was quenched, my soul revived, and now I live in Him
So ended the reading, please do pray that God will bless it to those who were present.

Look on the cross. [ Romans 8 v1 ]

Here comes that person again,he is always hurting me letting me down, and then saying he is sorry, until the next time,and not only that he is always asking Me to help him . I know Lord, I am sorry, I know son I love you,I will always love you, forgive you, and help you yes even financially.I see your imperfections ,but I also see and appreciate all your weak efforts, it will not always be so ,one day of my choosing , I will bring you home, and then for you, all will be perfect,and never again will you have to say sorry,or have a need.The past mistakes will be forgotten, the past failures will be seen in their true light,and I will reward you ,for all your service , yes there will be a reward for you, I will look upon you with eyes of love, and say well done son, enter into my joy and fulness. So in the meanwhile dont give up, for I will not give up on you,you may not think it but you are precious to me,and when you think otherwise look on the cross.

Be careful little eyes. [ Job 31 v 1 ]

There are three steps usually that we see in relation to sin, we look, we desire,and then we act, I think our hearing is part of it also[cp Genesis 3 v1-5].But it usually starts with what we see ,take the sin of Achan [Joshua 7 ],when he was found out,he confessed v21, I saw,and then it started on a downward spiral, likewise Davids sin with Bathsheba [2 Kings 11] in v2 we read ,he saw. Consider that there are two ways of seeing,first there is the seeing that only considers the immediate gratification, it does not take into consideration the consequences of our actions, the cost to all involved and especially in relation to God. We fail to appreciate the hurt and pain we are going to cause, no we just see with distorted single vision, and act in ways that are horrible. Was it Amy Charmichel who said when we are tempted we should think upon eternity,when Joseph was tempted [Genesis 39 ]he saw beyond the immediate,he saw beyond selfish desire,to its consequences, how it would affect his master, and most important his God. There is a little chorus which goes,/ Be careful little eyes what you see, theres a Saviour up above looking down with tender love. So be careful little eyes what you see.
A prayer..../Dear God help us to look at temptation with spiritual vision,and not be ruled by our sinful nature , in Jesus name Amen /

Leaven.[John 8 v1-11]

An important part of our diet is bread, there are many different types ,soda bread wheaten bread,plain bread,pan bread,it is all bread. Many people make their own bread, in bread making machines, part of the ingrediants to bread is yeast,it causes the bread to rise. In the Jewish religion at passover they are to clear out any leaven [ yeast] in their homes, why?,it is symbolic of sin. W Barclay points out ,the Jews identified fermentation with putrefaction, and so leaven stood for a corrupting influence. In 1 Corinthians 5 v 6-7 the apostle tells the Christians how a little piece of leaven effects the whole lump of dough, and thats the way it is with sin, if sin is not dealt with, it will effect ,the whole church ,and the individual Christians life.So he exhorts them to purge out,or to get rid of those sinful practices ,that if left, will have serious consequences. Paul is exhorting the church to exercise discipline,often churches shut their eyes to sin in their midst, but as we see in Revelation 2/3 the Lord of the church will not.We must treat sin with the same seriousness as God does , but a note of caution as W Barclay put it,/Discipline must never be vengeful, it must always be curative and prophylactic.
A prayer...../Holy God grant us grace to lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, in Jesus name we ask this Amen/

Let the lesson begin.[ Hebrews 10 v 36 ]

There is a saying which goes,/You would try the patience of a saint/,and of course that is what patience does, it tries people, are you a patient person?. I am not always patient , God has sought to develope this aspect in my life, it is still an ongoing lesson,life for the saints is likened unto a classroom,and God is the teacher. One of my grandchildren is going to sit for 11 GCES ,amazing ,but when we talk about this classroom that we are in,it does not take place in a college, or a school building. As you wake in the morning the voice of God says to us, let the lesson begin. He does not use text books to teach us,no, He uses your children, your husband or wife,on the road he uses those drivers who cause us to become annoyed,difficult people, difficult situations. In Romans 5 v3 we read,tribulation worketh patience, so how do you feel about that? ,the fact is God desires us to be patient, just like He is, so today let the lesson begin.
A prayer..../Dear God as You teach me so many things help me to be ever willing to learn, to be submissive,help me to be a good pupil, in Jesus name Amen. /

The Lords mercies [ Psalm 121 ]

Yesterday I helped to confirm to my wife that I drive to fast, or without the due care , all I can say is I am glad I had new front dics and pads fitted recently. I do try to drive as carefully as I can, but I am not a perfect driver, I have had some near misses in my time,but I have had no injuries, how?. The answer as I see it, God, as Jeremiah declared, it is of the Lords mercies that we are not consumed[ Lamentation 3 v22 ], I try not to take unnecessary risks,nor should any of us, we are all to act responsible at all times. Yet I know that it is only God who keeps me , and it is in this confidence I live , the words of John Ryland , come to mind,/ Plagues and deaths around me fly,till He bids, I cannot die. Not a single shaft can hit, till the God of love sees fit.
A prayer...../Dear God thank You for keeping us, help us to live in a responsible manner in Jesus name Amen/

Wrath. [ John 3 v36 ]

You may not not heard of Phinehas, we read of him in Numbers 25 , he was the grandson of Aaron ,Moses brother, that was his pedigree,although let me say people dont always live up to their pedigree [ cp 1 Kings 11]. But in case of Phinehas he lived up to his pedigree when he acted against sin, he slew two people who were causing judgement to fall on Israel. We may look on sin as just something that is acceptable, because it is acceptable for the culture we live in. David when he repented of his awful sin,reminds us that when we sin it is an act against a holy God [ cp Psalm 51v4]. Sin if not repented of, and forgiven ,by Christ, will bring Gods wrath upon us,believing in Christ is an act of saving us from Gods wrath, never forget this. Coming back to Phinehas , his action in dealing with sin ,turned Gods wrath away from Israel, and this is what Jesus did when He died on the cross, He turned away Gods wrath,not just from Israel, but for all those who trust in Him, as Saviour. How did He do that?, by bearing in His body the wrath of God,as the poet put it ,the wrath of God that was my due , upon the lamb was laid [Jesus cp John 1 v 29/ Isaiah 53 v 4 ].
A prayer ..../God help us to look on sin for what it is, in Your sight, and to appreciate the awful consequences of it, if not forgiven, through Jesus death on the cross. Amen /

On our knees. [ Luke 18 v 1]

George Orwell author of Animal Farm, spent time with the mining community ,he wrote of his experiences,of what it was like to be down the mines. It was to say the least a dreadful way to make a living, no wonder they went on strike when their wages were reduced. Orwell describes how those miners at the coal face ,had to work on their knees, consider how hard this was,they say hard work is not easy, in the case of the miners it surely was. Now let us consider a spiritual application as regards the Christian life,now I know it is a life of joy,and peace,and we have His presence with us,but, there is that but again,it is no picnic. Consider yourself a miner at the coal face, and the only way you are going to get that coal out is to work on your knees,in our case the only way we can serve and live for Jesus is on our knees. On our knees, the place of prayer,have you prayed today?, do it,do it,do it,we cannot cope without it,on our knees we are declaring our dependance upon God, Jesus said, without Me you can do nothing.
A prayer ....../ Dear God forgive us for our carelessness in not praying as we need to,help us all to pray ,and to pray, and to pray, in Jesus name Amen /

Gethsemane. [ Luke 22 v 39 -53 ]

There is an old saying which goes,/ What cannot be cured must be endured/, let us acknowledge somethings dont go away,things that are painful. The psalmist overwhelmed by his troubles wished that he had wings that he could fly away from it all ,and find rest[ Psalm 55] . This reminds me of those prisoner of war stories,when all those prisoners wanted one thing, to escape, how dear Joseph,longed to escape [ Genesis 40 v14-15 ]. No one likes to suffer, to experience a difficult marriage,to cope with a difficult job, or lonliness, or a breavement,or unemployment. Many people who live on the streets are there because they choose to escape from difficult situations,and yet living on the streets is not easy. There are many things that we have to endure, mybe you are enduring something at this time, that is very painful,mybe you feel crushed, a Gethsemane experience. In Gethsemane ,some slept, one betrayed,but one stayed ,He could have run from that garden, for He knew what was coming, knew what He would have to endure,so what did He do? ,well through tears, He prayed, not not my will, but Thine be done, prayed it three times. We read how an angel strengthened Him, yes even He in His humanity needed strengthed, and then He arose and faced His Calvary, today He speaks into all our lives, and says, follow Me.
A prayer...../ Dear God grant us grace to endure those things we feel like running away from in Jesus name Amen/

What a Friend. [ John 15 v15 ]

As I write this blog I am listening to an old Hymn written by a fellow Irish man Joseph Scriven called,/ What a friend we have in Jesus/.Joseph wrote this as a poem which he sent to his mother,it is the only hymn we have by him, and yet that hymn continues to bless millions of Christians. The hymn stresses a very important aspect of our Christian life, friendship with Jesus ,and the blessings that come through that friendship. Dear Christian you are not on your own you have a friend called Jesus, avail yourself of His friendship, go to Him pour out your heart to Him. Consider the words of this old hymn .
What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear,
What a privilege to carry everything to Him in prayer
Oh, what peace we often forfiet,oh what needless pain we bear.
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.
A prayer...../Dear Lord Jesus we come to You our Saviour ,Lord and friend, have mercy upon us and bless us Amen .

D V. [ James 4 v13 - 16 ]

Proverbs 27 v 1, reads/Boast not thyself of tomorrow, for thou knowest not what a day will bring forth./ These are the wise words of Solomon,James in his epistle touches on the same theme chapter 4 v13-16, and the key word in both passages is boasting.In James it is aimed at the wealthy ,who because of their wealth ,manifest a foolish confidence, and disregard for God,so both writers urge caution upon those who are blinded by false securities. Consider, we know not what today may hold for any of us, sudden sickness, sudden unemployment, sudden death. Now the writers of these scriptures are not to trying make us anixious, but rather to live with atitude of humbleness and dependance on God. I remember years ago observing a successful business man who appeared arrogant, I heard at a later date how his business went bust .John Blanchard reminds us that all our hopes and plans have to be stamped,/D V,[ Deo Volente, God willing ],we dare not make any of plans of our own in any other spirit./
A prayer..../Dear God forgives us our foolish ways,when we leave You out of our affairs, help us to acknowledge You in all our ways in Jesus name Amen /

Why do the ungodly prosper?[ Psalm 73 ]

As I said yesterday it snowed, I dont mind the snow ,for usually it does not last long,but while it does, it creates problems,one of them is,it turns to ice,and of course it makes driving and walking dangerous. My wife bought me gadgets to put on my shoes so I wont slip and fall, which reminds me of Psalm 73,here the Psalmist is stuggling.He is struggling with a why?, why the unrighteous appear to be prospering, and why is he getting it hard ,inspite of the fact he is faithfully following God.He feels disillusioned if we are honest we all feel like this at times,well he does not stay in that destructive place ,he goes to God,he acknowledges Gods goodness in general to His people,and then he prays,/But as for me/, he is being honest,which is vital in our relationship with God,and he tells Him how he feels.Tell God how you feel ,He wants to hear not just the words of your mouth,but the thoughts of your heart.He tells God, not others, for his words may cause others to stumble, bring to God your stuggling thoughts. Well God listened,yes His ear is open to our cry, and He gaves him an answer,as to the true position of the ungodly.they are set in slippery places,God will cast them down into a pit of destruction. [ cp Luke 16 v 19-31].
A Prayer...../Dear God help us in our struggles not to be overcome with bitterness or unbelief ,grant us faith to trust in You, for you are to be trusted, in Jesus name Amen./

More valuable. [ Matthew 6 19 -34 ]

It has snowed, I wonder how the birds survive?,some dont but many do, because they have someone looking after them, God, we are told that our heavenly Father, feedeth them[ Matthew 6 v26]. As I look out my window ,I wonder how He is going to provide for them? I dont know but I believe He will. During their wilderness journey, Israel in unbelief asked the question,/ Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?/. Now I believe we all have our wilderness experience,it may be we are lacking finance,need a job, desire a wife /husband, a child,and so many other things,you look at a church situation, few in numbers,no one being saved,and you may not it,but in a way you may be like Israel asking,/ can God./Let me encourage you whatever you may be facing,to believe that God not only can provide but God will, he did furnish a table in the wilderness, He will feed the birds,and He will care for you, for you and I are more valuable to our loving heavenly Father, than the birds.
A prayer...../ Dear Father in heaven ,You who feed the birds even when it snows,we thank You that You have not forgotten us and our needs,in Jesus needs meet out needs Amen/

There is an answer. [ Romans 7 v 25 ]

In 2 Peter 1 v 3, we read that God has by His divine power has given us everything we need to live a godly life,stop and consider these words. In other words whatever we are faced with, we can be victorious, this is what we are being told, we can be overcomers, instead of being overcome. We can be godly, we can live in a way that will glorify God. How? to you it may seem a pipe dream,I cant overcome these feelings of mine, I have tried and failed. Now thats the way the non Christian looks at life,but we are Christians,and that makes a massive difference, were once I struggled on my own, I have this wonderful word that there are divine resources at my disposal In Romans 7 the great apostle writes of his struggles, /Oh, what a miserable person I am, Who will free me from this life dominated by sin and death?,it appears he is in despair, but not so for he tells us the answer,/ The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord./
A prayer..../Dear God we acknowledge our failures before You today,Your word assures us that in Jesus we can succeed ,grant unto us grace today,to be more than conquerors. Amen /

Insecure.[ Romans 8 v 38 -39 ]

How secure are you? do you live as if the sky is going to fall upon you? and I not talking about Sky Tv. Let us be honest there are so many things that can make us feel insecure, recently I mentioned a soccer player who killed himself, it seems there was no apparent reason at the time. It now appears he was having trouble with his marriage,possible he thought he was going to loose his wife, and he just could not face this .Inspite of the fact that he was successful, he felt totally insecure at the thought of loosing his wife,yes so many things can make us feel insecure. The list is endless ,and of course there are many things in our past experience, that have created
a spirit of insecurity,many believe in eternal security,but when it come to the here and now we feel insecure. The result of this our lives are blighted by this,causing us and others near us pain. As I read the Bible, I am faced with people just like myself, these people at time felt insecure, and showed it, but God loved them. So today take this thought with you God loves you, that will never, never change,why? because His love for you is unconditional.
A prayer..../Dear God fill our hearts with You Love, a love that is unconditional;, in Jesus name Amen.

Preach the Word. [ 1 Timothy 4 v2 ff ]

I saw two daffodills two days ago ,they are not suppose to bloom till spring, and yet there they were, blooming out of season. In 2Timothy 4v2, we read ,/Preach the word, in season,out of season/.In the church were I was a minister, everytime I stood in the pulpit ,I stood on a rug with the words ,preach the word, on it. These words reminded me and indeed everyone who stood in that pulpit of the responsibllity to be faithful ,and to preach Gods word. Goverments are trying to take the place of Gods word, and tell us what is right and wrong, philosophers likewise, now I am not advocating we dont obey the laws of our land[cp Romans 13 v1],but as a preacher of the Word of God, I am called to preach the word,a word that makes clear what is clean and unclean[ cp Leviticus 14 v57 ],a word that tells of the only one who can save souls and forgive their sin ,Jesus. On the day I stand before Him I want to here Him say, well done good and faithul servant.
A prayer....../ Dear God help us in a world of change to be faithful to Your word in Jesus name Amen /.

It can happen.[ Acts 26 v 25 ]

As we look at life we can so easy despair, because it appears that somethings will never change,never get better,take slavery,one would never have thought it could have changed,but then came Wilberforce. Israel were slaves in Egypt for 400 years, then came Moses, in America slavery continued on,for a long time, then came Abraham Lincoln. For thousands of years this world lay in darkness , Israel was a conquered and ruled by Rome, then came Jesus, and for Israel and the world, salvation had come. We may feel that things cannot change ,will not change,but they can, consider the one who does not Jesus ,He can bring change, weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning[ Psalm 30 v 5 ]. So many people Jesus healed had been suffering for a long time,some had tried everything humanally speaking [cp Mark 5 v 25ff ], but then Jesus came. With God all things are possible, these are not just words, they are Gods words,reminding us that change can come, the waiting can end,the burden can be lifted,the way can open.
A prayer..../Dear God and Father, I bring my burdens to You,and ask that deliverance may come, in the name of Jesus Amen /