Our only hope. [Acts 16 v31 ]

Psalm 15 starts with a question,who can come into Gods presence, who can have a relationship with God?, this question that is asked is very important, for the believer and the unbeliever. In understanding the question we must appreciate two things ,the first thing to consider is God,that He is holy,the second thing is we are sinners.These two things create a dilemma ,and it is a dilemma that only God can solve,and indeed has solved,I stress only God can solve. I wear a small cross ,why?, it is to declare that the cross is Gods answer to mans dilemma,what is that dilemma?,the answer is sin and its consequences.Unless sin is dealt with there is no hope, all is lost, and all are lost,hell is the ultimate destiny of those who die in their sin,consider these solemn words,/The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God[Psalm 9 v17 ]. These are strong words, but they are true, who are the wicked?,all of us ,always remember it is how God sees us that matters,and if we read Romans 3 we have our sinful condition set forth, do read it and consider  what it is saying to you,its conclusion is this, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God [v 23 ].Anne Cetas says,/Do you believe it? Your eternity is at stake. Dont trust in faulty thinking, put your faith in Christ/.
A  prayer..../Dear God help us to see that our only hope to be saved is Jesus Your dear Son .Amen/

Morally upright. [Psalm 15]

I am just finishing a book called/ The end , Hitlers Germany/it is a very sad book  ,driven by one evil man,the nation of Germany followed,and became partakers of that evil,and suffered the consequences of such a decision. I ask myself would I have been any different if I had lived in Germany?,someone said it only takes good men to say nothing for evil to prosper. The challenge of the Christian life is to not just accept or go along with the evil and ungodliness that is ever present,we are called to be light,and to be salt,the light challenges the darkness, and the salt stops the corruptness.The early church experienced severe persecution because it would not say Caesar is Lord,the present crisis in the financial world has been brought about because of greed,and because not enough people spoke out against the  wrong practices that were going on. Yes there were those who did , I was speaking to a person who resigned,and took early retirement because he didnt agree with what was going on.But as in th case of Nazi Germany the darkness appears to have won the day,in the financial world,I wonder will anything change?. In the coming days we are going to be looking at Psalm 15, which my sturdy Bible declares that.in this Psalm God calls His people to be morally upright and gives us 10 standards to determine how we are doing/.
A  prayer...../ Dear God in this dark and corrupt world, help us to  be the light and the salt, in Jesus name Amen /

Abraham didnt give up. [ Romans 4 v16 -25 ]

In Romans 4 we read this about Abraham that ,/ even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping,believing v 18/.God has given me promises,which looks like they will never be fulfilled,it seems impossible,such was Abrahams case.His wife and him were old,as he looked he was not blinded by the realities. But he didnt give up, he could have,we all have that choice, to give up and walk away ,but let me say it again Abraham didnt give up.. In Hebrews 10 v23 we read,/He is faithful that promised/this is the character of God,one who is faithful,who will do what He has promised,He will not falter in this, because He is faithful.But not only is He faithful,great an all that is ,we also read , that God was able to do what He had promised[Romans 4 v21].This is often were we fail, we are not always able to do what we promised, our resources dry up, our strength fails us,none of those things apply to our sovereign God,we are told that God is not a man, contrary to what the Mormons believe.Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard,  that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not,neither is weary? there is no searching of His understanding[ Isaiah 40 v2]  Such is our God ,He is able to do  exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think[Ephesians 3 v20] Abraham believed in the character of God, and the power of God, the result he recieved what he desired.
A  prayer..../ Dear God help us to be strong in believing that what You have promised us You will fulfill in Jesus name. Amen/

Lost innocence. [ Galations 5 v16]

The speaker at the church I attend issued us all with labels,we were to write on them, those things we would like to change,we then were to tie them to, two fans,it was pentecost Sunday and this was all related to what we would have the Holy Spirit accomplish in our lives.I never wrote anything, it is not that I dont need the Holy Spirit to work in my life,of course I do,as indeed we all do., but I needed time to think.Later in the day I was watching a cartoon about one of my favourite characters ,Winnie the Pooh,and as I watched it,I thought what I could have written on the label,Holy Spirit grant me the innocence of Winnie the Pooh. We loose our innocence in life so soon,never to regain it, in this life,the canvas of our lives,becomes so quickly stained,by dirty thoughts,and so many other things,we wish we could get rid of.Well it was Pentecost yesterday, reminding us that we have a divine helper,one who can aid in the ongoing battle with our lost innocence,so let us not despair as regards our lost innocence, and let us rejoice that one day we will regain it,when all things will be made new.[Revelation 21 v5 ]
A  prayer..../ Dear God grant us grace by the Holy Spirit to overcome our sinful tendancies,and to rejoice that one day You will make all things new,in Jesus name Amen/

What is bothering us?. [ Psalm 5 ]

In   Psalm 5, we have a prayer of David ,a cry unto God to be heard ,for God to hear,and take into account what is bothering him v1.What is bothering you?what are you thinking about?, we often hold things in our hearts that we dont tell anyone about,and we maybe dont even tell God. God of course knows ,he knows when we are tempted, when we shut Him out, and run with the temptation,and fulfill the temptation.It appears to me God waits for us,to seek Him with the things that are on our hearts. So today we have a choice, keep things bottled up,dont tell God . Whats really on our minds,our temptations,pain,resentment,anger,needs,again let me ask the question,what is bothering us?.Often pride is a factor ,we can never discount that sin,pride is a curse, and can only cause us trouble, in 1 Peter 5v 6-7 we read./ Humble yourselves therefore uder the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time/. This is the path the Christian must take,it is the path our Saviour took, He humbled Himself, then He was exalted [Philippians 2 v 8 -9 ]. Next Peter follows up his exhortation for  humility ,by encouraging us ,to cast all our care upon the Lord for He careth, for us,all our cares,let us hold nothing back, especially those things that are bothering us.
A  prayer....../ Dear God we bring to You all that is on our hearts,for we realise that when we do this, then we will recieve the help we need, in Jesus name Amen /

When God is silent. [ Psalm 22 ]

As I mentioned ,in my previous blog, I am reading the book of Job, in fact I have just finished it this morning,it is a very instructive book,it deals with suffering and its aftermath. We read at the beginning about God speaking about Job,to Satan, and permitting Satan to attack Job,but then silence. We dont hear God speaking until the end of the book,it is as if God has withdrawn Himself , and of course Job struggles with this.In 23v3 we have Job saying,/Oh that I knew where I might find Him, /this caused him distress,this silence of God,and all he had to listen to was his three friends,who added to his distress,by what they said,they said all sort of things about Job that were wrong .Some people write of the dark night of the soul,such was the experience of Job, such may be your experience at this time,it  was Charlotte Elliot who wrote the following,/Clouds of darkness round about Thee,for a season veil Thy face/. So what is the answer for Charlotte,for Job,  for you and I ?well  Charlette goes on to write,/ Still I trust and cannot doubt Thee,Jesus full of truth and grace. Resting on Thy word I stand,none can pluck me from Thy hand/. 
A  prayer....../ Dear God in the name of Him who cried out,My God, My God why have You forsken me,we come to You,and ask for the grace to trust You even when You are silent. Amen /

Begone unbelief.[Psalm 34 ]

I came away from a meeting recently with a feeling of uncertainty as regards finance not mine,it made me think of how uncertain life is.One day you may be rich, the next day poor,one day you are in a fine healthy position, the next ,well you know what I am saying. I am reading the book of Job at this time ,he was godly man, but under a permitted attack by satan,he lost ,his children,finance, and health. Yes, even for the godly, life can be uncertain, there are no earthly guarantees, ah ,no earthly guarantees,exactly,if we stop at that point ,uncertainty will creep in,and we will begin to panic,begin to let fear take over. As  Christians we have a sure and certain hope that nothing can destroy,we are told nothing can seperate us from the love of God [Romans 8 v 35ff].,we are told that Jesus is always with us[ Matthew 28 v20 ],these are eternal guarantees, and cannot be broken. God has promised to care for us,I have been young, but now am old, and I have never seen the righteous forsaken, nor His seed begging bread [ Psalm 37 v25 ]and I never will. Because the Lord is my shepherd I shall not want, because He is with me, I will fear no evil,as regards the present or the future ,I rest on Him assured that goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life[Psalm 23 ], so begone unbelief, my Saviour is near, and for my relief, will surely appear.[John Newton]
A prayer...../ Dear Lord help us not to live in uncertainty, and to challenge fear ,by faith in You, and in Your word,in Your name we ask this Amen /

Ignorance is not bliss.[ Acts 8 v 26 -39 ]

I took someone to a barbers shop,the people who run this shop were from Turkey,I got into a conversation with one these people,he had beads in his hand. Being a Muslin ,I inquired if they were prayer beads, he said they were not, I am not sure if he was being truthful, but I asked what are the words used with  prayer beads,he spoke words in Arabic, I asked him what they meant, he said he didnt know. He didnt know,our Saviour pointed out the pointlessness of praying meaningless prayers,surely the thing about a true and meaningful relationship is not ignorance, but enlightenment, revelation. The old hymn declares I once was blind but now I see,if we are walking in blind ignorance, as regards our religion, then we are not walking in the light but in the dark.As a Christian I am challenged to grow in Grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ [2 Peter 3 v18 ], how can I do this? ,simply, by the Word of God. Psalm 119 v130 reads,/ The entrance of Thy words giveth light, it giveth understanding unto the simple/, in that word we find Christ,and without that knowledge we will perish in ignorance,without that knowledge we will not grow spiritually.When it comes to knowing God, and growing  spiritually,ignorance is not bliss,it is downright foolish, and dangerous
A  prayer...../ Dear God help us all to grow in grace and in the knowledge of of our Jesus Christ . Amen /.

Not in vain. [ 1 Corinthians 15 v 58 ]

We were on holiday last week,a few things stand out, I got witnessing to two people, one was a street musician, his name was Bill [strange  name], I wonder why it is easier to witness to those who are poor.? We dont know the outcome of our witnessing only eternity will show the full extent of  those words we have spoken.Many a dear missionary,served God in hard ,and what appeared fruitless places ,but there is coming a day when God will open His box of surprises, and they shall rejoice ,as they look upon those  who responded to what appeared to them a fruitless weak witness. I have during my Christian life ,taught a Sunday school class,spoke at childrens meetings,in old peoples homes,preached many, many sermons,, has it all been in vain, no, here is the word of God for us today./Therefore, my beloved brethern, be ye stedfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord [ 1 Corinthians 15 v58 ]
A  Prayer..../ Dear God grant us the grace and faith to leave the results of our witnessing in Your hands in  Jesus name Amen/

When danger threatens. [ Psalm 91 ]

Daniel  Defoe the author of the classic book, Roninson Crusoe lived in London, when the great plague of 1665 struck. Daniel wrote an account of this event,in it he tells how many sought to leave the city,if they could,but even that was filled with difficulties as one needed a certificate of health from the Lord Mayor without it one would not be able to travel for fear of spreading the disease.What was Daniel to do?, he considered his situation , his business would possible suffer if he left London,but then if he stayed he might die of the plague. His older brother advised him to leave London, to run away from it. Daniel made plans to leave,but things happened that appeared to him, that Gods providence was indicating for him to stay.He shared this with his brother who laughed at what he told him,told him of stories of foolhardy people who like him had suffered ill, at such ideas. There came a point in Daniels experience ,he cried unto God,/I know not what to do , Lord, direct me/.and it was then that the words of Psalm 91 came to him, he read the following./ I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in Him will I trust . Surely He shall deliver thee from the noisome pestilence..........A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand, but it shall not come nigh thee....neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling /. Daniel stayed and God preserved him.
A  prayer ....Dear Lord help us to know how to act,when dangers threaten,help us to seek Your will,and grant us grace to trust in You and in Your word ,in Jesus Name Amen /.

Hindrances. [ Matthew 14 v23 ]

William Cowper wrote ,/What various hindrances we meet, in coming to the mercy seat. Yet who,that knows the worth of prayer,but wishes to be there./I am no expert in relation to prayer, but I have learned the importance of prayer. I rise early in the morning to pray because I know that if I dont those various hindrances will happen, yesterday morning one my sons called in when I was praying,he lives a good distance from where he works,so he comes to my home for a sleep over,he had been working the previous night. Anyway this all made it difficult for me to continue to pray,but I have a shed so I slipped down there and finished my quite time there.Yes there are hindrances when we come to pray,yet as William wrote,they who know the worth of prayer , wish often to be there.Prayer is vital,that may seem obivious,but we need to hear this,to be reminded of it continually,I have learned from experience, that I  need to pray, for I need Him who is my anchor, I need Him who is my best friend.Again in the words of W Cowper,/ Prayer makes the darkened cloud withdraw,prayer climbs the ladder Jacob saw. Gives exercise to faith and love,brings every blessing from above/.
A  prayer...../Dear God help us to see how vital prayer is , that it is not just a haphazard thing,but a vital part of our experience with You, in Jesus name Amen /

Truth and tolerance. [ 1 John 2 v 10 -11]

While on holiday I bought a book on John Calvin,I have known about Calvinism for most of my Christian life ,but I have never read his life. Now I can imagine when one mentions Calvinisim it stirs up feelings,it is the same with the doctrine of the last things, or baptisim.We see those who hold to a different belief on those subjects as our enemies, but I am a Christian long enough to know that this is not so.I went to an evangelical interdenominational Bible college,and I found a group of Christians, who without exception knew the Lord as their Saviour. Many of them went on to serve the Lord on the mission field,to be ministers,and all had the desire to tell others about Jesus,all held fast to the word of God.So today hold fast to those things that are important to you,but be tolerant towards those Christians who differ with you, remember they also belong to Christ, and we must love them, this is not optional.
A  prayer..../ Dear Lord help us to be tolerant towards our fellow Christians who differ with us in certain things, in Jesus name Amen /

Lessons from Esther. [Romans 8 v28 ]

The book of Esther is a very instructive book on a very important subject ,the providence of God,we need always to be looking at life with this in mind.In this book we have an unfolding picture,a queen who disobeyed her husband. An unknown girl Esther is promoted to be queen,a plot to destroy the whole Jewish nation,a godly Jew who reveals a plot that saves the kings life. God is not mentioned in this book,but His providence blazes forth, in His timing and overruling of all the events that take place.It is a book that should encourage every child of God,that God can intervene in the most difficult of situations,situations that can be life threatening, the Jews were delivered ,their enemies were routed. The word of God declares if He is For us, who can be against us[ Romans 8 v31],so let us all trust God in every situation,[ myself included].God can make a way,in relation to promotion,protection, and provision,so today,in the words of that wonderful hymn by W  Cowper./Ye fearful saints fresh courage take,the clouds ye so much dread. Are big with mercy, and shall break, in blessing on your head. Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,but trust Him for His grace. Behind a frowning providence, He hides a smilng face/.
A  prayer..../ Father in heaven we commit our situation to You, trusting in Your overruling providence to work everything out for You childrens good, in Jesus name  Amen /
/I will be on holiday for a week, I  will return to my blog Sunday 20th/

Lets try a peanut.[ Job 40 v 3-5 / Romans 8 v28 ]

I have just bought a book by Tony Campolo called /Let me tell you a story/as the title suggests it is about stories,with a spiritual application,it is easy to read,as a preacher I value stories. Tony tells of, Booker T Washington  praying to God ,he asked God to help him to understand His mind,and God answered, Booker, thats a little too much for you to handle. Lets try a peanut.I smiled when I read this,and yet it is so true,the fact of the matter we cannot grasp fully Gods mind, or Gods ways, we are told this in Isaiah 55v 8-9/ For My thoughts are not my thoughts,neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and  My thoughts than your thoughts./Job who suffered so much had to realize this, Brooker had to realize this, we all have to realize this. We look at our lives at times, and we ask what is God doing?, we look at the world and we may ask the same question.Mybe like Booker you have looked up to God, mybe through tears, and asked for Gods purpose ,and Gods mind ,on what is taking place in your life. Let us all be still before Almighty God,and just simply trust Him, He really does know what He is doing as one day we will see this. [1 Corinthians 13 v12 ]
A  prayer..../ Dear God help us to trust You in Jesus name, for You are to be trusted Amen /

Perfection.[ Matthew 5 v 48 ]

What do I mean perfection, or what does the Bible mean?,well consider the only one who was and is perfect Jesus. He fufilled the  will of God in His life  and death,never once did He step outside the will of God.So right away we see the importance of doing Gods will,in Romans 12 v 2, it is called the perfect will of God,and that is our goal. The Christian life is I believe, a battle of the wills, ours and Gods, and it is ongoing,each new day brings with it the challenge of the will.Of course in doing the will of God our Saviour had to contend with Satan.In the wilderness our Saviour was tempted by Satan,he held out the offer of popularity,personal glory,and power.Tony Campolo writes in his book,/ Choose love not power/,that Christ chose the way of the cross ,the harder way,He would save the world not through power, but through sacrificial love/.Our Saviour manifested a servants heart and challenged us to be a servant to others,so  we could consider being a servant as part of the path of perfection, that we are called to walk each new day. So today let us be seek to be perfect,we may not succeed, but we are called to try, called to follow the one who never failed.
A  prayer.../. Dear God help us to choose Your perfect will today in Jesus name Amen /

Perfectionism.[ Matthew 5 48 ]

I wish I could say I was the perfect son,both my parents are dead, I never got to my know father, as my mum and dad seperated when I was very young. So my mum brought us up at that time there were four of us,so again I ask the question was I the perfect son,did I always do that  which pleased my mother?, and the answer is, wait for it,no. I have regrets , I wish I could say ,no regrets,but I cant.We can all look at our lives and wish we could go back to that place which the poet calls the land of new beginning. Our Saviour lays before us the challenge of being perfect [ Matthew 5 v48 ],it is an exhortation,that must be taken very seriously. We are not to let our imperfectness be an excuse for not trying to reach for the goal of perfection, no, our aim in life is to aim for perfectness,even though we fail,even though we feel it is hopeless.When we fail we are not to fall into a spirit of condemnation , we are told that we are not condemned. [Romans 8 v1 ],what we must do is simple never give up ,never give up,never,why? because I want to be like Jesus who always did those things that pleased His Father.
A  prayer... Dear God help us to rise from our failures and to press on, to the goal of perfection,in Jesus name Amen /

24/7. [1 Thessalonians 5 v17 ]

I am sure you have heard the term 24/7, there is a prayer movement called 24/7 in the book ,Red moon rising,by Pete Greig/ Dave Roberts, they write of the longest prayer meeting in history started by a group of Christians called the Moravians, it lasted for 125years , 24/7. It goes without saying that prayer is important ,but how important?, a good question,consider three words from 1 Thessalonians 5 v17, Pray without ceasing,how do they strike you?,well to say the least, very challenging,mybe they discourage you, for you cannot even begin to imagine praying without ceasing.  It appears to me that the Christian life,is a life that goes beyound any boundries,the law says ,give a tenth, our Saviour taught about a widow woman who give her all [ Mark 12 v41ff], to go the extra mile,to forgive in an unlimited way,for our righteousness to exceed the righteousness, of the religious people of His day[ Matthew 5 v20 ] So again I ask the question to myself and to you, how do you see , those words ,pray without ceasing?we will have to pray about it, and be guided by Gods Spirit.
A  prayer..../ Dear God like the disciples of old we would ask that You would teach us how to pray in Jesus name Amen

Nehemiah [ Nehemiah 1 ]

One of my favourite people in the Bible is Nehemiah ,a person of  integrity,prayer,steadfastness,purpose
,also a great encourager of Gods people, he was a great leader. We dont read of any of his faults,not that we should be looking for any,but he had those who sought to hinder him,in the important work of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem.We can learn so much from this mans life and ministry, he could have given into fear[6 v12-13]but he didnt ,he prays to God, naming those who were seeking to unsettle him.
The list is interesting and instructive,Tobiah ,Sanballat non Jews,but he also mentions,a prophetess and prophets.Often it is those in religious garb who are the greatest enemies of the truth and the work of God,religiosity can cover a mulitude of sins, those who had our dear Lord crucified were religious. Religiosity is not the rule by which are we guided by,we must be guided by Gods word,judge all things by its teaching, and stand fast in the truth God has revealed to us,like the disciples of old, who told the religious leaders of their day,we ought to obey God,rather than men[Acts 5 v29 ]
A prayer..../ Dear God thank you for your servant Nehemiah,help us not just admire him, but to follow his godly example, in Jesus name Amen /

Jesus.[ John 14 v6 ]

Often in a dispute particularly between a man and wife it is best not to get involved, there are exceptions of course,but  usually it is best to let them sort things out themselves.If you do interfere you may be told in no uncertain terms, that it has nothing to do with us,it is between ,him and her, or her and him.I was at a meeting last night, and the preacher, a Alan Greenbank a retired missionary, who told of an incident about a eight year old boy,who went home after hearing Alan preach.When he arrived home he spoke to his father ,and told his father that he wanted to do what Alan had said about accepting Jesus as his Saviour.Well the father who was a Christian was delighted, so he spoke to him about what it meant to accept Jesus as Saviour,and then he offered to pray with his son, but his son said no, and asked his dad to leave the room,for he said, / this is between Jesus and me/. It is nice to have godly parents,Sunday school teacher, who tell us about Jesus, whom we all need,but when it comes to being saved,it comes down to this one solitary fact, we all need to be like that eight year old boy,and realize if we are going to be save, we personally need to meet with Jesus.to have our sins forgiven, and accept him as our Saviour
A  prayer...../ Dear God help us to see our need of Jesus Your Son, and our need of meeting with Him and trusting Him personally,for salvation and in our everyday daily experience in His name we ask this Amen /

Sorry [ Isaiah 57 v15 ]

I should have known better, I was suddenly drawn into a conflict situation, the more I tried to calm the situation the more difficult it became, in the end I found myself becoming angry. Well eventually silence reigned, and unexpectantly I found myself saying , I am sorry I got annoyed with you, and surprisingly , the other person, said he was sorry,so peace returned. Often it is the hardest thing to do,that is to say sorry,especially if its not your fault, and yet that may be the only way to resolve a conflict.Many years ago when I was at Bible college,  I felt I had offended a visiting lecturer, he lived quite a few miles away,I had only a bike,so I cycled over to where he lived,and apologised, and then peace came into my heart.The word of God stresses the importance of humility,because we are without exception proud by nature, pride is a sin,it is the stronghold of the unconverted,alas it does not die when we are converted, so for your Lords  sake, say you are sorry
A  prayer....../ Dear God forgive us for our unforgiven attitude, help us to see the importance of destroying the fortress of pride,which manifests itself in so many ways in our lives,in Jesus name Amen /

Abuse. [ Isaiah 59 v1 ]

Last night on the Tv there was a programme about paedophilia in the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland,and how those in power did not stop it happening, I am not going to run down that group ,although one could easily do that. When it comes to goverments , religious groups,or any situation,having power, it is vital,[ I stress the word vital,] that it is not seen as absolute power. The only one that can safely have absolute power is God, when men feel they have absolute power,they inevitable feel they can do as they please, they feel they are not accountable. Democracy is not a perfect system but to some extent it challenges those abuses in our society,be on your gaurd against, any who feel they can do as they please. In the church,politics,or in the home,if you are in a sitution where this is going on ,challenge it,and if you are been abused,have courage to leave,and report the abuse, no one has the right to abuse anyone.
A prayer ...../ Dear God we ask that You would help and come to the aid of those who are suffering from a abuse of power in Jesus name Amen /

Mr Perfect.[ Luke 18 v 9 - 14 ]

Driving is not easy,so much traffic on the roads,yesterday I was reminded how dangerous it is when another driver ,sought to force himself into my lane,he should have waited, but no,out he came,there where cars on my driver side,I managed to accelerate, and got out of trouble.I should not be to hard on that driver, although  I was shaken up,for I know that I will make mistakes. No one is perfect ,even concert pianist play wrong notes occasionally,the best of footballers miss penalties,the greatest of chiefs burn the dinner,the greatest of jugglers drop what they are juggling.So today be a little forgiving for those around you who  make mistakes,who get it wrong, not only in driving, but with there finance,their children,their marriage,their walk with God. For those who yield to temptation, and commit the unthinkable,people are imperfect,and in case you think you are mister perfect, I got news for you,your not.
A  prayer...../ Dear God  help me to treat others in word and deed ,as I want to be treated,in Jesus name Amen /

Uzziah and pride. [2 Chronicles 26 ]

In Isaiah 6v1 we read,/In the year that king Uzziah died/,Uzziah was king of Judah,he was a powerful king,everything he did prospered,he became king at the early age of 16, and reigned for 52 yrs.For most of his reign he sought the Lord,and we read ,God made him to prosper,he was instructed by a godly man Zechariah.He may have gone  on to be one of  the greatest of  kings,but[ if only we didnt have that but]we read,when he became powerful , he also became proud,which led to his downfall.The AV puts it like this,his heart was lifted up to his destruction,my study Bible highlight two things, he overestimated his own importance, and a lack of thankfulness to God.Pride is one the most destructive sins,it literally destroys, as it did Uzziah. C S Lewis writes,/There is one vice of which no one in the world is free...Pride or Self-Conciet ,and the virtue opposite it, is called Humility/he goes on to write,/It was through Pride that the devil became the devil,Pride leads to every other vice,it is the complete anti-God state of mind./.In Uzziahs case he ended up a leper and lived in isolation,pride if it takes over our lives, it can have serious consequences,so today be humble, it is the saftest place in that place as Bunyan puts it we need fear no fall
A  prayer....../ Dear God have mercy on us for our tendancy to be proud,help us to be humble, in Jesus name Amen/

Relying upon God. [ 1 Samuel v 45-47 ]

In 2 Chroicles 13v18 we read how Judah won a great victory,because they relied upon the Lord God,the question to ask is this, what would have happen if they had not relied upon the Lord God?.We need to rely on the Lord our God,and then one may ask another question,is our religion not just a crutch?, well is it?.Well if it means I am depending on God ,yes,for I remember when I relied on self, and what a failure I made of that, yes I need my God,I am not ashamed to admit that. In declaring my dependance on God, I am acknowledging that I am weak, I am acknowledging that I cannot save myself, that Christ must save me. I am acknowledging that the trials of life are to much for me to bear on my own, I need Gods grace,I am acknowledging that I have a weak sinful nature,that I am prone to yield to the wrong. Yes I do need to rely upon my God just like Judah of old,I are no different from them ,and what applies to me , applies to you.
A  prayer....../ Dear God keep us from the folly of thinking we do not need You,for the fact is we need You every hour of every day, in Jesus name Amen /