Pray dont panic. [ Psaln 46 v10 ]

In case you dont know,our country is threatened with a strike by the drivers of the petrol tankers,they have voted in favour of a strike. About 12 years ago we did have an actual strike, I remember it so well , as indeed many people do, but at the minuite we only have the threat of a strike,and the unions have to give 7 days notice before they strike,in the meanwhile they are negotiating.The goverment made some ill advised statements, the result was a panic, by drivers,now this all coincided with me buying another car,and I was going to fetch it,I also knew that there was not much petrol in it, I felt concerned that I would not be able to get petrol,I had to travel a distance of about 30 miles. Well I prayed that not only would I get petrol, but I also would have no bother getting it,and so it came to pass,I found a petrol station not far from were I collected my car,and purchased a full tank of petrol.Things do happen when we pray, they really do,so let us all learn to pray and not to panic,see difficulties as opportunities to pray and see God working./Dear God help us to see that You are in control of all things,nothing catches You unawares, and that we can always trust You to undertake for us, in Jesus name Amen /

Gods way. [ 2 Corinthians 12 v1-10 ]

I will always be greatful that God helped me pass my driving test, so much depended on this, and I will always be grateful how God provided my first car,we had no money to buy one. And whom God used to supply our need, a dear widow, I remember as we walked to church,she pulled up beside us in her little morris minor,and said would I like to have it.A widow woman,it reminds me of how God used a widow woman to supply the needs of Elijah the prophet[ 2 Kings 17].The dear woman had so little, yet God blessed it,in an amazing way,if the blessing of God is upon our little,be it financially,or our limited abilites, we will be amazed what will happen,and what God will do. God does not despise our smallness,no it is the very opposite ,to what we thing, we despair at our littleness,we would only move when we have a full cup,but the path of faith is a path of depending on God to bless our smallness, even our weaknesses. The way of smallness, weakness is the way we are called to walk ,limping,thorns in the flesh, yes it is not the worlds way, but it is most surely Gods way.

A prayer...../Dear God we acknowledge that Your ways are not our ways, nor Your thought our thoughts, and that Your way is perfect,help us to follow in the footsteps of our crucified Lord, Amen /

I am trully blest. [ Lamentations3 v22-23 ]

I had a visit from a friend recently, as we talked,this dear brother started talking of the blessings in his life,it was not a smug Im all right Jack, but a humble declaration of Gods faithfulnes. I listened ,but it spoke to me,how God has blessed me, and cared for me, I do have so much, I am still able to work, even though I am by, my sell buy date.We are not just talking about positive thinking although there is something to be said of that, no, this goes futher than that,it is giving glory to God. What we have, we have recieved from the hand of a loving Heavenly Father,of yes we have had to work,act sensibly,but if the blessing of God had not been on our efforts it would not have prospered.It is the blessing of the Lord that maketh rich [Proverbs 10 v22 ],and like my friend I can trully say I am blessed. Blessed materially, but blessed spiritually,for I have the greatest friend anyone could have ,Jesus, and in that relationship I have so much,His presence with me everyday,His protection and His care for me in every situation. In Him I have the forgiveness of all my sins,He has gone to prepare a place for me,and one day,He will take me to it,yes I am trully blest

A prayer..../Dear God thank You for Your faithfulness , yes great has been Your faithfulness, and above else for Your dear son Jesus Amen/

The answer is ,faith. [Mark 4 v35-41 ]

I bought a mug with the words ,keep calm I,m a Man Utd fan,which I am,and as I watched them play [football] the other night I was anything but calm, I watched them hold on to win. Keep calm, it is hard to do sometimes ,in situations that are more important than a football team performing,when your life appears to be falling apart.I was with someone yesterday and he was getting so worked up, and my heart went out to him,as to what he has to cope with. Is it possible to keep your head, in other words keep calm when all around are loosing theirs?,that is a big challenge for all ou us.The disciples were anything but calm when a storm arose [ Mark 4 v 35 -41 ] Jesus was in the boat with them,asleep,He must have been exhausted,and they went to Jesus, woke Him, and asked,Master carest Thou not that we perish?.They really lost their calm ,to ask Him such a question, yet it is important to be honest, especially to our Lord, He can take it, and would prefer us to be honest, at all times in our relationship with Him. Jesus does not immediately answer them,He arises and speaks to the sea ,Peace be still, and the wind ceased, and there a great calm. Now note He didnt say to His disciples,peace be still,no he did something more important He told them they needed to exercise faith,they had lost their faith and so lost their calmness. What Jesus is saying to the disciples, and to us, if we are not going to be overcome with the storms of life, we need to exercise faith,it is as simple as that.

A prayer....../Dear God help us to live by faith, to face the storms of life, by faith, in Jesus name Amen /

A right spirit. [ Romans 12 v17 -21]

David was a man of God a man after Gods own heart, and yet he experienced his share of troubles,some undeserved others of his own making.Dont be disappointed if the best of men fail to live as they should, but observe how they act in success, and failure,and the important thing is dont judge them. When David was being hounded by Saul unfairly, he refused to hurt Saul,humally speaking ,he could have,he would not touch the Lords annointed.What he did was leave it with God to deal with Saul,consider the words he spoke to Saul,/The Lord judge between me and thee, and the Lord avenge me of thee, but mine hand shall not be upon thee[ 1 Samuel 24 v12 ] There was no Count of Monte Cristo spirit in him,mybe you are experiencing unfair treatment,watch your spirit, and leave God to act on your behalf.Romans 12 v19 - 20 tells us,/Dear friends, never take revenge,leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the scriptures say,I will take revenge,I will replay them back, says the Lord./ but it does not stop there ,it would be easy to stop there and rub our hands with glee as we wait for God to destroy them,no it goes on to say,/Instead , if your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads/.

A prayer ..../Dear God grant me a right spirit in all things in Jesus name Amen/

Hardness of heart.[ Revelation 2 v1 - 7 ]

My love for you will never die, so goes a popular song, yet the person singing it may have been married three times, it was our Saviour who said to a group of Christians,that they had left their first love [Revelation 2 v4 ] .The warm flush of desire,and warmth ,of wanting to be in His presence, had disappeared,they were just going through the religous motions. They sang the hymns,prayed words but their hearts were not in it, it had become but an empty shell. When love goes out of a marriage,the marriage will suffer,and whan love goes out our relationship with our Saviour,that is sad, but it is more than that, it is a sin. We need to repent , our Saviour is not pleased with us when we replace love,with an other, true love is meant to stay true,meant to remain faithful,not to change like the weather. One of the reasons our Saviour gives for divorce is hardness of heart,[Matthew 19 v8 ],there is no better way of saying it,hardness of heart,and make no mistake about it it is a sin. Surely our Saviour does not deserve such an attitude, no more than a wife or a husband, we are commanded to love, yes commanded, and if we dont, we are sinning. You may bring out you reasons, for not loving,but consider, has God not a mountain of reason not to love this world,but that does not stop Him loving [John 3 v16 ]

A prayer..../Dear God forgive me for my hardness of heart,for my coldness towards others and especially towards You,by Your Spirit renew a right spirit within me, in Jesus name Amen /

T[he end wil be better.[ Psalm 30 v5 ]

And so Boaz and Ruth married and God blessed them with a child,they called him Obed,who was the father of Jesse, who was the father of David.A story that started out so painfully ended so wonderfully,not only for Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz, but eventually for Israel, and in Davids greater son Jesus, for the very world. In Ecclesiastes 7 v8, we read,/Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof/. Today you may be experiencing pain,loss,poverty,take encouragement from this story in the book of Ruth, trust God to bring you through to a better day. A better day,dont despair,in Psalm30 v5, we read,weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. You cannot see this with your natural sight, look with faith ,yes even through your tears, to God who can work all things or your good. It can happen now, dear child of God,but it will happen for ever child of God ,when we stand on heavens shore, there God will wipe away all tears.The great apostle who had his share of pain,wrote,/For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us[Romans 8 v18 ]/,so dear child of God hang in there, joy will come in the morning.

A prayer..../ Dear God grant us the grace we need to come through our troubles, and help us to trust Your providential care, and faith to see through our tears,a time when You will bring us to that time of deliverance,from all our cares, in Jesus name we ask this Amen /

Ask and you will recieve. [ Matthew 7 v 7 -11 ]

In chapter 4 we see Boaz going through the proper procedure as was required,he didnt elope, and it looked like ,someone else was going to marry Ruth, but it didnt happen. No this godly man was going to marry Ruth, it appears that he desired her to be his wife,we are told that,if we make God our delight,that God will delight to grant us the desires of our hearts[Psalm 37 v4 ]. We see this so often in the bible,Abraham desire for an heir,Jacob the blessing of God, Solomon his desire for wisdom,Nehemiah the restoration of Jerusalem.What is the desire of your heart? ,sometimes it seems impossible ,that you could ever have that desire,you may been to weak in faith ,even to let God know your desire, never mind anybody else. Well God knows this, could it be He is just waiting for you express this desire to Him?,mybe He will say to you why did you not come to me sooner, I was waiting for you to ask, and you would have recieved, the very desire of your heart. I am your loving heavenly Father, one who delights to bless you , my child,yes you are my child, you are not a beggar. Consider, as earthly fathers,give their children so much, how much more will I give unto you,for I am your loving heavenly Father.

A prayer...../Dear God we rejoice in Your Fatherhood,and we bring our desires unto believing that as we delight ourselves in You ,You will grant us the desires of our heart in Jesus name Amen /

If God is in it.[Isaiah 43 v13 ]

When Ruth returned to Naomi ,she told her what had happened , how Boaz had shown favour unto her,Naomi sees in this providential meeting ,a way out of their difficulties.Boaz was related to Naomi through marriage, and according to Deuteronomy 25 v 5-10, it stated that a near relative could marry the deceased husbands widow, if he chose not to,the next relative could take his place. It was not by chance that Ruth had come into contact with Boaz,so Naomi gives Ruth advice how to act ,that it would go well for her. Naomi gave the advice, Ruth was humble enough to listen ,take the advice, and act upon it. So the story unfolds, Ruth goes to where Boaz was,and informs him that he is a near relative,Boaz understands the implications,that Ruth would become his wife. It would appear that Boaz was an older man[3 v10 ], but this did not matter for God was in it, and that is whats inportant in every thing. Ruth returns to Naomi who again gives wise advice, sit still[3 v18],there is a time for action and time for waiting,may God help us to know the difference, and respond accordingly.

A prayer.... / Dear God help to see beyond the difficulties that we are facing, and to believe that if You are for us then all will be well, in Jesus name Amen /

To God be the glory. [ 1 Corinthians 10 v 31 ]

Boaz not only protects the vulnerable but showed kindness and he did it in an anonymous way,he told his workers to permit Ruth to have free excess to his crop, and to also to leave some heaps of corn on purpose. As evangelicals we stress that we are not saved by good works,but good works are an evidence that we are saved[ Ephesians 2 v8-10 / James 2 v 18] As to our good works, of whatever kind,we are to do all to the glory of God,we are not to broadcast what we do,that includes praying,doing and giving. Our Saviour stressed the importance of doing things secretly,the result ,our Father in heaven will reward us openly.[Matthew 6v6 ]Our Saviour was speaking to religious people who took great delight in showing how religious they were, and they were religious, but it was mans religion,done by man as unto man. Whatever we do, and we must do good works,God must get the glory,when we take the glory we are robbing God,of what is His due.

A prayer..../ Dear Heavenly Father help me never to rob You of Your glory in Jesus name Amen /

Vulnerable people. [ Matthew 5 v 7 ]

Chapter 2v9 we see an Boaz protecting Ruth from unwanted advances from the men who were working for him,have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee. Ruth was a woman on her own ,very vulnerable ,Boaz took the neccessary action to prevent her coming to harm. I read of children who are neglected and abused, with no one to care or protect them,and I pray for them, pray that God will raise up people like Boaz. There was a time in England that many dear children,were sent to work in awful conditions,in the mills and in the mines,were uneducated,hungry uncared for and unloved.God raised up men and women who made a difference,people like ,George Mullier,Barnardo, Shaftesbury,and many others. We thank God for such people, people who made a difference,to the vulnerable,to the weak, to the poor,and in so doing,were showing the heart of God.In this broken needy world,there are so many vulnerable people,who are being destroyed, and damaged,let us be a Boaz.

A prayer..../Dear God have mercy upon the vulnerable ,use us to be like Your servant Boaz in Jesus name Amen /

Be a Boaz. [ Ruth 2 v 11 ]

Boaz the owner of the field comes along and sees Ruth and asks who she was,and he is told ,he speaks kindly to her shewing her favour.He informs her that he is knows about her , and how she had left all,and of her support of Naomi,and speaks these words to her./The Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust/. What lovely words spoken to this dear girl ,what an encourgement they must have been to Ruth,let me say this, we all need to hear encouraging words, so often I go to Gods word, and I just need to hear an encouraging word,likewise when I meet with believers. Judge not by appearance as you meet with people,many people are carrying burdens,so today speak encouraging words,be a Boaz today.

A prayer..../ Dear God help me to be guided by Your Spirit in all I say in Jesus name Amen /

God in-cidents. [ Proverbs 20 v24 ]

Ruth asks to go to and gather the left overs ,and so she goes ,and it just so happens she went to a field owned by a man called Boaz, who was related to Naomi,and this would have a deep significance , for Ruth and Naomi. It was not by chance that Ruth came to this particular field, it was not a coincidence that this happened.Last week we bought a wardrobe ,or a potential wardrobe,for the pieces came in a flat pack. Before we started it,my wife and I, I prayed for help. There came a point in the assembling that we got into difficulties, now my wife had phoned my oldest lad Paul about something ,he lives about 90 miles a way,only to discover that he was visiting a friend , locally. Was this a coincidence?, well you can guess the rest, I phoned him and asked for his help,he came round and the job got finisfed. Archbishop William Templer said, when I pray, coincidences happen, when I dont,they dont. Philip Yancey writes of coincidences as God-incidents,with God things dont just happen, everything by Him is planned.

A prayer....../ Dear God we thank You for Your involvement in our lives , in Jesus name Amen /

The poor. [ James 2 v 14 -17 ]

Now here we have two women with no means of support, in other words they were poor,what could they do?. Real poverty is sad, when you have nothing to feed your children,how do you look on the poor? our Saviour said the poor would be always with us[ Matthew 26 v11 ]. We need to to take our responsibility very serious as regards helping the poor,a famous actor was arressted for speaking out strongly, in relation to a terrible situation in a part of Africa, like hm we need to do something, to help the poor. One of the most challenging stories our Saviour told was about a rich man who ignored a man in desperate need. This needy person lay just outside the richmans gate, the rich man gave him a few crumbs, yet there he lay until he died ,our Saviour describes the fate of this cruel mean person[ Luke 16 v 19 -31 ].Getting back to Ruth and Naomi these poor women , what could they do ?well God had it all worked out, in His law, God commanded that when the fields were harvested,the harvesters were to leave some of the crop for the poor [ cp Leviticus 19 v 9-10 ]. Here is a interesting verse in Proverbs 19v 17./He that hath pity upon the poor, lendeth unto the Lord, and that which he hath given will He pay him again/. We will never loose out in helping others ,the Lord Himself will repay us with interest.

A prayer..../ Dear God,help us to help the needy, to not be judgmental,but to have a loving attitude, in Jesus name. Amen /

He is in control. [ Job 2 v10 ]

Naomi declares ,I went out full, and the Lord hath brought me home again empty [1 v21],for those ancient Israeles there was no second causes,no, to them God was in control of life, and although He may use different means, He is in overall control. Is there not a saying God laughs at us when we make our plans, so many people are making their plans,they have taken into account every eventuality,all except God. Naomi acknowledged Gods hand in the events of her life, likewise Job[ cp 1 v21],who declared ,the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away. Spurgeon tells the story of a little girl who was born deaf and dumb, she was sent to a special school to be educated. A visitor came and was asked to question the children, he would write the question down and the children would write the answer down,he asked the little girl, why were you born deaf and dumb?. A look of anguish came over her face, but then it cleared,and she wrote her answer,even so Father , for so it seemeth good in thy sight.

A prayer..../ Dear God we thank You that although life at times appears to be out of control,that is not so,that You are in control of all our lives, even the painful times, help us to trust in You at all times, in Jesus name Amen /

/ I will not be blogging tomorrow/

Bitterness. [ Ruth 1 v20-21 ]

So Naomi returns home to Bethlehem with Ruth , Bethlehem the birthplace of our Saviour, what was happening to Naomi and to Ruth had a deep significance. Naomi was greeted by the people in Bethlehem,by the words ,is this Naomi?,ten years had passed ,she had changed, and Naomi replies to their enquiries, call me not Naomi which means pleasant, but call me Mara which means bitterness. Now I dont believe that Naomi had a bitter spirit, but simply what she had experienced had been bitter,loosing your husband and two sons,was a bitter pill to swallow. There is a few words of a song I remember from years ago, a cry to God,/ Keep me sweet/, there is nothing so awful as a bitter spirit. I think of a woman who was unkind to me,and sought to hurt me,yes she was a Christian, but she was a bitter Christian, most who knew her would dismiss her behaviour as, that was just her. Yes it was just her, her bitterness of spirit, she had been stunted in her Christian growth, by a bitter spirit,failing to grow in grace and love.In Hebrews 12 v 15, we are warned of the dangers of a root of bitterness taking hold of us,the Hebrew Christians like Naomi were suffering. Being bitter helps no one, and can if we let it destroy our whole lives, so beware of the dangers, and damage of such a spirit, seek to overcome it before it takes root, asking God to forgive you, and renew a right spirit within you.

A prayer..../ Dear God when I am faced with difficulties,and experiencing hurts,keep me sweet in Jesus name Amen ./

She became a Christian. [ Ephesians 2 v11 - 22 ]

When Naomi and her family left Israel they went to live in the of Moab ,her husband died, and her two sons married girls called Orpah and Ruth. Should they have married these two non Israeli girls?, the scripture is silent on this particular case, it is better for a believer to marry a believer. After 10 years ,the two boys died,and Naomi was left with no means of support,and just at that time she hears that things are better in Israel,again this was not a chance happening. So she decides to return home, but what about her two daughter in laws?,she could not provide for them,they were non Israelites,better it seemed that they went back to their own people. So Naomi puts it to them,it is a time of deep emotion for these women,but one of these women Ruth,was determined not to leave Naomi, here is what she said to her./Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee, for whither thou goest, I will go, and where thou lodgest, I will lodge, thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God. Where thou diest,will I die, and there I will be buried, the Lord do so to me and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.[1 v 16-17 ]/ This girl Ruth loved her mother in law [ it is not always so ]and it seems to she had embraced her mother in laws faith. This gentile woman would no longer be an alien from the commonwealth of Israel , no longer a stranger fron the convenants of promise,having no hope, and without God in the world,bringing it into New Testament time,she had become a Christian.

A prayer..../Dear God we thank You for the grace that brought Ruth to yourself,for using Naomi dear God use me in the glorious task of soul winning ,for the sake of our dear Saviour we ask this Amen./

The providence of God.[ Genesis 24 v27 ]

The book of Ruth is a lovely book to read ,it has only four chapters ,so it is easy to read at one sitting, it has many things to teach us. One of the themes of this book is the providence of God,which involved suffering ,famine,three deaths, poverty,and yet we see clearly a sovereign God at work. It commences with a family who moved home , because Israel was experiencing a famine, I come from a country, that experienced a terrible famine,and many had to leave Ireland in order to to survive. Remember things dont happen by chance, things come into our lives for a purpose, it prompted this family to move.If you are experienceing difficulties at this time ,mybe God is pushing you to move, to change direction.I remember my own experience in Ulster, every door was shut fast to me, I was unemployed, I ended up in England pastoring a little church. It is a step I never regretted, as I look back ,[and it is in looking back we begin to appreciate the ways of God in our lives],I can trully say all the way, my God has led , and guided.

A prayer...../ Dear God help us to trust in Your providential care,that in all things You are in control, in Jesus name Amen /

Tomorrow. [Matthew 6 v25 -34 ]

The word of God points out the importance of not carrying tomorrows burdens today,to live one day at a time, many people are driven by anxiety of what may happen,in the future.It is a burden we are not meant to carry,of course our future may bring all sort of things into our lives, that are unpleasant,we are not saying that bad things wont happen.We are not saying we are not to act in a responsible way,we should as regards our finances ,give, spend and save.Our Saviour tells us to put God first and then all else will fall into place,He often spoke of God as a Father , a Father who loves His children, and will care for them. We are called to trust Him, His resources are infinite,His power is infinite, and His love for His Children is unconditional,and eternal. This loving Heavenly Father is watching over His children,we are to set our thoughts on Him, not on our uncertain tomorrows,our Saviour says dont even give a thought about the possible problems of tomorrow.

I know who holds the future,and He will guide me with His hand.

With God things dont happen, everything by Him is planned.

So as I face tomorrow,with its problems large and small,

I,ll trust the God of miracles,give to Him my all [ Alfred Smith ]

A prayer......./Dear Loving Heavenly Father we commit all our tomorrows into Your loving hands in Jesus Your Sons name Amen /

Amazing .[ Ephesians 2 v 8-9 ]

My son visited the place were John Newton spent his early childhood, Purfleet/ Averley, in the county of Essex .The event he attend was an historical meeting were a plaque was erected and a historical talk was on Johns life. There was also a person who sung one of the most famous hymns ever written , Amazing grace,and one of the most recorded songs ever,it is one of my favourite hymns.It does amaze me how this hymn keeps popping up, it appears to me that God keeps bringing to mens mind, its truth, His amazing grace. What God is saying to us is, that no matter how far you have fallen, His grace can lift you up,no matter how far you have wandered away from God ,you can be restored.You see ,that is what makes it so amazing, the blessings of Grace comes to us through Jesus,salvation came into being by Jesus paying the cost,we could not . The writer , writing of his own experience,descibes himself as a wretch, as being lost and being blind, God saves him through Jesus, this trully amazes him.

A prayer ..../Dear God we praise You for the grace we experience through Jesus Your son, it trully is amazing. Amen /

He loves us failures. [ Jeremiah 31 v 3]

I have started to read the book of Judges, it has different themes to it,Israels continual unfaithfulness, this is highlighted in the following words,/ And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord/.This is followed by the Lord delivering them into the hands of their enemies,then we have a period of Israel being oppressed. Next we have Israel turning to the Lord ,crying unto to Him, for deliverance, God responds by sending a deliverer.What amazes me is God continual faithfulness, there is never a place in the book of Judges that God gives up on Israel,inspite of their repeated failures,He just keeps on being faithful inspite of their unfaithfulness, why?, yes why?,because, they were His, and He loved them,He loved them to much to give up on them. Many people may look at me and think ,my He is such a man of God, a preacher, a fine Christian,but I know how weak I am, and not only that, God knows, how often I have failed Him,70 times 7,plus,and as I write these words I ask the question why has He not given up in me ?,and then I hear Him whisper to heart,because you are mine and I love you.What applies to me applies to me applies to you dear child of God, He loves us failures,nothing can seperate us from that love, even our continual failures.

A prayer...../Dear God we are utterly amazed at Your amazing love,You know the worst about us yet You dont give up,You just keep loving us, we praise and thank You in Jesus name./

Pain can be redeemed [ Romans 8 v28 ]

Lastly we think of pain that can be redeemed, and like Philip Yancey I will point you to my life verse, Romans 8 v28[ av ] And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God. The all things means what it says, yes even the bad pain, the greatest example of this is the cross on which Jesus died, that was surely bad pain, an innocent person being crucified. And yet God had a redeeming purpose in that death,good has come out of it,mulitudes of people have and are being saved, from a lost eternity. God always works at a redemptive purpose, this is Gods truth, it goes without saying that when we are in the storm of bad pain, we struggle to accept the truth of Romans 8 v28. I believe this verse with all of my heart, often with tears, I have looked at this verse,wondering how good can come of my painful experience, but I believe it will.I finish by quoting P Y./ Romans 8 v28 is an affirmation that whatever things may come our way- and for Paul these meant manifold hardships- all can be redeemed to work for our ultimate good/

Dear God help us to have faith in the truth that You are in control,and are working all things for the good of Your children, and for Your glory in Jesus name Amen /

Pain that is bad.[ Job 1-2 ]

Yesterday we considered pain that is good, but then then there is the bad pain,we hear of it every day on the news, I recieve material from missions, informing me of so many things that people are suffering ,that could be classed as pain that is bad. So many dear people are experiencing awful things,grinding poverty,abuse, injustice, the list goes on and on. Why? , yes why we ask?, so much suffering, mybe you are asking this question,mybe you are, or have, experienced things that are really bad, and you lift your eyes to heaven ,and you ask why Lord, why did my child have to experience such pain?why ?.Now this is the pain that is bad, why?, well the cross on which Jesus died, was for a reason, and on that cross He asked the question,why? and the answer is,we live in a sinful world, a fallen world, and because of this we will suffer and experience pain that can be classed as bad. There is no gurantee that any of us will escape things that can trully be labeled ,pain that is bad,tomorrow we will consider how God can redeem even that bad pain.

A prayer..../ Help us to see that the reason that people suffer pain that is bad, is because we live in a fallen world in Jesus name we ask this .Amen /

Pain.[ Proverbs 27 v 6 ]

How does one begin to write about pain,the dentist does his best to eradicate it,we can buy medication ,for all sorts of pain,none of us want to experience pain.We are told that there is no gain without pain,and there is truth in those words,but we would still want the gain without the pain.Philip Yancey who had written 3 books on pain, was asked, what he had personally learned about pain?. He replied, / Pain is good. Pain is bad. Pain can be redeemed/. How can pain be good?, well Philip uses the illustration of a peson who has leprosy,this disease destroys the nerve ends,so they dont feel pain,with the result they injure themselves without knowing it, the result is they suffer severe effects, like the loss of fingers ,and toes.Pain is telling you there is a problem,if we ignor it there can lead to serious consequences, we can think this through at many levels, so today let us give thanks for the pain that is good.

A prayer..../ Dear God it seems strange to thank You for any sort of pain ,and yet we do, the pain that tells us something is wrong, in Jesus name Amen./

Anger. [ Colossians 3 v 8 ]

Many years ago I remember my best friends father stubbing his toe on a piece of furniture, and then kicking it afflicting more pain on himself, we tried not to laugh. This came to mind this morning while doing a blog and I pressed the wrong button, which meant I had to repair the damage to my blog, I felt so frustrated that I banged my hand on the table in anger, and of course the computor and the table cried out in pain, of course not, the only one was hurt was me.The Bible has so much to say about uncontrolled anger, take Moses who was very meek,yet he had his moment of anger [ cp Exodus 20 v 7ff]. He paid a price for that moment of anger,many of us pay a price for our uncontrolled anger, my friends father suffered double pain, and I have a sore hand. There usually is a price to pay for anything that gets out of control,if we are continually getting angry ,we are more than likely injuring others , mybe even frightening others,it could be road rage, whatever it is, we need to stop it,begin to see it for what it is, wrong.We need to say more than sorry, we need to repent, we need to stop it, I need to stop it, how?, by the grace of God.

A prayer..../Dear God grant us the grace to have control over our emotions ,in Jesus name Amen /

You dont bring me flowers anymore [ Psalm 147 v 3-6 ].

Barbra Streisand sings a song ,called,/ You dont bring me flowers anymore /, it is song about love fading, lessening, cooling,not speaking, distancing . Of warmth turning to coldness,of closeness turning to distance,of desire turning to distaste,none of it is very nice. I am sure what I am writing applies to so many these days, and many are feeling sad, feeling vulnerable, insecure,and afraid, along with anger. If you are going through this experience , try to not let it destroy you,and dont blame God, it is not His fault, God gets the blame for so much that is not His fault. These things come with the territory,we live in a fallen world, but in the midst of all our hurts there is one who cares and understands, His name is Jesus, He knows what it is to be rejected ,and unloved ,He has experienced the hurts, and as He looks on his creation ,He is still recieving them, but He justs keeps on loving, and loving, so go to Him today,if you dont know Him come to Him, if you do know Him dont turn away from Him .

A prayer.../ Dear Jesus in all my need I come to You , help me .Amen /

Chariots of iron. [ Hebrews 11 v 32 - 35 ]

The children of Israel were in the promised land but in order to have their allotted piece of land they had to conquer it, the children of Joseph came to Joshua,they wanted more land the valley of the Canaanites ,but the Canaanites had Chariots of iron. In other words they had the superior technology,so that was that, no it wasnt,the land was theirs, God had promised it to them, they were not rising in faith, they were looking with the natural sight,but Joshua wasnt ,he tells them, for thou shalt drive out the Canaanites,though they have iron chariots, and though they be strong. [Joshua 17 v 16 - 18 ] Has God given you a promise?, are you holding back because of the chariots?,in my life I have faced many chariots of iron, and have learned that if we are to overcome them ,it must be by faith in those promises God has given. So today go forward by faith, drive out those chariots of iron, you can ,for if God be for you, can who can be against you.

A prayer..../ Dear God help us ,to not let fear rob us of those things, You have promised us, in Jesus name Amen /

Getting things out of proportion. [ Matthew 23 v 13 ff ]

An old lady I dont know was complaining a client of mine,to me her complaint seemed so unimportant,and I could not help thinking how we often act this lady. We get things so out of proportion, our dear Saviour was faced with people who were so blind that they as our Saviour said, that they strained their water so they would not accidentally swallow a gnat, but they swallowed camels [Matthew 23 v 24 ]. They failed to see what was imporant,most of the things in their religious thought pattern was distorted, our Saviour said that they were blind, spiritually. Philip Yancey highlights this distorted way of thinking in our modern life,how many of us ,/ believe that the sole purpose of life is to be comfortable.To gorge ourselves, build a nice home, enjoy good food, have sex, live the good life./ but he goes unto say,/ but the presence of suffering vastly complicates that lifestyle- unless we choose to wear blinders. It is hard to believe the world is here just so I can have a party, when a third of the world go to bed starving . God desires that mankind see what is really important ,they need Him,first and most of all,and when they do know Him,to never loose sight of that reality.We all need to see what is most important and to treat the trivia for what it is, trivia.

A prayer...../Dear God help us to not be blinded by the trivia in life,that if I am not saved,then I need Jesus, and if I am saved I need to live for Him. Amen/

Judging God. [ Numbers 14 v 18 ]

As I read the book of Joshua and and how at the command of God cities were wiped out, men ,women and children, and even animals, I am inclined to question this, it appears so cruel. We all wonder at certain things in the Bible,hell is another doctrine, to many it is inconcieveable, that a God of love would condemn people to such a place.So what do you think?, or do you not think about these things, well here is my conclusion,God knows the whole, God is not cruel, God is kind, and He desires that all may be saved. So that is the character of God, the heart of the eternal is most wonderfully kind, but He has the crown of His creation in rebellion, let us remember that every sin is an act of rebellion against God.He knows the whole, we dont,and out of His total knowledge He acts in keeping with His justice , and holiness. God loves this old sinful world ,and He has acted in an incredible loving way, by sending His dear Son to die on a cross,He could do no greater thing than that. It may seem incredible to do such a thing,but the sinfulness of humanity demanded it.Let us not sit in judgement on God,whose ways are just and always motivated by love.
A prayer...../Dear God grant us the grace we need to trust in all Your ways and judgements in Jesus name Amen/

Unlearning. [ Romans 7 ]

There are many things we need in life, yes I may not have liked school, but I did need to learn the three r,s,and if I was going to drive a car I had to go to a drivng school to learn. There are so many things we need to learn in life, yes there so many things we need to learn in life. The thought came to me yesterday, there are things I need to unlearn, although I am Christian, there are habits , and thought patterns, that I need to unlearn. The modern song goes ,I did it my way,it is the hymn of modern man, but it is not a Christian hymn,we need to unlearn this, and sing a new hymn,and call it, Your way Lord.Where once we filled our mind with filthy thoughts which we learned,from pornographic material,or from the depraved conversation we had with others.We need to unlearn fearful thought patterns,as to money,relationships, ageing,dying,change,not feeling loved,discontentment,sin. We need to unlearn so much wrong thinking, stop and let look us look at our lives ,if we are honest,and nothing will change unless we are honest,honest to ourselves and honest to God, it will be the first step in the task of unlearning,then and only then can we begin to unlearn.
A prayer ....../Dear God by Your grace help us to unlearn those things that dog us ,and effect us, in Jesus name Amen /